“Sherlock” is back; he is also still alive, which was all but expected to happen after last season’s cliffhanger of its lead character seemingly falling to his demise. 

The main character of the show is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, played by the now established Hollywood actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch’s first claim to fame was first this show, but his most recent role was in the latest “Star Trek” movie. 

The show has been off the air for two years due to the Hollywood success of both stars and because of this lengthy lull, expectations are very high and fans are expecting the pay out to be rewarding. 

Fortunately the viewers are soon to find their hero has been working deep undercover and two years have passed since the events of last season.

Holmes is called out of his mission, and is sent to his prior home of 221B Baker St. and into the realm of the living to solve a 21st century kind of train robbery. 

Quickly after his return, and rather emotionally, Sherlock is reunited with his friend and partner-in-crime-solving Dr. John Watson, played by the star of “The Hobbit” films, Martin Freeman. 

In the first episode we are introduced to a new cast member and love interest for John Watson, a recurring theme for all of the episodes. 

The first episode lacks a strong sense of what makes up a classic “Sherlock” episode in terms of cases, mystery and clever solutions. 

Instead, the episode focuses on the further development of Watson and Sherlock’s relationships and how a recent love interest and two year gap in their lives affected them, and how some things never change. 

The most interesting case of the episode involved Sherlock perfectly faking his own death. The show introduces a fan club that tries to solve the case, which leads to a variety of scenarios throughout the show. 

Having now seen every episode of “Sherlock” (consisting of three seasons and nine episodes), I was incredibly entertained by the first and last episodes but was uninvolved and disinterested in the middle episodes in the first two seasons. Thankfully something changed this year and all three episodes are equally worth watching. 

The second episode acts as a continuation of the overall season, challenging our two lead character’s friendship and how the addition of Watson’s new love interest, Mary, interferes with the dynamic of these two characters. 

This episode is a compilation of a few cases told in a story which of course all cleverly link together allowing Sherlock to piece clues back together using new information learned in the present. 

It’s very fun episode, which includes a delightful scene when the Sherlock and Watson try to solve a case while incredibly intoxicated. 

The final episode is the reason Sherlock is so appealing and bold. This episode definitely follows suit as the strongest of the series, essentially they are the emotional build up of two feature length films leading into an anything-is-possible battle. 

They are usually poised against an enemy even more impossibly evil and clever than the last. This episode was outstanding, the villain is incredibly well played and a true match for Sherlock. 

In fact, the last 10 minutes leave the audience on a cliffhanger even more interesting and powerful than anything seen on the show in the past three seasons. 

This season finale is a reminder of what “Sherlock” is, both as a show and a character; a sporadic, entertaining, and engaging entity, for which it is nearly impossible to predict what they will do next.