How Did Sherlock Fake His Death in ‘The Reichenbach Fall’: Theories Explained

Ever since the BBC produced hit ‘Sherlock‘ series debuted, it has got major critical acclaim from all around the world.

The season 2 finale titled,’The Reichenbach Fall‘ ended with a cliffhanger as Sherlock‘s nemesis Moriarty blew his own brains out and Sherlock had to kill himself or risk his three closest friends being assassinated. Sherlock jumped off the building watched by Watson leaping from the roof, he was later seen by his shaken-up friend bloodied, dead on the concrete with no pulse.

In an interview with the guardian Series creater/writer Steven Moffat says, “There is a clue everybody’s missed, so many people theorising about Sherlock’s death online – and they missed it! We’ve worked out how Sherlock survives, and actually shot part of what really happened. It all makes sense.” In this, he argues, he and co-writer Mark Gatiss have gone one better than Doyle. “He cheated outrageously. He has Watson deduce that Holmes fell off a waterfall. But there was no body. And it only means one thing in a detective show when there’s no body.” That the victim survived. So you set yourself the test of killing off Sherlock, putting his corpse in plain view and then bringing him back from the dead to watch his own funeral? “Yes. We had to have Holmes dying in Watson’s arms – and get away with that, which we have.” But how?

Sherlock will be back for a third series of three 90-minute episodes, hopefully before the year is out”

The question now is how on Earth are Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss going to get out of this one?

The clues? Watson didn’t see Sherlock actually hit the floor. Watson was struck by a cyclist and knocked to the ground while running to Holmes’s corpse. Sherlock told Molly that he needed her. Sherlock was very specific about where Watson needed to stand when making his ‘last phone call’ to him.

Here are some of the most popular theories on how Sherlock faked his death.

The bike:

Watson being hit by the bike on his way to Sherlock’s body could have been the biggest clue of all. Was the cyclist someone we know? Were they hired by Sherlock? Did they carry some Baskerville drug in their basket, which made Watson more suggestible to the idea of a dead Sherlock?

If they were involved in the cover-up, what was their role? The biker would have given Holmes extra time and possibly even have given Watson a light concussion, but he still saw his friend’s cold and bloodied body with his own eyes on the pavement.

The rubbish truck?

A brief glimpse of a rubbish truck is what many people have been clinging on to after watching ‘The Fall’. Did Sherlock make a soft landing on the vehicle and then use the extra time from John’s bike accident to mock himself up as dead or use a dummy body? It seems like the easiest explanation, but is it the right one?

Mycroft:

Could Mycroft really have been stupid enough to leak all that information to Moriarty or was he plotting with Holmes all along? Or maybe he felt guilty about his error and helped his brother with the suicide trick. Mycroft would have had the power and resources to help his sibling pull off the fake suicide, hold off John and ensure that Sherlock’s death was properly covered by all the papers to keep everyone safe. Was Mycroft upset in those final scenes or relieved?

Molly Hooper:

Holmes told the bumbling Molly that he needed her and we very much doubt this was a sexual come-on from Holmes. Could Holmes have persuaded Molly to help him? Her access to corpses and medical knowledge could have been very useful. Or maybe it was Molly on the bike? Or was that Mycroft? Or even Irene Adler? Our brain hurts.

Moriarty is not dead:

Moriarty might not be dead. No blood from the mouth, no brain matter, no burns, just blood on the ground. Sherlock never checked the body, never even came close and nobody else knew he was up there.

Sherlock impersonator/ Mask

Imposter Holmes that clearly kidnapped the children. ‘Gretel’ reacted very badly when she met Sherlock for the first time implying that she was kidnapped by someone who appeared identical to him

The Squash Ball

Pulse in wrist stopped by simple act of placing squash ball, which he was playing with before, in armpit and lying on said arm.

What is your theory? Which theory of the above you agree with? Have your say in the comments.

[source guardian, digitalspy]