- Title: Sherlock – The Six Thatchers
- IMDb: link
The Fourth Series of Sherlock kicks off with an episode that spends equal times dealing with the possibly return of Moriarty (Andrew Scott) from beyond the grave, setting up a larger story of the season, and focusing on Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) getting back to business by solving a multitude of cases while keeping an eye of for one that might offer more of a challenge and lead back to his nemesis. The case settled on involves the strange destruction of several busts of Margaret Thatcher, without an apparent reason. However, Holmes does find a reason buried deep within one of those busts and a motive he traces back to Mary Watson (Amanda Abbington) and her past.
As a single episode “The Six Thatchers” works fine, but is certainly no stand-out. The episode is really only important for its effect on Holmes and Watson (Martin Freeman) over the remainder of the season, setting up the detective’s decline in the next episode, and teasing a new master villain to be fought in the series finale. Serving so many different masters, it might not be a surprise that as an individual episode “The Six Thatchers” is wanting, but it’s still an enjoyable episode of Sherlock with some harsh ramifications for all concerned.