S07.E11: The Unfriended

[Athena]

Quote

Holmes and Watson join forces with Holmes' father, Morland, to enlist his vast criminal network to help disassemble tech billionaire Odin Reichenbach's crime prevention system.

Please only discuss the episode and not the previews for upcoming episodes.

[paigow]

Morland will unleash a murder wave of such gigantic proportions that the pre-crime server will crash?????

Sort of like crashing "Norman", in TOS episode "I, Mudd".....

[rainsmom]

3 hours ago, Athena said:

Please only discuss the episode and not the previews for upcoming episodes.

Can we discuss the previews for THIS episode before it airs? Speculate about what will happen? Or is that off topic as well?

[Athena]

29 minutes ago, rainsmom said:

Can we discuss the previews for THIS episode before it airs? Speculate about what will happen? Or is that off topic as well?

You can speculate on this episode before it airs. It's only future episode previews talk that is not allowed.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Promo:

Clip 1:

Clip 2:

[LennieBriscoe]

The ending was brilliant! "I've been summoned to tea,  to discuss re-payment." Indeed. 

Odin lives to further wreak his "Minority Report" on the world. 

[MisterGlass]

I was afraid it was heading in this direction.  It was a sad and touching exit for Morland.

Odin crossed several new moral lines.  It feels like we are headed toward that inevitable confrontation.

[thuganomics85]

Morland has arrived to save the... err, actually, he briefly knocks Odin off of his feet by almost getting him booted from his company, only for Odin to not only turn Morland's ally against him, but have him killed as well.  Yikes, not actually the battle of sinister wits I was hoping for (not even a John Noble/James Frain face-off!)  Poor Sherlock.  Not sure what they do next.  Maybe dump a truck load of money on Natalie Dormer's doorstep and see if Moriarty might be able to out-evil Odin?

Odin really is full of shit, huh?  So, not only are people who are thinking of committing crimes worthy of death, but even someone who is unknowing prevent lives from being save should get the bullet too?  Just how much farther is he willing to slip down this slope and claim he's in the right?  Hey, obesity is still an issue: maybe he can go after all those fast food joints or the makers of Twinkies!  Anyone who buys alcohol can arguably be a danger as well if they aren't careful, so just have at them too!  Or plenty of lives can be saved if he just takes out the entire auto industry!  Where is the line, Odin?!!

Glad Lucy Liu got to direct one more episode before the end.

Two more episodes!

[LennieBriscoe]

 Odin's Preventative Murder, Inc., is clearly dangerous insanity. Of course, its "promise" of  "social control"  would appeal to Reichenbach's fellow megalomaniacs, such as despots.

OTOH,  the world might be better off without refined sugar.... 😇

Edited August 2, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[TigerLynx]

That was a somewhat anti-climatic end for Morland.  I wonder if he is really dead.

[tennisgurl]

Odin really is showing his true colors here, just another supervillain with a god complex who will murder innocent people to get what he wants, all the whole going on about how riotous his cause is. What a prick.

Moreland almost got him, but Odin not only zipped when he zagged, he had him apparently killed, holy shit! An off-screen death for Moreland is kind of lacking, but I did like his last scene with Sherlock, it was really rather touching. Poor Sherlock. 

I guess we all know that things are going to get bloody when a Holmes, any Holmes I guess, gets involved with anything related to the name Reichenbach.

[rhys]

Wha? Wow. Didn't see that coming. Why was Morland traipsing around sans bodyguards?

[possibilities]

Okay, that was sad. I don't even like Morland. I think the actor chews the scenery in every role, and Morland as a character has always bored me. But even I was crushed by that ending.

However, it does seem to me that Sherlock and Moreland have both been involved in extra-judicial crime fighting, and it has always been treated as heroic. Of course, we handwave Sherlock's illegal tactics because he's The Hero and he's fighting for the good. And he wasn't on a serial killing mission.

BUT: there is something about how when your entire approach to life is based on doing whatever you please, and to hell with legalities, you can't really act outraged when it turns out a lot of other people have the same approach to life, and do whatever the hell they justify to themselves based on their own egos and alleged intentions.

Also, there's something a bit unsettling about seeing Sherlock call his dad when he needs help. But then I realized it's not the first time, either. It seems out of character anyway, somehow. But JLM is so good, that his acting crushed at the news of dad's demise moved me, and over-rode my other thoughts and feelings on the subject.

Odin is bad news. The whole world is bad news, given the degree of conspiracy implied.

And now, too, with Moreland gone, there will be a dangerous power vacuum in the... enterprise... he himself was personally running.

[andromeda331]

I realized it was going in that direction with Moreland but it was still sad to watch. Even harder when they told Sherlock. The father and son had good happy scenes up until that moment. I kind of wish they hadn't killed him off. Odin of course is crazy. What's one murder of an innocent person when he thinks it'll save more lives. Except you still killed an innocent person. 

I do like that they had Sherlock and Joan figure out early on that his crew murdered the guy and his parents instead of drawing that out. It was too convenient. 

[LennieBriscoe]

I hope at least they took the cannoli. 

[AnimeMania]

Reichenbach Fall where Holmes dies, but this time it is Morland Holmes. The original death was greatly exaggerated, as I believe is this one. Another's death will come as the price for this one.

[MisterGlass]

I think we'll get confirmation next week that Morland is no longer with us.  Sherlock would verify.

Morland was in the Chinese diplomat (spy?)'s office or residence, in theory protected by her security.  If his security is there, they would be looking for outside threats, not inside ones.

[paigow]

13 hours ago, possibilities said:

And now, too, with Moreland gone, there will be a dangerous power vacuum in the... enterprise... he himself was personally running.

Earlier, Sherlock warned Moriarty that if she killed Morland, he would assume control of Murder Inc. and wipe her rival organization out.  If her involvement is not ruled out, Sherlock has a promise to keep.....

Sherlock: Today, I settle all family business....

Edited August 2, 2019 by paigow

[basiltherat]

I will still hold out hope for a good ending on this series, but I really resent the fact that Frain/Odin ate the show this season.  This is the only series that I still watch and I was sad it was over, but if there is going to be any more sacrifices, I would have rather had it end in London.

[Loandbehold]

9 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Not sure what they do next.  Maybe dump a truck load of money on Natalie Dormer's doorstep and see if Moriarty might be able to out-evil Odin?

I would have contributed to the Go Fund Me page. 

7 hours ago, rhys said:

Why was Morland traipsing around sans bodyguards?

He did have (at least) one bodyguard. When he sat down for tea he nodded to him to say that it was OK for the guy to leave the room. In all likelihood, he, too, was killed but the body dumped elsewhere and we'll never hear about it.

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

And now, too, with Moreland gone, there will be a dangerous power vacuum in the... enterprise... he himself was personally running.

Maybe Sherlock or Moriarty will step in. Or, even Joan, which would be a real jaw-dropper if it happened. 

Having Morland die off screen made JLM's reaction even more gut-wrenching. 

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I do like that they had Sherlock and Joan figure out early on that his crew murdered the guy and his parents instead of drawing that out. It was too convenient. 

Kudos to the poster in the prior episode thread who predicted this. 

Because there was no CotW, we got very little Bell and Gregson.

In the end, this served as more of a filler episode. We got confirmation of what Odin was doing and that he was not acting in a total altruistic, albeit megalomaniacal, fashion. Morland's death does set up the final two episodes nicely. 

[edhopper]

And to make the deal with China, Odin found the whereabouts of pro-Democracy resistance and fed that to China. So he really has no moral compass.

Sorry to see Moreland go. I am hoping the ending does not follow the source story.

[Trey]

Pretty tense episode.  I can't believe Morland is gone!! It's probably not likely but I do hope he is still alive.

I can hardly wait to see how it all plays out.

[tennisgurl]

It was weird not having a case of the week this episode, but with everything going on I cant really blame them. I guess the scientist was the case of the week? Whoever called that Odin killed the guy and his parents last week to make a point to Sherlock and Joan about his methods being the only way gets a gold star and a Sherlock hat! 

Not only that, but he apparently sent the Chinese government against pro democracy protesters to get Asia back. It makes me wonder how many other people he has had killed for personal or professional reasons, and not because they were actually going to hurt anyone. 

We really are in the home stretch I guess with Morland dying and us facing the biggest bad guy yet. I just hope Odin doesn't take over the whole show with his evil monologues (and I am super salty we never got a Morlan vs Odin standoff!) and secret assassins. I want this show to end focusing on the characters we know and love and covet their wardrobes! 

Before the show ends, I just need one more Clyde scene. Maybe he ends up defeating Odin with slow, turtle like precision! 

Edited August 2, 2019 by tennisgurl

[paigow]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Before the show ends, I just need one more Clyde scene. Maybe he ends up defeating Odin with slow, turtle like precision! 

Odin is actually hanging on for dear life to a rope hanging over Reichenbach Falls....Clyde swims over and starts chewing the rope....sllllowwwww....

[Loandbehold]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Before the show ends, I just need one more Clyde scene. Maybe he ends up defeating Odin with slow, turtle like precision! 

30 minutes ago, paigow said:

Odin is actually hanging on for dear life to a rope hanging over Reichenbach Falls....Clyde swims over and starts chewing the rope....sllllowwwww....

[chant it with me] "Go Clyde! Go Clyde! It's your birthday ..."

[gail56]

For me, this is turning out to be a depressing season. Like someone else said, too much attention on Odin, even though I love James Frain.  If this season has a bad ending, I am going to pretend that last season was the end of the series and ignore this season entirely!

I am glad I have Locast, so I can still watch CBS during the blackout.

[iMonrey]

I'm not convinced Moreland is dead. The dialogue was oddly phrased. They made a point of saying "we found a body, the ID was on him." Uh, yeah? Were they only able to identify the body because of the ID? Otherwise that seems like an odd thing for Marcus to specify, as though there might have been some doubt if not for the ID.

Seems more likely Moreland knew he was going to be a target, or else knew his son would be a target and made a preventative move by faking his death.

[Trey]

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'm not convinced Moreland is dead. The dialogue was oddly phrased. They made a point of saying "we found a body, the ID was on him." Uh, yeah? Were they only able to identify the body because of the ID? Otherwise that seems like an odd thing for Marcus to specify, as though there might have been some doubt if not for the ID. 

Seems more likely Moreland knew he was going to be a target, or else knew his son would be a target and made a preventative move by faking his death.

Agreed.  When they first mentioned a body, I thought it was going to be the woman who confessed to the killings and told them about the whole routine - Anne, was it?  But I guess she's already in police custody.

[Driad]

Moreland might have a body double, or access to a corpse that could be identified as him.

[12catcrazy]

I'm hoping that Morland is still alive but I don't know.  Maybe everything was left murky (we didn't see Morland get shot, and the odd dialogue cited above), so we'd think that maybe, maybe, Morland came out alive but that could all be a big fake-out, and he really is dead.   I mean, when you really look at it, Morland is not exactly a good guy either.  

[TigerLynx]

Morland is not a good guy, but Sherlock and Morland are very smart so I would think they would consider the possibility that the people who Morland works with/associates whatever, are not very good people either so a double cross is always possible.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm not convinced Moreland is dead. The dialogue was oddly phrased. They made a point of saying "we found a body, the ID was on him." Uh, yeah? Were they only able to identify the body because of the ID? Otherwise that seems like an odd thing for Marcus to specify, as though there might have been some doubt if not for the ID.

Seems more likely Moreland knew he was going to be a target, or else knew his son would be a target and made a preventative move by faking his death.

I think there's certainly a strong possibility in TV Land that Moreland is still alive, given the phrasing and not seeing the body. But I really hope not. I think the last exchange between them was just perfect - Sherlock thanking him for coming, and Moreland saying "don't I always?" An implicit statement of love.

I've been fairly bored this season, not so much because of the Odin story, but just in general. But I liked this episode a lot.

And boy, JLM just killed it with his reaction to the news of his father's death.

[possibilities]

I agree that Marcus phrased it in an ambiguous way, but it would annoy me if Marcus was not smart enough to verify before making the announcement, and if Joan also wouldn't be sure before breaking the news.

If they cut the scene early, and plan to open the next episode with Joan and Marcus telling Sherlock that no, it wasn't his dad, sorry for the confusion-- that is also really bad writing, and c'mon, show-- it's beneath you.

But it's tv. It's always possible that they have abandoned all standards and plan to send the show off with cheap twists and bullshit tricks.

[mojoween]

I didn’t realize just how empty my life was until Joan walked in the lab wearing that beautiful trench coat, which I do not own, and now I am bereft because of it.

[goldilocks]

18 hours ago, rhys said:

Wha? Wow. Didn't see that coming. Why was Morland traipsing around sans bodyguards?

He sent his bodyguard home. He waved him off after he was seated with his “friend”. Bad move. 

Edited August 2, 2019 by goldilocks

[goldilocks]

20 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Yikes, not actually the battle of sinister wits I was hoping for (not even a John Noble/James Frain face-off!) 

Not sure what they do next.  Maybe dump a truck load of money on Natalie Dormer's doorstep and see if Moriarty might be able to out-evil Odin?

No kidding, that was a letdown. 

Moriarty saving the day might be the only thing that makes up for it.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I think there's certainly a strong possibility in TV Land that Moreland is still alive, given the phrasing and not seeing the body. But I really hope not. I think the last exchange between them was just perfect - Sherlock thanking him for coming, and Moreland saying "don't I always?" An implicit statement of love.

…

And boy, JLM just killed it with his reaction to the news of his father's death.

Yes, having Moreland turn up alive at this point would be on par with not having last season's finale be the series finale.

19 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Odin really is showing his true colors here, just another supervillain with a god complex who will murder innocent people to get what he wants, all the whole going on about how riotous his cause is. What a prick.

I thought Odin took a turn into cartoon territory in this episode.

[paigow]

The Holmes family members conveniently die off-screen... Morland is really dead but has been reincarnated as Mycroft ... Not exactly the same as movie Lord Blackwood....

[rainsmom]

I want one of two things to happen:

1. Morland isn't dead, as in Reichenbach Falls, and we find out that the family Holmes was smart enough to plan for this eventuality and use it.

OR

2. Morland is dead. Moriarty helps Sherlock and Joan kill Reichenbach, and they steal Odin's technology and step into Morland's role with the plan to hunt down crime lords vigilante style.

[AnimeMania]

33 minutes ago, rainsmom said:

Morland isn't dead, as in Reichenbach Falls, and we find out that the family Holmes was smart enough to plan for this eventuality and use it.

OR

2. Morland is dead. Moriarty helps Sherlock and Joan kill Reichenbach, and they steal Odin's technology and step into Morland's role with the plan to hunt down crime lords vigilante style.

Or combine the the two for a great ending. Morland isn't dead, as in Reichenbach Falls, and we find out that the family Holmes was smart enough to plan for this eventuality and use it. Morland becomes the CEO of Odin's company and continues to hunt down crime lords with ruthless precision.

[possibilities]

Maybe they staged the whole "Dad's dead!" scene because they think Odin has cameras hidden in the brownstone, and they want him to believe they believe it. But seriously-- it's too much.

Does anyone know if the people who wrote the first 6 seasons all quit because they thought they were being cancelled, so they all moved on to other jobs? And then this season was written by a new crop of writers? Because the show didn't used to use gimmicks like that. It was also funnier.

[shapeshifter]

38 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Maybe they staged the whole "Dad's dead!" scene because they think Odin has cameras hidden in the brownstone, and they want him to believe they believe it. But seriously-- it's too much.

Does anyone know if the people who wrote the first 6 seasons all quit because they thought they were being cancelled, so they all moved on to other jobs? And then this season was written by a new crop of writers? Because the show didn't used to use gimmicks like that. It was also funnier.

Yes, and yes, except I don't think staging Walternate/Morland's death for Odin's cameras would be inconsistent with what we've seen so far of Odin's high-tech super villain capabilities (e.g., he seems to be able to control any and every part of the electric grid).

But, yes, after the season 6 finale,season 7 has mostly felt like outtakes from the DVDs.

But we mostly seem to agree that the scene of Morland's death notification was excellent. So if it's a fake, it better be one of those situations where Morland made Marcus swear to not reveal that he was alive (like maybe so Odin's super computers couldn't detect fake mourning from Sherlock's and Joan's micro expressions or something similar).

I did appreciate the visual of the color scheme of Joan's crumpled tissue paper. But I've never heard of that sound being a fetish, and the scene bordered a bit on cultural inappropriateness given that Lucy Liu is of Chinese background and origami originated in China — but Lucy Liu must've thought it was okay, so I should probably shut up about it.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I did appreciate the visual of the color scheme of Joan's crumpled tissue paper. But I've never heard of that sound being a fetish, and the scene bordered a bit on cultural inappropriateness given that Lucy Liu is of Chinese background and origami originated in China — but Lucy Liu must've thought it was okay, so I should probably shut up about it.

It is something called ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), I won't explain it, since it is better if you look it up. It is becoming popular. origami originated in China my vote is for Japan.

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I did appreciate the visual of the color scheme of Joan's crumpled tissue paper. But I've never heard of that sound being a fetish, and the scene bordered a bit on cultural inappropriateness given that Lucy Liu is of Chinese background and origami originated in China — but Lucy Liu must've thought it was okay, so I should probably shut up about it.

Origami never even entered my mind, as it was tissue paper, not origami paper,  and Joan wasn't folding, but crumpling. So I don't think there's any inappropriateness here, even tangentially, especially since, as it turns out, it's a real thing.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

It is something called ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), I won't explain it, since it is better if you look it up. It is becoming popular.

Now I'm wondering if this could be used for chronic pain management [off to Google more].

[Loandbehold]

10 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

It is something called ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), I won't explain it, since it is better if you look it up. It is becoming popular. origami originated in China my vote is for Japan.

Doesn't surprise me since there's a fetish for just about anything. I also thought origami came from Japan. And, according to Google Search the winner is ... Japan!

[12catcrazy]

You know, the more I think about it. I wonder if we are seeing the end of the house of Holmes. Morland dead, Mycroft previously dead, only Sherlock left standing and if this is based on The Final Solution, maybe Watson will be left to tell the tale?  And then we have that weird girl from a few episodes ago - WHAT IF SHE REALLY IS SHERLOCK'S DAUGHTER?  Maybe the House of Holmes will continue with a female criminal (or not) mastermind? 

[Trey]

16 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

And then we have that weird girl from a few episodes ago - WHAT IF SHE REALLY IS SHERLOCK'S DAUGHTER?  Maybe the House of Holmes will continue with a female criminal (or not) mastermind? 

Certainly an interesting conjecture - probably more interesting than what the writers will come up with:)  However, I'd far rather have Sherlock survive and go on solving crimes with Joan.  I'll be very sad if they do kill him off.

[Magnumfangirl]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

It was also funnier.

Yes it was.  This season has been sort of humorless.  I'm of the opinion that Morland has faked his death just because I don't see the show killing off Morland and Sherlock faking his death like in The Final Problem/Empty House.

[beadgirl]

Good episode. I was sad to see Morland go (and knew he was doomed as soon as he sat down for tea) (I also think he is really most sincerely dead, despite the odd dialogue) (also, the actor looks a lot like my father, who died years ago), but I like that for a resolutely dark grey character, his last act was on the side of angels. Now I really hope Moriarty gets wind of this and joins Sherlock in taking Odin down.

It's fascinating comparing and contrasting Odin's goals and methods with those Finch and Reese had in Person of Interest.