The Abominable Bride story
Sherlock, under the influence of drugs, enters his mind palace to solve a case from Victorian times about a bride shooting herself in the head and rising from the grave to kill her husband. If he can solve the murder it might lead him to how Moriarty has risen from the grave after similarly shooting himself in the head. He solves the case, and concludes that Moriarty is indeed dead, but "is back". A Victorian-themed episode, the title of which is based on the quote ("Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife") from "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual", which refers to a case mentioned by Sherlock Holmes. The episode also alludes to "The Five Orange Pips" and mentions "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", both from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
17 total · 4 major · 13 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| attitude of superiority | major | Sherlock Holmes had a massive ego and condescended people, left, right and center. |
| life in Victorian Britain | major | Much of the story is set in 1985 London. |
| private investigator occupation | major | We saw Sherlock Holmes and Watson doing what they do best. |
| the desire for vengeance | major | A secret group of women's rights activists go to elaborate lengths to murder men who wronged them. |
| brother and brother | minor | Sherlock and Mycroft were taking jabs at one another. Mycroft asks Watson to look after Sherlock, hoping Sherlock will not use drugs again. |
| Christmas traditions | minor | We saw some quaint Victorian Christmas traditions. |
| coping with post-traumatic stress | minor | Watson had a flashback to his time in the Second Afghan War. |
| drug abuse | minor | Sherlock's illicit drug use had become a source of much concern to his friends and family. |
| feminism | minor | Sherlock and Watson stumble on a secret society of women's rights activists. |
| gluttony | minor | A morbidly obese Mycroft was deliberately eating himself to an early grave. |