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Aug 09, 2017idiosyncreant rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This is a nuanced and truly well-considered rendition of Sherlock Holmes for long-form television. Beginning with a deeply flawed and often unlikeable Sherlock Holmes, troubled by addiction, the series develops and allows him to grow beautifully. He's brilliant--but that doesn't excuse him from learning to be a better person. Joan Watson comes with her own baggage, and is in Sherlock's life against his wishes--but also proves to be someone he needs. She proves herself to be a worthy partner in investigation, with highly trained skills of her own as a former surgeon. They solve cases together, at first unwillingly, but that never sidelines their stories as people who have issues to deal with. As they stay friends without a romantic involvement, their relationship reflects their growth as people, and that's one of the best elements of the show's on-going story. Never flinching at showing the pain of recovery from addiction (and depression), this show grapples with elements of the literary Holmes in the modern world so it's an inextricable part of the story, and gives a deeper humanity to all the characters than any treatment in media I've seen. (Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series does a similarly great job in a historical fiction context.)