John Watson sits in a chair as the rain pours down outside the window and thunder rumbles. He looks tired and his face is full of pain.
ELLA (offscreen): Why today?
(John frowns enquiringly. His therapist is sitting opposite him.)
JOHN: D’you want to hear me say it?
ELLA: Eighteen months since our last appointment.
JOHN (his voice becoming quietly angry): D’you read the papers?
ELLA: Sometimes.
JOHN: Mmm, and you watch telly? You know why I’m here.
(There’s a pained groan in his voice as he ends the sentence.)
JOHN: I’m here because ...
(His voice breaks and he can’t continue. He looks down, swallowing hard as he fights not to weep. Ella leans forward sympathetically.)
ELLA: What happened, John?
(John closes his eyes, trying to get control of himself, then looks up at her again, his eyes full of loss. He clears his throat and breathes heavily.)
JOHN (his voice breaking): Sher...
(He can’t continue and he clears his throat again, swallowing hard.)
ELLA (gently): You need to get it out.
JOHN (softly, his voice full of pain and tears): My best friend ... Sherlock Holmes ...
(He sniffs, forcing his voice through the anguish.)
JOHN: ... is dead.
(He breaks and begins to cry.)
Opening Credits.
THREE MONTHS EARLIER. In an art gallery, the Director of the gallery is finishing his speech as he stands near a painting.
GALLERY DIRECTOR: Falls of the Reichenbach, Turner’s masterpiece, thankfully recovered owing to the prodigious talent of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
(The patrons applaud. Sherlock and John are standing nearby. The Director gives a small gift-wrapped box to Sherlock.)
DIRECTOR: A small token of our gratitude.
(Sherlock takes the box and looks at it.)
SHERLOCK: Diamond cufflinks. All my cuffs have buttons.
JOHN (to the Director): He means thank you.
SHERLOCK: Do I?
JOHN: Just say it.
SHERLOCK (insincerely to the Director): Thank you.
(He starts to walk away but John holds him back.)
JOHN: Hey.
(Sherlock stops unwillingly as the press start taking photographs. Later, one of the photographs appears in a newspaper article headed “Hero of the Reichenbach”. The straplines read “Turner masterpiece recovered by ‘amateur’ ; “Scotland Yard embarrased [sic] by overlooked clues”. The text of the article reads: “A Turner masterpiece worth £1.7million that was stolen from an auction house ten days ago has been recovered by an amateur detective from North London. Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street has been investigating the art crime simply as a hobby, and yet he was able to follow the trail that lead [sic] him to the famous work – a trail that Scotland Yard missed completely. Sherlock Holmes has gained cult following following the publication of his website – The Sci- ...” at which point the text disappears offscreen. [And, really, “Sherlock” production team, could you not take just a couple more minutes to make your newspaper articles more professional-looking, write sensible English and check the bleedin’ spelling?!])
