5 reasons there’s no way Moriarty is dead on “Sherlock”
For every Sherlock fan, “The Reichenbach Fall” is an episode that will live on in infamy. The season two finale is one of the most shocking Sherlock episodes to date and will probably remain so long after the series ends. After two season torturing Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman), Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) and Sherlock have their “final” showdown. After framing Sherlock for fraud and a whole host of other crimes, Moriarty shoots and kills himself in front of Sherlock.
Since that very moment, Moriarty’s death has been a controversial topic amongst Sherlock fans. Is Moriarty actually dead or is he just faking? This conundrum has plagued me since I began watching the series. Am I playing into the hands of showrunners Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat by believing Moriarty’s really alive, or am I fooling myself by thinking too much about the potential trickery by the creators to see he really is dead? Despite my own internal struggle, there’s something fun in the idea that Moriarty is really alive.
Here are 5 reasons Moriarty is still alive:
1 Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat are spending too much time on proving that Moriarty is dead.
This is a classic showrunner trick. They’ve spoken at length, seemingly confirming Moriarty is, in fact dead, but they also dedicated an entire special, “The Abominable Bride” toying with Moriarty’s death. Sure, Sherlock concluded that Moriarty died and his network is going to continue his plans, but this is Sherlock and that conclusion is FAR too logical.
2 Like Sherlock used his network to fake death, Moriarty used his.
Sherlock and Moriarty were both on the roof that day and at the end of the episode, it seemed that both had died. In Season 3, it is revealed that Sherlock used his vast network to fake his death. We all know Moriarty has his own network so it seems very plausible that he had his own plan to fake his death.
3 Someone DID die on the roof, but it wasn’t Moriarty.
We all know that Moriarty uses and abuses his pawns. It doesn’t seem too out of character for him to sacrifice someone from his network to play the game.
4 Sherlock’s conclusion at the end of “The Abominable Bride” isn’t totally wrong but it isn’t totally right, either.
At the end of “The Abominable Bride,” Sherlock concludes that Moriarty is dead but his network is going to follow through with his plans…but maybe the final reveal is actually thathe is alive and has been pulling strings from behind the curtain this whole time.
5 He’s Moriarty.
Guys, Moriarty is one of the most incredible villains on television. You don’t kill the best villain at the end of the second season. You just don’t.
So there you have it, Moriarty has to be alive and we will see him again when we least expect it — before the series ends.