# sherlock series 3 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312 "2013-03-18T23:15:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/261 "2014-01-13T16:49:12Z")
What do you all make of the fact that Sherlock Holmes was not a pressure point for John? I have my own take on it, but would be interested to hear others. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/262 "2014-01-13T20:31:51Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > My own thought was that he had assumed that there was a vault full of files that Magnusson used for his blackmail, and Sherlock wanted to destroy that. Once he realised that the “vault” was in fact Magnusson’s mind palace, that all the information was in his head, then the only way to destroy the information was to destroy the head. Well, sure, that was the obvious reason for killing him, and you could say it was simply the logical thing to do on Sherlock’s part. It still seems somewhat out-of-character for him to just murder the guy like that. > [@JSexton](#): > > The standard trope for a blackmailer is to guarantee his safety by saying “your files are hidden is such a way that they will be released if you kill me.” Once it is known that there is no safeguard, Magnusson was in danger. I don’t know how he failed to realize this. The empty vault is not something he could afford to show anyone. Yes, that struck me as a bit of sketchy writing. > [@](#): > > That said, only john, Sherlock, and Mycroft know that the vault was empty. (Presumably the swat team didn’t know what they were looking at.). This means that Mycroft can go on using the information that Magnusson was holding over their enemies, as no one knows that he doesn’t possess it. As far as they know, Mycroft seized the contents of the vault. Maybe, to a degree. But the problem is that Mycroft doesn’t actually have any of the information to back up that play, so if anyone called his bluff he’d be done. He doesn’t even know who all Magnusson was keeping files on. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/263 "2014-01-13T21:37:48Z")
S3E3: Outstanding: blew my socks off! Pretty close to perfect. Best ever. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/264 "2014-01-13T21:44:34Z")
Loved this season. I don’t know if these were the best episodes yet (I really need to rewatch them all) but this was easily the best season. It was nice to ahve a consistent narrative connecting all three episodes. Question about the previous seasons: Was the “mind palace” used the same way in the previous seasons as it was in these last two episodes? As in, making it a fully visualized space that Sherlock can interact with. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/265 "2014-01-13T21:59:53Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Question about the previous seasons: Was the “mind palace” used the same way in the previous seasons as it was in these last two episodes? As in, making it a fully visualized space that Sherlock can interact with. No, it was more like Sherlock plucking words and phrases out of the air. I like the more fully visualized space, particularly as it can be used to reveal more about his inner feelings - about Molly and Moriarty in particular in this episode. It’ll need to be used sparingly, but that whole sequence after he was shot was extraordinary television. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/266 "2014-01-13T22:34:50Z")
So, was the decision to pick the show up for another season a recent one? The episode felt like the ending was optional: Sherlock goes into exile for real if there’s no further season, but if not, you can easily tack on the reversal. Not that I’m not happy about things shaking out the way they did. As for killing Magnusson, I think that was in the cards from the beginning: Sherlock did ask Watson explicitly if he’d packed his gun, and where he carried it. (For some reason, I found his treatment of Janine more callous than the killing, by the way.) Also, I didn’t know that there were two of those creepy (meant in the best possible way) Mikkelsens! When I saw Magnusson, at first I thought it was Mads Mikkelsen playing him, but it turns out it was his brother Lars (who did a great job, by the way). ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/267 "2014-01-13T22:48:19Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Well, sure, that was the obvious reason for killing him, and you could say it was simply the logical thing to do on Sherlock’s part. It still seems somewhat out-of-character for him to just murder the guy like that. I’m not sure about that. I mean yes, we haven’t seen him actually kill anyone, true, at least, not that I can recall. But he did ensure the execution of Mr Hudson, apparently, and he also threw a guy out of a window in _A Study in Pink_. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/268 "2014-01-13T22:57:33Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So, was the decision to pick the show up for another season a recent one? I’d imagine the decision and timing lays Moffat and Gattis, but they are aware the two leads get booked way into the future. For example, for S3 Freeman gave up Bilbo Baggins. Peter Jackson found a way to reschedule and asked him to reconsider - apparently Freeman was amazed, he’d accepted Baggins had gone. Interesting priorities as well. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/269 "2014-01-13T23:18:23Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Maybe, to a degree. But the problem is that Mycroft doesn’t actually have any of the information to back up that play, so if anyone called his bluff he’d be done. He doesn’t even know who all Magnusson was keeping files on. Mycroft probably supplied most of the juicy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/270 "2014-01-13T23:23:11Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Well, sure, that was the obvious reason for killing him, and you could say it was simply the logical thing to do on Sherlock’s part. It still seems somewhat out-of-character for him to just murder the guy like that. …it was Sherlock’s Kobayashi Maru. He suspected that there were no physical records (the scene with the glasses) and the visit to the “vault” confirmed that. The option to negotiate with Magnussen had already been taken off the table. He knew that he was under no threat of violence: yet made sure that Watson bought a pistol. Shooting Magnussen wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. It was a carefully deliberated one. Magnussen thought that Sherlock had made a mistake when in reality he had actually walked into Sherlock’s endgame. Sherlock literally had no other options. He had made a vow to protect Watson and Mary. The vault was in Magnussen’s head. Removing the vault was the only legitimate option that Sherlock had left. It seemed very in character to me. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/271 "2014-01-14T01:45:18Z")
it was more the timing of when sherlock shot charles that bugged me. he could have shot him sooner without his brother and the swat team seeing him. or while cam was flicking john. or in his mind palace chair. it did seem that sherlock was running numerous schemes after cam said it was all in his head. there was nearly a visible " if i do this" “if i go here” like playing chess. that moment before you concede to check mate. perhaps he was just slower because of the recent “boo boo”. from what i understand about the mind palace construct it takes serious meditative brain power. the more you use it the faster you can access it. to put together a very complex room with people and stuff is really impressive. remember when sherlock told john when he first met him that he would go days without speaking. when sherlock was shot he started out with simple constructs, white blank room, morgue drawer, molly, then things got a bit more complex. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/272 "2014-01-14T06:34:54Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > it was more the timing of when sherlock shot charles that bugged me. he could have shot him sooner without his brother and the swat team seeing him. or while cam was flicking john. or in his mind palace chair. He was protecting Watson, so he had to make sure for him not to come under suspicion. What better way than to have as large an audience as could be ensured? There’s no really good other way to make certain Watson isn’t implicated in Magnusson’s death, especially seeing how the latter was shot with Watson’s gun. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/273 "2014-01-14T12:39:52Z")
thank you half man half wit. that makes sense. now i know why he was so visibly thinking so hard. bc is really good, there was a clear (for me at least) this scheme, no that won’t work, that way, no that won’t work, then? nope, etc. then he plays for time with telling john to go with the flicking, finally the line “just to clarify…”. your deduction is nice and logical. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/274 "2014-01-14T12:53:47Z")
That was completely fantastic. I am still reeling from the initial scenes with Janine. Sherlock should never look happy and cuddly. So disconcerting. I loved Mary what happened to Mary, and John’s decision. Why was Sherlock hanging out in the heroin den at the beginning? He said it was part of his case for Lady Smallwood? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/275 "2014-01-14T12:55:31Z")
What did I miss then? I can get that Magnussen had all of that in his head, but I could have sworn that Sherlock asked at one point “What if you need something?” and Magnussen said it could be brought in if need be. I took that as Magnussen actually had everything, just not in a vault like that. So if Magnussen doesn’t have the physical items, how did he get all the information in the first place? I wasn’t all that excited about this season, I don’t know if there was too much going on or what. The second one was the best one I thought, the other two were only ok. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/276 "2014-01-14T13:44:35Z")
Why was “hounds of the Baskerville” a pressure point for Sherlock? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/277 "2014-01-14T14:47:19Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Why was “hounds of the Baskerville” a pressure point for Sherlock? The pressure points were the three things he had loved (Irene Adler, John Watson, Redbeard), the two things that had scared him (Jim Moriarty, The Hounds of Baskerville) and his vice (opium). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/278 "2014-01-14T15:03:40Z")
Okay, I’ve rewatched “The Sign of Three” again and I’ve still missed something in the rapid exposition. How did the “Mayfly Man” know who to date to get information on his victim and the wedding? ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/279 "2014-01-14T15:08:22Z")
I’m a little confused and disappointed. When Sherlock checked Magnussen’s glasses and found out they’re ordinary, I assumed this was an act and he didn’t _really_ expect him to be using some kind of HUD on his glasses. I also assumed his ignorance of the true location of the “vaults” was feigned. Right up until he shot Magnussen I assumed he was letting Magnussen think he was winning in order to defeat him. I can’t see Sherlock accepting defeat (and shooting Magnussen is surely admitting defeat) without more of a fight. Are we supposed to assume all of this _was_ an act in order to get Magnussen into a position where shooting him in front of the authorities was possible? Can we imagine Sherlock considered every possible option and came to the conclusion that the best kind of victory he could achieve against Magnussen, while still protecting his friends, was this? I was really tired when I watched the last episode so maybe there’s something I’m missing… ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312/280 "2014-01-14T18:03:28Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Okay, I’ve rewatched “The Sign of Three” again and I’ve still missed something in the rapid exposition. How did the “Mayfly Man” know who to date to get information on his victim and the wedding? Information not available to the Official Photographer - can you be specific? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-series-3/653312.md?page=15)