The Great Game (Sherlock)
Encyclopedia
"The Great Game" is the third episode of the television series Sherlock. It was first broadcast on BBC One
and BBC HD on 8 August 2010.
criticises an accused murderer's grammar and refuses to help him, and thus is still bored and lacking a case. John Watson has revealed on his blog that Sherlock has no understanding of astronomy. John, at his girlfriend's apartment, hears of an explosion on Baker Street. He rushes home to find Sherlock and his brother Mycroft apparently unaffected. Mycroft wants Sherlock to investigate the murder of MI6 employee Andrew West. West was found on a railroad track, and an important flash drive
has gone missing. Sherlock refuses to take the case.
Sherlock is called to Scotland Yard. There, he is given a phone like that of the murder victim in "A Study in Pink
". It plays five Greenwich pips
and displays a photo of the basement flat of Sherlock's and John's building. There are a pair of trainers
in the flat. A terrified woman, obviously reading a message from a third party, telephones. If Sherlock does not solve the puzzle in 12 hours, the explosive vest
she is wearing will be detonated. Sherlock believes the five pips mean that he will be required to solve five challenges.
Sherlock and John examine the trainers. They are interrupted by Molly Hooper, a lab tech with a crush on Sherlock. She introduces her new boyfriend Jim, an IT employee; Sherlock deduces that Jim is gay, and tells her so. The shoes belonged to a schoolboy named Carl Powers, who had drowned. Sherlock, underage at the time, had been interested in the case, but unable to convince the police. Now he solves it from clues left on the sneakers: Carl Powers was poisoned via his eczema medication. The booby-trapped woman is freed.
A second message shows a sports car, which is stained with blood. Another hostage gives Sherlock eight hours to solve the mystery. The card of a rental agency is in the glove box. The agency owner has a distinct suntan and was recently in Colombia, and the blood in the car had been previously frozen, so Sherlock concludes that the lost man, Ian Monkford, paid the agency owner to help him disappear. Once again, the hostage is freed. Sherlock is convinced that his battle of wits is with the mysterious Moriarty named by the killer in "A Study in Pink
".
Next, Sherlock investigates the death of Connie Prince from tetanus. Supposedly, she cut herself on a nail, but the wound was made after her death. A blind woman calls, giving Holmes twelve hours in which to solve the crime. Sherlock pins the crime on the housekeeper, who murdered Prince by increasing her botox injections. Although Sherlock has solved the puzzle in time, the bomber triggers the explosives when the hostage starts describing his soft voice.
A photograph of the River Thames
is fourth. Sherlock finds the corpse of a security guard there. A pair of bruises on the body are trademarks of "the Golem
", an assassin. The guard had realised that a recently discovered painting by Vermeer was a fake. An astronomy professor had talked to the victim about the painting, and is also targeted by the Golem. While Sherlock and John fail to save her life, they find a clue to prove the painting is a fake, saving the fourth victim. The museum curator tells Sherlock that the person ultimately in charge was known as Moriarty.
Investigating Mycroft's Andrew West case on his own, John is puzzled to hear that little blood was found on the tracks. Sherlock agrees that West was killed elsewhere, then dumped on the roof of a train. They confront West's prospective brother-in-law, who confesses that he stole the flash drive and accidentally killed West.
Sherlock waits for John to go out and then arranges to meet Moriarty. He is met instead by John, who appears to taunt him before revealing that he is another hostage, wearing an explosive vest and having his words dictated. Moriarty shows up and turns out to be Molly's boyfriend Jim. John grabs him, but lets go when a sniper aims at Sherlock. Moriarty leaves momentarily but soon returns, having multiple snipers target both Sherlock and John. Sherlock aims his handgun at Moriarty, but then changes his aim to the explosive vest, which he had thrown across the room. The episode ends on this cliffhanger.
review called Sherlock "brief-but-brilliant" and "The Great Game" specifically "gripping from start to finish". He gave the episode a 9.5 out of 10 which ranks as "Amazing".
He further noted about the appearance of Moriarty
, Sherlock's Nemesis, that "His long overdue appearance didn't disappoint either, the villain of the piece being unlike any incarnation of the character yet seen on screen."
He also praised the writing, saying that "Credit should go to writer Mark Gatiss
, his script the perfect combination of classic Conan Doyle storytelling with modern-day plot devices and humour, creating a sophisticated mystery that was the perfect marriage of old and new.", and the performances of Benedict Cumberbatch
and Martin Freeman
.
He concluded with "All of which combined for a superb end to a dazzling series that was all-too-brief. The show's storming success with both critics and audiences alike however, should ensure further adventures for the dynamic duo, and following that nailbiting cliff-hanger finale, here's hoping they return sooner rather than later."
John Teti writing for The A.V. Club
called the episode an "extraordinarily dense 90 minutes". He further singled out Andrew Scott for praise, writing that his "portrayal of Moriarty is a a thrilling departure from earlier incarnations of the man."
Sam Wollaston's review for The Guardian
stated, "Sherlock has been smart, exciting, and just the right level of confusing. I want more."
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and BBC HD on 8 August 2010.
Plot
Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
criticises an accused murderer's grammar and refuses to help him, and thus is still bored and lacking a case. John Watson has revealed on his blog that Sherlock has no understanding of astronomy. John, at his girlfriend's apartment, hears of an explosion on Baker Street. He rushes home to find Sherlock and his brother Mycroft apparently unaffected. Mycroft wants Sherlock to investigate the murder of MI6 employee Andrew West. West was found on a railroad track, and an important flash drive
USB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
has gone missing. Sherlock refuses to take the case.
Sherlock is called to Scotland Yard. There, he is given a phone like that of the murder victim in "A Study in Pink
A Study in Pink
"A Study in Pink" is the first episode of the television series Sherlock and first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 25 July 2010. It introduces the main characters and resolves a murder mystery. It is loosely based upon the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet.The episode was written...
". It plays five Greenwich pips
Greenwich Time Signal
The Greenwich Time Signal , popularly known as the pips, is a series of six short tones broadcast at one-second intervals by many BBC Radio stations to mark the precise start of each hour...
and displays a photo of the basement flat of Sherlock's and John's building. There are a pair of trainers
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
in the flat. A terrified woman, obviously reading a message from a third party, telephones. If Sherlock does not solve the puzzle in 12 hours, the explosive vest
Explosive belt
An explosive belt is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers...
she is wearing will be detonated. Sherlock believes the five pips mean that he will be required to solve five challenges.
Sherlock and John examine the trainers. They are interrupted by Molly Hooper, a lab tech with a crush on Sherlock. She introduces her new boyfriend Jim, an IT employee; Sherlock deduces that Jim is gay, and tells her so. The shoes belonged to a schoolboy named Carl Powers, who had drowned. Sherlock, underage at the time, had been interested in the case, but unable to convince the police. Now he solves it from clues left on the sneakers: Carl Powers was poisoned via his eczema medication. The booby-trapped woman is freed.
A second message shows a sports car, which is stained with blood. Another hostage gives Sherlock eight hours to solve the mystery. The card of a rental agency is in the glove box. The agency owner has a distinct suntan and was recently in Colombia, and the blood in the car had been previously frozen, so Sherlock concludes that the lost man, Ian Monkford, paid the agency owner to help him disappear. Once again, the hostage is freed. Sherlock is convinced that his battle of wits is with the mysterious Moriarty named by the killer in "A Study in Pink
A Study in Pink
"A Study in Pink" is the first episode of the television series Sherlock and first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 25 July 2010. It introduces the main characters and resolves a murder mystery. It is loosely based upon the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet.The episode was written...
".
Next, Sherlock investigates the death of Connie Prince from tetanus. Supposedly, she cut herself on a nail, but the wound was made after her death. A blind woman calls, giving Holmes twelve hours in which to solve the crime. Sherlock pins the crime on the housekeeper, who murdered Prince by increasing her botox injections. Although Sherlock has solved the puzzle in time, the bomber triggers the explosives when the hostage starts describing his soft voice.
A photograph of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
is fourth. Sherlock finds the corpse of a security guard there. A pair of bruises on the body are trademarks of "the Golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
", an assassin. The guard had realised that a recently discovered painting by Vermeer was a fake. An astronomy professor had talked to the victim about the painting, and is also targeted by the Golem. While Sherlock and John fail to save her life, they find a clue to prove the painting is a fake, saving the fourth victim. The museum curator tells Sherlock that the person ultimately in charge was known as Moriarty.
Investigating Mycroft's Andrew West case on his own, John is puzzled to hear that little blood was found on the tracks. Sherlock agrees that West was killed elsewhere, then dumped on the roof of a train. They confront West's prospective brother-in-law, who confesses that he stole the flash drive and accidentally killed West.
Sherlock waits for John to go out and then arranges to meet Moriarty. He is met instead by John, who appears to taunt him before revealing that he is another hostage, wearing an explosive vest and having his words dictated. Moriarty shows up and turns out to be Molly's boyfriend Jim. John grabs him, but lets go when a sniper aims at Sherlock. Moriarty leaves momentarily but soon returns, having multiple snipers target both Sherlock and John. Sherlock aims his handgun at Moriarty, but then changes his aim to the explosive vest, which he had thrown across the room. The episode ends on this cliffhanger.
Sources and allusions
- Holmes and Watson's discussion about astronomy and knowledge comes from A Study in ScarletA Study in ScarletA Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
. - The Andrew West case comes from The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington PlansThe Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans"The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow...
, in which the victim is called Arthur Cadogan West; the idea of the culprit being the brother of the victim's fiancee appears in The Naval Treaty. - The pink mobile phone receives messages with Greenwich PipsGreenwich Time SignalThe Greenwich Time Signal , popularly known as the pips, is a series of six short tones broadcast at one-second intervals by many BBC Radio stations to mark the precise start of each hour...
, with their numbers decreasing with each message, pointing towards The Five Orange PipsThe Five Orange Pips"The Five Orange Pips", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the fifth of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes....
. - The conversation between Holmes and Moriarty in the final scene mirrors and quotes the confrontation in Holmes' study in The Final Problem.
- The "thick Bohemian paper" comes from a A Scandal in BohemiaA Scandal in Bohemia"A Scandal in Bohemia" was the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories to be published in The Strand Magazine and the first Sherlock Holmes story illustrated by Sidney Paget....
. - Sherlock's statement "I'd be lost without my blogger" echoes his "I am lost without my Boswell" from A Scandal in BohemiaA Scandal in Bohemia"A Scandal in Bohemia" was the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories to be published in The Strand Magazine and the first Sherlock Holmes story illustrated by Sidney Paget....
.
Cast
- Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
– Benedict CumberbatchBenedict CumberbatchBenedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking ; William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace ; the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy ; Paul... - Dr. John WatsonJohn Watson (Sherlock Holmes)John H. Watson, M.D. , known as Dr. Watson, is a character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Watson is Sherlock Holmes's friend, assistant and sometime flatmate, and is the first person narrator of all but four stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon.-Name:Doctor Watson's first...
– Martin FreemanMartin FreemanMartin John C. Freeman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as John in Love Actually, Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and Mr. Madden... - DI LestradeInspector LestradeInspector G. Lestrade is a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle used the name of a friend from his days at the University of Edinburgh, a Saint Lucian medical student by the name of Joseph Alexandre Lestrade....
– Rupert GravesRupert GravesRupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as DI Lestrade in the critically acclaimed television series Sherlock.-Early life:... - Mycroft HolmesMycroft HolmesMycroft Holmes is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the elder brother of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.- Profile :...
– Mark GatissMark GatissMark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock.... - Golem – John LebarJohn LebarJohn Lebar is a British actor known for his giant stature. He stands at . His inside leg measurement is long.In 2007 he starred as a plague doctor in The Sick House....
- Jim MoriartyProfessor MoriartyProfessor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
– Andrew ScottAndrew Scott (actor)Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television, and stage actor. He received the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs production of A Girl in a Car with a Man and an IFTA award for the film Dead Bodies...
Production
According to the DVD commentary, The Great Game was the first episode of Sherlock to be produced after the BBC accepted the series. The final scene of the programme was shot in Bristol South Swimming Pool.Reception
Chris Tilly's IGN UKIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
review called Sherlock "brief-but-brilliant" and "The Great Game" specifically "gripping from start to finish". He gave the episode a 9.5 out of 10 which ranks as "Amazing".
He further noted about the appearance of Moriarty
Moriarty
The name Moriarty is an Anglicized version of the irish name Ó Muircheartaigh which orginated in County Kerry,Ireland. Ó Muircheartaigh can be translated to mean navigator or sea worthy, as the irish word muir means sea and cheart means correct...
, Sherlock's Nemesis, that "His long overdue appearance didn't disappoint either, the villain of the piece being unlike any incarnation of the character yet seen on screen."
He also praised the writing, saying that "Credit should go to writer Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
, his script the perfect combination of classic Conan Doyle storytelling with modern-day plot devices and humour, creating a sophisticated mystery that was the perfect marriage of old and new.", and the performances of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking ; William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace ; the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy ; Paul...
and Martin Freeman
Martin Freeman
Martin John C. Freeman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as John in Love Actually, Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and Mr. Madden...
.
He concluded with "All of which combined for a superb end to a dazzling series that was all-too-brief. The show's storming success with both critics and audiences alike however, should ensure further adventures for the dynamic duo, and following that nailbiting cliff-hanger finale, here's hoping they return sooner rather than later."
John Teti writing for The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
called the episode an "extraordinarily dense 90 minutes". He further singled out Andrew Scott for praise, writing that his "portrayal of Moriarty is a a thrilling departure from earlier incarnations of the man."
Sam Wollaston's review for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
stated, "Sherlock has been smart, exciting, and just the right level of confusing. I want more."