Previously on Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia.

“They were the footprints of a gigantic hound.”

It’s all in the phrasing, darlings. That single thing, the choice of the archaic term ‘hound’ is what puts Sherlock on the scent. I know, nice choice of words.

This adaptation of one of the most acclaimed Sherlock Holmes stories is much further away from the original than any of the previous ones have been, simply because ghost stories just aren’t as avant-garde anymore as they once were, and because this is a modernization of the stuff, so naturally some of the patina had to go. In this day and age, genetic experimentation in a secret army base named Baskerville makes for more exciting stuff than someone savaging a dog for the purpose of getting a hold on the family fortune. A simple adaptation can be done by anyone—but taking the piece and making it contemporary while retaining all the elements of horror, now, that is the challenge. Mark Gatiss, the resident master of horror, knows how to do it.

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Previously on Sherlock: The Great Game.

Now, if this isn’t the perfect way to start 2012, I don’t know what is.

What with this episode being so elaborate, so twisty-turny and beautiful, I hardly know where to start. This is amazingly done television, and A Scandal in Belgravia has set out to prove—and has succeeded—that waiting 18 months for Series 2 has been monumentally worth it. There is so much brains, so much joy, so much sheer love for Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation and for this world of characters that Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have created that just shines through every bit on screen. The script, which is incredibly tight, incredibly dense and, as per, wonderfully witty, absolutely bloody hilarious, and emotionally demanding; and that has been put on screen by Paul McGuigan, and filled with life by a stunning central cast of Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Mark Gatiss, Una Stubbs, Louise Brealey, and Rupert Graves, and in this episode the powerful guest appearance of Lara Pulver with such enormous effort, skill, and heart. It’s these people that make the programme, and I think Sherlock will go down in history as one of the finest adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and one, if not the best drama production of a long, long time. It spells devotion, and I don’t think anyone could help themselves and not be drawn to that, not be drawn into this world, and not come to love these characters and the stories that they tell. There is murder at the gallop—murder by boomerang, to be precise!—but it is only decoration, as are the twists and the turns and the charade. Decoration to a power play that shall remain unrivalled for many, many generations.

Spoilers under the cut.

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