Sherlock: A Clue Everyone’s Missed

January 18, 2012

There’s been a whole host of theories speculating how Sherlock survived The Reichenbach Fall last Sunday.

Co-creator Steven Moffat revealed that he’s been checking them out, but one vital clue has still been overlooked.

“I’ve been online and looked at all the theories,” Moffat told the Radio Times, “and there’s one clue that everyone’s missed.

“It’s something that Sherlock did that was very out of character, but which nobody has picked up on.”

What could it be?

http://www.youtube.com/mapthestars Mapthestars

I’m thinking it could be him asking Moriarty for moment of privacy as he stood on the ledge. that was weird. like he was stalling or checking twitter to see if Molly was ready lol.
- Anonymous
  
  My thoughts exactly! :)
- http://timedragoninthevortex.blogspot.com/ EternityDragon
  
  If that’s true then TWITTER SAVES LIVES.
  
  Like it didn’t before XD
- TARDISkey123
  
  I think he tried to stall him so he could think of a plan
Liz Falconer

He cried.
- Anonymous
  
  correct!
jimmy

Molly!
Calebxy

I thought he said that he wasn’t going to give any more clues about it. He lied! What a surprise! :P
- Anonymous
  
  A pleasent one :D
The Idle Idol

Sherlock did a few things that seemed a bit out of character, but I wrote that off as A) he was under a hell of a lot of stress in that episode, and B) It was written by Thompson, who doesn’t *seem* quite as involved in the whole process of the show as the other two writers. That might just be a false perception on my part, but although he’s very good at writing for the show (he does better on Sherlock than he did on Doctor Who, at least), he doesn’t quite have the same passion and grasp that Moffat and Gatiss do.

The main ones that spring to mind are: Stalling Moriarty with the “moment’s privacy” line (as has been mentioned already… Thought I’d get that out of the way), his discussion with Molly (“You were right. I’m not alright.” – “You’ve always counted.” – “I need you.” etc), telling John to spread the word that he was a fraud (I was under the impression that all he needed to do was die – not convince his own friends of Moriarty’s false story… Seemed odd, but maybe I’m just missing something), and a few more.

But there’s one that I think MIGHT be of most importance, though it doesn’t lead me to any conclusions about how he staged his death. It was when he messaged Moriarty to “come and play”, and added “P.S. – I’ve got something of yours you might want back.” At first, after some consideration, I decided that he was probably referring to the Key Code which he seemed to believe was stored in his head. But I’m not so sure. “That you might want back” – what was it that Sherlock had that Moriarty would want back? And what’s more, Moriarty showed up as well.

Maybe he’d have turned up anyway, since he seems to like playing such games with Sherlock: but none the less, the fact that Sherlock claimed to have something Moriarty would want back makes me feel there could have been more than met the eye there. I’m now convinced, owing that the final few words of that text, that he couldn’t have been referring to the Key Code, since Moriarty wouldn’t need it back. If it had ever existed at all, Moriarty would still have it – he wouldn’t have just forgotten it. So I’m convinced Sherlock had something tangible of Moriarty’s, and that whatever it was, it was kept off-screen and will probably be part of the “reveal” at the start of Series 3. Speculate from there if you wish, that’s where my train of thought stops.
- Anonymous
  
  I did notice that when Moriarity came over to have a talk with Sherlock, he was carving an apple with a pocket knife which I think was his and he left behind. as of its significance if any… is lost on me.
  - The Idle Idol
    
    He’d crudely carved “I O U” (I owe you) into it, which was one of the lines he repeated quite a few times. I’m not sure it’d be something he’d want back for any reason. It was just message, a bit of mind-games.
    - Anonymous
      
      not the apple sorry but the pocket knife but still can’t think of any reason for needing or wanting a pocket knife back
      - The Idle Idol
        
        Ah, I see – sorry, I misread. I’m not sure, but I think the pocket knife was already next to the apples. He picked it up at the same time. I might be wrong, but I don’t think it was Moriarty’s knife.
The Second Mark

I`m pondering on who phoned John Watson that Mrs Hudson was dead? Its part of Sherlocks plan to get him out of the way maybe? And Watson would have surely mentioned if it was Moriarty. Maybe it was Mycroft, and maybe he has something to do with this?
- Anonymous
  
  I think so and the out of character moment was when he was not willing to go with Watson after Mrs.Hudson had supposedly been shot. With Watson out of the way, he could go to Molly to create a fake body. However I’m still stuck as to how he managed to first get the body on the pavement with Watson’s attention and then of course how he managed to escape.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000494558833 Kieron Holt

That Dummy that was in his house at the start and the problem of that guy did he kill himself, he had to hide from the press
TARDISkey123

Was it Sherlock telling John that he paid Moriarty to do all those things and that Sherlock is fake? John didnt believe him because Sherlock knew about his sister but Sherlock claimed he looked him up.. Is that it maybe? I dont know he was very out of character in this episode. I got a lot of guesses but I cant be bothered to type them in lol
JennasBlog

All I can think of that was paricularly out of character for Sherlock is that he cried. But I can’t for the life of me think what impact this could have hadx
- Calebxy
  
  Apparently, according to a commenter on the Radio Times article, watery eyes and sniffy nose are side effects of that drug that slows down your pulse.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1014599137 James Bailey

Was it the fact that he asked molly for help?
elsa bremer

what about the gingerbreadboy?
- http://www.doctorwhowebsite.moonfruit.com/ Daines
  
  i think that was moriarty telling sherlock to run. from the rhyme “run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me i’m the gingerbread man”. because it was right before they had to run from the police.
Anonymous

I think I may know the clue. . .

I think it is the binary code that Moriarty tapped.
It was the last teaser for the Reichenbach Fall.
If you translate the binary code it translates to “there is no key”.
So the key that Moriarty and Sherlock talked about doesn’t exist. If Sherlock is as smart as we thought he was, then he must have been able to translate the code.
- Anonymous
  
  Well, I tried that too, but unforntunately I was not able to read the cod he tapped, because it was way too fast, besides, one character is eight digita, and it were not enough digits to form a sentence.
  P.s.
  Did you figured the translation out yourself or was it me or someone else?
  - http://twitter.com/ForrestDeep ForrestDeep
    
    one character is 4 digits
Nina K.

Two things I found out of character for Sherlock and thus ‘suspicious’.
1. He’s adamant not to ask Mycroft’s help. In such a dire situation? Really?
2. He asks a moment of privacy from Moriarty, while perched on that ledge. Privacy to think or to set his plan in motion? He could have texted someone (Mycroft, Molly) or signaled the truck/cyclist below him to get ready. He even laughs out loud probably because his plan is working.
- http://doctormerlock.blogspot.com/ Jerry the Time Tomato
  
  Or he could’ve gone on twitter and asked the big Moff : “I’m sorry, why the hell did you create Moriarty? So I have to die? You’re nice!” Then laughed because HE’S GONE PSYCHO WHICH IS THE UNFIllABLE PLOTHOLE I JUST MADE UP!
http://www.youtube.com/user/thedoctorwhomaniac?feature=mhee Hezza

Remember he said “thats what people do….leave a note…” perhaps he saying that watson needs to find something out, perhaps something to do with the science equpiment sherlock had that mrs hudson talked about?
- Anonymous
  
  He said that but didn’t he say earlier in season 1 like the first episode or something that suicides never leave notes?
http://twitter.com/DaveClipson Dave Clipson

He didn’t throw himself off of any buildings in the first five episodes.
- http://doctormerlock.blogspot.com/ Jerry the Time Tomato
  
  He threw himself off buildings onto others in a chase in the first episode, I think.
http://www.onetwothreedoctorandme.blogspot.com/ Jerry the Time Tomato

what we missed:
Sherlock put his arm to his mouth briefly, a few minutes before the fall. Any sgnificance, perhaps?
His crying?
Leaving a note?

And you know how the little girl was terrified of Sherlock, maybe Moriarty used a mask of Sherlock. Mask of sherlock?

The last three are ones I’ve seen a lot on the internet. BU-BYE!
- http://doctormerlock.blogspot.com/ Jerry the Time Tomato
  
  AND THE BOUNCY BALL! Also one off the internet, I love you internet *hugs*
Anonymous

This was probably stated a million times before, but right under the building was a tumbrel, Sherlock could easely have jumped in, while a fake body was placed by Molly.
- Anonymous
  
  Thats a good theory, but what about that rubbish truck that was one the road, but when John got up from being knocked over, was gone?
captaincosmic

Crying, i’m sure.
Anonymous

I saw somewhere that the binary code means “There is no key” so i don’t think thats was the overlooked scene.

Although in one of last scenes Sherlock is seen bouncing a ball, the theory of this is that if you place the ball under your armpit, it can stop the pulse in your arm. This could be the overlooked thing, although i doubt it but i don’t think him crying had much to do with it, he could be genuinely crying.

He also did something out of character, because he asked Moriaty to explain himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhevKtpW1nY&feature=related DoctorNine

Does anyone think that Moff would actually admit if anyone came up with the right clue? I wonder if he is just doing his usual chain-jerking routine.
http://twitter.com/SolarMechanic Mike Carson

The out of character bit was
http://twitter.com/SolarMechanic Mike Carson

Just before his final confrontation with Moriarty, Sherlock meets with hospital pathologist and recurring character Molly Hooper. Molly has an unrequited love for Sherlock and everyone, including he, knows it. He tells her he thinks he’s going to die and asks her if she would still help him even if all his greatness turned out to be a lie. She agrees. Molly is the ace up Sherlocks sleeve because she’s loyal to him despite the careless and often cruel way he treats her. This means that even Moriarty doesn’t consider her someone he cares about which keeps her safe from his gunmen. This blind spot is all Holmes needs to prepare for his little fall.The next two parts of the puzzle come during the final scene and are a bit trickier. When Watson arrives at the hospital and see’s Sherlock on the roof he tries to get to him but Holmes tells him to go back to where he got out of his taxi, ostensibly to stop the gunman from shooting him. What this actually does is place another, shorter building between the two, so Watson can still see Sherlock jump, but not land. To do that he has to round a corner onto the street. Next clue is the easiest to miss but possibly most revealing. As Watson rounds the corner to see Sherlock’s body, a flatbed type truck with an open back full of what appears to be bags of rubbish pulls away from a parked position right in front of the body as a team of strangely fast doctors and nurses rush over.I know it’s a hospital, but they do seem to arrive almost instantly and cart him back inside with ridiculous speed.Thus I surmise: Sherlock knew that Moriarty intended to leverage his friends against him to make him die in disgrace and therefore engineered the entire rooftop encounter. He knew Moriarty would sooner die than let Sherlock beat him which is exactly what he did. He showed Moriarty that as long as Moriarty was alive Sherlock had another option to save his friends without killing himself. He even let Jim believe he had fallen for the computer key code even though a basic binary translation of the code resulted in the message “there is no key”. This explains why he seemed to have been beaten when in fact he was just playing dumb. The next part is the jump. I believe that Sherlock arranged to have the truck full of bags be parked outside the hospital so that when he jumped he could land in it to break his fall, he could then jump out and onto the pavement where he could bash his head and play possum. This is backed up by his not wanting Watson to see where he would land. Another thing backing this up is the fact that the truck drives away from the scene fairly quickly. I don’t know about you but if a body landed beside my truck and a crowd started gathering I’d get out to see what the hell was going on.I believe that Sherlock convinced Molly, possibly with the help of Mycroft, to help him survive a suicidal jump by way of padding his fall, then using her influence and Mycrofts resources, get him declared dead and buried. That just leaves the Why. That’s not so difficult. Moriarty may be dead but his network still exists and poses a threat to Sherlocks loved ones. The gunman with Watson in his sights has a good view of Moriarty blowing his brains out but still keeps his sights trained on his target, Watson, until the all clear. Sherlock still needs to be presumed dead so he can go about dismantling any systems Moriarty had in place and to ensure his friend’s safety.
- Anonymous
  
  Excellent, excellent work. You picked up on a ton of things that escaped me. There’s just one problem that I can see – John checked Sherlock’s pulse. And maybe there’s a way around that, as well.
  
  The theory about Moriarty’s network still being around is very good as well, since it fits in nicely with the state of affairs in the original novels when Holmes faked his death. The very next villain he and Watson had to tangle with was one of M’s top men.
  - Anonymous
    
    Rubberball and/or Rhododendron
  - http://www.facebook.com/just.shannom Shannon Killjoy McGarva
    
    Pulse problem- red bouncy ball he was playing with earlier. Place it under your armpit and squeeze- Pulse stops.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1026957655 Elliot Beagley
  
  What about the sniper? You can see he has a perfect line of sight to the bottom of the building, so he would’ve seen anything that happened when Sherlock landed :S
dani-is-king

Didn’t Sherlock say he never asks for help?
Well he must have so isn’t that the out of character thing that he did?
Anonymous

A few musings:
Possibility that kids were pointing at John not Sherlock.Donovan in bed with/blackmailed by Moriarty. Or else, what’s her problem.Sherlock made the tea Sherlock doesn’t/and didn’t drink tea,Their Final Problem is being alive, they both have to appear to die to continue the game. Living creates an interesting situation, Sherlock has been exposed as a fraud and has staged his own death, it will get the papers and nation’s back up as he has made everyone look stupid (again!) So all the pieces move back to square one.Sherlock get’s it wrong/is one step behind Moriarty ie: the key/no key business…nope I don’t buy it he set everything up and I believe they both know it, they are playing out the game to it’s natural conclusion. Therefore Moriarty isn’t dead either.” It’s a magic trick”: Misdirection, distraction, suggestion, everything’s staged, John’s time of arrival and viewpoint, lorry = soft landing, the bike stalls John and possibly he is drugged so he expects to see dead Sherlock, rubberball slows pulse. Molly in morgue duties death forms etc.Don’t believe he asked Mycroft for help unless he’s going to be forever in his debt in next series, it would ruin the dynamic of their relationship.SH cried out of vanity
http://twitter.com/ForrestDeep ForrestDeep

I had a theory from series 1 that Molly was actually Moriarty and the other guy was her front. Less convinced of that with series 2, but who knows…?
SilverBlaze

Moriarty says he’ll ‘burn’ sherlock, could that be as in ‘copy’? But, please God not a ‘face-off’ type idea.
Bradley Horsley

Hmm Am I the only one who thinks that the clue is that moriarty isn’t dead? I mean would moffat and co. really kill Sherlock’s nemesis in the second series and after just 6 episodes!
http://profile.yahoo.com/NBJYJYQCPZDKB57MVGPPBMQARE gary

Having watched over and over again, is it the fact that Sherlock was actually calling John on his mobile, he prefers to text, his own words from series 1, episode 1, after watching both series, the only time he does is when he is called on the pink phone in the great game, he doesn’t make any calls. Is it possible Sherlock recorded the conversation he knew he was going to have with John and had the double in his place, (the person who kidnapped the children), convincing John that he was speaking to Sherlock and thinking it was him on the roof?
We’ll find out next series I guess!
Ella McElligott

I thought the out of character thing was when he pointed the gun at everyone when they were arresting him, because when him and John are backing away, John asks what they are doing and Sherlock says they are doing what Moriarty wants- becoming fugatives.

I did notice something about IOU though: Ive gOt yoU. When Sherlock sang the words ‘Ive got you’ I realised that the letters of IOU correspond to it. The letters are at positions 1, 2, 3 in the sentence ‘Ive got you.’

Sherlock: A Clue Everyone’s Missed

Related Posts