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hot-on-my-watch · 3 months ago

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Reading Sherlock Scripts- The Final Problem

As always, here's a video from Erik Voss at New Rockstars for a bit of a refresh and detail spotting from the episode if desired:

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What follows will be notes in a few minor differences between the script published on the BBC's website and the finished episode, a few bits of stage direction etc. that I personally enjoyed, and interesting things that I didn't spot before.

I will say that in terms of line changes, I DO realise that scenes need to be shortened, technicsl stuff doesn't always work, and even the best actors get lines slightly wrong - like that one guy that was supposedly amazing as Hamlet but kept mispronouncing "penguin"... so when John says the buffalo gun was from the 40s and the script said 50s... I don't care which is right. I'm not going to google buffalo guns. I'm just writing about bits that amuse me!

Firstly: Mycroft's cheesy noir detective film. I'm not sure I had cottoned on to all the lines about the man "keeping a close watch" on the woman, as Mycroft likes to do, not least on his siblings. Then she refers to "putting (herself) in the hands of the authorities" as Eurus has ostensibly done since TLD.

We then get a few extra lines of dialogue:

Obviously 'Persephone' refers to the Ancient Greek myth of a goddess abducted to the underworld who then becomes its queen, with the use of Greek mythogolgy tying into Sherlock's fake suicide operation 'LAZARUS'. And, "a parade of all the cliches" would have lampshaded the trope-filled nature of the scene.

On to Baker Street! In the script, Mycroft calls himself "an era-defining genius", but in the episode he has been downgraded to "remarkable" and the former label is given to Eurus, who remains "beyond Newton." Poor Myc.

The published script also has Mycroft saying "we played pirates" and describes "an overgrown pirate ship climbing frame", neglecting to mention the "funny gravestones" at this point. Probably Mycroft was too bored and serious to make a show of playing pirates at thirteen.

Something then that I hadn't previously noticed: in the shot of the three children in the kitchen the table is set for four; Redbeard has only just gone missing. In the script, Mrs Holmes can be heard asking where he is.

There's also the stage direction that Mycroft is eating "A LOT", and a description of a following shot of Eurus being interviewed by a policeman following.

Something else I hadn't even slightly noticed - I'd blame the ME/CFS but probably wrongly- the song that Mrs Hudson is vacuuming to. Obviously Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast (which I have seen live) is a fantastically amusing choice genre-wise, but it also cuts off at "hell and fire about to be released."

I'm also compelled to comment at this point on the insanely ridiculous layout of 221 Baker Street and that although I enjoy the transition through the carpet of the living room, that's meant to be where Speedy's is, no?

Anyway, we get these delightful notes for one of the most improbable escapes in television history:

Hahaha, the shipping forecast. We weren't all born Radio 4 listeners, Moftiss! But I love it.

So we go to Sherrinford. Here John has an extra line about seeking work in it as a hospital, to which The Governor replies "it's not a hospital".

Again, I often fail to notice things: this time that the voice radioing for help was John's (even though nothing else would make sense) and that the recorded announcements e.g. "doors opening" are ALL Moriarty. And they planned to have "smiley face insignia" on the doors, and later a "frowney face" on the screens when the alarm goes off- I see why they abandoned that! My favourite bit here is that last sentence about Mycroft:

Mycroft then says in the script that Eurus has been capable of influencing people since she was seven, which has since been changed to five, now fitting with when she would have been institutionalised. In the broastcast episode Eurus gets extra lines now about The Governer's wife: "She smiles at you when you come home...smiling is advertising... I can help you with your wife...I'll fix her and give her back to you." In the published script it is not clear that she has any interest in The Governer's wife at this point.

Rather than being initially compliant to the men with guns and then making his daring escape, the script has John absolutely throwing down. he "lunges" at The Governer in an attempt to stop him from pressing the alarm, and when the orderlies arrive: "Mayhem. Mycroft is already restrained, but John is fighting like a madman. Slams one orderly against the wall, punches another across the room-" Wow.

And then: Moriarty! What a joy! There are a couple of notable changes from final script to episode here. Firstly, the bodyguard on his left has been promoted from "very uncaring in the afterglow" to merely "less caring." And then there's Jim's extra line between "insane criminality" and his question about cannibals:

There's a whole insect metaphor that goes on once our boys are locked in Eurus' cell:

In the Garridebs scene, Eurus gets a few more lines on her view of morality: "

I regret to say that in the script, the phonecall between Sherlock and Molly is even more heartbreaking! Why? How?! Because right before he asks her to tell him that she loves him, she says "for once don't make fun of me." Brutal! My heart!

Continuing notes on the script. The fake cell outside Musgrave has a window with a view possibly involving some kind of visual trickery that I don't understand. The aerial view we get of the London is hauntingly described as "the bomber's view." And to the news that John is in a well Sherlock replies "ding dong dell" which google tells me is a nursery rhyme suitably about a cat having been put in a well by one child and saved by another.

We then get to some of the omitted dialouge that sent me down this script-reading rabbit hole: Sherlock's admission regarding Mycroft.

I also enjoy the insult Sherlock gives Mycroft later in the scene: "he always lies, he's a corkscrew in human form", to which John replies "this time he's been protecting you. *beat* They're not dog's bones." Victor actually gets some lines in the flashback here too "Come on Captain Yellowbeard! We can take the ship and all her treasure! Quick! Quick!" Poor little Victor!

A couple more missing lines here. At the moment of realisation, Sherlock gives us another Greek reference, this time to Homer's The Odyssey: "'And Odysseus replied... Nemo'- latin for no one." Bloody private school kids and their latin ;-) I've written a pretty basic post on the tombstone cipher, but there are far more detailed analyses on here! Then, on speaking to Eurus in her room script Sherlock states the obvious, calling her ritual "a cry for help".

When we get into the closing scenes, we have another moment for the history books: Sherlock calls Lestrade by his actual first name unprompted! Here the script reads "A beat as Lestrade goes- Sherlock has always known his name. He heads away..." But what does this mean? Does Lestrade just think that Sherlock has known his name the entire bloody time, or has he actually? I'm big on the Death of the Author stuff and psychoanalytical readings, and in this case I choose to headcanon that Sherlock really did not know and only memorised "Greg" in The Six Thatchers. I'm open to being convinced otherwise though.

I've written a whole rant on the part where Mrs Holmes says that Sherlock was "always the grown-up" and no one disagrees.

In the script, we also get Eurus acting as violin teacher to Sherlock once again:

I have mixed feelings on Mary's "who you really are, it doesn't matter" speech and was horrified when I first heard it, but the script's shorter version is significantly worse. In the script, she doesn't say "A junky who solves crimes to get high and a doctor who never came home from the war." or "It's all about the legend. The stories. The adventures." She does say "what matters is who everbody else thinks you are. Knows you are." I'm glad they rewrote this!

Also, while the choice of "Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson" mirrors Arthur Conan Doyle's canon and Mycroft's lines at the close of A Study in Pink, it is a bit weird that Mary not only puts her beloved husband second, but also omits his first name. Oh well, they did they thing.

Meanwhile, the montage of the restoration of 221B and life going on. I wouldn't have realised that John is holding the letter on the msntelpiece for Sherlock to stab it, had I not read that bit of script posted by another Tumblr user! Thankyou whoever you were!

A couple of slight differences from the script here. Firstly, the episode has Lestrade and Molly visiting separately, but in the script they come together. One has to wonder why- were they at any point supposed to have been intended as a couple, and it was decided against, given that them arriving together for a professional matter seems unrealistic? Would Molly waiting outside seem like she hadn't recovered from The Phonecall? Did they just want to show her a bit more? Would it have ruined the fun circling camera thing they're doing here? I know, I'm definitely overthinking this!

Personally I really enjoy Cumberbatch's face as he directs Rosie back to johh with an expression we've pretty much never seen from Sherlock! And the fact that where he's pointing at "Daddy" is clearly where the baby's actual father was standing, not Freeman. But it works!

Secondly, Eurus and Sherlock's furious violin jam was intended to turn into: the Sherlock adventure theme! Fun! But, for whatever reason, this seems in the episode to be played by deeper sounding instruments over the top instead.

Finally, the cheesiest of the cheesey. The script ends with these words appearing on screen: The Beginning. That was cool when my friend did it in his children's novel, sure, but I'm not sure it would've worked here. Or would it?

Anyway, if you've made it this far, many many thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my extremely minor contribution to the rich BBC Sherlock fandom! Either way, I very much welcome comments and discussion. "Obviously."

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