EXCLUSIVE Sherlock: The Reicenbach Fall Review (5/5)

You have to wonder why Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Steve Thompson decided to make The Reicenbach Fall one episode rather than a two-parter- the scale and tension could easily have lasted another 90 minutes if they'd wanted it to. You have to wonder too, why when it took a year and a half for Sherlock to return, Thompson would throw in such an audacious cliffhanger, not knowing whether the BBC would even commission another series. Above all, though, you have to wonder how any of that could possibly matter for even a second, when for the third week in a row the team have brought us an absolutely captivating thriller that would sit easily on the big screen were it not for the glorious decision to split the narrative into three serials. We've been building up to the confrontation between Holmes and his infamous adversary Moriarty ever since The Great Game, and to a degree much of the episode was again mere build-up to that legendary confrontation of the Reichenbach fall in The Final Problem, but to criticise the story for that would be to do it discredit. After Benedict Cumberbatch brought us an incarnation of Conan Doyle's hero reduced to sheer fear at the sight of his nemesis in the mists of Baskerville last week, I was wary as to whether he could top his performance for the finale. I needn't have worried- from the moment Benedict and Andrew cross eyes, you just know they're going to create television gold, as they do in every scene they're together in. No, this epic denounement didn't pack quite the same action-packed punch as that of the original run, yet in the place of no-frills gunning and running, we got a consistently edgy and constantly unpredictable case that refused to let up even at the very end, providing all the layers for a third season with viewers barely able to register it. Martin Freeman upped his game as well, utterly astounded and disbelieving of Sherlock's supposed facade, and ultimately heartbroken at the sight of his friend's grave- yep, he's fine material for The Hobbit, and I'm sure he'll do Tolkien's protagonist proud come this (and next) Christmas season. I've already heard an accusation that the climax was too far-fetched, a literal step too far towards the fantastical, but unless I'm mistaken, all the seeds have already potentially been planted- where did Molly go when Sherlock said he needed her, and was it me, or did the man holding the sniper at John's head not look unlike our famed Baker Street detective himself...? Whatever sneaky way out the Moff and his brilliant team o f writers have planned for the first episode of the next season (already confirmed to be commissioned!), I'm glad Steve Thompson has saved the best narrative of the show so far for last- until Sherlock returns next year, The Reichenbach Fall has undoubtedly shown that it will not be forgotten!