Crime TV Heroes: Where ‘Sherlock’ season 4 could take Benedict Cumberbatch’s title role
“Sherlock” season 4 is in production, and for everyone out there waiting so patiently, this is a cause of great rejoicing. We’re going to see more of this story soon — though by “soon,” we really mean probably early next year, though nothing has been confirmed. Compared to the two-year wait for “The Abominable Bride,” almost anything would feel soon by comparison.
So where could we see our title character go now that he has battled some of his Moriarty demons? Can he be the leading man this show needs, and the crime-solver the city of London always hopes to have? We want to address these questions further in the latest chapter of our Crime TV Heroes, where we attempt to get inside the heads of some of our favorite heroes of the genre.
Why he is a hero – First things first, he fulfills the objective of stopping bad people out to do bad things. It’s a simplistic viewpoint, but the character is by definition a good guy. He may be obsessive and in part it’s because of his own inherent need for the challenge and understanding, but his actions are a means to an end that are satisfying for all parties. That’s worthy of some acknowledgement. We also think that in his heart, Holmes can be caring for those around him, like we have seen with John. His lack of understanding regarding social cues sometimes gets in the way, but you root for him because of his capability, and because of how badly he wants to be relinquished of the demons that haunt him.
What can he learn? – In terms of pure knowledge, there are few beyond maybe Mycroft that know or understand more about the world. Sherlock will probably always have that contentious relationship with his brother, so we’d be willing to wager there is nothing more to learn there that will benefit him. Somehow, he needs to learn a way to find peace. Maybe it’s just not possible for him; maybe a part of us doesn’t want it to be possible for him, since that would mean that a fundamental building block for the show is gone. In the wake of “The Abominable Bride,” though, he may at least need to learn a new way to further function beyond what he was capable of there.
What we’d like to see – We almost want to see an episode framed more in part around what happens with Sherlock when there is not an epic case to resolve, and how he deals with biding some of that time. To us, it feels like that is when his personality would struggle to adapt more than anything else. In our ideal roadmap for a season, we’d like to see this then coupled with one of the most epic and high-stakes cases he has ever worked on, and a villain to potentially rival Moriarty on many levels both in terms of social prowess and intelligence.
(Of course, really what we’d just like to see is more “Sherlock” than we have — but beggars cannot be choosers, given Benedict Cumberbatch’s schedule and all.)
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