[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Putting spoiler tags on my reaction as it hasn't come out in the US yet.

Spoiler!

Wow, what an episode. Didn't think they could match the twists of the previous season's finale, but they managed to do just that.

Magnussen was a tremendous villain in this one. Such a great acting job by Mikkelsen. Stomach turning really was a good way to describe him. I found myself throughout the 90 minutes actively rooting for somebody to put a bullet in him and amazingly Sherlock was the one to do it in the end.

Also good to see that Moriarty will be apparently returning (as I think there is much more the writers can do with that character, he fits this version of Sherlock so well) and that we'll only have to wait a year this time for the new season.

Spoiler!

Anyone else wish there was a bit more lead up or screentime for Magnussen? Mikkelsen was superb, and while there is a callback to a character from the Doyle stories, this was really a fantastic original character they devised for the series, only to snuff him out so quickly - albeit in a thrilling and slackjawed manner.

He may not really of had the legs to carry on as a recurrent nemesis, because once his information "vault" secret is exposed I don't know what else he has to match continually trading barbs with Sherlock.

All in all, I guess I just wished that there was 1 more episode preceding the finale to further flesh out his character - a bit like how they did with Moriarty prior to his supposed "swan song" until the "Did you miss me?" bombshell.

C'est la vie... .