#martin freeman icons

[grqnticons]

please like if you use.

#icons #martin freeman #martin freeman icons

[filmgoop]

sherlock & john matching icons 🔎🎻🪦

like if you save

#icons #no psd icons #sherlock holmes icons #bbc sherlock icons #sherlock icons #johnlock icons #john watson icons #matching icons #martin freeman icons #benedict cumberbatch icons

[mondlevan]

scream (2022) headers

“♡” or reblog if you save/use — follow me.

twt: @szamofada

#scream #scream movie #scream 5 #tara carpenter #jenna ortega #amber freeman #mikey madison #richie kirsch #jack quaid #wes hicks #dylan minnette #mindy meeks-martin #sidney prescott #neve campbell #dewey riley #headers #layouts #icons #horror #halloween #without psd #cinematography

[hawkcanary]

Jenna Ortega (Miller's Girl) icons

• Please like or reblog if you use/save ♡

• (c) hawkanary on twitter

#jenna ortega #jenna ortega icons #miller's girl #miller's girl icons #martin freeman #wednesday addams #wednesday addam icons #wandinha #scream #scream icons #jenna ortega edit

[slashericons]

#scream #scream icons #scream 2022 #scream 2022 icons #dylan minnette #dylan minnette icons #wes hicks #wes hicks icons #mikey madison #mikey madison icons #amber freeman #amber freeman icons #mason gooding #mason gooding icons #chad meeks martin #chad meeks martin icons #jasmin savoy brown #jasmin savoy brown icons #mindy meeks martin #mindy meeks martin icons #horror icons #slasher icons #movie icons #icons without psd #twitter icons #screencaps #sonia ammar #sonia ammar icons #liv mckenzie #liv mckenzie icons

[jawnasaurus1]

Mycroft’s romance film in TFP.

I don’t usually rewatch BBC Sherlocks’ The Final Problem… nor season 4 for that matter, but recently I revisited the awkward season and when it came to the early scenes in the finale episode, I couldn’t help but laugh over the fact that Mycroft’s romantic film he watches ends up being corrupted… which is already pretty telling on a ground level analysis, especially considering Mycroft is played by Mark Gatiss, the literal writer.

Naturally, I investigated further into the film that is used in an attempt to see if the plot line possibly matches/ mirrors that of Sherlock and John. However I found out that the film was in fact made by Mark and Steven. In response to the question, Ian Hallard (Marks husband) responded:

I'm not sure they gave it a name! It's a film noir

pastiche they wrote and shot themselves

though - not an existing film.

So… in some way this makes things more interesting. I find it very unlikely that they didn’t leave us little clues and subplots intermingled within the romance. With that being said, I decided to analyse the scene, and this is my findings…

The plot of the romance.

From the short clip we get, we can gather that a woman is heavily flirting with a police officer in his office whom he returns the flirting.

The woman insists she will be arrested by the man (in a seductive tone of manner) and he replies that he will not arrest her, only keep a very… very… close eye on her… (if you get my drift.)

Props and design.

The first thing I noticed in the backdrop led me to immediately link the man with another character. It was a globe in the background which reminded me of Mycroft’s in his office.

And then in Mycroft’s office (TEH)

Furthermore, the lamp closely resembles Mycroft’s which we see in The Six Thatchers. The fact that both of them have an office and hold authority in some kind of civil occupation makes it quite an obvious mirroring.

Who’s the woman then?

I think that the woman represents Moriarty. Her characteristics and flirty manner to higher ranks perfectly matches Moriarty, who we see uses seduction and ‘love’ to gain closure on Sherlock. This is evidenced with himself posing as Molly’s boyfriend to meet Sherlock and Kitty’s boyfriend to expose Sherlocks public image through the media. Moriarty flirts a hell of a lot with Sherlock in the pool scene (TGG) and also makes sex references with the governor in the flashback scene in The Final Problem.

Keeping the M theory in mind that Moriarty manipulates and threatens Mycroft into giving information about Sherlock, it’s not impossible that Jim keeps up with his flirty attitude with Mycroft … in fact it’s made explicit that he does and we are shown this in the flashback too.

But the man quite clearly flirts back in the film? This is a tricky one but it’s pretty clear that Mycroft underestimates Moriarty’s power in the beginning of the series. Perhaps he plays along to (in his mind) humour the idea that Jim has already won to give the perception he is less smarter than he gives on. This is until he got too deep in the threats and manipulation and finds himself messed up in the web. The man also finds himself having to hold back in the film as well when things get a little too risky.

So we have established that The man is a Mycroft mirror and the woman is a Moriarty mirror. But what can we take away from it? I’ll start at the beginning and make my way through :)

A CHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS.

The scene begins with the following:

Man- You know I could arrest you.

woman- What for?

man- Wearing a dress like that.

woman- Would you like me to take it off?

man- Then i’d really have to press charges.

Woman- Press away.

Prior to The Reichenbach Fall in season 2, we are aware that Mycroft has been trying to keep Sherlock safe from Moriarty. In fact, in the end of The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Moriarty has been in a cell before Mycroft says “Let him go.”

We can assume they wanted the none existent “key code” which in unlikely because I don’t think Mycroft would be so naïve. So I think what the scene tells us is that Mycroft had no hard evidence to put Moriarty behind bars. No matter what he accuses him of, Moriarty is already ahead of him, and he almost mocks Mycroft. “Would you like me to take it off?” because he knows he can play the Government and the Secret service, they have nothing on him.

In The Final Problem flashback, Mycroft tells Moriarty: “Until you commit a verifiable crime, you are, I regret, at liberty.”

Then the camera angle changes so that we see the projector light blinding us so that Mycroft is barely visible.

The two dim lights appear to look like dying flowers, representative of Mycroft’s dying power and authority. The blinding light corresponds to the blind ignorance and stupidity that Mycroft held for not realising he was being played.

woman- Isn’t that how they got started?

man- Who? (The camera cutes to Mycroft)

woman- Adam and Eve.

man- Oh them.

woman- And that turned out ok.

man- You think so? I thought it was supposed to be the beginning of all human misery.

The use of “they” makes me wonder who they are referring to… if not Adam and Eve. I’m not too sure on this one to be honest with you. Could Adam and Eve represent Sherlock and John? Of the top of my head, Mark Gatiss could be referring to the ACD Sherlock Holmes because its the first fabrication of these characters. I can’t seem to link them to the previous lines though, however the next line “Oh, them.” is a line that Mycroft (Mark) lip-sinks.

That’s why I assume we are talking about Sherlock and John because of the ironic smile and knowing shake of the head. He also happens to lip-sinks “You think so? I thought it was supposed to the beginning of all human misery.” With the continuation of Adam and Eve as the first Sherlock and John, this implies that, as a result of Moriarty, Mycroft questions the sanity of of his brother and John. 

Mycroft then takes a sip of alcohol, whether it be whisky or brandy...

Despite his cool façade, The Drink Code suggests that taking hard alcohol means fear. Mycroft fears for Sherlock and feels as if he has been caught in Moriarty’s web, leaving his younger brother suggestable and in danger. Human misery.

The camera then turns back to the film. 

woman- Now what was all that about arresting me?

This line from the woman closely resembles that of Moriarty in The Final Problem when he is at Sherrinford with Mycroft.

“So am I under arrest again?” To which Mycroft says: “You remain a person of interest.”

The camera closes in on Mycroft once again, articulating the idea that Mycroft wanted to arrest Moriarty. He even smiles at the idea.

man- well maybe not arresting you.

woman- no?

man- I could just keep you under close watch.

The camera returns to Mycroft once more. This was maybe his error. Letting Moriarty go free and underestimating his danger. He thought if he just kept an eye on what he thought (which was indefinitely a mis-calculation) Moriarty was up to, he would keep himself and Sherlock safe...  

Following this line, Mycroft and us witness the first corrupted glitch which we know after to be Sherlock and John. However, it’s quite ironic that it occurs at the same point at which Mycroft makes his error in letting Moriarty be liberated.

After a few corrupted scenes, Mycroft frowns and looks behind at the projector. He turns to the blinding light of ignorance and sees what has happened to him. 

Meanwhile:

woman- shame I was looking forward to putting myself into the hands of the authorities.  

If that doesn’t sound like Moriarty then I don’t know what does! It makes if even better that at this exact point, the camera shows a close up of a rather worried Mycroft.

man- you were?

woman- finger-printing, being searched... thoroughly. 

Again, it’s the spitting image of Moriarty!

The film glitches between a young Mycroft and the woman, furthermore proving some kind of link between these two.

Then Mycroft appears to lose his disturbance when an extended clip of the Holmes family plays before his whole nostalgia is corrupted..

“I’m back.”

#sherlock #sherlock holmes #acd canon #bbc sherlock #sherlock icons #mark gatiss #mofftiss #theory #benedict cumberbatch #martin freeman #season 4 #the final problem

[noodles-and-tea]

Have you ever seen hitchhikers guide to the galaxy movie? it has Martin Freeman in it and is soooo goooooood (a comfort movie). I’ve also heard the book is rather endearing

Of course I’ve seen it!! It’s iconic

#I quote it all the time irl #its definitely a comfort movie for me #Arthur dent is me #42 #my art #ask #the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy #Arthur dent

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 4

Joan Watson

How were BBC Sherlock shippers so rancid about a WOMAN who wasnt even in the SAME SHOW?????

Martin Freeman of BBC Sherlock insulted Elementary and specifically Lucy Liu in the press. He straight up called Lucy Liu a "dog" in an interview APPARENTLY as a joke, because calling female actors ugly is hilarious. Benedict Cumberbatch was more measured about it, but he still said he was cynical about Elementary because it would lose the "male friendship" dynamic, which of course Johnlock shippers used against Joan Watson fans. Even the lead BBC Sherlock actors got in on the yaoi victimization of Joan Watson... 😔

she wasn't even in the same SHOW as the yaoi I've been convinced she deserves to win the entire poll. I was a Johnlocker but I did watch the first season of Elementary and it was fine????? It was totally okay????? Especially in hindsight given how hard Sherlock season four flopped. Also Lucy Liu is a queen and deserved zero vitriol for *checks notes* playing a character???? A fucking fictional character???????? Oh my god we were all SO mean to this show and we (or at least I) thought it was like The Good Fight™️, like we were defending BBC Sherlock against copyright infringement and straightwashing and Jonny Lee Miller's bizarre scarf, (it wasn't a good scarf I do stand by that) but then Elementary didn't make Holmes and Watson a couple either???? And also it didn't insult its audience constantly etc etc we've all seen the Hbomberguy Sherlock is Garbage video. This is really long sorry hashtag justice for Joan Watson.

Misa Amane

she gets treated in-canon the way fandoms treat female characters that Threaten an m/m ship. it's like, "oh why don't you go sit in the corner and be pretty, misa, while the Men have intelligent conversation and pretend they aren't ten seconds from fucking each other, doesn't that sound nice?" it's infuriating. and MAYBE it's better now but i remember her getting treated the same way in fanfiction too, like we all need to do just as badly by our female secondary characters as fucking tsugumi ohba, but with the added insult of making her be alternately oblivious of the relationship between light and L or actively trying to sabotage it—incompetently, of course, because god forbid misa be allowed dignity or moments of cleverness.

she's one of the first characters I think of when I consider old school fandom misogyny. The annoying bitch and clingy crazy gf allegations were AFTER HER ASS. She's also a lot more intelligent than people gave her credit for, but most seem inclined to take the Very Biased word of our unreliable, narcissistic narrator and his homoerotic arch nemesis and claim that just because she's bubbly and into romance that she's also a complete moron. Which is blatantly untrue. Everyone was afraid of Misa girlbossing too hard. Killing people and devoting yourself to the deranged twink of your dreams even though you know he'll never love you back??? Having a hardcore goth aesthetic and being so Hot even literal Death Gods are into you?? God forbid women do ANYTHING!

Not only is she the victim of yaoi culture, she is the victim of early 2000s misogyny by an author that wanted to introduce a girl character because he knew his male rivals were getting too homoerotic. She is a goth bimbo icon who portrays what I think is one of the few callouts for stan culture and what parasocial relationships can do to both the stan and the idol. The fact that she is a toxic fan of Kira and also hot, funny, sociable is tragic in its own way, which I think the author did try to touch on but was too misogynistic too really get through. Of course, she was reduced to villain status by the fandom and anime alike because she got in the way of the supposed romance in their psychological horror anime.

#round 4 #poll #joan watson #cbs elementary #elementary #misa amane #misa misa #death note

[thealogie]

I didn’t know Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman didn’t like each other. I’m sorry to the fans who were bothered by this but that’s just fun for me. We were in a torture chamber and they were also

It’s so fun. I don’t buy that they like HATED each other or anything I just think they didn’t like each other. I had a friend who was an extra and apparently they didn’t talk or socialize at all between scenes which is really unusual in set culture. Meanwhile Andrew Scott just walking in doing his 5-6 iconic scenes and getting that wedding invite.

#that Tobias funke meme that’s like I don’t wanna blame it all on 9/11 but it didn’t help….I’m not saying if they liked each other that #would’ve fixed everything but it couldn’t have hurt

[hopemariposa]

A Break Down of ALL (some) John Watsons across the vast Sherlock-verse

wonder if this a sign of my four personalities (that was a sign of the four joke)

also, disclaimer: THIS IS NOT ALL WATSON. THERE ARE TOO MANY ADAPTATIONS AND ID LIKE TO KEEP MY REMAINING SANITY PLEASE

my camera roll gets absolutely destroyed by these posts tbh. this is how much I love you guys (and the validation u give me)

Book John Watson

source: the books. duh.

john’s the mustache guy ^^

this is the best version of John Watson. I will take no rebuttals.

he’s like… bbg. idk how to explain it

he’s lowkey adorable. He’s just like: “oh my bestie Sherlock solved another case… I like to write”

he is also like… lacks self-awareness SO much

in THOTB he like… gets excited because he misunderstands a thinly veiled insult

precious precious man

“Elementary, Joan Watson”

source: Elementary (2012-2019)

girlboss. straight girlboss. when I grow up I wanna be like Joan Watson in elementary

elementary itself, as a show, is so-so (and certainly not the best one) but I liked Joan

her character arc is also pretty cool tbh

also… fashion icon. straight up. she predicted the checkered sweater look. she did that.

BBC’s Watson

Source: BBC’s Sherlock (2010-2017)

this is just a sassier version of the original stories

like, he’s still a precious, precious, cinnamon roll, her just happens to know how to use a gun

john and his banter 100% makes the show better. and he’s the more emotional counterpart of Sherlock

and I am very biased towards Martin Freeman. that much is very valid, I think.

Watson but make it

✨A Gnome✨

source: Sherlock Gnomes, the sequel of Gnomeo & Juliet that no one asked for

i mostly added this as a joke…. and I’m sure fans of that series with RDJ or something are steaming over this but it humored me

Watson in this movie…. is a girlboss. total girlboss.

like he outsmarts SHERLOCK. unrealistic, sure, but queen behavior nonetheless

#Hope rambles sometimes oop #Sherlock #bbc sherlock #sherlock holmes #sherlock fandom #sherlockbbc #john watson #dr watson #bbc john watson

[panelshowsource]

alex talked about that recently in this interview! [rubs hands together like a mischievous little shrimp] i hope we see it one day heh

hehehe it was a fun task! we've NEVER seen alex play such a character during a task like that — he's received cuddles and made demands and eaten meals, but this was next level Alex Acting — so that was really fun!

lucy talking incessantly about alex's legs but mans also got his long sparkly toes

i think people are too quick to call this or that iconic, but ngl the second i saw this final image...it's practically a horror movie poster...PERFECT

can you imagine greg davies being your drama teacher and then he quits to become a comedian and the next day you see him on tv as Massive Greg hand feeding a man with no teeth who is pretending to be a tortoise

honestly if that's the one that haunts you i'd say you got off pretty easy, i scrub my eyes with concrete mix every night to try and forget ass sandwich and yet... but hey at least when he hurt his hand he finally had an excuse for that stupid bandage he wears hahaha

she was being so sincere and he was Such A Little Shit 😭

you know what i was binging some simon stuff as well, since it was his birthday, and ran across this again after all these years!

aw anon i'm so glad ♡

moooost of my fave episodes are like ~2005–2015ish? probably the nostalgia!

21.01 with jess hynes bc she is an icon to me

21.05 love seeing simon and miquita together

21.07 with martin freeman

22.02 with stephen fucking fry YES

22.04 was crazy like conchords-era rhys darby was there (i LOVED flight of the conchords lmao) and then johnny vegas and danny dyer next to each other? what a lineup

22.12 with josh groban, omid, martin freeman, heston is an ALL-TIME CLASSIC

i LOVE the guest-hosted episodes with martin freeman, rhod gilbert, frankie boyle (especially 24.12 with miles jupp and professor green), jack dee, alex horne, kathy burke, and johnny vegas

23.12 doctor who special HANDS DOWN

24.02 it's hilarious how respectable catherine tate is offset by how ridiculous catherine tate is

25.06 when greg hosted with frankie boyle, h was there just being h, holly walsh angel, it was a riot

john barrowman is also extremely iconic on buzzcocks, probably most so on 19.05 but also when he hosted 25.12

there are tons of older episodes from the lamarr era that i love — bob mortimer is so funny on this series especially on sean's team, 12.05 when jimmy and claudia were with phill, fun to see ian dury on 5.01, and so on — but these above are some of my personal all-time faves!

aw i really appreciate the rec! first i would like to say i looked it up on youtube and stumbled across the american version and holy shit the dude who hosted brainsurge on nickelodeon is hosting that and WOW my brain would have died never having remembered he existed if i hadn't seen him just now — so that was very weird. ANYWAYS i'll check it out!

imo it didn't start with ben miller...rob is always like this... sometimes when the pod episodes are shorter (less than 10min? does he do that anymore), you can tell some of the bullshit is edited around, but now that they're longer-form conversations he is dominating every episode. i'm certainly no rob hater, but it's really unsurprising to me because facts are facts — rob is self-involved, extremely concerned about being seen and being heard, incredibly pouty if not outrightly bitter when he's not recognised, when fame/success doesn't chase him, when he's getting less from life than he believes he deserves. there are aspects of rob in the trip that aren't far from reality, if you see what i mean. rob is, honestly, quite showbiz. don't get me wrong, he's funny, affable, talented, we love him! but he's not a stellar podcast host because he doesn't have the attention span to let someone else have a moment. have a story. put something on the table. there are definitely times i give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's trying to form a connection by sharing a related experience/feeling/whatever, but other times he's just being self-involved, pivoting the convo, and it is what it is. it's too bad when we don't always get lengthy, insightful content for someone we love — like miles, let's say — and when we finally do rob isn't doing his part; i felt that way about the dara episode. i don't think rob means any malice, it's just how he is...+ a dash of being a middle-aged white man in showbiz...

i got this one yesterday...

...and i'm going to dedicate it to you<3

and frankly sign me up for the woz/vcm experience i am happy to be a little tomato in that flapjack sandwich

you guys are really sweet, it makes me smile ♡ i don't know why some days the trolling can really get to you and other days you forget it in a couple blinks... i feel like i've been having some bad days. last week i saw something on my own dash with thousands of notes outright mocking me and i haven't really recovered from the uncomfortableness/just general hurt feelings. i want be better about letting those things go, but i also think a holiday break will do me good. anyways, thank you for always enjoying the blog and taking the time to be so kind ♡

—————

WATCH LINKS MASTERPOST / FAQ / TAGS / ASK

#a #straykind #long post

[grqnticons]

please like if you use.

#martin freeman #martin freeman icons #icons

[filmgoop]

sherlock & john matching icons 🔎🎻🪦

like if you save

#icons #no psd icons #sherlock icons #bbc sherlock icons #john watson icons #sherlock holmes icons #martin freeman icons #benedict cumberbatch icons #matching icons #johnlock icons

[loremori]

Martin Freeman (35/366)

Sherlock 2010–2017

Writer & Creator Mark Gatiss Steven Moffat

*Modernized version of the Conan Doyle characters.

T1.E1 A Study in Pink (2010) Directed Paul McGuigan

**Comparing him to the unaired pilot, they actually gave John a more iconic look: This outfit is killing it!…John took a very literal approach. ***A Study in Pink is my favorite episode. It just does everything it can to hook you into the story.

#martin freeman #bbc sherlock #sherlock #john watson #A Study in Pink

[tuppencetrinkets]

Sorted caps from multiple MCU resources, a continuation of an earlier project. Previous caps found in THIS tag and also some icons and other MCU/Marvel related resources HERE. You'll find sorted caps from Werewolf by Night, Secret Invasion, Ms. Marvel, Morbius, Loki S1&S2, Thor: Love and Thunder, Marvel One Shots, Agent Carter, Spider-Man No Way Home, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 & Christmas Special and She-Hulk in this collection.

FC's listed below cut. 45 gb; ~385k caps, 110 characters.

This content is free for anyone to use or edit however you like; if you care to throw a dollar or two my way for time, effort, storage fees etc you are more than welcome to do so via my PAYPAL.  Please like or reblog this post if you have found it useful or are downloading the content within.  If you have any questions or you have any problems with the links or find any inconsistencies in the content, etc. please feel free to drop me a politely worded message via my ASKBOX (second icon from the top on my theme!)

Face claims: Saegar Shaikh, Alysia Reiner, Mehwish Hayat, Murry Hammond, Lotte Verbeek, Lyndsy Fonseca, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Iintz, Currie Graham, Lizzy Caplan, Richard E. Grant, Enver Gjokaj, Kat Dennings, Alfred Molina, Rhys Coiro, Bridget Regan, Matt Braunger, Dave Bautista, James D'Arcy, Jamie Fox, Laura Donnelly, Martin Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, Zoe Saldana, Kate Dickie, Emilia Clarke, Christian Bale, Kingsley B'Adir, Willem Dafoe, Vin Diesel, Chad Michael Murray, Tatiana Maslany, Iman Vellani, Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Hayley Atwell, Tom holland, Sophia de Martino, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Favreau, Fawad Khan, Steve Coulter, Dominic Cooper, Wunmi Mosaku, Gael Garcia Bernal, Don Cheadle, Natalie Portman, Reggie Austin, Ken Marino, Liz Carr, Rish Shah, jonathan Majors, Nathan Fillion, Kevin Bacon, Jack Veal, Sean Gunn, India Rose Hemsworth, Patty Guggenheim, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Pom Klementieff, Cobie Smulders, Adria Ajoa, Charlie Cox, Marisa Tomei, Matt Smith, Zendaya, Jared Lto, Mark Link-Baker, David Pasquesi, Zenobia Shroff, Lupita Nyong'o, Tenoch Huerta, Karen Gillian, Jacob Batalon, Ginger Gonzaga, Ke H Quan, Danai Guirra, Anna Madeley, Chris Pratt, Clark Gregg, Angela Bassett, Aramis Knight, Dominique Thorne, Shea Whigham, Lesley Boone, Samina Ahmed, Laith Nakli, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, Benedict Cumberbatch.

#tom hiddleston #owen wilson #chris hemsworth #lyndsy fonseca #mcu #mcu caps #marvel caps #marvel resources #mcu resources #mcu screencaps #MY MCU CAPS. #dave bautista #zoe saldana #vin diesel #tatiana maslany #hayley atwell #tom holland #zendaya #iman vellani #james mcavoy #sophia di martino #samuel l jackson #chris pratt #jonathan majors #andrew garfield #tobey maguire #kevin bacon #loki #secret invasion #agent carter

[denimbex1986]

'Many iconic heroes from literary history, due to their status within the public domain, have been adapted countless times to the big screen. There's bound to be a new film or series about King Arthur, Robin Hood, Zorro, Tarzan, or the Three Musketeers every few years, but there isn’t a character with more screen appearances than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Many adaptations of the character have tried to replicate the tone intrinsic to Doyle’s original stories, but the BBC series Sherlock made the radical decision to set the character in modern times, completely inverting expectations about his mythology. Although Sherlock did a great job of revamping some of the most iconic stories from Doyle’s era, Andrew Scott’s scene-stealing performance as the brilliant Jim Moriarty instantly ranked among television’s greatest villains.

Andrew Scott's Moriarty Added Legitimate Stakes to 'Sherlock'

What was most remarkable about Sherlock is that, despite minor shifts meant to reflect the new historical setting, the show was relatively faithful to the dynamics at play in Doyle’s original stories. Benedict Cumberbatch’s version of Sherlock is a dogmatic, isolated loner whose expertise at deduction makes him an integral (albeit obnoxious) ally to London’s Metropolitan Police Force, including Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves). After pairing with the veteran John Watson (Martin Freeman) to work on the “A Study in Pink” case, Sherlock realizes that the two have a potentially lucrative opportunity to work together in solving London’s most beguiling cases. As entertaining as the chemistry between Cumberbatch and Freeman was, Sherlock needed a legitimately intimidating villain in order to raise the stakes. Without a larger threat at play, Sherlock risked becoming just another network buddy cop mystery series, such as the rival Doyle adaptation Elementary.

A sure way to introduce a greater level of intensity to the series is to add Holmes’ most iconic villain, and the series did a great job at building up to Scott’s first debut as the character. Although initially Sherlock’s brother, the governmental agent Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) appears to be a barrier within his new detective agency, it’s eventually revealed that there are more insidious forces at play. Scott’s version of Moriarty is the show’s only character who is Holmes’ intellectual equal. While many of the most entertaining moments on Sherlock involve Cumberbatch belligerently proving his opponents wrong, Scott’s Moriarty is a man whose motivations he cannot crack. The conversations between Scott and Cumberbatch spark with energy because Holmes can’t be two steps ahead of his new rival; for once, Holmes is the one who is just trying to keep up.

Beyond the intellectual threat that he poses to the titular detective, Scott’s Moriarty has completely opposite morals compared to Holmes. Although Sherlock is often bewildered and willfully ignorant of the patterns of human behavior, he seeks to bridge a great understanding that would allow him to connect with others. None of that empathy is present within Moriarty; he views his intelligence as a commodity and callously disregards anyone who can’t keep up with him. While Sherlock seems to enjoy pointing out the errors in others’ ways, Moriarty takes a sick pleasure in creating scenarios where people are forced to make morally compromising decisions. By showing the negative effects that extreme intelligence can have, Moriarty forces Sherlock himself to find his inner heroism. It’s a level of nuance that simply isn’t present in other depictions of the character.

Andrew Scott’s Moriarty Is the Best Version of the Character

Scott certainly isn’t the first great actor to step into Moriarty’s shows; Jared Harris memorably appeared as the ruthless professor in Guy Ritchie’s action sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. While other versions of the villain tend to emphasize his formal background and influence upon London’s high society, Scott’s interpretation of Moriarty embodies modern fears about internet terrorism and outsiderism. Often concocting various schemes in order to catch the attention of the media, Scott’s Moriarty revels in the opportunity to “play the bad guy” on a public stage. While there are escalating stakes once he begins putting real people in danger, Moriarty can’t help but view his plans as one part of an elaborate game.

Sherlock utilized many of the best works from Doyle’s bibliography as inspiration for Moriarty, with great episodes inspired by the classic stories “The Great Game” and “The Reichenbach Fall.” Despite these classical inspirations, Moriarty’s depiction on Sherlock was retrofitted to reflect Scott’s personality. This is a version of Moriarty who is flamboyant, comically manipulative, and desperately seeking attention; in one instance in the finale “The Final Problem,” he has an entire dance sequence dedicated to Queen’s “I Want To Break Free.” It was a bold reimagining of the character that nonetheless reflected his literary roots as an agent of chaos, leading to Sherlock's Moriarty becoming one of the most defining villains of the modern “prestige television era.”

‘Sherlock’ Suffered Without Moriarty

While the early seasons of Sherlock sparked lively reactions with their creative new versions of classic narratives, the series began to suffer dramatically in terms of quality as it moved forward. Sherlock’s decline can partially be linked to the absence of Moriarty within the story; without a character that showed what Sherlock could become if his more chaotic impulses took over, Cumberbatch’s portrayal felt rather one note. The dark sense of humor that Scott had introduced to the series was also largely absent, leaving Sherlock in an uncomfortable place of self-seriousness.

Although the show attempted to introduce a few new antagonists, there wasn’t another villain on Sherlock who matched Moriarty’s screen presence. Compared to the energetic performance that Scott gave, Lars Mikkelsen’s Charles Augustus Magnussen felt like just another brooding terrorist, and Sian Brooke’s Eurus made for more of a half-hearted tie to Sherlock’s past. While these actors can’t be faulted for their performances, it’s hard living up to the incredible work Scott did in modernizing one of the greatest villains of all time.'

#Sherlock #Moriarty #Benedict Cumberbatch #Queen #“I Want to Break Free” #Mycroft #Mark Gatiss #John Watson #Martin Freeman #Andrew Scott #Ripley