Theorising before the facts about His Last Vow

[marysutherland]

Since there have been lots of suggestions about what might happen in the last episode of Sherlock tomorrow, here are mine, based on nothing more than a brief re-reading of "Charles Augustus Milverton", rather too much time on Tumblr in the last few days seeing other people's theories, and then mixing them up together in my head to produce shiny new patterns.

In ACD's Sign of Four, when Dr Watson is rhapsodizing about Mary Morstan, Holmes scolds him for his biased judgement, and says:

"I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor. "

Meanwhile, at the end of "Charles Augustus Milverton", Milverton being shot by a woman whom he has ruined after a failed blackmail attempt (a killing which takes place while Holmes and Watson have broken into his house to try and help another of Milverton's victims). The unnamed woman is a widow, whose husband has died of grief after hearing about his wife's past.

Several people have pointed out that one of the things Sherlock sees when looking at Mary is the word "liar". We also know that she's an orphan. My wild guess therefore is that Mary is a repentant and reformed criminal, who was in some way culpable for the death of her parents. Sherlock, who can consider a garrotter to be the best man he knows, wouldn't have a problem with that if he found out, and I suspect John would be prepared to forgive her past in practice.

But Mary isn't necessarily going to realise quite what unusual moral standards the two men have, and if it leaked to the papers that John Watson was married to a criminal it'd make a devastating scandal. Mary also strikes me as a woman with enough nerve to kill someone if she was desperate enough, and she's also potentially got access to John's gun. So I think a possible plot is that Mary kills Milverton while Sherlock and John are trying to retrieve blackmail material on someone else and that they then have to help her escape, possibly taking the blame themselves.  (This being Sherlock, there will probably be another three twists in the last five minutes, but it might be one of the plot points).

What I don't believe, meanwhile, is that Mycroft is going to get killed, as some of my friends are worrying. One, because Stephen Moffat is notoriously averse to killing off any of the heroes, as Doctor Who fans have been known to complain. And secondly, because Mark Gatiss is obviously enjoying playing Mycroft and presumably gets a say in the matter.
 

Comments

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I don't think we can be certain that Mary Morstan is an orphan (because she's a Liar so nothing she says can be relied on), only that she didn't invite any family to the wedding. The taunt in CAM's telegram - "Wish your family could have seen this" - probably indicates that they're dead, but could be an implied threat that, if they're still alive and she's hiding from them, he has the power to tell them where she is.

Another interesting word that Sherlock saw while looking at Mary is "disillusioned"; I seem to remember that there were a few of those, so I don't think they were all attached to "Lib Dem".

I'd be disappointed if Mary thinks John couldn't cope with a dodgy past (and flabbergasted if she thinks Sherlock couldn't). But possibly, if combined with the fact that she lied about it. I'll be sorry if she goes because, so far, she's been a brilliant addition to the cast, but there's no point my worrying about it. For those of us who have avoided the spoilers apparently all over the place, she's Schrödinger's Morstan.

Moffat frequently kills his heroes; it's just that, in a show that depends on regeneration, he's usually got some means of restoring them to life. But I think regenerating Mycroft would be a twist too far, and I can't think of any good reason to kill him (though I'm sure Sherlock could offer at least thirteen).

[grassle.livejournal.com]

I really like "Mary kills Milverton while Sherlock and John are trying to retrieve blackmail material on someone else and that they then have to help her escape, possibly taking the blame themselves" but I don't think that would be 'allowed' of a pregnant woman and I don't even think Saint Mary as handed to us in ep 2 will turn out to be that 'dubious' / interesting in her own right! (A bit like IA.)

My feeling was that her father was the crook, as in FOUR, and she's wimpily disowned him, calling herself an orphan? Is her family the Waters gang (that setup must have been for something)? I agree that could make her blackmail material, using her relationship to her father / family so that "every story about Sherlock and John includes the reference "John Watson, husband of the notorious Mary Morstan."

Love the 'real answer will probably be completely different, very ingenious and yet somehow vaguely unsatisfying. But that's BBC Sherlock for you.' Yep, the all-new, singing and dancing - literally - S3 Sherlock.

Thanks for this post!

[magnetic-pole.livejournal.com]

Here via a link somewhere--one of the SH newsletters?--looking for discussion on LJ or DW, so I don't have to go to Tumblr. I'm impressed at how closely your description matched the scenario in the last episode. Wish more of Sherlock's deductions were like this, actually. :) M.