The BBC’s Sherlock made many changes to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books and short stories, and while many of them worked and were necessary, I’m still mad about what it did to a beloved book character. As one of the most popular and beloved literary characters, Sherlock Holmes, his stories, and accompanying characters have been adapted to other media for decades. Thanks to the current status of the rights to Sherlock Holmes, many artists have made changes and additions to Conan Doyle’s stories and characters.
The most notable ones have been the adaptations that have brought the Great Detective and company to the modern day. Among them is the BBC’s Sherlock, created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat and starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson. Sherlock premiered in 2010 and ran for four seasons, with a mini-episode and a special episode, ending in 2017. Because of its change of time setting, Sherlock made many changes to the characters, their backstories, and the cases themselves, but I still can’t believe how much they changed one character.
Sherlock Ruined Mary Morstan By Changing Her Backstory
Mary Morstan Is Very Different In The Books
In 1890, Conan Doyle introduced readers to Mary Morstan in The Sign of the Four. Mary needed Holmes’ help with a case involving her father, who had disappeared a decade earlier. Mary followed Holmes and Watson throughout their investigation, and by the end of the novel, Mary and Watson had fallen in love, and Watson proposed to her, with Mary accepting. Mary was mentioned again in other stories, but by the time of the events of “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder,” Mary had died, and Watson moved back to Baker Street.
In Sherlock, Mary and John met after Sherlock’s fake death.
Given her role in Watson’s story, Mary Morstan was included in Sherlock, but with some changes that ended up ruining her. In Sherlock, Mary and John met after Sherlock’s fake death, so when he returned, he was surprised to see his friend in love and in a serious relationship with Mary. Mary helped John forgive Sherlock after his return, and Mary and John later marry, with Sherlock being John’s Best Man. However, Sherlock was saving a twist, and it was all about Mary’s backstory.
In Sherlock season 3’s finale, “His Last Vow,” Mary’s backstory was revealed, and it was nothing like in the books. Mary was actually a former intelligence agent who went freelance and later on the run, so she stole her identity from a dead child five years before meeting John. Of course, this had a negative impact on her marriage, and in season 4’s first episode, she was in the middle of conflict, but she jumped in front of Sherlock when he was shot, dying in John’s arms.
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Why John Watson Blames Sherlock Holmes For Mary’s Death
Sherlock’s Mary Morstan didn’t stick around for long, and she was killed in season 4, with John blaming the detective for her death – but why?
Turning Mary into a former intelligence agent with a turbulent past and with many more secrets added unnecessary and nonsensical conflict to Sherlock, and it made her relationship with John even weirder. Mary was supposed to be a supportive figure in both John and Sherlock’s lives, and secretly making her a potential traitor and threat completely ruined the character – however, these changes were necessary to answer a huge question.
Sherlock’s Changes To Mary Answered A Big Mystery From The Books
Conan Doyle Never Answered 1 Big Question About Mary
Mary’s past as an intelligence agent, the aftermath of that job, her enemies, and everything else gave Sherlock a reason to kill her, which is loyal to her story in the books – and thanks to this, Sherlock solved a huge mystery from the books. As mentioned above, Mary also dies in Conan Doyle’s stories, but exactly when and why was never revealed, and Watson simply moved back in with Holmes and continued working with him. As convoluted and unnecessary as Mary’s backstory in Sherlock was, at least it explained why she was going to die.
Mary’s Death Was Key To Sherlock & Watson’s Relationship In Season 4
Unfortunately, Mary Had To Die
Mary Morstan had to die in Sherlock not just because that’s what happened to her in the books, but because it was necessary for Sherlock and Watson’s relationship. Although she helped John forgive Sherlock and reconnect with him after the latter’s return from the dead, Sherlock and Watson’s relationship wasn’t the same after that, despite them continuing to work together. Mary wasn’t really an obstacle at first, but she was when she shot Sherlock and her backstory was revealed, but her pregnancy didn’t make it possible for her to leave.
Unfortunately, Sherlock didn’t give its main pair enough time to reconnect after Mary’s death.
Mary’s death also impacted John and Sherlock’s relationship, but it ultimately brought them back together like they were before. Unfortunately, Sherlock didn’t give its main pair enough time to reconnect after Mary’s death, as they only had two more episodes, and the show’s finale was a big mess. Sherlock’s changes to Mary ruined the character, but solved the mystery of her death, but I still feel her story could have been different and better and still solve that big question.
Sherlock
7/10
- Release Date
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2010 – 2017-00-00
- Showrunner
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Steven Moffat
- Directors
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Steven Moffat
