"The Sign of Three" is the second episode of the
third series of the
BBC television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
series ''
Sherlock''. It was written by
Stephen Thompson,
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...
and
Steven Moffat
Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...
and stars
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence O ...
as
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
and
Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Freeman's most no ...
as
Dr John Watson. The episode's title is inspired by ''
The Sign of the Four
''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective.
Plot ...
'' by
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
. It is set six months after the series opener "
The Empty Hearse
"The Empty Hearse" is the first episode of the third series of the BBC television series '' Sherlock''. It was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Mark Gatiss as Mycro ...
" and is primarily centred on the day of Watson's wedding to
Mary Morstan
This article describes minor characters from the ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, M ...
. It garnered a viewership of 11.37 million, and received mostly positive reviews.
Plot
In the opening scene,
DI Lestrade (
Rupert Graves
Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', ''Maurice'', ''The Madness of King George'' and ''The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he starred ...
) and
Sergeant Donovan (
Vinette Robinson
Vinette Robinson is a British actress, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Her TV appearances include roles in '' Sherlock'', ''Black Mirror'', and as civil rights campaigner Rosa Parks in the ''Doctor Who'' episode "Rosa".
Early life
Robi ...
) are on the verge of arresting the criminal Waters family that has evaded the police several times. However, when Lestrade receives a text for help from
Sherlock, he abandons the case and races to Baker Street, assuming the worst and calling for full backup – only to discover that Sherlock is simply struggling to write a best man speech for John's upcoming wedding to
Mary Morstan
This article describes minor characters from the ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, M ...
(
Amanda Abbington
Amanda Abbington (born Amanda Jane Smith; 28 February 1974) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Miss Mardle in ''Mr Selfridge'' and Mary Watson in '' Sherlock'', the BBC adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stor ...
).
On the morning of the wedding,
Mrs. Hudson (
Una Stubbs
Una Stubbs (1 May 1937 – 12 August 2021) was an English actress, television personality and dancer who appeared on British television and in the theatre, and occasionally in films. She became known after appearing in the film '' Summer Holiday ...
) reminds Sherlock that marriage changes people. At the reception, John is delighted to see Major James Sholto (
Alistair Petrie
Alistair Petrie (born 30 September 1970) is a British actor. He has starred in ''The Bank Job'' (2008), ''Cloud Atlas'' (2012), '' Rush'' (2013) and '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016). Petrie has also starred in the Channel 4 television ...
), his former
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
CO. Sholto (the name is a reference to a character in ''
The Sign of Four
''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective.
Pl ...
'') lives in seclusion, having received death threats and media scrutiny after losing a unit of new soldiers in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. Sherlock calls
Mycroft (
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...
), who repeats Mrs. Hudson's suggestion that John and Mary's marriage will change his life.
Sherlock rises to give the best man speech, but he initially hesitates. After reading from the wedding telegrams, Sherlock expresses his deep love and respect for John and launches into a rambling narrative, describing John's role in an attempted murder case, "the Bloody Guardsman"; a
Guardsman
Guardsman is a rank used instead of private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state. It is also used as a generic term for any member of a guards unit of any rank.
Canada
In the Canadian Force ...
named Bainbridge (
Alfred Enoch
Alfred Lewis Enoch (born 2 December 1988) is an English actor, best known for playing Dean Thomas in the ''Harry Potter'' film series and Wes Gibbins in the ABC legal thriller television series ''How to Get Away with Murder''.
Early life and ...
) contacted Sherlock, fearing he was being stalked. When Sherlock and Watson got into the Guards' quarters, Bainbridge was presumed dead in a shower room from a stab wound, but no weapon and escape route were found. When questioned by Lestrade, Sherlock reluctantly admits the case wasn't solved but cited it as an example of John's compassion; instead of trying to solve the murder as Sherlock did, John examined Bainbridge's body and discovered he still had a pulse, thus requesting an ambulance and saving his life.
Sherlock's narrative drifts to another case, "the Mayfly Man"; several days after going to a man's apartment for dinner, Tessa (
Alice Lowe
Alice Eva Lowe (born 3 April 1977)England & Wales births 1837 – 2006 is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She is best known for her roles as Dr. Haynes in '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'' and Madeleine Wool/Liz Asher in ''Garth Mareng ...
), a woman who worked as a private nurse, found the apartment was vacated, and the man died weeks ago. Sherlock and John, still
inebriated
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...
from John's
stag night :''Stag night is the UK, Canadian, Irish, Australian and New Zealand term for a Bachelor party.''
''Stag Night'' is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Peter A. Dowling and starring Kip Pardue, Vinessa Shaw, and Breckin Meyer. The ...
, attempted to search for clues, but were arrested for their drunken antics. The next morning, an amused Lestrade secured their release from jail. Sherlock chatted to other London women with a similar experience but failed to find any significant connection between them. With John's help, he concluded the perpetrator was a man bored with marriage. He disguised himself as recently deceased single men and used their unoccupied homes to meet the women.
While moving to the toast, Sherlock suddenly freezes, recalling Tessa knew John's middle name (
Hamish
Hamish is a Scottish masculine given name. It is the anglicized form of the vocative case of the Gaelic name ''Seamus'' or ''Sheumais''. It is therefore, the equivalent of James.
People Given name
* Hamish Bennett, retired New Zealand cricket ...
). Aware that John hates and never uses it, he deduces Tessa saw it in a wedding invitation. Sherlock concludes all the women worked for Sholto in various capacities and were bound by confidentiality. The Mayfly Man courted them to find and attack Sholto, and the wedding is his chance. Sherlock slips a note to Sholto, who returns to his hotel room and gets his pistol to defend himself. Sherlock, John, and Mary race to the room to try and save him, but he refuses to open the door until the case is solved. Sherlock deduces the Bloody Guardsman case is linked to Sholto's and pinpoints the military uniform both wore as the common link; since Bainbridge collapsed in the shower, he must have been stabbed with a
stiletto-type blade beforehand, but with his military waist belt firmly holding the flesh together, the damage would not take effect until the belt loosened. The victim would not feel it until then. Upon hearing this explanation, Sholto considers suicide by relieving his belt and bleeding to death. Sherlock persuades him not to, primarily by insisting that it would be cruel to do at John's wedding. Sholto then opens the door and requests medical assistance.
That evening, Sherlock apprehends the wedding photographer (
Jalaal Hartley
Jalaal Hartley is a British television actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, a ...
) and identifies him to Lestrade as Jonathan Small, the Mayfly Man, deducing he was the only person who could have stabbed Sholto. He points out the photographer's brother was one of the men killed under Sholto's command and concludes that he stabbed Bainbridge as practice for this murder. After Sherlock plays the violin for John and Mary's first dance, he quietly reveals to them that he has observed in Mary "increased appetite, change in taste perception, and sickness in the morning, the signs of three", revealing she is pregnant. Sherlock calms them by explaining that they will make great parents since they've had plenty of practice with him. Despite the happy revelation, the episode ends on a bitter-sweet note. Sherlock sombrely leaves the reception alone upon realizing that his relationship with John will never be the same again.
Production
The episode was directed by
Colm McCarthy, who had previously worked with Moffat on the ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' episode, "
The Bells of Saint John
"The Bells of Saint John" is the sixth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2013 on BBC One; the episode was the first of the second ha ...
". The ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' reported that McCarthy was recruited "following the departure of director
Paul McGuigan, who is credited with having set the distinctive visual template for the programme".
According to some sources, such as the ''Radio Times'',
"The Sign of Three" was written by
Steve Thompson, who had previously authored the ''Sherlock'' episodes "
The Blind Banker
"The Blind Banker" is the second episode of the television series '' Sherlock,'' first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 1 August 2010. It was written by Stephen Thompson and directed by Euros Lyn.
''Sherlock'' is a loose adaptation of Arthur ...
" and "
The Reichenbach Fall
"The Reichenbach Fall" is the third and final episode of the second series of the BBC television series '' Sherlock''. It was written by Stephen Thompson and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and ...
". However, in a departure from the show's usual style, all three writers received a "written by" credit in this episode's opening titles. Steven Moffat told a BBC Q&A that he wrote a lot of Sherlock's best man speech.
Filming
![Geograph 3261396 The Orangery, Goldney Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Geograph_3261396_The_Orangery%2C_Goldney_Hall.jpg)
The wedding reception scenes were filmed in the
orangery
An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...
at
Goldney Hall
Goldney Hall is a self-catered hall of residence in the University of Bristol. It is one of three in the Clifton area of Bristol, England.
The hall occupies part of the grounds of Goldney House, built in the 18th century and remodelled in the ...
,
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. Other scenes filmed across Bristol include the 'court steps' in the opening scenes are the
Victoria Rooms
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
the bank robbery took place in a former
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
building next to Castle Park
and John and Mary's wedding scenes were filmed at St Mary's church in
Sneyd Park.
Broadcast and reception
The episode was first broadcast on 5 January 2014, on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
and
BBC One HD at 8:30pm. It attracted 8.8 million viewers, a 31.9% share, which was down from 9.2 million (33.8%) for "
The Empty Hearse
"The Empty Hearse" is the first episode of the third series of the BBC television series '' Sherlock''. It was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Mark Gatiss as Mycro ...
".
The episode received critical acclaim. ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''s Neela Debnath commented, "While it is not the strongest story of the Sherlock saga, the writing is just as sharp and fresh, with the mind palace element toned down a few notches. The Sign of Three was packed to the rafters with wit and comedy. There was plenty to leave viewers howling with laughter, mainly thanks to Sherlock's general apathy towards humankind."
Caroline Frost of ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' commented on the episode's "Conan Doyle-esque recounting of some of their strangest cases", writing, "
is combination of montage and memory lane made for an unusual show, somewhere between a Christmas one-off, a
Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
-inspired parody and one of these special dream-sequence sitcom episodes." Similarly, Oliver Jia of The Punk Effect stated it as "no doubt the odd duck of the entire ''Sherlock'' canon," but proceeded to call the episode "...a clever, hilarious, and moving piece of fine television."
Former
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
and
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
,
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, responded to allusions made to him within the fictional newspaper articles about the "Water Gang" which appeared on screen during the episode's opening moments. The lower portion of the front page of a mocked-up newspaper described an unnamed London Mayor as "dithering, incoherent, and self-interested", listing "bizarre" policies including a "recently-mocked concept of putting an airport in the middle of the estuary", which ''The Telegraph'' say is "a clear reference to
Boris Island
A potential Thames Estuary Airport has been proposed at various times since the 1940s. London's existing principal airports, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, are each sub-optimally located in various ways, such as being too close to built-up area ...
."
Johnson suggested that the joke, which ''The Telegraph'' reported was "visible for just a matter of second
,
was "perfectly legitimate" as political satire and also could have been directed at the previous mayor.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "''Sherlock'' is a fictional drama series. Both the newspaper and mayor featured in the episode were entirely fictional and were not named or politically affiliated."
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Daniel Krupa had a more negative review, praising Benedict Cumberbatch's acting and some heartfelt, tender moments, but he was critical of the pacing, stating that "the rhythm was just erratic, never allowing you to really ease into the plot", and criticised the further exploration of the character's lives, rather than the adventures.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sign Of Three
Sherlock (TV series) episodes
Television episodes written by Steven Moffat
Television episodes written by Mark Gatiss
2014 British television episodes
Television episodes written by Stephen Thompson (writer)
Television episodes about weddings