All of us Sherlock fans in the USA saw Sherlock take a dive from a high building to paint the pavement below with his brains last Sunday. I’m sure I was not alone in my dismay when this happened… but the real mind-blower (no pun intended, ahem) was the final scene that revealed Sherlock, alive and well, looking on as Dr. Watson grieved at his graveside.
Wha….?
So the mystery is set for season 3: How did Holmes survive the dive and what is the story going on here?
I believe I have a plausible answer.
Steve Moffat, the writer for Sherlock, has said in an interview that “There is a clue everyone is missing.” I think I have figured out what everyone is missing. I’ve searched the internet and have yet to see this put forward as a theory so here goes…
Moriarity is a figment of Holme’s imagination. Not just a figment… he’s actually his alter-ego, his intellect unleashed from any concerns for his fellow human beings. Holmes may very well have figured out in the course of the investigation that he has a split personality. He hired the actor to play Moriarity and all the scenes where he appears in public with Holmes is with the actor, but all other scenes between Holmes and Moriarity are Holmes projecting his alter-ego. He has episodes, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, when he does things like hire the actor, enact the crimes of Moriarity, etc…
Molly is the one person who has repeatedly seen the brutal side of Holmes. There are several scenes where she sees him as the monster he can be when everyone else either misses it or Holmes makes sure they don’t see it. He must have realized this in the lab when she saw him again and he finally realized she saw him as he was. He must have begun to have an inkling of the condition he was in by that time, for she saw his sadness.
My guess is he finally figured this out and confronted himself on the rooftop. The dialogue led us there… Holmes says to Moriarity “You are not ordinary. You are me!” Moriarty thanks him sincerely then shoots himself in the head. Holmes has killed his demon by recognizing it for who it was: himself.
The fall and the death were all somehow manipulated and staged with Molly’s help. The details don’t matter.
The story itself is smashing good stuff.
ADDENDUM: This also explains why the girl shrieks when she sees Sherlock…
Love this theory but who did Mycroft have in custody for weeks torturing him for the code?
Well, we have Mycroft’s report that this happened. Also, Mycroft would surely know Sherlock is suffering from this malady. It could be that the reason “Moriarity” knew so much about Sherlock’s personal life was because Sherlock himself told it to him (or rather, the man hired by Sherlock to play Moriarity). Mycroft couldn’t, or didn’t want to, reveal this to Watson, though…
That’s my theory, as far fetched as it may be!
Thanks for the question!