By Andrew Watson · May 8, 2012
We humans are creatures of astounding hypocrisy, in that we always want the good guy to win. We love protagonists that are smart or powerful and kick the asses of every bad guy in the room. Some writers fail to shake that hypocrisy and write characters that do just that, failing to understand why their creation completely sucks. While we want protagonists to be bad ass, what we secretly desire is for that character to be put through sheer hell for the majority of the piece. What we desire, is a strong and almighty villain that completely stops the hero in his tracks. As the Joker quips to Batman during The Dark Knight, “The unstoppable force, meets the immovable object.”
Sherlock’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) intellectual match is Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), a woman whose wits and lack of inhibitions lead to a jaw dropping meet-cute that is one of the starkest introductions of a female character I’ve seen in years. Its genius is not simply an attempt to use shock value to kick the viewer in the shins but a great statement of the antagonist’s trump card: she is a blank canvas. When normally faced with a mystery figure, quick cutaways to parts of their body are matched with zooming text sending us into the mind of Sherlock Holmes as he deciphers every single aspect of their character. Faced with Irene, he can muster only a lone question mark. Sherlock’s greatest asset has been his ability to deduce facts from seemingly arbitrary pieces of information, so to present him with a character that cannot be deduced has that twist of irony that makes for fantastic drama.
Irene has some scandalous photos of a well-known member of the Royal Family in a compromising position, and Sherlock must figure her out if he is to unlock the heavily guarded mobile phone that contains these photos. What unfolds is a very unorthodox episode in which the antagonist is not a serial killer or a physical threat, but in many ways is a romantic antagonist. Alongside this is McGuffin like B plot in which some CIA agents are also after the phone for an undefined reason, and mainly seem to provide moments of physical danger for Sherlock to get himself into.
What makes “A Scandal in Belgravia” particularly interesting is how much it delves into the psyche of Sherlock. What makes him such a great presence on screen is his ability to be utterly unpredictable, with writer Stephan Moffat changing Sherlock’s personality every time he encounters someone different on screen. He is part hero, part liability. He is part bastard, part gentleman. Part dashing, part deranged. One moment he is mean to a work colleague, the next he provides his elderly housekeeper with the comfort she needs after a nasty incident. The majority of the time he is the epitome of dismissive coolness; the minute Irene Adler steps into the scene he is stumbling over his words. It’s that dynamic writing that makes him such an enigmatic character, especially when his screen equal Irene appears to share all these qualities too.
While an excellent episode of Sherlock, what does take some of the sheen off is a finale that produces one too many twists for its own good. While there is clearly some forward thinking with re-establishing Moriarty (Andrew Scott) as the main villain of this series, the third act reveal is an entirely out there premise. It certainly delivers some great visual imagery and provides a fascinating concept chock full of conspiracy theory, but when meshed together with the B plot it feels a little clunky. Having established some character motivations for some of Sherlock’s foes in that plot, the reveal seems to undermine these motivations. Considering that Sherlock’s A plot almost completely dominates the piece, the reveal is a relatively minor point, but it does make for mild irritation.
I would have also like to have seen more investigation of the C plot, in which two dead bodies appear in mysterious circumstances but are then left largely untouched until the big reveal. However, these are small trifles in front of the real mystery of “A Scandal in Belgravia.” The mystery of Irene Adler is handled excellently by Moffat, and its conclusion delivers a grand pay off. CBS, the company that has commissioned a U.S. version of the hit show, has its work cut out for it in order to match the original.
