Sherlock Review: Series 1 Episode 2 “The Blind Banker”

By: Stephen Thompson

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

          Will “Trilbee” Carlisle of MrTARDISreviews has an extremely astute review of this episode, one that I highly recommend that you check out. In that review he talked about the pitfalls and clichés that cop-dramas so often fall into. He then made the observation that this second episode of Sherlock sadly falls into many of those clichés, a statement that I find myself having to agree with the more I think about it. Don’t get me wrong, The Blind Banker is still an excellent episode (and certainly better than a lot of things on television these days) but it is definitely the weak point of Series 1.  


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- So, The Blind Banker begins in a museum as a pretty young woman demonstrates a tea ceremony for the visitors, explaining how the tea actually burnishes the clay pots and keeps them from cracking. 

- Later, as the girl is finishing her work in a strangely empty building (maybe she was just working late) she hears a noise and heads out to investigate. It’s just like Rose Tyler in the basement. Why do they go and look? Why do they always look? Haven’t they ever heard that when you go and look bad things happen? Here is no exception to that rule as the episode gives us our first example of a cliché: her terrified stare at something unseen and then a direct cut to the credits...

- We then do not learn anything more about the nightmare at the museum, but we are treated to the sight of John shopping (no doubt as a part of his ongoing quest to make his flatmate eat properly). The ‘two battles’ are definitely one of the highlights of this episode and serve to contrast the two friends’ characters quite well. Sherlock is back at 221B having an epic battle with a masked swordsman while John is at the store doing battle with a piece of non-sentient machinery.

- Dr. Watson, I feel your pain. I HATE those self-checkout machines! I guess that is what makes this scene so hilarious and empathetically frustrating for me, because I’ve been there and it is humiliating! An interesting fact, though, is that people who have PTSD often find that their frustration at contrary inanimate objects is somewhat less easy to bear and it is nice to see that the writers haven't completely forgotten about John's problems. It may be played for laughs here, but the issue is genuine. 

- In direct contrast to John’s rather unorthodox approach to his battle (shouting abuse at a machine) Sherlock sure has style in the way he dispatches his opponent. It’s just a swift punch and then the man is out cold while Sherlock double-checks his appearance and straightens his suit. I do wonder what he did with the unconscious man once his jacket was suitably brushed off (stuffed the body in a taxi, probably). His bemusement at John’s row with the chip n’ pin machine is comical; as is the way he hides the confiscated sword like a naughty little boy.

- And now we know why Sherlock never could keep a flatmate before…he has no concept of personal space or possessions – not to mention manners. When John finally returns to the flat (having conquered his foe at last and got the groceries) he not only has to take care of the bags himself, but he finds his flatmate cheerily surfing the email with his computer. Apparently Sherlock couldn’t be bothered to go to his own bedroom (less than twenty steps away) and retrieve his laptop. This takes the whole ‘what’s mine is yours’ principle to the extreme, not that John looks pleased at this development.

- Poor John barely gets a chance to sit down after his harrowing morning before Sherlock is up and out, heading for the bank. I love the glimpse this episode gives us of how Sherlock notices everything even when he’s not officially on the case. As they enter the bank he is analysing the different floors and signs and the way the doors open and the people around him. NO wonder he needs ‘the work’ to help him focus his mind!

- Sebastian, Sherlock’s new client and an old university peer, is smarmy and oily and just gives off unpleasant vibes with that incredibly fake and wide smile. I don’t entirely blame John for correcting that he is Sherlock’s colleague, not friend, given the look Sebastian was giving both of them. 

- The smarmy banker also gives us an interesting insight into Sherlock’s youth. “Put the wind up our backs, we all hated him.” 

- The vibe between Sherlock and John is so much more comfortable than the one between Sherlock and Sebastian, despite the fact that Sebastian has known the detective much longer. And John, believe it or not, is not just looking out for himself when he accepts the check from the smug banker, nor is it just a plot device to get something with Sherlock’s name on it into John’s possession. If you noticed, he was looking through overdue bills earlier that day and clearly is the one who takes care of the mundane things Sherlock can’t be bothered with (like buying milk or paying the phone bill). Also one thing you won't want to miss is the Whack-a-Mole: Sherlock Edition as the great sleuth tries to determine who can see the mysterious graffiti on the bank office wall and from where would they see it. For such a dignified man, he’s certainly not afraid to look foolish while on the game. Talk about tunnel vision!

- So they decide to go and investigate a trader’s flat, except he’s not at home. So Sherlock puts on a fine display of being cute and sheepish as he figures out a way to get into the flat without getting arrested. 

- Sherlock looks a bit too familiar with breaking in places. Poor John got left outside, though, in an action that seems to miff him. I would have loved to see his reaction when the police came screaming up and Sherlock was still in the flat (because Sherlock did phone Lestrade). But given some of his comments later in the series, one gets the feeling that being arrested might not be so unusual for the duo.

- So after proving that Van Coon (the trader) was murdered through a stunningly brilliant deduction scene, Sherlock and John depart to find Sebastian and make a report. They find him in a lunch meeting telling an outrageous story that I would pay money to hear the rest of. (Seriously – some guy Sebastian knows was trying to cut his hair with a fork!) It is here that the smarmy banker manages to redeem himself just a bit. He’s still a jerk, but at this point he’s just a rather spoilt young man who never fully grew up and has millions of dollars and a private jet to play with. The twinge of sadness he shows over Van Coon’s death helps to redeem him quite a bit, even if he later wimps out and tells Sherlock to mind his own business. Hey, at least he had a bit of heart!

- Come the next scene, with an abrupt change of mood, romance enters the picture. Or more specifically, John Watson goes for a job interview at a local clinic. A clinic run by the pretty, charming Sarah, no less. She is a great character and I wish she would stick around for Series 2. She is smart and practical and has great (awkwardly cute) chemistry with the good doctor. John tells her in the interview that:“Mundane is good.” It’s sad when the doctor’s office is saner than your home life!

- Sherlock also seems to take great pleasure teasing John about his little slip-of-the-tongue when the latter returns to the flat full of news about the new girl…er…job. The dynamic between them is just great, particularly considering how much of a jerk Sherlock is to everyone else. Part of the fun of this show, beyond the witty writing and intriguing mystery, is the friendship between Watson and Holmes. True he might confiscate John’s computer and call him across London just to send a text, but Sherlock does care about Watson in his own way (even if he won’t admit it).

- Poor Dimmock is also being bullied by Sherlock again, even though they’re in the heart of Scotland Yard itself. No wonder Lestrade warns the other DI’s to try and not punch the Consulting Detective. But at any rate, Sherlock is given access to the journalist/cliché’s flat and snoops around a bit making cryptic statements and causing Dimmock to invoke the name of Spiderman. But I’m not worried about that. What I would like to know is how Sherlock zoomed in on that library book so fast, let alone how he saw the due date stamp considering how it was laying on the steps. The man must have eyes like a hawk! 

- And why would this mysterious assassin go to all the trouble of spray painting the library shelf? I mean, it makes for an interesting and mildly creepy reveal and a wonderful deduction/recap sequence courtesy of Sherlock and John, but it just seems a bit impractical.

- John is quite gleeful that Sherlock has to admit he doesn’t know everything and is quite surprised that his ‘expert’ is a graffiti artist and a rather cynical one at that. Poor John gets stuck holding the bags – and then his flatmate isn’t even listening as he rants about the ASBO. Hmm…I wonder if Sherlock pulled a few strings to let him off later. (Calling in a favour from Mycroft, maybe)

- John also finds some symbols painted at a rather odd place: alongside the tracks. Because they are painted over when he comes back, one must beg the question of who was there to see them besides John? I mean - it was night and quite dark and in a rather isolated area.

- Sherlock seems to agree and proceeds to spin John around frantically, trying to boost John's 'mediocre' visual memory (mediocre meaning that it's not Sherlock's). John, in great frustration, finally breaks away from his eccentric flatmate's grip to reveal that he got a picture of the cipher on his phone. This is wonderful because it shows how Sherlock, for all his brilliance, sometimes can't see the forest for the trees. He needs John, both for moral support and for a slightly more practical point of view.

- Later John once again gets the chance to one-up Sherlock, although it is Sherlock’s own fault since he let John have the diary and restricted himself to receipts and scrapped tickets (I’m still amazed at how he managed to piece together Van Coon’s movements from just those little pieces). Nonetheless, John gets to stretch his ‘not a sidekick’ muscles a bit more here as he directs Sherlock to a small shop which is apparently the drop-off point for the smuggling ring Van Coon and the dead journalist/cliché were a part of. 

- Those Lucky Cat statues bother me. They did the first time I saw them and they still do now. If Moffat is ever looking for a new Doctor Who monster, he might just consider a plastic, waving kitty.

- Finally someone who doesn’t assume that Sherlock & John are a couple! It must be so refreshing when that little old lady in the shop tells John that his wife would probably like one of those accursed kitty cats. And John gets to prove once again that he’s not a sidekick but a partner when he spots the symbol from the cipher. Lucky that he picked up that cup, eh?

- There is also a creepy lady with a camera across the street. If I were John I’d invest in some sunglasses and maybe a lawyer, especially considering the fact that she was lurking around 221B too. 

- Sherlock’s baritone is nicely recovered from near-strangling by the time they get to the museum and he is his usual cold, analytical self. 

- Poor Soo Lin! I’d scream too if Sherlock loomed up out of the shadows like that. She is our next cop-drama cliché: the young witness, the only one who can solve the mystery (the ciphers John photographed at the tracks), gets to give out half of the information before being bumped off. I take umbrage here with John because while Sherlock is upstairs being shot at (and loudly demanding that the gunman respect the centuries old skulls) the army doctor leaves the girl (the one being targeted) alone to go and look for his buddy. Bad move, doctor.

- But we’ll never know about Soo Lin's true loyalties because her brother murders her in cold blood, leaving an origami black lotus in her limp hand. This death in particular seems to get to John (perhaps because he left her alone) and he starts aiding Sherlock in grilling Dimmock. When Dimmock asks for proof, Sherlock makes a beeline for the canteen at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital to find one Molly Hooper.

- In the last episode, Molly was shown to have a bit of a crush on the enigmatic detective. A crush that he clearly did not reciprocate nor even seem to notice, nonetheless. Well, this episode makes it very clear that Sherlock not only knows about Molly’s feelings, but that he exploits them to get borderline illegal access to the morgue occupants. As soon as she denies him access to Van Coon’s body (the paperwork had already gone through) he makes an abrupt change of topic and comments on her new hairstyle, making it look as though he honestly just noticed. Molly looks a bit suspicious, probably knowing only too well how out-of-character this is for Sherlock, but about the time he says he likes the new style and gives her a small smile, she melts like butter and promises him the cadavers. His ‘Mr. Nice-Guy Act’ is just that, though, for as soon as Molly turns her back his smile immediately drops and he looks rather self-satisfied. It’s rather pitiful to watch, actually, given that she is blushing and smiling to herself that he finally noticed something positive and we all know that he’s just manipulating her all the way.

- Even as he stalks around the morgue with Dimmock, basically bullying the detective into conceding the point, Molly still has a smile like she feels she and Sherlock are working together. Of course Sherlock quickly ignores her once he puts in his rather unusual request to a sheepish Dimmock. I would love to see the explanation Dimmock gave his superiors for hand-delivering every book from the banker and the journalist’s flats to that smug consulting detective. It must have been galling to go to all that trouble and then be dismissed like an annoying toddler.

- Book code isn’t particularly reliable. I mean, supposing you use Great Expectations and my issue is printed in a different year than yours? Oops! Still, it does make for a cracking good mystery and some humour as, after a long, fruitless night of book-searching, John ends up falling asleep in his office at the clinic. Somehow he still manages to snag Sarah for a date…I’m still trying to figure out how he did it (though I suspect it has something to do with that adorable smile).

- John's date with Sarah gave us Sherlock fending off another swordsman with a can of spray paint. That was interesting.

- Quick note, did anyone besides me notice the sheet of Elvish Runes among the other stuff on Sherlock’s desk? Clearly he did an in-depth analysis of all possible languages while steadying the cipher. 

- While John is scouting out the kitchen, Sarah is winding Sherlock up as the latter tries to continue deciphering the code. He is clearly annoyed with her innocent, friendly questions and Sarah takes him to task for it. Then, to add insult to injury, she is the one to spot that Soo Lin started the translation for him.

-  Some people have complained about Sarah noticing that when the great consulting detective didn’t. I say that a fresh eye is always best. Sometimes just never seeing a picture before will help you to notice little things that experts who spend hours staring at it have become desensitised to. In true Sherlock fashion, once Sarah has made the revelation, the detective grabs his coat, scarf, and the paper and rushes out into the street while his two companions drink punch and order food in (deciding to eat off of trays rather than risk Sherlock’s most recent chemistry disaster).

- Sherlock, while out having a good walk-and-mumble to get the brain waves flowing, notices that several people around him are carrying a London A-Z. While I still don't really think this could possibly be accurate (despite the fact that within the context of this plot it is true) he deduces that the book everyone must own is the London A-Z, and so begins to finish deciphering the code Soo Lin began. Meanwhile, back at the flat, John answer the door for the delivery man and recieves a friendly gunbutt across the face.

- It’s really quite a beautiful moment when Sherlock comes bounding back into the flat, all exuberant over solving the puzzle only to stop dead in horror when he finds John gone and a new cipher painted on his windows. Personally, despite my getting caught up in the tense emotion of the scene, I can’t help but wonder what happened to Mrs. Hudson. I don’t imagine that Sarah would have gone down without a fight (John wasn’t given much of a choice) and Mrs. Hudson surely would have heard fighting or yelling. Hmmm.

- The next time we see John it is as he groggily wakes up to find himself face to face with General Shan, who seems to have the grossly mistaken idea that he is Sherlock Holmes and that he knows where the missing treasure the Black Lotus have been looking for is. We are then treated to a fine scene where the oversized crossbow from the circus makes reappearance, this time menacing a bound Sarah unless ‘Sherlock’ tells where the missing jade pin is. Of course, John hasn’t the foggiest notion and all looks rather black until the man himself comes to the rescue in typical flourishing style (even if his heroic rescue of the damsel in distress is rather interrupted by yet another session of strangling). The day is saved, however, by John who struggles his way over to the crossbow and manages to kick it enough to the side that it misses Sarah, killing Soo Lin's brother instead. General Shan escapes, Sherlock straightens his scarf, and John promises Sarah that the next date wouldn't be this bad.

        

            The Blind Banker does indeeds suffer from second-episode-blues, not to mention many clichés that, were it less wittily written, would ruin the entire experience. As it is, while not as brilliant as its predecessor, it is still an excellent piece of television. I rate it as a 3/5 and still enjoy watching it to this day.   

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?