6. Who Leaves A Wedding Early? - The Sign of Three
After an episode packed to the rafters with humour (from the drunk scene to Sherlock's distaste for wedding telegrams), 'The Sign of Three' ends at the other end of the Sherlock scale with a sombre shot which serves to remind us what sort of man Sherlock is. Through delivering his best man speech, sort-of flirting with Janine and diagnosing Mary as pregnant, Sherlock seems to be enjoying himself at the Watson's wedding - until he slips away quietly while the guests party. The reason this scene is so significant is that the episode is all about showing the more human side to Holmes. Surely there is no other social occasion that would be more repulsive to the pure, cold reason Sherlock holds above all things than a wedding and yet he almost fits in, with his more alien attributes (as shown before) played for laughs. However, here we are reminded that Sherlock is an outsider. Referring to Mrs Hudson's question from earlier in the episode, who leaves a wedding early? The answer is Sherlock Holmes.
