The episode ends with Sherlock shooting Magnussen point-blank in front of the British government. Ultimately, however, its biggest crime was in having Sherlock solve the Magnussen problem not with his brain, but with a bullet. Like much of the rest of Sherlock Season 3, вЂњHis Last VowвЂќ had some good moments, but was weighed down by its larger-than-life plot twists. At some point in there, Magnussen pees in the Baker Street fireplace and licks JohnвЂ™s face. In addition to it all, Sherlock works to get Mary (and, by extension, John) out from under Charles MagnussenвЂ™s thumb. John is then forced to decide if he will forgive his pregnant wife for her deception (and, you know, for shooting his best friend). Mary shoots Sherlock, revealing herself to be a former assassin. It tried to do far too much, and therefore succeeded at very little. It was also a hot mess of an episode to cap a hot mess of a season. The Season 3 finale was filled with intrigue and action. вЂњThe Empty Hearse,вЂќ despite its other flaws, was an excellent example of this. If post-Season 2 Sherlock has done anything right, it is the slow, steady development of the Sherlock/Mycroft relationship. We are in The Darkest Timeline.Д®very episode of Sherlock has highlights and, for вЂњThe Empty Hearse,вЂќ they included: the introduction of Mary Morstan ( Amanda Abbington) SherlockвЂ™s hilarious, pun-filled return from the dead and Mycroft ( Mark Gatiss) and SherlockвЂ™s brotherly game of Operation. Unfortunately, we are not in that alternate universe. In an alternate universe, Sherlock was brave and doubled down on its character drama going into Season 3. More than anything, it was a missed opportunity. Sherlock took a dramatically-rich narrative twist and brushed right by it. It didnвЂ™t feel like JohnвЂ™s forgiveness was truly earned, or like we understood what SherlockвЂ™s time on the run (without John) was like. Inevitably, Sherlock manipulated John into forgiving him by making him think they were both going to die in a fiery explosion, which is not really how emotions work. вЂњThe Empty HearseвЂќ was the first episode of Sherlock that really failed at what it needed to do, marking an unfortunate downturn in quality (or, if youвЂ™re being generous, a shift in the kinds of stories this show is interested in telling). After a Season 2 cliffhanger that saw Sherlock fake his own death in front of John, breaking his best friendвЂ™s heart, this episode had one major job: to deal with the emotional fallout from that decision and SherlockвЂ™s inevitable return in a satisfying manner.

As we learned in the most recent episode of Sherlock, emotional context matters, which is why вЂњThe Empty HearseвЂќ was such a disappointment. Going into Season 3, Sherlock was riding a two-year hiatus wave of anticipation and expectation following the excellent Season 2 finale.

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