Check out my initial review for an outline of the plot.
This episode is loosely based on The Adventure of the Dancing Men and The Valley of Fear.
“The Blind Banker” continues the show's exploration of the iconic characters and the Canon created by Arthur Conan Doyle.
One of the best aspects of this episode is the way the contrasts between Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) are highlighted.
Steve Thompson's script neatly ties in one of the often overlooked aspects of the Canon. In The Sign of the Four, Dr John Watson states: “What was I, an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account,..”. John admits to taking the new job purely for money, when Sarah (Zoe Telford) mentions that he might be overqualified.
Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:
John also tries to loan some money from Sherlock. He later takes the check from Sebastian, after Sherlock refuses to take up the case of the break in purely for financial incentives.
In the climax too, Sherlock declines the credit from the Scotland Yard for solving the case of the murders. As readers of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories are aware, Sherlock Holmes is known for solving cases purely for the intellectual challenge.
Benedict's Sherlock forgoes both food and sleep as he continues his efforts to solve the puzzle. John, on the other hand, tries his best to catch some much needed sleep. When Sherlock wakes him up to continue the investigation outdoors, John sadly notes that he needs to sleep just a bit more.
Both men have different outlook towards women as well.
Dr John Watson has always been a ladies' man, as evident in his remark in The Sign of the Four: “In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents, …”. John shows an interest in Sarah, right from their first meeting. Sherlock tries to hijack their date as part of his investigation.
Sherlock resists Sarah's continued presence at 221 B Baker Street and openly voices his frustration. The Canonical Holmes has often expressed his apathy towards women.
Sarah proves to be a tough cookie and helps save Sherlock's life from his attacker in the Chinese circus. She also helps him in breaking the code later. The character of Sarah could be a nod to the strong female characters in the Canon, like Maud Bellamy, Violet Hunter and Annie Harrison.
I also like the exchange between Sherlock and John, just as Sherlock arrives to rescue John and Sarah.
Sherlock: “How would you describe me, John? Resourceful, Dynamic, Enigmatic?”
John: “Late.”
Sherlock's fighting skills come into play at the beginning and the climax of the episode. I prefer this realistic portrayal to the hyper stylized Guy Ritchie version, where Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock predicts his opponent's moves.
Euros Lyn's direction is spot on. This is one of the few episodes that does not feature both Mark Gatiss' Mycroft Holmes and Rupert Graves' Detective Inspector Lestrade.
The one distracting point in the episode is the stereotyped portrayal of Asians. The argument can be made that, this is an indirect reference to the prevailing times of the Victorian England.
Still, the aforementioned bright spots more than make up for these drawbacks.
Sherlock Season 3 debuts with the first episode “The Empty Hearse” on Jan 01 2014 in the UK and on Jan 19 2014 in the US.
This episode is loosely based on The Adventure of the Dancing Men and The Valley of Fear.
“The Blind Banker” continues the show's exploration of the iconic characters and the Canon created by Arthur Conan Doyle.
One of the best aspects of this episode is the way the contrasts between Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) are highlighted.
Steve Thompson's script neatly ties in one of the often overlooked aspects of the Canon. In The Sign of the Four, Dr John Watson states: “What was I, an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account,..”. John admits to taking the new job purely for money, when Sarah (Zoe Telford) mentions that he might be overqualified.
Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:
John also tries to loan some money from Sherlock. He later takes the check from Sebastian, after Sherlock refuses to take up the case of the break in purely for financial incentives.
In the climax too, Sherlock declines the credit from the Scotland Yard for solving the case of the murders. As readers of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories are aware, Sherlock Holmes is known for solving cases purely for the intellectual challenge.
Benedict's Sherlock forgoes both food and sleep as he continues his efforts to solve the puzzle. John, on the other hand, tries his best to catch some much needed sleep. When Sherlock wakes him up to continue the investigation outdoors, John sadly notes that he needs to sleep just a bit more.
Both men have different outlook towards women as well.
Dr John Watson has always been a ladies' man, as evident in his remark in The Sign of the Four: “In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents, …”. John shows an interest in Sarah, right from their first meeting. Sherlock tries to hijack their date as part of his investigation.
Sherlock resists Sarah's continued presence at 221 B Baker Street and openly voices his frustration. The Canonical Holmes has often expressed his apathy towards women.
Sarah proves to be a tough cookie and helps save Sherlock's life from his attacker in the Chinese circus. She also helps him in breaking the code later. The character of Sarah could be a nod to the strong female characters in the Canon, like Maud Bellamy, Violet Hunter and Annie Harrison.
I also like the exchange between Sherlock and John, just as Sherlock arrives to rescue John and Sarah.
Sherlock: “How would you describe me, John? Resourceful, Dynamic, Enigmatic?”
John: “Late.”
Sherlock's fighting skills come into play at the beginning and the climax of the episode. I prefer this realistic portrayal to the hyper stylized Guy Ritchie version, where Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock predicts his opponent's moves.
Euros Lyn's direction is spot on. This is one of the few episodes that does not feature both Mark Gatiss' Mycroft Holmes and Rupert Graves' Detective Inspector Lestrade.
The one distracting point in the episode is the stereotyped portrayal of Asians. The argument can be made that, this is an indirect reference to the prevailing times of the Victorian England.
Still, the aforementioned bright spots more than make up for these drawbacks.
Sherlock Season 3 debuts with the first episode “The Empty Hearse” on Jan 01 2014 in the UK and on Jan 19 2014 in the US.
Click here to read the Canonical references in this episode. Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock.
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Image Sources: BBC Wales, Hartswood Films, Masterpiece Theatre
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| Canonical Nods in "The Empty Hearse" |
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| Canonical Nods in "The Sign of Three" |
