Upvoted for making me laugh.

Good point about John being a terrible liar. His military training would keep him from giving up a secret, but that is not the same thing as "acting" or telling a lie, where he fails abysmally.

Once Sherlock's death was faked and the sniper was disarmed, there is nothing to say John was not being watched by Moriarty's remaining minions. Can't be too careful. My impression was that Sherlock kept John in ignorance for 2 reasons: !) to keep the curious public—who associated him with John—in ignorance; and 2) to…

Thanks for the recommendation. The Hound episode on this series was by far my least favorite, but my husband liked it. Rathbone version is still his favorite, though.

This episode was disjointed but there were so many bits I enjoyed immensely. Nothing less that a B episode.

Loved the Sherlock/Mycroft scenes. Wonderful writing. The two actors are so good together.

Exactly, @Opera_Punk:disqus. First episodes are often a mess after the end-of-season devastation, (such as the faked death of the title character.) Nevertheless, I thought Ep. 3.1 was brilliant and was overjoyed to rejoin my favorite characters and find out how the death was faked—plus all possible versions. I watch…

"Niko peeling mangoes as practice for “separating skin from flesh” is
fantastic. All people on this show should practice their sadistic
revenge skills on fruit." Haha! Just so!

Blackouts: a new frontier of paranoia for a control freak like Emily.

If Niko finishes Aiden, then won't Emily have to avenge his death? The thought of these two revenge girls locked in a martial arts tango is not entirely unpleasant to me.

"There was something very noir-ish about Emily's first blackout…" Yes! the show enters a new realm with Emily's blacking out and waking up mid-scene with a head of confusion. For a control freak like Ems, this is the ultimate paranoia. Someone suggested below that Conrad is drugging her, which could explain how she…

That was just a tease. He put her up in his suite is all.

Naw, I don't think so. It took her about half a second to throw him under the bus.

Were you not the least stirred by Lord Gillingham's declaration by the fireplace, where he said he would wait for years? I thought he was pretty great.

The truth will out soon enough. We'll see what Bates does about it. We've seen his blood boil before and I for one was never fully convinced that he did not murder his horrible wife. Anna knows him well enough to believe he would go off the deep end if he knew about Green. I think she should give him more credit, but…

Yes, I am enjoying these great ladies' scenes. Sympathy is bringing out Violet's charm, which she showered precious little of on Isobel during past seasons. And Isobel, so heartbroken and fragile this season, is just as frank as ever, bless her, even when feeling lost and sad. And she begins to show an interest—she…

Oh, I love the ladies' fashions of 1923!! Last week, Mary's art deco beaded black evening dress for dinner, Cora's Chinese silk amber blouse. And just about everything the ladies were wearing in this episode: Mary's violets and the black and pearl gray paneled dress she wore for Lord Gillingham's surprise visit. AND…

Yes to the "call-it-as-I-see-it exchange." Edna's characterization of Thomas as "sly and oily and smug" made me laugh. She forgot to mention "devious and arrogant and back-biting." But the best dancer of the lot, no question.

How is it that Mary's suitors are thoroughly put through the
credential mill, while Edith may run off to London and stay overnight
with a married man? The potential for ruination due to scandal is the
same with either daughter, I should think, so, in the absence of
equal status, heirship, and affection, Edith would at…

I didn't like Ross's singing voice and his speaking voice and manner were tres swishy. Fine with me, but not what I wish for Rose, all reference to color sidelined for the moment. Ross is a plot device, and I am rather disappointed they are using this vapid little story of Rose's crush as a way to address racism. And…