TV Series > Sherlock - Season: 2 > Episode: 2

TV Episode Details:

Sherlock is normally rude to many people, but this episode seemed extra special. I thought at the beginning it was just nicotine withdrawal, but as it progressed through so much of the episode, I think it may be more. It seems like Moriarty has gotten to him a lot more that what he realized, especially from what he experienced toward the end of the episode.

From the interview, we learnt what Henry recalls from his past at Dewer's Hollow, where he witnessed his father's death from a monstrous hound. Sherlock doesn't believe him of course, but after a while, decides to take the case, after a few drags of Henry's second-hand smoke to help satisfy his craving.

I love how Sherlock somehow obtained Mycroft's ID ages ago and used it to get access inside the research facility. How in the blazes did he manage to swipe that? This did start a few of problems with the security of the facility, though. First, the ID showed a picture of Mycroft on the computer, so how did they still get past security. Not only did it work once, but a second time as well. Then apparently passwords for a government research facility doesn't need to be secure. Most small websites require complex passwords now, but a short name was apparently all that was needed for top CIA database access. I know it's TV, but it really removed the realism from the episode.

Eventually, Sherlock decides to take his client out to the scene of the crime, during which, the hound actually appears. This completely broke Holmes, and mentions that he is actually afraid of the truth as he can't believe what his eyes actually saw. This was amazing! Sherlock is never afraid and is always the one to keep everything in perspective. I also loved all the Spock references here, including a few that only true Star Trek fans would pick up on.

Eventually, he gets out of his slump and realizes that it had to be a drug that was causing hallucinations. So, after making a deal with his brother, they went back into the research facility where he does a bit of research of his own... on Watson.

This was really unexpected. At the time, we thought that John was actually being hunted by some lab experiment after wandering into an area that was told to keep out of. I really had no idea that it was a test that Sherlock was running to see if John was affected too. I really do appreciate the way they made us viewers feel his pain during this scene, by the way. It isn't often that we can go blind and deaf from watching a TV episode.

Every series seems to have it's own way of showing what an intelligent character is thinking, and this series is no different. It almost seemed like Sherlock was bringing up his ideas on an invisible tablet as he made sense of everything that was happening, which is so much better than the virtual chalkboard that so many other shows use instead. After some playing with words, he realizes that the words 'Liberty In' that Henry has been seeing over and over again was actually Liberty, Indiana H.O.U.N.D. After a quick search in the government's database, he learnt all he needed to wrap up the case.

The final visit to Dewer's Hollow was impressively scary, for this type of series. The effects on the dog was really over the top and really made it look like a creature from hell. I am sure that many viewers had nightmares about this scene. The villain's death after seemed very fitting for his character, but would have caused a lot of paperwork for several unlucky people.

I'm not going to even try to compare it to the original story since this is a completely different story, and just shares a similar title. It is still an amazing episode that almost anyone will enjoy, unless you don't like frightening scenes. If they could have only sealed a few of the security holes, this would have been right up there with the previous episode.