I am still not reading this thread because I don't want to be spoiled for the remaining 2 episodes of the season.
Here is my review of Ep 1 of Season 3
SPOILERS******************SPOILERS*************SPOILERS***********I am ridiculously pleased with this season opener. They actually devote most of the episode to his return, instead of doing away with the cliffhanger in 30 seconds like they did Season 2 opener.
They show Sherlock being vindicated, they show Sherlock 'coming back' to his friends, show that he has, as a human, warmed up a bit, though still a bit cruel, they sprinkled throughout the episode versions of "how he did it" - some hysterically funny, others more serious.
Before the season started, I and my fellow fans discussed at length whether producer/creators Moffat and Gattis, fans of the original Sherlock, would follow canon about his reappearance. In the story, Sherlock springs himself on Watson out of disguise as a joke and causes him to faint. We thought, due to the trauma John experienced on Sherlock's demise, Sherlock would not joke with John on his reappearance.
We were wrong...sort of.
Sherlock does reappear to his only friend in a joking manner, but knowing how hard John took his 'death', he tempers it with sincere regret.
I didn't like the "John in danger" subplot in introducing the newest villain - as John has been in peril and needing rescue every season since the beginning - and Mary accompanying Sherlock on the rescue was unnecessary. I did like that Mary is not a young or particularly attractive woman.
And I didn't like how Moffat, doing his typical left-handed "tribute" to the fans and fanfiction puts in his little jab by portraying them all as unattractive weirdos. Moffat is really passive aggressive in his love/hate relationship with the fans.
The 'carriage' subway danger was a bit off-putting, but I think Moffat used that scene to show some fans that they did indeed "sentimentalize' Sherlock at their own risk.
There were many fans I discussed Sherlock with who really, truly believed that Sherlock's tears and grief in the suicide scene were sincere (I did not). I even asked them how they would feel if his tears turned out to be faked. I will be curious to see how they feel now, as Moffat has clearly demonstrated that Sherlock is really really good at faking grief, and his humor is sometimes cruel. To be fair, Moffat has shown Sherlock to be cruel to John fairly often, so I am not surprised, but other fans may be.
But other than that, the story is brimming with unexpected warmth, seeing Sherlock now aware that he does indeed enjoy some people in his life, his family dynamics with Mycroft AND unexpectedly with their parents, was a surprising treat. I'm looking forward to the rest of the episodes!
