Recently, series four of Sherlock premiered on PBS. I have finally finished watching all three hour-and-a-half episodes. While there are always critics of any show, especially one that has been as successful as Sherlock, I have always enjoyed the story and the characters that Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, writers of the show, have created. In my opinion, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, who play Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson respectively, could not be more perfect for the roles. Each episode plays out almost like a movie, both in length and twists and turns. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and hunting for theories on Tumblr afterwards. Here are some of the best Sherlock quotes from the past three series. (SPOILERS if you haven't watched through series three.)
1. A Study In Pink
Just Sherlock being his sassy self.
2. The Blind Banker
...And John being sassy right back.
3. The Great Game
From pretending to be Molly Hooper's boyfriend...
...to kidnapping John and strapping him with bombs...
...Our introduction to the character of Moriarty could not be more chilling in the first series finale. A fantastically creepy character.
4. A Scandal In Belgravia
In the series two premiere, we get an introduction to The Woman, Irene Adler, a dominatrix who poses an enigma to Sherlock unlike any other.
5. The Hounds of Baskerville
The Hounds of Baskerville is one of the rare episodes where I was truly and honestly spooked, and mostly because Sherlock seemed to be going absolutely insane wracking his brain and trying to solve the case.
6. The Reichenbach Fall
in the most shocking season finale I've ever seen, Moriarty sets out to dismantle Sherlock's life piece by piece, convincing everyone in his life that he has lied about the cases he's solved, paid people off so he's looked like a hero this entire time.
John, however, refuses to believe it, in his own way.
All of this comes to a head when Sherlock and Moriarty meet on a roof, which ends in both of their own suicides. Moriarty's own death was meant to destroy Sherlock, while Sherlock's was meant to save his friends' lives, which Moriarty had threatened.
I did mention he's a creepy villain, right?
7. The Empty Hearse
In The Empty Hearse, Sherlock reveals to John and his fiancé Mary that he is, in fact, not dead. But, Sherlock being Sherlock, he can't resist the element of surprise and endless dramatics, so he pretends to be John's waiter at the restaurant in which John is proposing to Mary.
When the reveal finally happens, John is beyond angry, (understandably!!!) This is certainly not the reaction Sherlock was hoping for.
Okay, so, it's not a quote, but it's still one of the best gifs of all time.
8. The Sign of Three
This episode is about John and Mary's wedding, and all of the hullaballoo leading up to it, including John asking Sherlock to be his best man.
Sherlock struggles to understand how he could be anybody's best friend (I'm not crying, you're crying!)
As everyone predicted, Sherlock struggled with mushy-gooshiness of the telegrams.
9. His Last Vow
In His Last Vow, we delve deep into not only Sherlock's history, but Mary's history as well. It is revealed to Sherlock early on that Mary is not who she claims she is. She has lived the life of an assassin, the name Mary Watson not her own.
When Sherlock discovers this, Mary shoots him, although, John has no knowledge of this (yet).
Sherlock is stuck in his mind palace, struggling to survive and desperate to save John.
He survives, realizing that Mary had calculated a shot that would stop him from confessing to John, but it wouldn't kill him. Sherlock reveals Mary's lies to John through a ruse he had created for Mary. While she thought she was confessing to Sherlock, she'd been confessing to John all along.
Once things have sort of settled, and they all three of them return to Baker Street, John confesses that he cannot understand how everyone around him - Mary, Sherlock, Mrs, Hudson - could all be crazy people. Sherlock bluntly replies.
Sherlock shoots Magnussen, a menacing villain that poses a threat to the British government. He is deemed unfit, and set away to Eastern Europe...
...until a few minutes later, when this guy, assumed dead, appears on all of the screens in London...
What's your favorite Sherlock quote?
