Sherlock

British actress Una Stubbs - probably best known to American audiences for her turn as Mrs. Hudson on the Masterpiece adaptation of Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman - has passed away at the age of 84. 

Though mystery series Sherlock last aired in 2017, fans are still curious about whether we could see Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman return to Baker Street.

It’s been over a year since Sherlock Season 4 concluded. Since that time, there’s been no official word on the possibility of a fifth season, but that hasn’t stopped literally everyone from speculating, or asking the cast and producers about it every time they get the chance.

Now, at this point it seems kind of obvious that if a fifth season of Sherlock happens, it won’t be any time soon. Not only does the end of Season 4 work as potential series finale should the folks in charge decide to take a break that lasts longer than the series’ usual hiatus periods, but everyone’s schedules so incredibly packed it’s hard to know when they’d even film.

Stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are involved with multiple other projects. They’re both part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now, with Freeman recently appearing in Black Panther and Cumberbatch popping up in the just-released Avengers: Infinity War. Cumberbatch’s latest series Patrick Melrose will drop on Showtime this spring, and Freeman’s zombie film Cargo just debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. Even co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss seem busy with other things, most notably their slightly bizarre-sounding new adaptation of Dracula.

To put it kind of bluntly: No one really has time for a trip back to 221b Baker Street. Moreover, it’s not entirely clear that anybody wants to do so, anytime soon.

Benedict Cumberbatch tries to escape questions about the future of Sherlock while promoting his latest upcoming PBS project, The Child in Time. 

Previously on Sherlock: Sherlock went on a massive drug bender and staged an elaborate case to catch a serial killer, all so that he could give John someone to rescue and somehow help him process his grief over his wife’s death. It turns out that Sherlock and Mycroft have a heretofore unseen secret sibling who, surprise, is actually a sister, not the brother everyone thought . Her name is Eurus and she’s a little bit…well, crazy is probably the best word. She staged an elaborate ruse, involving multiple disguises and fake identities to both pose as John’s therapist and also as the woman who managed to get him to engage in an emotional affair. Why? No idea. Oh, and she also pulled out a gun and shot him at the end of last week’s episode.

Man, a lot of weird stuff happened this season. If you need a recap of last week, you can catch up on "The Lying Detective" here. 

“The Final Problem” is, like much of Season 4, a mixed bag. There are several intriguing smaller riddles, along with a few plot threads that make absolutely no sense. (And one rather large plot thread that makes no sense either.) The insertion of Eurus in this story still feels strange, and at times too new to hang the crux of the season on. And, for better or worse, the show officially seems to have crossed the line into pure soap opera territory. There are a few twists and character moments that would probably make Days of Our Lives’ infamous Stefano DiMera proud. 

Previously on Sherlock: Sherlock and John investigate a case involving shattered busts of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It turns out to be connected to Mary’s shady past as a killer for hire, and she ultimately ends up being killed by a bullet meant for Sherlock. John blames his best friend for his wife’s death, and is clearly transferring some anger that should be more accurately directed at himself, since he’s been having an affair. For more info, check out last week’s recap here.

“The Lying Detective” is a really great episode from a character perspective – both Sherlock and John are given some great moments, together and separately, and it actually feels as though there are consequences from last week played out in a realistic way. As a story, it’s entirely too convoluted in places and Toby Jones could probably build a house from the scenery he chews through in every one of its scenes. Oh, and the twist at the end is…weird. Perhaps it’s one of those things that we won’t be able to fully judge until the end of next week’s episode, but on first impression: it’s real weird.    

Finally! After what feels like a million years but is actually only three, Sherlock is back with a proper full series. (I’m not counting the Victorian one-off special that aired during early 2016 in this, if only because that episode was really weird, and didn’t actually advance the story of the show at all.) It’s been a while since we’ve spent some quality time with the boys of Baker Street, and Season 3 was both controversial and rather tumultuous, so who knows what to expect in Season 4. Anything, apparently.

“The Six Thatchers” kicks off the new season in style – it’s very intriguing to look at, and it features star Benedict Cumberbatch at his absolute manic best. But is it a good episode? That’s…a more complicated question. In some ways, “Thatchers” isn’t what we expect from a Sherlock episode at all. The “case” as it were, is paper-thin, and serves only as a cover for the character issues that the show wants to explore around it. That’s not a bad thing, per se, but it doesn’t always work. There’s too much time here spent on flashbacks and the primary story edges a bit on the side of soap opera. Maybe there was nothing that could live up to the expectations we as viewers place on new episodes of Sherlock, but “Six Thatchers”, despite several bright spots, was a rather disappointing return.

Why? Let’s talk about it. 

It’s almost time. A new season of Sherlock is almost upon us. We haven’t had a proper one since 2014. (The one-off Victorian-set special episode “The Abominable Bride” doesn’t count. Mostly because it was a dream sequence that didn’t actually move the series’ plot forward in any way.) 

Despite the fact that I had some problems with the Season 3 finale, I’ve really missed Sherlock. I’m super psyched it’s (finally) back. I can’t wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman together again. But I have a lot of questions. And a lot of things I want to see in Season 4. Here are a few of them.