January 2012

It’s been only a few hours since I’ve seen the Sherlock finale, but here’s the theory I’ve pieced together. It isn’t solid, but I think it’s plausible. Spoilers after the cut.

First, the facts:

• Irene Adler successfully faked her death and Sherlock helped her fake her death a second time in “A Scandal in Belgravia.” She said something like records are only as good as you keep them. Sherlock knows that too.
• The man who kidnapped the ambassador’s children looked like Sherlock, similar enough that the girl screamed when she saw Sherlock in the hospital. Moriarty set up the look-alike.
• Mycroft said they’ve been keeping an eye on Moriarty.
• Molly offered to help Sherlock and he meets her in the lab at night. Moriarty meets Sherlock on the rooftop and it’s daytime. That means Sherlock had all night to plan the details of how he’d fake his death.

On to the Maybes and What-ifs:

• Sherlock did go to Mycroft for help and asked him to track down the look-alike kidnapper.
• Sherlock asked Molly to help him fake his death and they worked on the plan during the night.
• Sherlock was telling the truth: he’s on the side of angels but he isn’t one of them. He is not a hero. What if Sherlock threatened the look-alike the same way Moriarty threatened Sherlock? “Sacrifice yourself or else I’ll kill all the people you care about.” Sherlock forced the look-alike to jump off the roof.

The phone conversation with John is a bit tricky. I do believe that’s the real Sherlock talking to John, but I don’t think Sherlock is standing on that rooftop. The man standing on the rooftop looking down at John is the look-alike. From the roof to the ground, there’s no switching people, no mid-air saves, and no one could survive that fall. So the man who jumps and dies cannot be the real Sherlock.

Here’s the thing: the camera doesn’t lie, but editing can. I think the real Sherlock is standing on another rooftop nearby, safely watching and in clear view of the look-alike. Sherlock ordered the look-alike to imitate his movements, so the look-alike holds the phone as if he’s talking to John and he reaches out his arm as if he’s the real Sherlock.

The scene is edited together to make us think that the real Sherlock is talking and looking at John at the same time, but that isn’t what’s happening. The look-alike is looking at John but Sherlock is talking to John.

Then the look-alike jumps to his death. The man on the bicycle (someone from the Homeless Network?) bumps into John and knocks him down. That was part of the plan: make John watch the fall, knock him down, and disorient him. Hope that he’s too upset to look too closely at the body. Too disoriented to notice it isn’t quite Sherlock.

Edited to add: Sherlock says to John, “Keep your eyes fixed on me.” Sherlock wanted John to watch the look-alike so that John wouldn’t look around and spot the real Sherlock. And it fits with what Molly noticed: Sherlock shows his sadness only when he thinks John can’t see him. Sherlock must have been sad to fake his death without telling John and sad that he has to leave Baker Street, and he couldn’t let John see him.