I’m not ruining the plot by telling you this Inception-esque scenario ends with Sherlock and Moriarty wrestling soaked under the Reichenbach Falls, a fight after which Sherlock flies high (in the friendly sky) like a true comic book superhero. Present-day Sherlock is an anti-hero Victorian Sherlock is just obnoxious It’s heightening an elaborate fantasy within his "mind palace," and it revolves around an old case that he’s using to solve the mystery of his nemesis Moriarty’s (Andrew Scott) apparent return. This isn’t a true alternate reality, though: having had his season-ending suicidal mission cancelled, the present-day Sherlock has taken a potent - and potentially lethal - drug cocktail. The pair’s newest case involves a suicidal bride, one who’s somehow come back from the dead to enact vengeance on London’s deadbeat husband and lovers. Sherlock solves mysteries alongside the befuddled detectives of Scotland Yard Watson writes about their adventures in The Strand. It turns out Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson’s (Martin Freeman) 19th century life and work aren’t much different from their 21st century incarnations. There are spoilers for both The Abominable Bride and the first three seasons of Sherlock beyond this point. (It takes a long time to get in and out of that Doctor Strange costume.) It would be unfortunate for any show to go three years without so much as a morsel of story, but that would almost be preferable to The Abominable Bride, whose commitment to producing new Sherlock content at all costs renders it knotty, obtuse, and strangely paced. The boldness is commendable, and it’s probably necessary: Sherlock’s fourth season won’t air until 2017, a consequence of its stars’ packed schedules.
This is a quasi-holiday special, sure, but it’s also a complicated interstitial piece of Sherlock’s overall narrative and a vehicle for entry-level social commentary, winking meta-criticism, and fanfic-spawning setpieces.
Of course, creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are a little more ambitious. Combine the promotional focus, the Christmas setting, and the seemingly lightweight premise - a vengeful bride has risen from the dead! - and you have a recipe for repeated late-December viewing. Everything released in advance of its January 1st premiere focused mostly on Victorian London’s dashing menswear and Martin Freeman’s robust mustache. If you went into this year’s Sherlock holiday special The Abominable Bride expecting a period-piece trifle, no one can blame you.
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