Sherlock/Recap/S02/E03 The Reichenbach Fall: Difference between revisions

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=== This episode provides examples of the following tropes: ===

* [[As You Know]]: Lampshaded and justified during Sherlock's confrontation with Moriarty after the trial, when they both know what Moriarty's up to but somebody needs to explain it for the audience.

{{quote| '''Moriarty:''' ''You'' understand.<br />

* [[Hollywood Hacking]]: Moriarty creates a computerized key that he uses to break into the Tower of London, the Bank of England, and Pentonville prison all at once. {{spoiler|Subverted when Moriarty reveals that the key was a fake and that he simply paid off the right people to help him.}}

* [[Homage Shot]]:

** The sequence where Moriarty enters 221 B Baker street and starts to sneak up the stairs while Sherlock's violin plays in the background. He steps on a squeaky step, the violin stops for a second and then starts again. Moriarty walks up the stairs knowing perfectly well that Sherlock is aware that Moriarty is coming. Taken directly from the Basil Rathbone film ''The Woman in Green'', the last film of that series to feature Moriarty.

** A clearly deranged man pops something in his mouth, plays classical music through his headphones and cracks his neck in preparation for committing a crime - Gary Oldman in [[Leon]], anyone?

* {{spoiler|[[Hope Spot]]: Sherlock's last-minute realization that Moriarty has a way to call off the assassins targeting John, Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade. His attempt to [[Take a Third Option]] is brutally cut off by Moriarty's [[Thanatos Gambit]].}}

* [[How We Got Here]]: Like the original story, this episode opens with John Watson telling us that Sherlock Holmes is dead, and then backtracks to show us how it all went down.

* [[Instant Sedation]]: Moriarty sprays something on the face of a guard in the Tower of London, and he goes down like a sack of potatoes in one second flat.

* [[Ironic Echo]]: "You repel me."

* [[Rooftop Confrontation]]:

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** Moriarty's attempt to steal the crown jewels, as well as his being acquitted at trial even though everyone knows he's guilty, are both plot points from ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' (with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce).

** Likewise, {{spoiler|the climax, in which Moriarty tries to talk Sherlock into jumping off a roof,}} seems to be based on a similar scene from the Basil Rathbone film ''The Woman in Green''. Moriarty climbing the stairs while Sherlock plays his violin is also directly from that film (see [[Homage Shot]]).

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: Sgt. Donovan.

** ''{{spoiler|Mycroft Holmes.}}''

* [[Wham! Episode]]

* [[Wham! Line]]: John ''opens'' the episode with one.

{{quote| '''John''': My best friend, Sherlock Holmes, is dead.}}

** The implication is that {{spoiler|Moriarty somehow made himself look like Sherlock when he abducted the kids}} but exactly what he did isn't mentioned.

* [[Wicked Cultured]]: Moriarty.

* [[Wild Mass Guessing]]: The internet exploded with theories on how {{spoiler|Sherlock survived}}