Sherlock: 5 Reasons Why Series 3 Was The Most Controversial

5. Humanising Sherlock

Like much of this series' narratives, the one about Sherlock becoming more human was mostly handled as a gimmick. Instead of focusing strongly on Sherlock's affection for those around him and adding real weight and depth to it - the writers seemed more intent on catering to the needs of the fan-girls. Sequences like John and Sherlock getting drunk together weren't relevant at all and, although I'm not saying the show should be completely bereft of fun moments, it took up far too much time and could have been replaced with something a lot more poignant. Sherlock was under the influence of heavy alcohol so it would only be natural for him to have a form of outburst of his deep affection for John (bear with me guys). Obviously it couldn't be a replica of his best-man speech in that exact same episode, but perhaps something like a confession of how lonely he used to be before John entered his life; something which hasn't been touched upon, but would only seem natural. My point is that there were lots of great opportunities surrounding the humanising of Sherlock, but the writers decided instead to focus on frivolous things (Sherlock being fond of dancing might make him a more human character, but it's also very silly). Which is why I believe the 'new' Sherlock caused an uproar and became a controversial development instead of a welcome change. I must mention though that they did get one part of it right and that was developing the relationship between Sherlock and his brother Mycroft. The brief scenes establishing their brotherly bond were major highlights for me and worked tremendously well. If you're going to portray the cold detective as a more grounded character then that was definitely the right way to go.