Greatcoat flapping in the breeze, feet placed squarely on the very edge of the rooftop, it certainly looked as though Sherlock had been outsmarted by Moriarty as last night’s final Sherlock instalment came to a close. Phone discarded, the consulting detective stepped off the building and began his plummet to earth – arms outstretched, legs cycling furiously as the pavement came up to meet him. Moments later, we saw him lying in a pretty terminal-looking pool of blood.
So the only place you’d have expected to see Sherlock again, was in a graveyard. That is unmoving, below the earth – rather than watching mourners pay their respect from behind a tree. He even had John and Mrs Hudson fooled.
Question is: how? I’m pretty sure the cyclist knocking John over played a crucial part in proceedings – allowing enough of a delay for something to happen that John would otherwise have spotted. And then there’s Molly of course. Sherlock needed her help. But for what?
Your theories please. Let me know how you think Sherlock managed to fool Moriarty’s assassins and – more tricky – John, Mrs Hudson and even (perhaps?) Mycroft.
11 Responses to Sherlock: How did he fake his own death? – 16/1/12
He drugged Watson and never jumped at all Adam! What we saw was only what Watson saw under the influence of a drug given to him by the man on the bike, created by Molly and Sherlock in the lab, boom!
By adam, On January 16, 2012 at 11:52 am
The finale of the series was apsolutely fantastic and so gripping that i was nearly falling off my chair; i also was nearly ‘taken in’ with Sherlock’s death and had he of died i think i might have too! xx
Personally i feel that Molly has had a part in this, as she seemed to be the only one who would of helped him ‘fake’ his death and also Watson’s concussion had an impact too – we saw it only from Watson’s perspective including his bump on the head, so during those few seconds Sherlock could have done anything!?
Either Sherlock did something once he had jumped (although i am not sure how that would be possible), or before hand. xx
He either used a drug or created an ‘illusion’ effect. xx
I shall be pondering over this for the next day or so i feel…!
By adam, On January 16, 2012 at 8:21 pm
I know it sounds daft but i remeber a open backed van parked that looked like it had laundry bags in it. Is it possible that he jumpped in to the van and then using the cyclist as a distraction he could then create the scene of him in a bad way? i think molly does have a role too not sure what though. i still have a million questions like if it was all planned how did he know he would have to jump or something? It’s so mind blowing!!! xx
By adam, On January 18, 2012 at 12:07 am
Molly works in the morgue… I think that could make her assistance pretty useful to someone wanting to fake his own death (added, of course, the seemingly simple conclusion that he finally got some respect for her after she looked through him – he didn’t ask for her help directly, he asked for HER).
How Sherlock survived is another matter. He might have had some technique to survive a fall like that (would we be surprised? I wouldn’t.) Fooling Watson can’t have been the main probleim, either; I would be more concerned with fooling the medical personnel in the hospital. The solution is maybe, as you have been suggesting, some kind of drug?
A far more interesting question is: Did he actually foresee that he would have have to jump from the roof? Because the entire discussion abouth “HOW he did it” depends upon “HOW he knew he would have to do it”; because that limits his chances for preparation.
By adam, On January 19, 2012 at 7:31 am
Here’s my theory: that open-backed van seen pulling away after the jump, was actually a rubbish collecting van. Molly managed to put some body from morgue in there, dressed as Sherlock, with hair and all. Somehow, Sherlock managed to jump into the van (that was filled with soft stuffed bags). The real Sherlock chucked the fake Sherlock body out onto the street and was then driven away from the scene. The dizzy and pained Watson wasn’t able to tell that it wasn’t the actual Sherlock. The body was taken back to the morgue after being pronounced dead, where Molly obviously identified it as the real Sherlock. She was in on the secret, but would do anything for the brilliant detective she loves. Sherlock has returned to being anonymous. The only slight hole in my argument is that a jump from that height, even into a softly padded van, could be very painful.
By adam, On January 20, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I think Sherlock is actually part flying fish,so he floated down with a bit of Moriati’s blood on his face and held his breath for a while. The fishy smell would also help people think that he is dead. It all sounded a bit fishy to begin with anyway.
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By adam, On January 20, 2012 at 11:45 pm
I think that sherlock realised he was going to die just after his confratation with kitty. he then went to molly and asked for her help. first he got hold of the drug used in The Hounds of Baskerville and arranged to have watson drugged. then he went to meet moriaty. we saw the whole thing from watsons perspective and if he was drugged he’d see what he feared, which was sherlock jumping. what acctualy happened was while sherlock was making his suicide call, molly came up and put moriaty’s body in sherlocks clothes. they then both threw moriaty over the edge. the biker was supposed to knock watson over so that the nurses from the hospital would be the first ones there. they would get moriatys body carried to the morge, where molly (after rushing down from the top) would anounce that the body was sherlocks and cover up evidence of the bullet wound. i think he then lays low at mollys until it blows over and then hunts down the hitmen so he can reveal himself to watson without fearing that their going to be shot.
By adam, On January 23, 2012 at 8:24 pm
He jumped into a open back truck full of bags that was parked by the roadside, he rolled onto the pavement and then the van drove away, before John (knocked over) could see.
By adam, On January 25, 2012 at 9:02 pm
Sherlock put his jacket and scarf on moriatey then threw him off the building but beforehand when he asked Molly for help he asked her to do the posemortin and say it was Sherlock. The final part is the biker Sherlock told the biker to run into Watson on purpose I think that the biker is a friend of Sherlocks.
By adam, On January 25, 2012 at 10:19 pm
molly hooper workes in a morgue so she has access to dead bodies so she could have eaisily got random male corpse and disguised him as sherlock for him to chuck off the building instead of himself.he also noticed that john had been floored by a bike , creating the perfect oppertunity to fling the corpse to the ground.Also , the body reaching high speeds hurtuling towards the ground would have made the limbs flail around.molly was in on this too , as she Identified that the body was sherlocks to the police , even though she knew he did not even fall off the building.
By adam, On January 27, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Hello? Drug created in the lab? What about H.O.U.N.D? He just made John think that he jumped. Nobody else saw him jump, only the leftovers. John would have been incredibly suggestible…
By adam, On January 28, 2012 at 10:45 am