The Empty Hearse

Gets a little too cutesy and self-referential at times, but still highly enjoyable.

"The Empty Hearse" is the resolution to the cliffhanger in "The Reichenbach Fall," except only the most gullible of people would have bought into the cliffhanger, and only the most braindead of people wouldn't demand something a little more creative here. I expected a bang, but this was just the dull thud of a corpse hitting the ground.

Excellent.

I am slowly becoming more and more disillusioned with this series. The first season was really solid and I loved it, the second season had some disappointments (minus the Hound of the Baskervilles story), but was still good overall. This first installment of season 3, however, kind of crossed the line between being self-aware of its fanbase to self-parody which I found to be incredibly annoying and boring. Not only that, but the mystery was incredibly dull and overshadowed by events last season.

The mystery is a bit underwhelming, but otherwise reasonably fun Sherlock episode.

Spends too much time addressing the season 2 cliffhanger, but it's great to have these character back. The direction and visual style is incredible as always, but the main plot in this one is minimal.

In a three episode season it seems weird to use almost a whole episode to re-establish the characters. It really wasn't needed, but despite being mostly a filler episode it is still awesome TV.

Personally, I really enjoyed the recap and all the fan service. After watching the second episode, however, this one almost feels like a bit of a waste. I won't knock it too much though, everyone in the show is awesome.

As far as living up to its own standards goes, The Empty Hearse is definitely the worst of the entire series. And by worst I still mean pretty good.

It's nice to have the show back, but this episode makes it clear that it's running out of steam. The fan theories were laughable in both a good and a bad way, but they didn't annoy me as much as the manufactured crisis of the train bomb (which was also oddly and specifically reminiscent of V for Vendetta).

Uck, stahp with the incessant how-did-he-fake-his-death scenes!

what a riot. this episode was such good fun to watch. i laughed all the way through. they really couldn't have handled the twist in a better way, given the amount of fan expectations and build-up in the past two years. i have to admit, i WAS slightly disappointed for not getting a straight answer, but they really couldn't have came up with something definitive without disappointing someone, so the cheeky, hilarious nod to fans was the most intelligent way to handle it and i commend them for it.

Oh man, this is getting embarrassing. This series started so brilliantly and now they come up with this. There is no need to introduce the characters again. Hopefully the next episode is the usual quality again.

While the on-the-nose nature of 'The Empty Hearse's' comedy is initially charming, the episode's uninteresting mystery and incessant insistence on parading its irreverence towards both the previous episode and the audience's investment quickly grows tiresome, and only serves as an indicator that perhaps Sherlock shouldn't have returned at all.

An interesting return for Sherlock. The interactions between the characters was great (especially Sherlock and Mycroft). The actually case was a little lackluster and it seemed off in terms of look and feel of previous episodes. It's good, but the fact that we only get 3 episodes makes it more disappointing.

why do they not like mustaches : { (

So-so effort for this series. As others have pointed out there probably wasn't need to re-introduce the characters.

They are back! I really missed this show. On first viewing, I loved it. But on second viewing, I enjoyed it. I expected more from the script. I loved the actors who made a special cameo, but I didn't like the way their characters were written, sadly.

A big mess in terms of structure and tone at this point. I have no idea how seriously it wants to be taken. I can get into a fun lightweight modern Sherlock but with its self-referential style and wildly inconsistent dramatic elements this just dismantles any point it tries to achieve as entertainment for me. The key performances still make it watchable somehow.

Okay but not great ended up leaving me unsatisfied.

Toward the end of the Sherlock run, we started missing the mark, and stepping further away from the source material or any meaningful adaptation of it. I can't hate on it too much as I still think Cumberbatch and Freeman make the best Holmes and Watson duo, but I was frustrated by the direction the series started taking.

Quite dull, doesn't really have that particular 'magic' anymore. Hopefully Sherlock will redeem itself.

Mostly just reintroduction. Not an overwhelmingly compelling mystery. P.S. Other than being somewhat longer than usual TV episodes, why the hell are there TV episodes on Criticker?

Muito feliz por Sherlock ter voltado, mas esse episódio não está entre os melhores, embora alguns momentos sejam bacanérrimos, especialmente aqueles que lidam com a volta dele, Cumberbatch e Freeman formam mesmo uma grande dupla.

Besr explosion of the Houses of Parliament ever.

I'm not convinced with this (non-)solution.

The opening for Series Three can feel like it doesn't really have a three act structure like the rest of the episodes. Even then, it's still wonderfully written and uses the totally unique editing style of the show to add some brilliant comedy and wordplay. In the end, the Empty Hearse is a more than appropriate start. Even if it could be considered the low point of the season.

Plays mostly as a re-introduction, but it's nice to be back and there's plenty of fun to be had.

The first half was pretty good but the second half isn't anything to write home about. Still, it's pretty good.