Just thought I’d put this on the record…
So we’ve all watched the brilliant TV series “Sherlock” starring future Oscar winner Benedict Cumberbatch? And we’re all scratching our heads trying to work out how he survived the fall right? Because I was talking to someone at work about it and offered my theory on how he survived and this someone liked my theory enough to say he would claim it as his own. So I’m putting said theory on the record.
Firstly, I think there is agreement that Molly the coroner faked a death certificate for him (which I’m pretty sure is a career-ending move for a coroner but this is TV and perhaps Sherlock’s next trick will be to somehow save Molly’s career). But that doesn’t explain how he survived falling from the building. The producers have said that all the theories proffered so far have missed something really obvious (and well done to the producers in keeping everyone guessing - no mean feat in this era of social media and instant information). All the theories so far involve a cyclist who knocks Watson over at a crucial point, or a truck parked on the street which impedes Watson's view. But I think these are red herrings.
One thing I did notice even in the first viewing is that Sherlock is alive when they wheel him into the hospital, (I’m deducing this from the fact that they hadn’t put a sheet over his head). So he survived the fall. How he survived it is not what happened during or afterwards but what Sherlock did before he got to the roof.
My theory is that it his surviving the fall wasn’t the result of any sleight-of-hand on Sherlock’s part. I think he figured out how things would play out with Moriarty (Andrew Scott - probably another future Oscar winner) and knew it could only end with his "suicide", so with ice-cold efficiency took the steps necessary to survive falling from a building. Ironically, that Sherlock was ten steps ahead would have made Moriarty happy and meant he didn't need to shoot himself. Then again, he was completely mad.
But first, some background: you may be surprised to find out that some people have survived failed parachute falls. What happens is that when they realise the parachute isn’t going to open and then the reserve parachute has failed as well, some people react by passing out from the fright. When this happens their bodies relax completely making it more likely they’ll survive the landing (albeit with many broken bones). So I think Sherlock got Molly to get him some sedation or muscle-relaxants (again, endangering her career - the things people do for love, hey?) and work out exactly how much he would need to be entirely relaxed by the time he was ready to jump.
The other reason I think this is that at the end, Sherlock sheds a tear. Now if he has planned to survive the fall, and a show of any emotion is completely out of character for him, and there was no one around to witness the tears, what was with the crying? Unless he was under the influence of a drug which in the course of relaxing him physically, also meant he got a bit emotional.
The other theory is that he didn’t think he was going to survive the fall and it was indeed the end and he was genuinely tearing up.
Of course, any time I offer a theory to a cliff-hanger or mystery I’m usually wrong...
The other mystery of this series, a mystery so huge even Holmes himself would be stumped, is how in the world did such a brilliant TV show end up on Channel 9?
Firstly, I think there is agreement that Molly the coroner faked a death certificate for him (which I’m pretty sure is a career-ending move for a coroner but this is TV and perhaps Sherlock’s next trick will be to somehow save Molly’s career). But that doesn’t explain how he survived falling from the building. The producers have said that all the theories proffered so far have missed something really obvious (and well done to the producers in keeping everyone guessing - no mean feat in this era of social media and instant information). All the theories so far involve a cyclist who knocks Watson over at a crucial point, or a truck parked on the street which impedes Watson's view. But I think these are red herrings.
One thing I did notice even in the first viewing is that Sherlock is alive when they wheel him into the hospital, (I’m deducing this from the fact that they hadn’t put a sheet over his head). So he survived the fall. How he survived it is not what happened during or afterwards but what Sherlock did before he got to the roof.
My theory is that it his surviving the fall wasn’t the result of any sleight-of-hand on Sherlock’s part. I think he figured out how things would play out with Moriarty (Andrew Scott - probably another future Oscar winner) and knew it could only end with his "suicide", so with ice-cold efficiency took the steps necessary to survive falling from a building. Ironically, that Sherlock was ten steps ahead would have made Moriarty happy and meant he didn't need to shoot himself. Then again, he was completely mad.
But first, some background: you may be surprised to find out that some people have survived failed parachute falls. What happens is that when they realise the parachute isn’t going to open and then the reserve parachute has failed as well, some people react by passing out from the fright. When this happens their bodies relax completely making it more likely they’ll survive the landing (albeit with many broken bones). So I think Sherlock got Molly to get him some sedation or muscle-relaxants (again, endangering her career - the things people do for love, hey?) and work out exactly how much he would need to be entirely relaxed by the time he was ready to jump.
The other reason I think this is that at the end, Sherlock sheds a tear. Now if he has planned to survive the fall, and a show of any emotion is completely out of character for him, and there was no one around to witness the tears, what was with the crying? Unless he was under the influence of a drug which in the course of relaxing him physically, also meant he got a bit emotional.
The other theory is that he didn’t think he was going to survive the fall and it was indeed the end and he was genuinely tearing up.
Of course, any time I offer a theory to a cliff-hanger or mystery I’m usually wrong...
The other mystery of this series, a mystery so huge even Holmes himself would be stumped, is how in the world did such a brilliant TV show end up on Channel 9?
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