The Final Problem

Anonymous asked:

I am so a fan of yours, and thank you for all the Sherlock-work you do. It keeps the flame alive for me in the long wait till series 3. My question is nothing to do with how SH faked his death/swapped bodies etc; you’ve ampy and brilliantly dealt with that. At Kitty’s flat SH and JW arrived still handcuffed, and then we see SH apparently unlock the handcuffs with a key. How did he manage that?

We didn’t get a very good look at what Sherlock used to unlock the cuffs, but I don’t think it was a key.

It looks a lot more like a hairpin. I know that sounds like some kind of TV cliche, but it is actually possible to open double-locked handcuffs with a hairpin.

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steinkind asked: a short comment about your 'magic trick line' idea... sherlock did exactly what any good magician does: confuse his/her audience and draw attention away from what is really going on. it's the key point in any magician show. sherlock's audience was john, so he had to make sure john would not recognize all the preps being done on the pavement. i wrote a quite long post on that a while back, but never posted here. could do that now with a reblog. :) cheers.

I agree that was what was going on during the fall sequence. Out of everything they gave us, I think Sherlock mentioning magic tricks was probably the single biggest clue because it told us how we needed to view the other clues.

Actually, before I did that big fall-theory post a week after Reichenbach, I had been considering doing some kind of master post with lots of different explanations combined into one timeline. I liked that idea in the sense of it being a challenging infographic to come up with. But ultimately I had to admit I’d been far too swayed by the magic trick viewpoint to pretend I thought most of the other ideas were at all likely. So I ended up just writing up my own opinion instead, which was (and remains) heavily focused on the idea of magic tricks and misdirection.

Anonymous asked: Okay, there are two things that are still bugging me, even after reading your theories (which are brilliant, I might add). The first leads off from what you said about Sherlock's conversation with John. I think the key thing he says is "this is my note, John. Isn't that what people do? Leave a note?". I think at some point John has to realize that he should go back and really think about that conversation, and that he will realize that Sherlock can't be dead (because of the magic trick mention).

I’m afraid I’m not exactly sure what you mean when you say that’s bugging you…

Is it the possibility that John could figure out the truth because Sherlock mentioned magic tricks during the phone call?

Because I would say the only way they’d let John do that is if they meant for Sherlock to be intentionally giving him a hint. In which case it wouldn’t really be a problem for Sherlock if John figured it out.

It would be a change from canon if John figured anything out. But Holmes never set out to fake his own death in canon, either, so we’re largely off in new territory with all of this anyway.

thenorwoodbuilder asked: Hi, just in case Tublr had eaten my previous question: how about a mirror in the laundry lorry? I posted an illustration on my Tumblr blog. B.t.w., your blog is awesome! I found particularly brilliant the Assasins vs. Gunmen theory! Keep posting, you're a true relief for withdrawal symptoms!

Nope, I’m afraid you and several others are still caught up in the “eventually” holding pattern. Working on it, but I’ve been getting asked more questions than I can reasonable handle lately. So I’ll just have to ask for everyone’s patience until things settle down. (Not that I’m implying you were impatient—everyone’s always welcome to reask if they think their question might’ve gotten lost.)

But let’s go ahead and take care of yours right now!

Your original ask was:

Hi! I basically agree with your theory about how Sherlock survived, apart from the presence of a trash bin or other similar wheeled device. I prefer to stick to Occam’s razor, and think that Mofftiss REALLY gave us ALL relevant elements. So, I think that S. simply fell into the lorry, which was divided in two longitudinal sections by a mirror (most common “magic” trick), so the sniper would see it always empty, from his side. They simply didn’t consult a physicist before parking the lorry! ;-)

My initial thoughts: It’s a creative application of the “magic trick” idea, so I like that aspect. I’m willing to allow for TV-physics, but doesn’t it seem a bit risky to make a four-story leap into a truck bed that you’ve halved the possible landing area of with a giant pane of glass? We may be working with different definitions of Occam’s razor here…

But you made a diagram (+10 for dedication), so let’s move on to that!

From thenorwoodbuilder’s blog:

Okay, so we’ve already said we’re giving physics a pass on this one. And I’m just going to ignore the way the mirror is cheated to one side to give Sherlock more landing space—maybe the sniper won’t pick up on how the truck bed is oddly proportioned? I’m also going to ignore the possibility of a pigeon deciding to land on or near the mirror and ruining everything. (Though of course there were some highly suspicious pigeons on the scene.)

First issue: You say that the left side board of the truck “might” have a door. I think you need to change that to “must” have a door. Because all of this is to hide Sherlock’s survival from the sniper, right? So how else would he get out of the truck bed? Having a mirror in place still isn’t enough to allow Sherlock to climb over the top of the left side of the truck or to go out the back gate without the sniper seeing.

Second issue: The truck is at street level. The sniper is not at street level. He is looking at the scene from above. I’m sitting here with a mirror and a box (I take your questions seriously, that’s why I can’t always answer them quickly), and having a hard time figuring out how that could possibly work out. It’s one thing to reflect half of a box back to someone who is directly across from it, but it’s a lot harder once they’re allowed to move above the box. How do you get that angle? How does Sherlock make his plan for the specific angle needed before he knows how high up the sniper will go in the other building? Even if you manage it somehow, how does the sniper not see the top of the mirror?

Third issue: How do you explain this?

Given the angle of view we are allowed, I don’t see how there could be a mirror there. If it was taken away, then it happened so quickly after Sherlock’s fall that I don’t see how the assassin wouldn’t have noticed the removal.

Fourth issue: Nothing in the mirror theory accounts for why Sherlock’s body falls to the sidewalk from the building side rather than the truck side.

Unless we say Sherlock got out of the truck through the secret door, walked over near the building, and then forcefully flung himself down on the sidewalk back in the direction of the truck? Even though neither the sniper nor John could see him, so he could’ve just as easily settled in comfortably?

There are a lot of factors determining what the simplest explanation will be here. Given the evidence, I’m afraid the mirror idea doesn’t work for me. It’s really one of the more creative suggestions I’ve heard, though, so well done on that front!

holding your breath for a long time = magic trick

stopping your pulse with a rubber ball = magic trick

jumping from high up, landing in something slightly ridiculous, and yet managing not to kill yourself = magic trick

having two people swap places = magic trick

———

I repeat: accurate statement is accurate.

Maybe Sherlock used to want to be something else besides a pirate.