Blog Post #2 - Sherlock Analysis

Sherlock Holmes is a young, immodest, and delightfully witty detective accompanied by his new partner Watson who, while shares Sherlock’s intelligence and wit, is quite the opposite in character.

This paradigmatic relationship gives Sherlock character balance and opens the window for the character’s relationship to develop. In episode one, Watson is introduced and appears to be a very straightforward, black or white character. His military background gives him the aura of a man who obeys orders and who does not deviate from what is expected of him. While Sherlock’s character is very unclear; his attention to detail is unmatched and his appearance is clean cut and attractive. However, his apartment is a wreck, and his social life is completely absent. In one scene, Sherlock and Watson are eating at a diner. Sherlock is facing the window, on edge of his surroundings and constantly looking for clues. Watson faces the interior of the restaurant, giving the impression that he is confident in his defensive skills and is not paranoid by what Sherlock may be looking for.

The main objective of this episode is that people are dying by the hand of a poisonous pill and the assisted murderer is unclear. In the end the murderer threatens Sherlock with a gun, which turns out to merely be a lighter. This faux gun is a metaphor for the murderers insecurity, he is brave enough to hold people at gunpoint but he could never kill someone point black. Also why he offers his victims a choice – that way when they choose incorrectly it’s not his fault and he doesn’t have to feel guilty about their death.

While intertextuality is not at the forefront of this episode, many elements of Sherlock are similar to other mystery shows like Monk, which lead the audience along a string of clues and make them feel as if they solved the mystery right along with the main detective.

From climatic music that builds excitement that the mystery is about to be solved to deliberate lighting techniques that created an added element of suspense, Sherlock brilliantly masters many elements of analysis that can be accredited to its success and popularity.