The BBC’sSherlockdebuted 15 years ago, and while it’s still a great show worth rewatching, some harsh realities come to light when revisiting it. The popularity of Sherlock Holmes has led to it getting different adaptations for years. The status of the rights to the character has given creative liberty to artists, allowing them to bring the Great Detective to the modern world.
Among the most successful modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmeswas the BBC’sSherlock, created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.Sherlockbrought Holmes (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) to modern-day London, adapting his cases to modern technology, issues, and more.Sherlockpremiered on BBC One in 2010 and was a huge success, with its first two seasons being its best.
Unfortunately,Sherlockseasons 3 and 4 saw a dramatic drop in quality, and the show ended on the lowest note.Sherlockended in 2017, and teases about a fifth season or a movie haven’t stopped since then. Still,Sherlockis worth rewatching, but after eight years, some harsh realities are evident.
10Sherlock’s Deduction Skills Were Hard To Believe
Great To Look At, But Not Believable
One of the most distinctive elements ofSherlockwas how it portrayed the detective’s legendary deductive skills and train of thought.Sherlockdisplayed them on the screen, so the audience could follow along (as best as they could because everything passed too fast), but rewatching the show,Holmes’ deduction skills were very hard to believe.
Sherlock Holmes’ deduction skills in Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories were quite impressive, but they were always believable and actually helped the reader understand how he solved each case.
Sherlock was able to deduce a stranger’s entire backstory with just a quick look at them, which isn’t as believable as the writers possibly thought. Sherlock’s deductions on the show were based on assumptions (that, of course, were always correct) rather than actual information, and they got more unbelievable in seasons 3 and 4.
Sherlock Holmes’ deduction skills in Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories were quite impressive, but they were always believable and actually helped the reader understand how he solved each case, which wasn’t the case in the show.
9Sherlock Was Unnecessarily Rude
Sherlock Holmes Is Different In The Books
In the books, Sherlock Holmes wasn’t the most sociable person, but he was polite and, whenever he was rude, he was still smart and polite. In the BBC show,Sherlock was too rude many times, especially with those he deemed “inferior” to him, such as Anderson. Even worse, his rudeness, specifically with Anderson, was made for laughs.
However, the show portrayed Sherlock as such an indispensable part of the Metropolitan Police Service that they always gave him a pass despite how disrespectful he could be. This was played as a “quirk” (more on that in a bit), but it was unnecessary, out of character, and many times uncomfortable to watch.
8Jim Moriarty Was Too Over-The-Top Sometimes
Jim Moriarty Went Too Far Sometimes
Sherlock’s big villain in its first two seasons was Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott). Moriarty’s presence was teased sinceSherlock’s first episode, but he didn’t officially appear until season 1’s finale. Moriarty’s time ended in season 2’s finale, “The Reichenbach Fall”, where he killed himself to force Holmes to do the same.
While Scott’s performance has been praised, the portrayal of Moriarty inSherlockhas been divisive. Moriarty was too theatrical and over-the-top sometimes, whichdidn’t match how dangerous he was supposed to be.
7Sherlock Failed Molly Hooper The Most
Molly Hopper Deserved So Much Better
AmongSherlock’s original characters was Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey), a specialist registrar in the morgue of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.Molly had a crush on Sherlock, who was constantly rude to her and took advantage of her– and still, although she confronted him a couple of times, she continued to help him.
Molly didn’t go through character development in four seasons, and there was unnecessary focus on her failed relationships. However, theworst thingSherlockdid to Mollywas use her in Eurus Holmes’ “trap”, in which Holmes had to trick her into saying “I love you” in order to save her.
Sherlockhas a 78% rating onRotten Tomatoes.
Sherlocknever showed what happened to Molly after that, if Holmes ever told her the truth, and if they continued to be friends or not. To the audience, Molly was left believing Sherlock loved her, and she deserved better.
6Irene Adler’s Story Was Disappointing
Sherlock Made Many Changes To Irene Adler
Irene Adler is a key character in Sherlock Holmes’ history, as she outsmarted the detective, and he admired her (with many believing he loved her).Adler only appeared in one story, and inSherlock, in just one episode.
Sherlockturned Irene into a dominatrixwho had compromising photos of important people in the government and the Royal Family. Irene was smart, but not enough to beat the detective, who ended up saving her. It was disappointing and a downgrade from Irene’s book version.
5Sherlock Has Harmful Portrayals Of Trauma & Mental Health
Sherlock Didn’t Handle Some Topics Well
As mentioned above,Sherlockmade the title character rude and sometimes even offensive, playing this as a “quirk” that everyone had to put up with. Although not explicitly said in the show, it has been pointed out by many viewers and specialists that the BBC’s version of Sherlock Holmes was autistic, but the show didn’t know how to handle and portray this correctly.
ThroughoutSherlock, there were many examples of trauma (John and the war, Henry Knight’s childhood trauma, Sherlock’s substance-use disorder, and Sherlock and Redbeard, to name some) and mental health struggles, butthese were only used for the plot of certain episodesand not properly explored and handled.
4Sherlock Failed Some Of The Books’ Best Stories
Yes, The Books Are Better
Sherlockbrought to life some of the most notable casesfrom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, but with big changes. Not only were the cases adapted to the modern day, but some of them were unnecessarily mixed.
9.6
9.4
His Last Vow
9.2
Some stories, likeThe Hound of the Baskervilles, got an interesting adaptation, but many otherswere too boring, convoluted, or completely different from the source material. In short,Sherlockdidn’t exactly seize all the great stories it had at its disposal.
3Sherlock Wasted Its Best Moriarty Replacement
After Moriarty’s death,Sherlockfailed to introduce a new, big villain, instead just having one-episode antagonists. What makes this so frustrating is thatSherlockhad three great villains with a lot of potential and completely wasted all of them: Lord Moran (Sebastian Moran in the books), Charles Augustus Magnussen (Charles Augustus Milverton), and Culverton Smith.
The most frustrating one was Moran, who, in the books, was described by Holmes as the “second most dangerous man in London”, right after Professor Moriarty.
The most frustrating one was Moran, who, in the books, was described by Holmes as the “second most dangerous man in London”, right after Professor Moriarty. Instead,Sherlockturned Moran into its most forgettable villain in the episode that marked the start of the show’s downfall (“The Empty Hearse”).
2Sherlock’s Downfall Started With Mary Morstan
Mary Morstan Was Introduced In Season 2
Manythings went wrong withSherlockseasons 3 and 4, but a key element was the introduction of Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington). Mary was introduced in season 3’s premiere episode, “The Empty Hearse”, as she and John met while Sherlock was away, faking his death.
The following episode covered their wedding, and in the next it was revealed thatMary had a secret past as a spy. Changing Mary Morstan’s backstory to add conflict to Sherlock and John’s dynamic was unnecessary, and her relationship with John wasn’t believable and well-developed, either.
1Eurus Holmes’ Plan Is Absolutely Nonsensical
Eurus Holmes Wasn’t A Genius, After All
By far, the worst thing aboutSherlockwas the introduction of the third Holmes sibling, Eurus Holmes (Sian Brooke). Eurus wasthe most intelligent Holmes sibling, but also a criminal mastermind whocame up with an elaborate plan to torture and break her brothers and John Watson.
Eurus was presented as someone so brilliant and evil that she had the entire psychiatric prison of Sherrinford at her feet, and who came up with a complex and evil plan that would push Sherlock, Mycroft, and John to their limits. In theory, Eurus could have easily outsmarted her famous brother, but she didn’t.
Of course, Sherlock saved the day (and his friends and colleagues), broke into his sister’s mind, and sent her back to Sherrinford, where he occasionally visited her. Eurus’ plan never made sense, but looking back,the character as a whole was nonsensical.
