Sherlock: Every Episode Ranked Worst To Best

"How did he survive?" was the question on the nation's lips in the months running up to Sherlock Holmes' return from the dead. It's hard to pull off a satisfying answer after that cliffhanger, but the main problem with this episode is that it was too occupied with both confusing us and drawing attention to it.

The Empty Hearse lacks any emotional gutpunch; the fact that John's world has been turned upside down by Sherlock's return, and every element of Sherlock's crass way of breaking the news to his best friend, is too lighthearted from the start. It seems out of character for their more mature relationship, and wastes the opportunity for a perfectly-timed use of humour to break the tension.

Amanda Abbington's Mary is the best thing in this episode. Yet focus is drawn away from her to tease Season 3's main villain, spend time with Anderson (who always worked best as the butt of the joke) as well as his fellow conspiracy theorists, and give us yet another scenario where John is kidnapped and Sherlock has to save him.

This episode crams too much into its running time, and yet feels slight at the same time, resulting in an awkward mixture of filler and setting up future episodes.