Fopper

While Rules of Engagement got a bit long in the tooth, especially in the story department, the acting kept it up, and thanks to silly premises and great chemistry between the cast, it embodied the traditional sitcom perfectly: just a bunch of friends, doing silly things, screwing up, then fixing it in two minutes and moving on like nothing happened.

Three years waiting and it's finally here. I'm gonna skip the hatred and see the bigger picture. It was a means to an end. It might seem they're jumping the shark, but they're just getting started.

I dislike the whole "Mary is a secret assassin" storyline but somehow I feel like that story hasn't ended, despite of her death. This episode was just made to kill her and set everything in motion. I find her backstory really boring. I love Sherlock for Sherlock and Watson. I never really cared for Mary, except for what her lost would do to Watson. That "go to hell, Sherlock" was rather unexpected. I think she meant to go to that hell he's going through and grip him from perdition, thus saving him from his fate.

He really seemed out of character. First, he flirts with that bus lady and then he's mad at Sherlock. He made a vow to protect her but she jumped in front of the bullet. And John bewailing was one of those choices that say a lot. Martin Freeman went for it, and even though it sounded like coming from one of the fish from the aquarium, it made her death even harder to swallow.

And the humour itself, it was brilliant, as well as the camera transitions. And I really loved the guiding thread: appointment in Samarra. That was brilliant. The moment I heard it at the very beginning I was thrilled. I love it.

I can't say I'm happy Mary died, but I'm not sad either. Her plot was almost over last season and I knew this was coming. And that creepy bus lady. I guess she's tied to Moriarty somehow, or to Toby Jones' character. Speaking of which, nice foreshadowing having him in a poster at the bus stop. And at the bottom it said "it's murder". I'm excited to see his links to Moriarty.

Tobby will become a regular character. And that Sherrinford reference and the sticky note. maybe he'll appear in ep 13th.

All in all, this episode took the bullet for the rest of the season. They wrote out Mary to focus on Sherlock and Watson. I see the bigger dark picture ahead.