"His Last Vow"
To be broadcast in the U.S. on PBS's Masterpiece Theater February 2, 2014
w. Steven Moffat    d. Nick Hurran
The Internet Movie Database has a Complete List of Cast and Crew
Originally Broadcast on BBC One January 12, 2014, Coming to PBS February 2, 2014
The Personal Blog of Dr. John H. Watson stops before this happens.
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From Wired Magazine: The Shout-Outs and Easter Eggs You May Haved Missed in Sherlock: ‘His Last Vow’ February, 3, 2014, by Alan Sizzler Kistler (@SizzlerKistler) - a writer/actor and the author of "Doctor Who: A History".
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Official BBC Promos
Non-Spoiler Review from The Radio Times, with info from the BBC (put out before broadcast in Britain)
Radio Times Choice

"...Lars Mikkelsen stars as an icy, blackmailing media mogul, a sweaty-palmed creep called Charles Augustus Magnussen (based on Charles Augustus Milverton from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story The Adventures of Charles Augustus Milverton). He’s a streak of pure poison who guards an enormous vault packed with the dirty secrets of the rich and famous.

"Sherlock and Dr Watson (Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman) fall into his dark orbit after Sherlock is called in to help a politician escape from Magnussen’s slimy clutches (Mikkelsen plays him as Hannibal Lecter, but without the taste for human flesh, fava beans and a nice chianti).

"It’s a grand, filmic episode from scriptwriter/co-creator Steven Moffat that ping-pongs between sadness and surprises. By the end you’ll probably be torn between sniffling and cheering."
The Production Team Discuss the Villain of "His Last Vow"
What Does it Mean to the Culture when Our Heroes Commit Cold Blooded Murder? Jeff Jensen of Entertainment This Week Starts a Discussion on "Should heroes have a license to kill?" He relates Sherlock's choice to kill with what is happening with other fictional heroic characters in our current stories.
"Sherlock did a fine job setting up Sherlock’s violence. I understood why he felt he had to do what he had to do, and why he even wanted to do it. I also understand that this Sherlock is a bit morally ambiguous, as he’s always been, and considers himself, to a degree, above the law, and maybe even beyond good and evil. He’s elemental justice incarnate. His current form can be... seen [as] a clever nod — and challenge — to the zeitgeist. When both Mycroft and Watson likened Holmes to 'the east wind,' Moffat was using a line from Arthur Conan Doyle’s 'His Last Bow.' But in that story, it was Holmes who said the words, and he was using them to compare and contrast his friend and more conventionally moral Watson to a shift in the culture. 'Good old Watson! You are the one fixed point in a changing age. There’s an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be a cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast.' Now think of Sherlock on that plane, seemingly banished for breaking the heroic code of 'thou shalt not kill' — and being called back to deal with the apparent resurrection of his arch-nemesis, Moriarty....

"Moffat is a clever, clever man. Maybe too clever? At present, I’m troubled by... how Sherlock finished, and [where] it leaves us. As much as I like 'interesting' interpretations, I thought Sherlock became too super-human this season; I hope season 4 grounds him anew. I also hope the next round of movies explores the ramifications of Sherlock’s homicidal heroism. Does it change the way Watson relates to him? Does it affect the way Holmes relates to himself? The show should take it seriously... He had the smarts to brainstorm more inspired solutions to the problem of Magnusson, and the seasoning to resist a degrading one. Such is his talent and strength that Sherlock could have risen to the challenge of the moment. What Dumbledore said: 'Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.' Sherlock certainly chose easy. Was he also right? Depends if you think heroes should have a license to kill."
The Jeremy Brett Version of "The Master Blackmailer": Closer to Doyle but with more:                    

"I've dealt with 50 murderers in my career, but the worst of them never gave me this sense of revulsion."


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