It appeared that Sherlock would be getting a new nemesis in Season 3, with the introduction of Charles Augustus Magnussen. Magnussen was an interesting villain, and the only man Sherlock has ever really hated or felt threatened by. He made the season finale stand out as one of the show's best episodes, though he unfortunately won't be returning. His death was anticlimactic, and it would have been great to see more of him going forward. Instead, we got the tease that Moriarty (or someone simply using Moriarty's image as a cover) has returned, which effectively ends Sherlock's exile. Moriarty's return feels a bit too much like fanservice, and is quite honestly a bit of a cop-out. It's like the writers of the show tried to think of a way to continue the show without him, and couldn't really do it. We didn't get any hints that this was a possibility throughout the season, and I get that that was done in order to make his reappearance feel more like a twist, but it just came off as a desperate move. In any case, whether or not his return was planned from the beginning is unimportant. He's coming back, in some fashion, and people seem pretty excited about it. Moriarty is to Sherlock what The Joker is to Batman. Or Lex Luthor is to Superman. He's his true nemesis through and through, and it was incredibly fun seeing his mystery unfold over the course of the first two seasons. So, what better way to end the show than with a final showdown between Sherlock and Moriarty, a three-episode arc chronicling Sherlock's final victory over his nemesis? After all, once you introduce him again, where is there to go from there?
James is a 24 year old writer and filmmaker living in Portland, OR. He attended college for graphic design and writes for various sources on the web about film, television, and entertainment.
You can view all of his work on his website, www.thereeljames.wordpress.com
