Contains spoilers for series 2 of Sherlock.

Everyone loves Sherlock, right? Of course they do. Let’s relieve our shaky Sherlock withdrawal symptoms with some idle speculation about those thrilling final scenes in The Reichenbach Fall. It’ll be fun!*

*Disclaimer: Fun not guaranteed.

Shoddy synopsis
Sherlock’s shiny-haired nemesis, Jim Moriarty, carries out a series of bonkers crimes (Lovely box of Mercury Street? Pass me a purple one!) designed for Sherlock to solve quickly, prompting the police to suspect Sherlock himself of being a master criminal. Meanwhile, Jim’s been undercover as an undercover actor (stay with me), selling his ‘story’ to a tabloid reporter who can’t wait to out Sherlock as a massive fraud. Crikey! Sherlock gets arrested on suspicion of, um, everything, then poor Watson gets arrested for assaulting an officer, then they both run away and it’s terribly exciting.

Anyway, stuff happens and Sherlock and Moriarty end up on the roof of St Bart’s hospital. Moriarty says that he wants Sherlock to be seen throwing himself off the building. And if he doesn’t, Watson (no!), Mrs Hudson (eep!), and Lestrade (…whatever) will be killed by masked gunmen. Sherlock foolishly points out that he could force Moriarty to call off the gunmen, at which point Moriarty takes the surprising step of shooting himself in the head. Fair play.

The only way out is down! Watson arrives at the scene just in time to receive a phoned-in suicide note from Sherlock then watch him throw himself off the roof. Woe and suffering abounds.

Later, Mrs Hudson and Watson visit Sherlock’s grave and relate their deep sorrow/thoughts on fridge hygiene. But wait, who’s that watching them? It is Sherlock! Who is totally alive!

What an awesomepants episode. Do watch it now if you haven’t already. Done? Good.

Cake or death? Or bin lorry?
Did Sherlock really fake his own death? If so, how? Let’s look at the evidence:

Exhibit A: Molly fakes
This one seems straightforward; prior to his rooftop deathfest showdown, Sherlock asked lovely morgue technician Molly to help him out. So it seems likely that either she provided a Sherlookalike corpse for identification and burial purposes, or she faked a death certificate for him. Nice work, Molly.


A stunning breakout performance from Molly’s cherry-motif cardigan. Bravo!

Exhibit B: The doppelgänger effect
Or was there a living Sherlock double in play? The kidnapped girl recognised his hunky chiselled face immediately. Hmm.

OMG cheekbones squee!!!1!!

Exhibit C: Mind over (brain) matter
Sherlock insisted that Watson stand in a particular spot to witness his suicide. A spot where, usefully, he couldn’t actually see Sherlock hit the ground.

Stand where I tell you, Watson! Now dance. Dance, I say!

Also, when Watson ran towards the scene of the brainsplatter, a bike ran him over, rendering him woozy and confused. Dude can’t catch a break.

Think once, think twice, think possible concussion.

Exhibit D: Bin lorry of doom
If you’re going to jump off a roof, survive and flee the scene quickly, then leaping into an open-topped bin lorry is surely the way to do it. This little lorry was parked right next to the body, pulling away seconds later.

A bin lorry that’s just visited a hospital: only marginally more welcoming than solid pavement.

Exhibit E: Helping hands
Wow, those paramedics certainly got there quickly! And look at all those people ‘helpfully’ keeping Dr Watson away. Perhaps the body is an alive-Sherlock, splattered with gore by his faithful homeless pals. They don’t seem keen on Watson taking Sherlock’s pulse.

What’s so funny, Smiley McSmilersons?!


Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock. Smooshed detective.

Exhibit F: What the papers say
My initial feeling was that Sherlock had chucked Moriarty over the edge, dressed in his clothes. We clearly saw Sherlock’s face on the ground, though, so it doesn’t feel plausible. But! You’d think the papers would splash with Sherlock AND Moriarty dead? Old Jim doesn’t get a look in.

I shall not…clown.

That’s all I’ve got. What do you think? Feel free to share your theories in the comments below! Sherlock-related theories, I mean. I’m not really interested in crop circles or Paul McCartney.