3. Moriarty's Return
Now, Andrew Scott himself stated that Moriarty was unequivocally dead, but I personally refuse to believe it. That statement could have been made to lull us into a false sense of security, giving us a shock when he walks back on screen in the autumn. Scotts performance of the napoleon of crime has been breath-taking, tuning into the insanity angle yet maintaining the typical persona of the original character. What was even more awe-inspiring was when he played Moriartys alter-ego, Richard Brook, the childrens actor supposedly hired by Sherlock to play his nemesis. During that scene, there wasnt a flicker of Moriarty and I was even beginning to believe his story. What Scott has done with the character is a true credit to the canon and it would be a shame if he was dismissed too suddenly. Which is why I dont think he has. The question I put to you is why would Moriarty take his own life when he was at the peak of his career? Hed outsmarted Sherlock and was about to destroy him once and for all. What reason did he have to commit suicide? Fair enough, Sherlock worked out that as long as Moriarty lived, his friends were safe, but I still dont believe that to be a good enough reason to commit suicide. You could work at the insanity angle, but I suspect that Moriarty anticipated Sherlock working it out and therefore prepared a backup plan. Furthermore, if Moriarty is Sherlocks intellectual equal, then surely he could fake his own death too. The premise I put to you is this. The bullet that Moriarty fired could have been a blank and a blood capsule at the back of his head could have burst when he hit the ground. If you watch the scene again, you will notice that no exit wound or spray is shown as Moriarty falls. Although this could be simply to protect the BBC audience, Ive learned that Moffat does everything for a reason. Sherlock never checked a pulse to confirm his death. The clues all add up to Moriartys survival which additionally explains why there was no mention of him in the papers, because he was never on the roof to be discovered. Maybe Im just being delusional. Maybe I just cant accept that they killed him off, but it would make a great moment in Season 3 to have Moriarty coming back unexpectedly. Could this be the Rat referred to in the second teaser word? Probably not. I guess well have to wait until filming starts in January to find out.