SHERLOCK: review of ep. 2

See this post for review of the first episode. :)

 

Episode II:  The Blind Banker

My overall rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Since the conclusion of A Study in Pink, John Watson's life would appear to be returning to the norm--he gets a job and meets "Sarah", a nice young lady who seems to like him, too.  But he'll need his crime-fighting skills again, as Sherlock's current case--involving a murder and cryptic graffiti--leads John, Sherlock, and Sarah into a complicated plot, of which the "Blind Banker" case is only the beginning.

This episode received low ratings, but I thought it was pretty good.  Music, sets, and cinematography were quite good as usual; and I liked Holmes better than I did in the first ep...he wasn't quite so weird.  Also, there was a good balance between drama and humor; and I loved the reference to The Valley of Fear, when Holmes and Watson are solving the book cipher.  Watson and Sarah's date--planned and attended by Holmes--was hilarious.  And neither Sarah nor Soo Lin (the other female protagonist) were annoying, which was a relief. 

There were a couple of things I didn't like, such as the random swordfight at the beginning (what was that about?), and the final climax/ending.  And the jade hairpin and secretary subplot seemed contrived and unbelievable.  Moments like that just remind you that it's a TV show.  :P

I guess I didn't mention some of the other recurring characters in my first review--Mrs Hudson, Lestrade, and Mycroft.  Overall, they were ok, but I much prefer them in the Jeremy Brett series.  They just weren't quite right in this one--Mrs Hudson was too modern, Lestrade too irritable, and Mycroft too snarky...they went for the "sibling rivalry" thing in this script.  Again, I prefer the Brett series's version, where Mycroft and Sherlock team up on certain cases, joke around a bit, and still have a mutual respect for each other's talents.