Sherlock - Season 3 (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Creators: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat
	Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit 1-3), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit 1-3, Fargo TV-series), Una Stubbs
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: January 2015, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Sherlock (Crumberbatch) is back, but London has changed since he left, in particular Watson (Freeman) learned to live his life without him.
Review: Another excellent season for the series, with better stories than in season two, and a visual/sound identity finally well-defined. The duel with Moriarty was not the end, and the famous detective has in this season to face challenges which are not of the same nature as the ones he is the most familiar with. In The Empty Hearse he has to face his few friends and realize that their feelings were strongly affected when he was gone. The terrorist threat in this episode, although massive (and reminding a lot of V for Vandetta), serves only as background for the reunion between Sherlock and Watson. The Sign of Three is maybe the most original episode in this series to date. The challenge of being best man at Watson's wedding is for Sherlock more insurmountable that most of the mysteries he solved in his life. His speech is used to display he talents in the course of some short investigations that would not have deserved a full episode. And ultimately, the detective will end up on known grounds. Finally in His Last Vow we are introduced the terrible foe Charles Augustus Magnussen that I think to remember from the novels. In parallel, some revelations lead to major changes in the lives of the detective duo. Unfortunately I found the ending too predictable and long to arrive, with the clear message that Sherlock finally acknowledges Watson as his best friend. I enjoyed watching the three seasons of Sherlock back-to-back, especially since there are so few episodes, it feels like watching movies. It has some defects and limitations (due to the TV format) but after nine episodes I still think like I did during the first 10 minutes: it is an excellent and clever adaptation of the novels to modern times. Now I am maybe longing for more classic investigations in the fourth season.
Rating: 7 /10