Summary: To begin, let’s celebrate the fact that the Sherlock hiatus ended (temporarily) and has gifted the viewers with a wonderfully action-packed Christmas episode. The new episode of Sherlock is set in the Victorian era of the original Sherlock Holmes tales. The scene opens with John having flashbacks to his time spent in the first Afghanistan war. We then have a similar introductory scene to Episode 1 Series 1 ( a.k.a.  “A Study in Pink”) in which Sherlock and Watson meet for the first time. Throughout this episode they switch from modern Sherlock to Victorian Sherlock, making you guess which one is reality. The viewer later discovers that this is because Sherlock has O.D.ed and is in a drug-influenced state of mind while trying to figure out Moriarty’s miraculous comeback after blowing his own head off.

Critiques: Though it is quite difficult to say anything negative about this epic installment of Sherlock, there is one thing that bothered me enough to be mentioned– the constant switching from Victorian to Modern Era. Though it is later revealed to the viewer that we’re within Sherlock’s head (better known as his “mind palace”), could the show have made thinga any more confusing? The transitions were very quick, making you question if either were real or unreal (or both).

Highlights: Some things that were done really well in “The Abominable Bride” were the fact that the viewer had to keep guessing what was going to happen next, how the mystery was going to be resolved based on hints and clues. This generated a lot of great suspense and kept you on the edge of your seat. The show also did a really good job of making the viewer feel very immersed in what was going on. And, of course, the episode was written beautifully with just the right amount of wit and sarcasm to keep it from being too somber.  

Having said that, this new installment in the Sherlock franchise does have its heart wrenching, sad, and somber moments–it was in no way a happy episode. Not that most Sherlock episodes are very uplifting, but this one was especially sad.

In conclusion, this Christmas episode contained lots of conflict and intrigue (with a little bit of confusion) but overall it was a fantastic episode.