Sherlock pursues the mysterious Moriarty hack, but soon learns the real danger was waiting around the corner.
Well, that was a lot, wasnt it?
And this season 4 premiere was no different.
In a desperate attempt to escape his fate, the merchant flees to the faraway city of Samarra.
Upon arrival, he once again finds himself face-to-face with Death.
I was surprised, Death explained, because I had an appointment with you tonight in Samarra.
Unlike Sherlock, I have always enjoyed that story.
message and stop whatever hes up to.
Hes the target, after all, and he always knows when the game begins.
Sherlock does, too.
Thats when Lestrade arrives with an interesting new mystery.
When forensics examined the car, they found Charlies dead body.
Between all the framed photographs of Britains first female prime minister, Sherlock notices theres something missing.
Charlie went far away and found Death waiting for him.
His imagination has been enthralled by the Thatcher bust.
He also doesnt like the Appointment in Samarra story, which Mycroft reminds him of.
Mycroft also reveals that as a child, Sherlock once attempted to rewrite the story.
For all his practiced indifference, Sherlock really is a romantic at heart.
Sherlock goes to find Toby.
His name is Craig.
Its Craigsdog, named Toby, that Sherlock really wants.
Together, the three detectives and their baby follow Toby around London as he sniffs after a lead.
Sherlock is convinced this is somehow Moriartys trap, because its too bizarre to be anything else.
For all of Tobys helpful sniffing, Sherlock actually does employ Craigs hacking help.
Sure enough, hes there when the burglar finally arrives.
They get into a fight that spills over into the outdoor pool.
Eventually, Sherlock unmasks and overpowers his opponent.
But it turns out things are a lot more complicated than that.
nearly identical to the one Mary offered Watson with all the details of her sordid assassin past.
But she destroyed it, didnt she?
The guy declares Mary betrayed him: She betrayed us all.
Its another Samarra-like fake out.
This whole thing isnt about Moriarty at all.
The burglar escapes, but not before declaring that Mary is a dead woman walking.
Mary was one, and the others were Gabriel, Alex, and A.J.
Mary, at first, thought she was the only survivor and is delighted to hear A.J.
survived until Sherlock tells her hes convinced she betrayed him and is now out to kill her.
When he wakes up, he goes to find Mycroft, who reveals he once employed A.G.R.A.
and says people like Mary dont typically reach retirement age.
Not on my watch, Sherlock declares.
But she finds Sherlock waiting for her when she arrives at her final destination, like Death in Samarra.
John follows close behind, angry Mary once again shut him out instead of talking things through.
is right on his tail.
While he and Mary hold each other at gunpoint, A.J.
reveals he was held prisoner by the terrorists for six years, which clearly drove him a little batty.
He says he dreamed about killing Mary since the terrorists taunted him with their betrayal.
But when Sherlock pushes him on his story, A.J.
says they never actually used Marys name they just referred to the English woman.
can say anything else, a cop bursts in and kills him.
Earlier in the episode we watch him make eyes with a cute woman on the bus.
Lady Smallwoods old code name.
He informs Mycroft, who has Smallwood arrested and her credentials revoked.
When Mycroft interrogates her, however, she declares she didnt do anything wrong.
Confused, Sherlock takes a walk on a bridge and thinks everything over.
A couple quotes keep recurring in his head: A.J.
saying You understand nothing and Mary remarking Youd be amazed what a receptionist picks up.
Ah, well, that can wait for another time, right?
Norbury reveals she had long secretly manipulated her boss, Lady Smallwood, and used A.G.R.A.
as her own personal assassination squad and bought herself a cottage in Cornwall with the profits.
When people started getting wise to her act, she tipped off the Georgian terrorists and had A.G.R.A.
killed off or so she thought.
She knew she couldnt outrun the consequences of her actions forever.
As usual, he expects this lecture to intimidate Norbury into submission.
It was her who had the appointment in Samarra after all.
John utters inhuman cries of despair (because really, how much can one poor guy take?)
and screams at Sherlock about breaking his promise.
Thats how you know things are really serious.
Therefore, hes excited when he gets a package from Mrs. Hudson containing a disc labeled Miss me?
She tells Sherlock she has a case for him: Maybe the hardest of your career.
She gives Sherlock a letter from his old friend but tells him not to read it yet.
Looks like it really will be the hardest case of Sherlocks life.
Even aside from that game-changing ending, The Six Thatchers was an amazing episode.
Bring on the rest of the season.
