Sherlock - A Scandal in Belgravia

On New Year’s Day Sherlock returned to our screens on BBC 1 and what a return it was.  Honestly I have been waiting for a year for this because Sherlock is excellent.  The first episode was based on the story a Scandal in Bohemia.  When I say based I should probably say loosely based as the characters have been changed to suit the new modern Sherlock look.

That aside the story was once again wonderfully done.  You have to give it to Steven Moffat who wrote this episode.  Not only did he bring in the story of the Scandal in Boehemia but also other storylines only found in Sherlock like the continued appearance of Jim Moriarty and Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes. 

I like how the episode picked up directly where the last, The Great Game, left off.  That is with the stand-off between Sherlock, Watson and Moriarty.  I have to say that I love how Moriarty is portrayed in this show as this mastermind who is a little quirky.  The perfect enemy for Sherlock really.  So Moriarty gets a phone call in the middle of a stand-off which is a little funny because all of them are like sure you can get that.  

Sherlock seems a bit lost after this.  I love how when Sherlock is lost he solves cases and dismisses others.  Unfortunately for Sherlock John’s blog is doing really well and they are now celebrities and we get a picture of Benedict Cumberbatch in the iconic Sherlock Holmes hat.  I have to say he pulls it off rather well.  

The main story of this episode is that a female member of the royal family has been seeing a dominatrix, Irene Adler, who now has compromising pictures of the person.  The government obviously wants the picture to ensure that the royals can’t be blackmailed.  They send Sherlock to get the picture back but he becomes a bit involved with Adler as she escapes when he tries to get the picture.  

Benedict Cumberbatch was again excellent as Sherlock.  He seems to have this ability to bring out the genius in the character while still being someone that is so completely strange to those around him.  I feel that you can really connect with the character even though you most of the time do not get his thought patterns.  In this episode the way he portrays Sherlock’s interest in Adler is wonderful.  He didn’t go down the route of smitten but it was more subtle and you really got to see progression in Sherlock’s character.

Martin Freeman was also wonderful as Watson.  I love how he doesn’t know what Sherlock is going on about but sometimes does understand Sherlock anyway.  Martin Freeman also seems to capture the fact that Watson completely trusts Sherlock without him seeming to have no thoughts of his own. 

Lara Pulver who plays Irene Adler was a great actress for this role.  She is domineering yet approachable at the same time.  I also love how she shows that Adler is interested in Sherlock but at the same time not.  

The characters were unbelievably portrayed and the story was written very well.  There never seemed to be a time when you thought okay where is this all going.  There were a few twists that you really don’t see coming.  I personally like the fact that someone one ups Sherlock and he doesn’t feel stupid about it but rather accepts that there is someone who can match him.  

Overall I would have to say that A Scandal in Belgravia definitely lived up to what I was expecting.  The only problem was that the episode had to end.