Sherlock: 10 Biggest Plot Twists
Every episode of Sherlock had a number of great twists, but which one will make it to the top?
Sherlock was one of the best television shows of the last decade. Thanks to a terrific premise and two phenomenal leads, this modern rendition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic detective stories gripped audiences across the globe.
Given the ambition of Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Stephen Thompson, Sherlock was always a show that kept viewers on their toes. Whilst these three screenwriters may have overstepped the mark from time to time, their scripts were generally accessible as well as complex. Indeed, the respect Sherlock had for its audience’s intelligence was one of its greatest strengths.
Though the show was based on the novels and short stories of Conan Doyle, the series took huge liberties with the source material, and as such, even those familiar with the classic tales of Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson were unable to second guess what would happen next.
Consequently, the various plot twists scattered throughout the show were always impactful. Sure, a few of them were a little far-fetched (particularly in the final series), but for the most part, these plot twists were both satisfying and unexpected…
10. It’s All In Sherlock’s Head – The Abominable Bride
Unlike the other twelve episodes of Sherlock, ‘The Abominable Bride’ did not belong to a particular series. However, despite the Victorian setting, it eventually became clear that this one-off special was in fact relevant to the rest of the show.
After almost an hour in Victorian London, ‘The Abominable Bride’ returns sharply to the present day. It is then explained that the case of Emelia Ricoletti is an unsolved mystery stored inside Sherlock’s mind, and that he is aiming to solve said mystery in the hope it will reveal the truth about Moriarty’s death in the present day.
As odd as this plot twist is, there’s no denying it caught audiences off guard. What’s more, it doesn’t go totally beyond the realms of the show. Sherlock’s mind palace had been used in a number of previous episodes, and given he had also taken several substances beforehand, the mental exploration of the case of Emelia Ricoletti isn’t totally ludicrous.