S06.E20: Fit To Be Tied

[elle]

18 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Doesn't Sherlock have a trebuchet? Maybe Joan launched Michael across town and he landed in a dumpster.

Okay, now I want to see Sherlock come up with that theory and then recreate the event.

Meanwhile, FBI agents are interrogating Clyde.  Interviewing, interviewing poor Clyde.

Edited September 12, 2018 by elle

[CaptainCranky]

12 hours ago, illdoc said:

No...since Michael told Joan that that guy (who had been funneling money to Michael) OD'd. Unless he had OD'd and not died, got out of the hospital, beat Michael to a pulp and then ...? I just assumed that the guy died from the overdose.

Oops I missed that. However since he was the go to guy for Michael it would make sense that Michael went to him, the guy killed Michael, dumped the body and then overdosed.

More than likely however is that one of Mority or Morland minions did the dirty deed.

[johntfs]

13 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

The idea that Joan had to rely on a helicopter part as a weapon in that house was ridiculous.  Where are all the knives and spears and singlesticks?  How many times were we told to aim for the pate?

Presumably most of the more normal weapons have been carefully put away out of easy reach in preparation for Joan's eventual bundle of joy.

Basically Joan was in the basement when Michael broke in so she didn't hear him until he spoke.  He hit her in the face/head, giving her the concussion and kicked her a couple times, fracturing her ribs.  Figure one reason Michael wasn't "efficient" about killing Joan was that he wanted her suffer and feel fear.  He was furious with her for "ruining" his project/good deed of keeping the fashion designer guy sober (and alive).  So, he was playing the stereotypical stalking serial killer to punish Joan further, to reduce her to just another victim.  Except that Joan was trained by Sherlock Holmes and had a disassembled crashed helicopter in her house. 

Michael broke through the top middle section of the door because the wood was thinner there in case somebody wanted to remove it to put in a window, as for an office or something.  When he did that, Joan stabbed him.

At that point the FBI's version of events probably has Joan taping her ribs (she was a trauma doctor), hunting down Michael (who was wounded and leaving a blood trail) beating him the rest of the way to death and leaving him in the trash.  Remember that the last we see of Joan before the hospital is her sinking down to rest.  We don't know how much time passes between then and her calling the police and an ambulance.  As for the cameras in the brownstone, I think Sherlock disables them while the two of them are there because Joan likes her privacy.
 

[aemom]

I totally missed that the surviving husband had overdosed.  I thought that he was the one who killed Michael.  I am sure that Michael helped him with that.

The part that I really had trouble with was that Joan grabbed the propeller of all things.  That must have been heavy and difficult to lift in her condition, and to stab him with it would have taken strength.  I know that they've been trying to baby-safe the apartment, but I have to think that at least one of Sherlock's super sharp swords or knives must have been handier and more efficient to use.

Well if the husband didn't do it, I wonder who did.  I don't see at all how they could think that Joan did it considering everything that went down.   They are really going to have to explain that one well next week.  The trebuchet suggestion made me laugh and I'm game for it as long as we get a full demo by Sherlock.

[Loandbehold]

The disassembled helicopter was, for whatever reason, in Joan's room. I don't believe any of Sherlock's swords or knives are there, And, w/ so many objects on the floor, it probably would have been difficult for Joan if she had to cross to the other side of the room to pick up a weapon (or Clyde). She also wanted to be by the door as that would give her the best chance to surprise Michael if/when he broke in.

[CaptainCranky]

1 hour ago, AEMom said:

 

The part that I really had trouble with was that Joan grabbed the propeller of all things.  That must have been heavy and difficult to lift in her condition, and to stab him with it would have taken strength. 

It was the stabilizer rotor blade which is not near as big as the main rotor.

[minamurray78]

What a ridiculous cliffhanger. The FBI may think Joan's a person of interest, but having to surrender herself? If she had beaten him to death her hands would show it (if a bat or an iron rod was used instead, the autopsy will tell). Also, Joan was staying at her parents home, there could be witnesses (maybe not her mom with her health problems), she was injured so her father could be there, siblings visiting her. Also the fact of how a tiny woman with 2 broken ribs managed to drag the dead body of a much bigger man and dump him elsewhere. Not to mention, somehow finding him way before the FBI and NYPD could. They could argue she hired someone to do it (more clever and faster than the feds and cops), but... when? how? What evidence of any of these scenarios could the FBI have while still processing the body at the scene? Why not consider the relatives of any of the other victims he actually managed to kill? Wouldn't they have stronger motives? Joan wasn´t even obsessed with the guy, or involved like Sherlock was.

Unless of course, there is someone form the FBI manipulating things to frame Joan...

[iMonrey]

Quote

And a concussion. And not only kill him, but somehow get his body to the trash processing center. 

It wasn't just that he was killed, Sherlock said he had been beaten to a bloody pulp. Who in the world thinks someone the size of Joan Watson could beat a man the size of Michael to a bloody pulp?? It would be one thing if he'd just been shot or stabbed or something, but c'mon. 

[rhys]

So let's think of Michael 's beat down like Sherlock would. Who else hated him & wanted him dead? Bazemore (for killing his husband Ray), and ??? Who else that we know? Could it be Bazemore's neighbor or the FBI woman? I'm totally spitballing here. We have less than a week, people, unless CBS makes this a cliff hanger.

[minamurray78]

Well, he was injured and knew he had cops on his tail. He must have gone looking for help or a place to hide. Someone else from AA? Another person he tried to "help" in his particular way?

[aemom]

On 9/11/2018 at 12:32 PM, basil said:

Quote

That was the most awkward, clumsy serial killer attack / fight I  think I have ever seen on television. I guess the blame should go to the director

That....would be Lucy Lui.

Actually, we can't blame Lucy for this:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8021096/

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It wasn't just that he was killed, Sherlock said he had been beaten to a bloody pulp. Who in the world thinks someone the size of Joan Watson could beat a man the size of Michael to a bloody pulp?? It would be one thing if he'd just been shot or stabbed or something, but c'mon. 

So no trebuchet launching either, huh?

4 hours ago, rhys said:

So let's think of Michael 's beat down like Sherlock would. Who else hated him & wanted him dead? Bazemore (for killing his husband Ray), and ??? Who else that we know? Could it be Bazemore's neighbor or the FBI woman? I'm totally spitballing here. We have less than a week, people, unless CBS makes this a cliff hanger.

The actor who played Bazemore's neighbor was telegraphing guilt, but maybe that was a red herring?
The FBI woman was equally sketchy.

[Percysowner]

On 9/11/2018 at 4:49 PM, Kathira said:

Maybe they think that Joan killed him where he was found. That she sustained her injuries fighting with him, then got a cab back home. We don't see how she got to the hospital, but presumably Sherlock came home, found her and called an ambulance. I suppose Joan could have gone downstairs and found her phone to call. I don't think either of them have cars. There's plenty of evidence of a fight at the brownstone, even with the clean-up work that Sherlock was doing (and the general mess of the crash debris), but I suppose they could claim that either she staged it, or that Sherlock did to protect her. Plus, the brownstone is in various states of disrepair on a regular basis, which they could force Marcus, etc. to attest to. I'm not saying it makes a whole lot of sense, but it could be theoretically possible. They could claim that Joan was frustrated with their inability to catch Michael, combined with the architect guy's suicide, and that drove her to confront him.

Except he bled all over the apartment when he ran away, so that's proof that he was stabbed in the apartment, just like Joan said. I really rolled my eyes at the idea that 5'3" Joan, suffering from 2-3 broken ribs was able to beat up 5'11" Michael and kill him. Yes, he was bleeding, but really? I understand them wanting a "Sherlock proves Joan innocent of murder" story line, but this is not a good way to go.

[Mama No Life]

I found it strange that Sherlock was cleaning blood up.  He doesn't appear to be fastidious about cleaning and with Michael still on the loose it seems like the blood trail would not be a priority...unless he already knew Michael was dead.  

[orza]

I think it is pretty simple. Joan is a prime suspect because, apparently, the FBI doesn't believe her story. An alternative version would be that Joan and Michael had a struggle at the house but she wasn't injured, at least not seriously. She did, however, injure Micheal seriously and he fled with Joan in hot pursuit. She caught up with Micheal at or near where his body was found. A big brawl ensued during which Joan sustained her injuries and Michael ended up dead. It is very plausible that Joan could take out an injured man weakened from blood loss.

What I think actually happened is that Sherlock killed Michael and Joan knows it. The key to it is the phone call between Joan and Sherlock where Sherlock tells Joan he will be home imminently. Why include that unless it was significant? Sherlock arrives home just as Michael is leaving, checks on Joan to see that she is not about to die and then takes off after Michael, catches up with him, a brawl ensues and Michael ends up dead. I can see Sherlock violently attacking Michael in a blind rage for hurting Joan.

The ongoing theme all season was Sherlock's devotion to Joan. Her well-being and happiness is paramount for Sherlock. He was willing to move out of the house and remove himself from her day-to-day life to help make her adoption happen. She is his heir. He even told Joan he would lay down his life for her. That presumably means he would also kill to protect her, if need be. Moriarty may have been The Woman but Joan is The One and Sherlock is just starting to realize that.

[Calvada]

Are we supposed to believe that the FBI thinks she killed him, then staged the attack on herself?  How does one kick oneself in the ribs?  And how was Joan supposed to know that Michael had eluded the FBI surveillance and therefore the killing of Michael and the disposal of his body wouldn't take place with multiple agents observing her do that?  

I could not believe that Sherlock was agreeable to her going to Westchester.  Did he think that her Alzheimer's-afflicted mother would care for her?  Protect her?  I think Sherlock would not want Joan out of his sight.  It was as if Sherlock and Gregson thought Westchester was some type of fortress.  And as appropriately emotional as Gregson was about the attack on Joan, Bell seemed very dispassionate about a close friend almost being murdered.  

I agree with all who say it was completely unbelievable that the security on the brownstone was so lax that Michael could break in and appear behind Joan without her hearing him, without alarms going off.  

If Michael's killer is not Joan or Sherlock, who is left?  A hit man hired by Moriarty, or Morland, or Everyone?  Gregson's daughter?  Mrs. Hudson?  Maybe it was Kitty?  

[shapeshifter]

32 minutes ago, Calvada said:

I agree with all who say it was completely unbelievable that the security on the brownstone was so lax that Michael could break in and appear behind Joan without her hearing him, without alarms going off.  

Is there within Sherlockian lore a kind of supernatural, ghost-like villain?

 

35 minutes ago, Calvada said:

And as appropriately emotional as Gregson was about the attack on Joan, Bell seemed very dispassionate about a close friend almost being murdered

I suppose we should add Gregson and Bell to the list of those with real (unlike Joan) means , motive, and opportunity to murder Michael.

[johntfs]

11 hours ago, AEMom said:

The part that I really had trouble with was that Joan grabbed the propeller of all things.

It was the tail rotor of the helicopter, which is likely relatively light, like most part of a helicopter.

Meanwhile, Joan could have been sure that Michael had eluded the FBI because he attack her in the brownstone and the FBI didn't swoop in to stop him.

Figure if Gregson or Bell had killed Michael they'd have just shot him.

Edited September 13, 2018 by johntfs

[Driad]

11 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Is there within Sherlockian lore a kind of supernatural, ghost-like villain?

In ACD canon, things have logical explanations, e.g. the "fire breathing giant dog" in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was not supernatural. (Sorry if that's a spoiler.) Outside canon, anyone may have written anything.

[biakbiak]

4 hours ago, Mama No Life said:

I found it strange that Sherlock was cleaning blood up.  He doesn't appear to be fastidious about cleaning and with Michael still on the loose it seems like the blood trail would not be a priority...unless he already knew Michael was dead.  

Made total sense to me, that blood is a reminder that Michael nearly killed Joan and he obviously blames himself for bringing Michael into their lives and he wouldn’t want Joan to have to see it when she comes home. 

Edited September 13, 2018 by biakbiak

[Loandbehold]

Didn't Gregson say that Michael was killed elsewhere and his body was dumped at that site? Which would bring us back to Joan lugging around a large body while suffering from broken ribs and a possible concussion. 

[possibilities]

Rather than who wanted Michael dead, I'm going with who wants to frame Joan?

[torqy]

No one else clocked that gorgeous '54 Kaiser Manhattan Bazemore's neighbor was polishing?? Get off my lawn!

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, torqy said:

No one else clocked that gorgeous '54 Kaiser Manhattan Bazemore's neighbor was polishing?? Get off my lawn!

My boyfriend made me pause to examine it. I didn’t mind because I was interested in looking at the house across the street! Win/win!

Edited September 13, 2018 by biakbiak

[basil]

Quote

I found it strange that Sherlock was cleaning blood up.  He doesn't appear to be fastidious about cleaning and with Michael still on the loose it seems like the blood trail would not be a priority...unless he already knew Michael was dead.

 

It's one thing to ignore dust bunnies in your house - quite another to leave pools of blood around.

[Blueneptune27]

I believe that from behind the FBI agent looks very similar to Joan, enough so as to confuse them on a grainy video like an outside security camera around the dump.

[MissLucas]

That was surprisingly clumsy for this show. But even the best can occasionally drop the ball - though I must admit those were a lot of dropped balls. At least Everyone brought some humor. And Gregson holding Watson's hand in the hospital was surprisingly touching. 

The main mystery - who killed Rachel - was actually quite intriguing. I liked the idea that someone in law-enforcement would piggy-back on the Micheal murders in order to settle her own score. They should have left it at that and it would have been a solid episode leaving us slightly frustrated that Michael got away once more. Now he's gone and we're frustrated about plenty of other things - not a good deal.

[PaulaO]

Has Michael been proven (so far) to be anything more than a routine (I use that term loosely) serial killer?

[ParadiseFound]

I believe it was Sherlock himself who killed Michael. He hurt the person he cares for more than anyone else. Holmes is both angry and guilty about it.  In the hospital scene, Joan says "just get him" and he nods. Later Sherlock is seen scrubbing the blood off the stairs. He wouldn't be doing anything other than looking for Michael 24-7 unless there was no reason to look for him. He just pretended to be shocked when the captain called with the news of finding Michael's body. In next week's preview, Sherlock asks Watson if she killed Michael. Not in a million years would he think that. He did that to throw her off base so she wouldn't suspect him. He doesn't want her to know, so she's not conflicted about his actions. Now why the FBI suspects Joan is a mystery. When he killed Michael, did he leave something behind that could be traced to her? Did he do it on purpose knowing that she has an airtight alibi and knowing he would always be willing to confess to prevent her from taking the fall? Or does the FBI agent secretly have it out for her and planted evidence? I am looking forward to finding out. 

[jah1986]

13 hours ago, possibilities said:

Rather than who wanted Michael dead, I'm going with who wants to frame Joan?

I think Michael would frame Joan. I know it's completely insane but there's this little voice in the back of my mind that won't go away saying Michael is just crazy enough to pay someone to kill him or beat him up in order to frame Joan.  He seemed to really be upset when Sherlock said "you're nothing". 

Of course there's also another part of me that thinks Sherlock did it but is shocked that somehow it implicates Joan.

[Efzee]

13 hours ago, possibilities said:

Rather than who wanted Michael dead, I'm going with who wants to frame Joan?

Maybe the FBI suspects Sherlock and figure that by going after Joan instead of Sherlock himself, he'll be more inclined to confess/cooperate.

[dargosmydaddy]

3 hours ago, ParadiseFound said:

I believe it was Sherlock himself who killed Michael.

I really hope not. If Sherlock decides to kill someone (which I have very mixed feelings about), I want to see it happen, see his process (both thought process and what he actually does), be in the actual moment with him, like we were when he beat the crap out of Oscar. I don't think a major event such as murder should be used as a mystery gimmick, which is what this would be.

And if Sherlock killed anyone, quite frankly I think he'd make sure the body disappeared or at the very least stayed hidden for awhile and in no way could be tied back to Joan. The fact that the FBI is convinced poor injured Joan killed Michael makes me think there has to be some very compelling evidence tying it to her. And Sherlock in the preview seemed to be seriously asking Joan if she did it; he would never mess with her like that if he knew he'd committed the crime himself.

From the phrasing of next week's episode description, I do wonder if each of them kind of suspects the other did it, but I don't think (and really hope!) that neither of them actually did.

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, PaulaO said:

Has Michael been proven (so far) to be anything more than a routine (I use that term loosely) serial killer?

His bone structure is similar to Sherlock's, and someone (I think last week's thread) suggested he is the evil version of Sherlock, so now I think of him as Bizarro Sherlock.

[Loandbehold]

1 hour ago, dargosmydaddy said:

I really hope not. If Sherlock decides to kill someone (which I have very mixed feelings about), I want to see it happen, see his process (both thought process and what he actually does), be in the actual moment with him, like we were when he beat the crap out of Oscar. I don't think a major event such as murder should be used as a mystery gimmick, which is what this would be.

Do we know the name of the female FBI supervising agent? Could it be ... Francine Columbo?

[johntfs]

33 minutes ago, Loandbehold said:

Do we know the name of the female FBI supervising agent? Could it be ... Francine Columbo?

Probably not.  We don't her her first name but the character is Special Agent Mallick.

Besides, maybe the reason the FBI suspect Joan is that she really did kill him.  Joan was a doctor who worked in trauma so she could treat her injuries enough to stay mostly functional.  Michael was wounded and leaving a blood trail which Joan could follow.  So, she followed him and finished him off.

Why?  At least partly to end it where it was, with Joan herself as Michael last (intended) victim.  The FBI had already shown itself to be a poor match for Michael.  If he got away again (perhaps with help from another "friend in the program") he'd start killing again.  Perhaps he'd kill Athena, Sherlock's new girlfriend.  Maybe Captain Gregson's daughter would be his target.  Maybe Joan's mother.  And if even he stayed far away from Sherlock and Joan's circle of friends and acquaintance, he'd still be murdering innocent people.  So, maybe Dr. Joan Watson did one last bit of "surgery" to remove the cancer that was Michael.  The fact that Joan wanted to go to her parents' place argues for the idea that she knew Michael was no longer a threat.  Otherwise she'd be leading him to the people she loved, putting them at risk.

[dargosmydaddy]

I dunno, while I could totally see Sherlock not telling Joan that he killed Michael (which I don't think he did, but just saying) because he'd want to protect her and wouldn't want her lying for him, I think Joan would tell Sherlock if she did it. I think she trusts him to keep the secret and knows he wouldn't mind lying for her/ helping her cover it up. And they were alone together in the hospital room at some point, right? So she would have had the chance to tell him.

The above really says a lot about their dynamic (or at least my interpretation of it).

Edited September 14, 2018 by dargosmydaddy

[possibilities]

Maybe the FBI LET him disappear from their surveillance because someone in the FBI wants Joan dead. And when that didn't work, they framed her for Michael's murder.

[Mama No Life]

7 hours ago, ParadiseFound said:

I believe it was Sherlock himself who killed Michael. He hurt the person he cares for more than anyone else. Holmes is both angry and guilty about it.  In the hospital scene, Joan says "just get him" and he nods. Later Sherlock is seen scrubbing the blood off the stairs. He wouldn't be doing anything other than looking for Michael 24-7 unless there was no reason to look for him. He just pretended to be shocked when the captain called with the news of finding Michael's body. In next week's preview, Sherlock asks Watson if she killed Michael. Not in a million years would he think that. He did that to throw her off base so she wouldn't suspect him. He doesn't want her to know, so she's not conflicted about his actions. Now why the FBI suspects Joan is a mystery. When he killed Michael, did he leave something behind that could be traced to her? Did he do it on purpose knowing that she has an airtight alibi and knowing he would always be willing to confess to prevent her from taking the fall? Or does the FBI agent secretly have it out for her and planted evidence? I am looking forward to finding out. 

That's exactly what I'm saying.  If Michael was on the loose no way is he at home to worry about blood....

[MisterGlass]

I think it's unlikely that any of the core four killed Michael.  Of the lot, Sherlock is the most likely.  He planned to kill Vinnie Jones's character in Season 1 for 'killing' Irene Adler.  However, he's a much more stable person now, and they had evidence that would allow Michael to be arrested on sight.  There were recourses other than murder available to him.

I think Joan was going to stay with her parents to be away from the attack site, not for anything nefarious.

23 hours ago, Driad said:

In ACD canon, things have logical explanations, e.g. the "fire breathing giant dog" in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was not supernatural. (Sorry if that's a spoiler.) Outside canon, anyone may have written anything.

I've read a few non-canon stories with a supernatural theme.  I can think of one that followed the logical explanation template of the original stories.  I can think of another in which Sherlock Holmes was up against Dracula.  That short story was narrated by a cat who kept following Sherlock because Sherlock picked up a piece of evidence the cat wanted.

Supernatural stories were en vogue at the same time that Doyle was writing the Sherlock series.  Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were published in the same era.

[elle]

2 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

That short story was narrated by a cat who kept following Sherlock because Sherlock picked up a piece of evidence the cat wanted.

What is the name of the story?  You can not just write a description like that without telling us the name of the story! ;0)

[paigow]

On 9/11/2018 at 10:57 PM, Vermicious Knid said:

She tips reeeaally well.

She is blackmailing the Not!Uber CEO from a few seasons ago....

[frenchtoast]

11 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

He planned to kill Vinnie Jones's character in Season 1 for 'killing' Irene Adler.  However, he's a much more stable person now, and they had evidence that would allow Michael to be arrested on sight.  There were recourses other than murder available to him.

This is how I feel. And when he was going to kill Moran (though he thought it was Moriarty) he was very, very methodical about it and while he tried to keep it from Joan in order to not put her in that position, he admitted to it when confronted. But, when Sherlock was suspected of killing that woman who was killed by the city councilor (and Oscar was going to blackmail him for), Joan stood by his side, absolutely certain that he didn't, that he couldn't, and they would find the real killer. This seems so out of character for both of them and it I'm really starting to lean towards the FBI trying to frame Joan, like @possibilities has mentioned. They are both cognizant of the victim's families pain and loss and they would want Michael caught and punished. Not killed and thrown in the trash. I feel like the cliffhanger is a misdirect and I'm not happy about it.

What I did like was watching Gregson and Sherlock work a case. That was something we don't see as much anymore. And I loved how Gregson just held Joan's hand. I love the core 4 so hard.

[rhys]

Maybe Mycroft isn't really dead...

[MisterGlass]

20 hours ago, elle said:

What is the name of the story?  You can not just write a description like that without telling us the name of the story! ;0)

Sadly Google and I can't find it.  There are a surprising number of non-canon Holmes stories that involve cats, Dracula, or both.

[johntfs]

While it didn't involve cats as I recall, Fred Saberhagen's The Holmes-Dracula File was a pretty damned good read.

[deepthinker]

I seriously doubt Watson could have followed him and killed him given her condition and in the next episode preview she states she didn't do it. When the guy was attacking Watson did he not say the fashion designer had od'd so he was either dead or else in no condition to kill someone as well. I suspected the fashion designer at first since his partner was supposedly killed by the serial killer but that's out now. Also in the next episode preview it says that before he died he named Watson as the killer but that could be him just getting revenge on her and Holmes.

In the original books I don't think Holmes ever killed anyone and the show pretty much sticks to the book so to speak.

It could be Moriarity.

That leaves Sherlock as the killer unless there's another character we don't know about. Perhaps Morland Holmes?

I do agree that Sherlock wouldn't be at home scrubbing if the killer were on the loose and in the hospital scene he made it very apparent that he would find the guy. That scene might just be to throw us off however. If Sherlock did kill the guy I think he would admit to it. Also, perhaps him scrubbing the blood off the stairs is symbolic of him erasing his guilt of killing the guy?

Edited September 15, 2018 by deepthinker

[shapeshifter]

Maybe Sherlock or Anonymous set up Michael to be killed by posting that he was a despicable human (e.g., child molester, mugger of the elderly, dog fight operator, etc.) and where he could be found.

[Trey]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe Sherlock or Anonymous set up Michael to be killed by posting that he was a despicable human (e.g., child molester, mugger of the elderly, dog fight operator, etc.) and where he could be found.

I like that possibility  I am pretty sure Sherlock did not kill Michael.  Maybe if Michael had killed Joan he would have, but he knew Joan would be okay.  What happened to Sherlock's plan to drug Michael and get him hooked again? Of course, it's a moot point now, but it sounded like a good plan to keep Michael from killing while they gathered evidence against him.

Quote

From the phrasing of next week's episode description, I do wonder if each of them kind of suspects the other did it, but I don't think (and really hope!) that neither of them actually did.

Also, just from the title of the episode, the solution must be something improbable.  Maybe Michael actually did beat himself to death. Or, as @rhys suggests, maybe Mycroft isn't dead.  (How odd that a poster named RHYS suggests this - is your last name Ifans?)

Edited September 15, 2018 by Trey
Found more to say.

[Moxie Cat]

If this last episode was initially set up to be the series finale, and it followed the Morland episode as previously stated, then my guess is that Moriarty or one of the Holmes men did the deed. Otherwise, my bet is on the neighbor, who had a surprisingly large amount of screen time.

I also wonder if any of this episode or the next was reshot following the extension/renewal. That potentially raises a number of questions. Personally, I'm wondering if they are setting up Parminder Nagra to be part of the cast, either regular or recurring, next year. I wish they'd let her use her real accent, because heck, she did on ER and Blacklist (and even played CIA on the latter).

Of course, maybe she's the killer and works for Moriarty, and will be revealed to actually be British! You heard it here first, haha!

[Vermicious Knid]

I would also go with Michael beat himself up for the improbable. There's more than one episode of Forensic Files where the perpetrator shot or stabbed themselves to divert suspicion. Or hey, aliens. You can always blame anything on aliens.