Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall

This episode is based on "The Final Problem", where Sherlock Holmes fakes his death. Although it involves a clash with Jim Moriarty (who is decidedly not a Professor in the TV version), the similarities almost end there. In the short story, Sherlock has ruined Moriarty, and Moriarty stalks him. Watson gets a fake note to help out a hotel guest who is dying, and Moriarty takes the opportunity to fight Sherlock, alone. They apparently both fall to their death over a cliff.

On the television episode, Moriarty has decidedly gotten the better of Holmes (or so it appears, for the vast part of the episode) He has set it up so that it appears Holmes is a complete fake. Then, when Holmes arranges a meeting on the roof of a hospital, he tells Holmes he must jump off the building, or his closest friends (Watson, his landlady, and Lestrade) will be assasinated. Holmes figures out that there is a way out, a way to force Moriarty to call off the assasins. But rather than leave Holmes that possibilty, Moriarty shoots himself.

Earlier, Holmes approached his lab assistant (who has an obvious crush on him), and tells her that she DOES matter, and he's always trusted her, and he needs her help. We do not know with what.

After Holmes jumps (we think), we see his grave, with John mourning, and he is revealed to be alive, watching his grave site. I am looking forward to next season, where I am sure the details of his faked suicide will be revealed. I wonder if the lab assistant met him on the roof, and was able to convert Moriarty's body into a passable Holmes, which was then thrown from the roof. We do see Holmes' face when the hospital attendants turn over the body.

At the gravesite, Watson requests, "Please Holmes, one last favor. Please this should not be true. You are not dead." or something along those lines. This scene, and the scene where Holmes acknowledges his assistant's worth, are both very touching.