Sherlock: The Sign of Three Review

The Great Detective tackles the mystery of the stag night in a brilliantly comic instalment.
Once upon a time, the second episode of Sherlock's latest run would have been regarded as its weakest instalment. The Sign of Three finds itself in a unique position, then, following on from the remarkably underwhelimg The Empty Hearse with its viewership's expectations as lofty as ever, if not moreso. That the series' co-creators Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Stephen Thompson have collaborated on the penultimate script of Season Three enables a level of dramatic innovation absent from last week's misfortunate chapter, even if their approach raises a few lingering issues nonetheless.

If Hearse hadn't already made it abundantly clear, then Sign confirms with no doubt that Season Three is primarily focused on character drama, namely that of the relationship between Holmes and Watson. Without Cumberbatch and Freeman on hand to lend their consistently accomplished portryals of these iconic heroes, few would dispute that the show would likely suffer as a result of its deviation from the clear-cut procedural 'case of the week' format of the 2012 run, but these pair of now equally-iconic stars do supreme justice to the more poignant, action-shy nature of this week's script. Even if Sherlock's actions and words during his memorable Best Man's address don't seem entirely representative of the borderline-apathetic, detached creation of Arthur Conan Doyle, such an evolution is only natural, at least in the context of a medium where such archetypal protagonists are now openly begrudged for their stark contrast to the layered, emotionally involved real world heroes of today.

The writing team's prioritising of this key relationship once again has a significant influence on Sign's structure, yet proves not so much of a shortcoming as was the case with its predecessor. Social networking sites were of course laden with complaints from those viewers who felt that the procedural narrative of this instalment should have kicked in sooner, even to the extent that they would allegedly cease watching out of boredom regarding their prolonged anticipation- thankfully, though, the episode's 8.8 million average viewing rating doesn't seem to have been affected much by the vocal minority- but for the silent majority, the increased waiting time involved with seeking out the true case and its solution paid off magnificently. A Scandal In Belgravia placed much the same relaxed emphasis on its core mystery of the purpose of Bond Air to great avail, so Moffat, Gatiss and Thompson's decision to take a tact akin to the 2012 opener comes as no great surprise or disappointment. Certainly, this particular mode of storytelling has won Sign an assured place amongst the higher echelons of Sherlock's infrequent output than Hearse, in spite of the episode still not aspiring to the same heights as the pair of masterpieces book-ending Season Two (Scandal and Reichenbach).

Sign is weakened, though, by a flaw which has been persistent in Season Three's framework so far, a crease which hasn't held any detrimental value until this specific run of detective exploits. By gradually morphing its protagonist into a more sympathetic figure than that which Conan Doyle's original texts depicted, Sherlock's tone has simultaneously morphed into a state which differs dramatically from that which came before. There are levels on which this metamorphosis succeeds, particularly in the titular sociopath's open expression of admiration for his oldest and wisest ally, but once the final moments of the episode come about and place a keen emphasis on the character's isolated response to his being shunned at the disco, rather than utilising the case's solution or an arc-based cliffhanger as a gravitas-orientated denouement, thhe potential assertion that the alterations of Conan Doyle's work implemented for mainstream accessibility and appeal may come at too great a cost gains weight. Strangely, Scandal accomplished much the same feat with ease, its final shot of Sherlock considering 'the Woman' after his revealed rescue of Irene working wonders, although the aforementioned episode was intrinsically linked to Season Two's plot arc, and so had already satisfied on that front, whereas Sign features scarcely a mention of the narrow-eyed antagonist glimpsed last week and so leaves us considerably wanting in that regard.

Much as The Empty Hearse may have dampened this reviewer's enthusiasm for Sherlock to an unprecedented extent, its successor at least envisions a potential road to recovery for the series. The Sign of Three is by no means perfect, nor will it likely be regarded as the equivalent to any Season Two instalment but The Hounds of Baskerville, yet if character drama must now become the primary genre with which we associate the programme, then the signs (pun fully intended) of the tonal shift this altered direction will have show more promise on this second attempt. Regardless of the enhanced strength of these newfound foundations, however, the season as a whole faces an uncharacteristically uphill battle next Sunday in attempting to rank as an equal to either Sherlock's debut run or its critically acclaimed (not least here at On-Screen) follow-up. A more refined Sign of things to come Episode 2 may be, but once upon a time, it was signs of greatness which we rightly sought from Moffat and Gatiss' latest project, and short of a creative miracle on the former scribe's part in His Last Vow, one might argue that those hints of televisual mastery have long since faded.
4/5