Never was such a fandom on the edge of their seats during the finale episode of season 2 of Sherlock, when the consulting detective leap from the heights of St. Barts and crash lands on the ground. Sherlock Holmes, the Reichenbach Hero turned fraud and now turned martyr for all of London. At his grave site a bereft John Watson, who was the last person to see and hear Sherlock alive, begs Sherlock for one miracle. Don't be dead.
And as well all know, Sherlock is very unpredictable.
Now knowing that Sherlock Holmes was indeed alive, the ever expanding Sherlock fandom spent the next two years trying to solve Holmes biggest mystery. How did he survive the fall at St. Barts?
Episode 1 - The Empty Hearse
After the heroic death of Sherlock Holmes that makes international news, Moriarty's once perfectly woven net begins to fall apart. Sherlock's name is cleared when it's revealed that Jim Moriarty did indeed fabricate his lies and that the 'consulting detective' was completely honest in all his work. In spite of his 'death,' Sherlock is still a big name in London with a growing fanbase that refuse to accept that he's dead.
So if Sherlock isn't dead than where is he?
With the help of Mycroft, Sherlock manages to sneak into Eastern Europe where he spends the next two years bringing down Moriarty's network. However, when a terrorist threat is detected in London, Mycroft informs Sherlock that it's time to come back from the dead. London needs their beloved detective back. And Sherlock needs London...and his best friend.
Meanwhile, John Watson has managed to pull his life back together. He has a real house, a real job and a real solid relationship. One that he hopes to make permanent. Mary Morstan arrived in John's life right when he needed her. Pretty, bubbly and full of fun, Mary is exactly that type of women that John needs. And just when John is about to propose, the absolute unpexpected happens. His best friend stands right in front of him. A not so dead Sherlock Holmes.
If you thought that John was going to be overjoyed at his friends return. Well, you're wrong. John is so overcome with emotional grief that he takes Sherlock out three times. Only Mary can get him to calm down. While the rest of London rejoices at the return of the consulting detective, Sherlock wastes no time in getting back to work. He eventually gets John to work alongside him as they try to track down this impending terrorist threat and in the process, they find their friendship again. Even though they may have saved the day (or actually Sherlock and Mary save John), this case is only the beginning of something darker and infintely more evil.
An evil that Sherlock Holmes would kill himself if he had the opportunity.
Episode 2 - The Sign of Three
It's wedding planning mayhem at 221B Baker Street as John and Mary count down the days to their happily ever after. Yet, not everyone is full of merriment for the couple. Sherlock, who already hates public functions is not entirely in line with the idea of John marrying. Either that he doesn't care for the institution of marriage, abhors weddings or simply doesn't want to lose his best friend. Then the inevitable happens when John makes Sherlock his best man. A fate worse than death in Sherlock's mind and he's already died once.
Yet, the ever steadfast Brit he is, Sherlock puts away his personal negative feelings and gets down to work as the best man. A job he takes a little too seriously at times, but still manages to go above and beyond his own expectations. When the big day comes, everything goes off without a hitch and Sherlock behaves admirably. However, his best man's speech may go down as the most life saving one in history.
While at the reception, Sherlock recounts a murder that was never solved. An invisible killer that took the life of a young guard at Buckingham Palace. While it may be a good story another mystery soon follows. Shortly before the wedding a young woman claims that she is dating a ghost. As Sherlock looks into the case, he is surprised that this is not an isolated occurrence. Multiple woman have said the same thing. Unlike his other cases and laughable as it might be, Sherlock can't let this one go and is determined to solve it.
As Sherlock's speech continues, he soon puts together both cases and discovers that the invisible murderer and the ghost are both at the wedding. Both of them connected by a tragedy years before. Sherlock, John, Lestrade and even Mary have a limited amount of time to save one man's life and put away another. However, Sherlock's deductions aren't completely over when he makes the most shocking of announcements to John and Mary.
Episode 3 - His Last Vow
Sherlock Holmes is known for being unconventional in his methods for solving a case. However, no one was prepared to find him in a drug house, completely high and yet still completely functioning. Although, Sherlock has had drug problems in the past, he insists to everyone that he is getting stoned to catch down a notorious blackmailer. A man that Sherlock considers the most evil of all the enemies he's had to deal with. Charles Augustus Magnussen.
Magnussen is definitely more than meets the eye. As brilliant as Sherlock, cunning as Moriarty and as slippery as Irene Adler, he uses his intelligence to prey upon the weaknesses of others and then proceeds to blackmail them if not given his way. He reads people in the same way Sherlock does and then stores all his information in 'his vaults' at his home, Appledore. Sherlock wants more than anything to get into those vaults and finally put an end to Magnussen.
That's easier said than done seeing as Magnussen's immense wealth from his media mogul career has afforded him the best security. Yet Sherlock puts his devious nature to an all new level to break into his office. Only when he gets there, he is shocked to come face to face with another of Magnussen's enemies. Someone he certainly didn't except to be connected to Magnussen.
In the midst of this three-way confrontation, Sherlock is shot and would have died immediately if not for his subconscious working through his brilliant mind palace. In less than a couple of seconds Sherlock manages to evade death due to his disciplined mental construction; not too different from the inception theory, only in this case information within information. Both mental and emotional.
Even though Sherlock survives, there is now a bigger more dangerous case to solve. Badly wounded and wracked with pain, Sherlock will not stop until he has found the answers to this ever evolving mystery, while also trying to protect John and Mary in the process. After several months in recovery which has led to a good amount of time to plan, Sherlock now he now believes that he can bring down Magnussen. Yet, even Sherlock's intelligence could not prepare him for what Magnussen has in store for him, which only increases the lengths that Sherlock will take to end this extreme evil.
