Although ‘Sherlock’s adventures during Sunday night’s Season 4 finale seemed very, very final, it appears he COULD still return for a fifth season, according to his writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.
And, following all his family tribulations and inner demons being exposed, it seems he and his cohort John Watson would spend further series “solving crimes” instead.
Last night’s explosive finale saw Sherlock deal with all sorts of moral dilemmas, and uncover a far more sentimental side, as he sought to undo the damage inflicted by his own sibling Eurus, and Steven Moffatt tells Radio Times this sets the scene for a more humane Sherlock, in line with previous screen incarnations of the Victorian sleuthing hero.
He says: “I suppose it’s that Sherlock now finally understands that’s he’s stronger and smarter than Mycroft in a way. But not because he is actually smarter – he’s less smart – but because his emotions, his connections to other human beings, the wisdom he has gained from his connections he has made in the world, make him stronger.
“He sees that, partly because the extreme of [his sister] Eurus who has no connection to anything, is just pure brain, not understanding anything about what it is to be human. [This] makes him realise everything he has worked towards, everything he has tried to get away from himself and deny about himself, is what makes him the strongest.
“He isn’t as smart as Eurus, he isn’t as smart as Mycroft but he is always going to win against them because he is better and stronger. That is him becoming the Sherlock Holmes of Basil Rathbone and [fellow Holmes actor] Jeremy Brett, the one we’re used to, the wise old man… who is still terrifying and still cold but has a heart that you never doubt.”
As if to sign their intention, the very final scene found Holmes and Watson make a significant nod to the past - emerging from a building called Rathbone Place.
Mark Gatiss adds that, in their four series so far, they’ve ended up exploring how Sherlock and Watson have become the characters that the fans of the books have always known. He says: “It’s actually really a backstory.”
Read the full interview with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss on RadioTimes.com