Sherlock Review: Series 2 Episode 2 "The Hounds of Baskerville"

By: Mark Gatiss

**Spoilers**

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

                  Is it any wonder that Mark Gatiss was chosen as the writer to tackle this famous story, what with his self-professed love of all things horror and gothic? The Hound of the Baskervilles is probably the most famous of the Sherlock Holmes stories...and it is, to date, the one that has been adapted the most. Going into this episode I was both excited and nervous...and not just because of the monstrous hound. I was excited because everything Sherlock had done to the stories thus far had been wonderful (even the minor misstep that was The Blind Banker) and I couldn't wait to see the way they would take on this, the most iconic and well-known story of them all. But I was also nervous for those very same reasons because taking this particular story out of its original setting and 'messing' with it as Gatiss and Moffat are wont to do could go one of two ways. It could either be spectacular and live up to the wonderful promise of the rest of the show or it could bomb and fail so, so hard. So which course did it take?

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- I wasn't quite convinced by the pre-credits sequence of this episode, probably because that doe-eyed pooch just looked too kind and cuddly to frighten anyone...even a traumatised eight-year-old.

- The sequence directly after the credits generally leaves me in a shaking mess of giggles by the end of it. Everything is perfect - from the bobble-head dogs to the bloodstained harpoon (and detective) and John Watson's reaction to it all, the comedic timing, music, and visuals are absolutely hilarious.

- I would pay money to see that Cluedo game!

- Along those lines, if you look closely at the sitting room of 221B you can see the Cluedo board pinned to the wall with a knife.

- Little Kirsty's note to Sherlock is absolutely adorable; very pert and determined. 

- Sherlock is going through withdrawal and boredom BAD! We're not certain exactly what he's detoxing from (it could be anything from a 7% slip-up to having fallen off the nicotine patch bandwagon due to Mycroft's Christmas present) but the fact that he is pointing a harpoon at and lashing out at Mrs. Hudson tells us that he is desperate and miserable.

- Also, Sherlock's attempts at 'covert secondhand smoking' are absolutely HILARIOUS, as is John's valiant efforts to pretend it isn't happening (not to mention the nonplussed expression on Henry Knight's face). 

- "Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic Hound!" Some things just can't be left out - and a line like that is one of them. Congratulations to Mr. Gatiss for including these things like the footprints, the fog, and the poster that looks like the cover of the original edition of ACD's novel...

- Who didn't love Captain John Watson pulling rank to get them a full-tour of the government facility that is even more secretive than Porton Down? 

- Even whenever the alarm goes off (and he thinks that he's going to be arrested just because his flatmate wanted to investigate a rabbit) he keeps his cool and tries to bluff their way out of it. 

- The Hounds of Baskerville is probably the story to cling the closest to the original canon - even moreso than A Study in Pink - and I really think that was wise, simply because it is such an icon. That being said, I love the way they've updated the fear of ghosts and the supernatural, transforming it instead to our paranoia about government conspiracy and genetic experimentation/mutation. That was a brilliant move and one that served the story very well.

- Interactions between Henry Knight and the sleuthing duo are always fun to watch. He is nervous and clearly suffering from psychological issues, but is eager to please and help. John is trying hard to be reassuring and efficient, while Sherlock is just having the time of his life on this case and doesn't bother to even make an attempt at hiding his glee.

- That is, until he sees the Hound himself. What we get then is the great Sherlock Holmes experiencing a full-own nervous breakdown complicated by a panic attack.

- Little wonder, really, when you consider that all Sherlock really has is his mind. We know, from past evidences, that his self-esteem is pretty much non-existent, for all that he is an arrogant sod. He deduced with one glance at Molly Hooper's Christmas attire that she had a new boy 'friend' and was hoping to impress this man with a gift, but couldn't possibly conceive that the gift might be for him until he actually read the tag. He doesn't think much of himself, not really, and the reactions of those around him to his clumsy social skills only cement that 'conclusion' in his mind. There's clear evidence, so of course it must be true. That is why he is so honestly bewildered whenever John's reaction to his first deduction is admiration rather than anger. So if Sherlock knows that everyone hates him and that he has virtually nothing, of course he would cling to the one thing that makes him special: his mind. He is a genius whose only form of self-defence is attack and who finds his identity in his intellect. Naturally the thought that he might be losing that razor-sharp grip on reality is deeply terrifying.

- John's reaction, though understandable and justified, doesn't help matters any. Sherlock is frightened that he is losing his mind - and John replies in a tone that probably seemed patronising to his friend that Sherlock is just getting 'a little worked up'. Let me tell you - little is more frustrating when you are in distress than pity and patronisation (i.e. being told what you already know). Is it any wonder then that Sherlock snaps back and launches into what may be the most impressive and lengthy deduction in the entire series?

- Mark Gatiss says that when he wrote that monstrous monologue he actually penned in an apology to Benedict Cumberbatch in the script margin.

- Remember the line that made us all flinch? The moment where Sherlock snarls at John that he doesn't have any friends? There's a perfectly logical explanation for that one too. Jumping ahead in the story for a moment, remember what the gas in the fog does? It takes your greatest fears and amplifies or twists them in your mind. Now consider what Sherlock is probably afraid of...well there's the fear of losing his mind, naturally, but I would hazard a guess that losing John as his friend would be pretty high up there too. At this point Sherlock is doubting his logic, his judgement, and his very mind. Probably he is also doubting as to whether or not his perception of John's affection for him was as off as what he had thought about Molly. Remember that at this point in the series, John has never actually verbally referred to Sherlock as a 'friend' in anything less than a sarcastic comment...therefore it is actually not that illogical to assume that Sherlock would begin to fear that maybe their friendship is one-sided (he refers to John as his friend all the time, but John has actually corrected him on occasion) and we can infer from that that, in a way, Sherlock is just waiting for the shoe to drop and for John to get disgusted and move out. That in and of itself makes some of his behavior a bit more understandable; he's testing John to see how far he can push before he risks losing his friend. He probably doesn't understand what friendship is all about (just look at his relationship with his brother) and thinks he has to bribe John to keep him happy and living at 221B. 

- "Sherlock Holmes's PA...well, live-in PA" That was uncalled for, Dr. Franklin!

- Sherlock's clumsy attempts to apologize to John always get a smile out of me. Especially when you realize that, as he's complimenting the doctor, he's using words that John has said to him. Either he considers that the highest form of praise or we can literally say that John Watson is teaching him how to be civil!

- Love the inclusion of Lestrade. But I'm a fan of his, so I'm always happy to see our DI. Is it wrong that I snigger at the fact that Sherlock Holmes doesn't know Greg's first name? As one YouTuber put it: That was the moment when Sherlock began to wonder if Mrs. Hudson's first name isn't really 'Mrs.'!

- Oh, can't you just IMAGINE how that conversation must have gone?!?

- Also, don't you find it epic and a bit creepy that Mycroft Holmes is such a bigwig that he can call up Baskerville (the place that doesn't even get inspected by the government) and say "You know the two civilians who broke in here the other day? Yeah - it's my little brother and his best friend/partner in crime and you're going to let them back in to poke about and experiment. In fact, you're going to vacate the place while they do it. Thank you, goodbye."

- John is far braver than I would be if I was locked in a room with a gigantic, blood-thirsty Hound!

- Love the way Sherlock asks John if he is all right and if he can walk...sort of like a reminder that this event might have triggered John's PTSD. Also, Doctor Stapleton loaning these two weirdos her lab and fussing over John's 'peaky' appearance is rather heart-warming. Helps us to reconcile the 'mother' with the 'scientist'.

- Okay, okay. So maybe the manner in which Sherlock figures out the Major's password is a bit unrealistic (not to mention the fact that it is highly unlikely that such a high-security password would contain no capital or number requirements) but the sequence where he unlocks the information and it scrolls across the screen and his face is still pretty cool looking.

- I have to say that I love the progression of Henry's character. He is not a wimp, and he is not milk-toasty. Something terrible happened in his childhood and it is haunting him even now...exacerbated and worsened by the H.O.U.N.D. drug. This drug drove its original test subjects to madness and homicide, and it even makes Henry - while in a hallucination - shoot at his therapist, Louise. But Henry is such a good man that, when he realizes what he's done, he draws the (completely wrong) conclusion that it would be better to end himself before he hurt someone. This was clearly a result of the drug emphasising his depression and fear...but the fact that he aimed the gun at himself rather than other people speaks words about his character. He would rather die than kill someone innocent.

- I just realised - John is probably the toughest person on this show. Aside from Henry (who has been tortured into being suicidal) John is the member of the investigative trio who has been dosed with the highest concentration of H.O.U.N.D. - between the lab and the hollow. And yet he is the one to keep his head even when Sherlock and Lestrade are starting to freak out.

- Sherlock, in particular, has a lovely character moment where he sees Moriarty in the fog and is more terrified than when he first saw the dog and thought he was losing it.

 - As soon as Doctor Franklin opened his big mouth I knew he was the villain so there wasn't much of a surprise there. 

- Sherlock gets John a cup of (non-drugged) coffee the next morning and confesses about how while John was running about the lab in a panic, Sherlock was sitting high and dry in the security station (feet propped up and everything) running the sound effects for an experiment as to what effect the drug could have on an 'average' mind. John should be flattered...he's been upgraded from a common idiot to someone of average intellect. Coming from Sherlock Holmes, that's practically like being handed a Nobel Prize for Sheer Intelligence.

- The final scene, with Moriarty being released from governmental custody (presumably the 'attention' Mycroft promised him in the end of the last episode), is creepier than anything else in this story...and that's including the fog, the hound, and Franklin's disgustingly wide grin.

                  The Hound of the Baskervilles was not quite as intriguing and rewatchable as A Scandal in Belgravia, but it is as about perfect an update of ACD's iconic novel as I think we're ever going to get. It was dark and full of atmosphere...not to mention a couple of jump-scares that still take me by surprise. I give this episode an 4/5 and steel myself for The Reichenbach Fall!

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