It would not be a stretch to say that this season of Sherlock is likely becoming a favourite for fans. What, with the 'fan pairings' arising themselves on screen in episode one (Sherlock & Moriarty's intimate moment springs to mind) and now, in this episode, with Sherlock taking on the important role of best man. This all paired with the frankly hilarious depiction of drunk Holmes and Watson staggering about on their stag-do. The second episode of season 3 was of course, a bizarre one, and revolved around the imminent wedding of Watson to Mary. Sherlock, being the highly functioning socio-path he is, struggled to write a best man speech for the wedding; many of his friends feared he may not be able to write one which didn't offend everyone at the reception. Of course, by 'friends' we mean Molly, Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson.
The episode was slightly melancholy to begin with, as it highlighted Sherlock's fears that things might change between himself and Watson (after all, he can't have him around the apartment anymore). Mrs. Hudson really hammers home this idea, by reminding Sherlock that marriage changes people (comforting, coming from a lady who's husband was running drug cartels). Additionally, Mycroft, being ever the optimist, also likes to remind his brother that marriage changes people. So it looks pretty certain that Sherlock will lose some elements of his partnership in some way. Sad times.
When one thinks of a wedding with Sherlock Holmes as the best man, it doesn't exactly conjure up the image of organised, blissful serenity. Quite frankly, audiences were probably waiting for Sherlock to offend someone, as is highly likely with the amount of people with inferior intellect to himself, all squished together in a reception hall. However, much to everyone's surprise, Sherlock actually managed to hit it out of the park, after briefly stumbling over his words and making it seem like things were going to go terrible. Sherlock admits a deep sense of admiration, love and general affection for Watson as his best friend, after re-telling the story of how John came to ask Sherlock to assume this important role at his wedding.
However, this of course wasn't all about the wedding, and Sherlock also recalls the importance of Watson in several other cases, until they reach a particular 'unsolved case' in the form of 'The Bloody Guardsman,' who almost died after being stabbed in the abdomen in his seemingly locked shower cubicle - but was saved by Watson. In quick haste, Sherlock drifts to another narrative - 'The Mayfly Man' - where several women find themselves the subject of affection from a mysterious man who spends an evening having dinner with them, only to then disappear of the face of the earth. This case also intertwines with the story of John and Sherlock's stag night, in which Watson spikes Sherlock's drink and they all go off on a weird evening which culminates in spooning on the stairs and a game of 'Who Am I?'.
One of the female 'victims' of 'The Mayfly Man' comes to Sherlock's apartment to ask for help, which culminates in Sherlock and Watson attempting to look for clues (and by 'looking' we mean Sherlock vomits all over the lady's carpet and they end up in a jail cell). Sherlock recalls that he failed to find a similarity between them, and that seems to be the end of the funny stories and accounts of Watson and Sherlock's time together. However, there is a snag - Sherlock remembers that one of the ladies knew John's middle name and realises that she must have seen it on a wedding invitation. He then deduces that the women must have worked for one of the wedding guests - in this case, Major James Sholto, who has become a recluse after receiving several death threats for a disastrous mission which he headed in Afghanistan, which cost the lives of several people.
Sherlock deduces that the killer would only have time to strike at the wedding as Sholto rarely ever leaves the house. Sherlock slips a note to Sholto, who returns to his hotel room and refuses to come out unless Sherlock solves the case. He does so, and deduces that Sholto needs medical attention as he has already been stabbed, but his belt and uniform are preventing any major bleeding, and that this is what happened to the same guard in the story before. The day is saved, and Sherlock and Watson arrest the wedding photographer, who is the guy behind everything.
Overall, the episode was displayed in a rather fragmented manner, which at times may have come across as a bit confusing - however, the performances from all involved (in particular Cumberbatch and Freeman) carried the piece nicely and provided a competent and solid element to the episode. There were continual points of character development, especially for Mary and Watson - the former has marked herself as a quirky, confident character (portrayed brilliantly by Amanda Abbington, who is coincidently also the real wife of Martin Freeman) and a sharp new addition to the series.
Whilst 'The Sign of Three' may not be the most impressive episode to date, it is certainly a competent, witty and frankly, hilarious addition to the sharp and quirky series. After all, who doesn't like a high-functioning socio-path in the title role?
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