This episode of Sherlock seems to follow the classic three-act structure of regular storytelling relatively well, as well as perfectly fitting into the classic Hollywood narrative - a small group of individuals who encounter specific goals that by the end of the story become clearly attained or unattained. In the case of this show's specific episode, the small group of individuals is Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, encountering the goal of deciphering a code which has been placed all over the place relating to the deaths of seemingly random citizens. By the end, the two have figured out that the numbers were left by a Chinese smuggling ring who are killing in order to attain an item which was stole from them, with the ring except for one being caught and taken away to end the story. In terms of the three act structure, this episode's first act (the setup) consists of the two being appointed to a job to find out who spray painted an odd symbol inside a business (the exposition), finding the man related to the job dead in his apartment (the inciting incident), and finding the same symbol in his house and realizing this death was a murder and deciding to find out who the killer was and why they killed who they did (plot point number one). The second act (confrontation) then begins, with the rising action, which in this case is finding more symbols and people who have been killed the same way, leading them to a location which then leads into the midpoint of the story, being when they find out the symbols were actually Chinese numbers, going to the house they have been led to and finding that the inhabitant is missing. Plot point two then consists of them finding the woman from the house, learning a little more about the mystery before she gets killed. The final act, the resolution, starts with the pre-climax, here being when Watson gets kidnapped by the villains while Sherlock is out of the house, leading into the climax of Sherlock going to where Watson is being held and saves him and the woman he is with, catching most of the criminals there as well and learning all the information they need to. Finally, the denouement finishes off the plot, with Sherlock finding the item that was stolen, receiving their payment and completing their mystery (except for the criminal who escaped).
2. How does binary opposition apply to this episode?
'Binary opposition' in terms of film refers to a pair of characters who are complete opposites in terms of their personalities and actions within the plot. This way of character writing is often used to help the plot move along well, and arguably, is seen within this show's episode within the character dynamic of Sherlock and Watson. While on the surface, the fact that they both work the same job may make them seem very similar, a deeper look into the character's nuances will show that Sherlock is an almost emotionless person, obsessed with figuring out the case they have been set no matter how long it takes or whatever the cost. On the other hand, Watson's character is one of many emotions, finding a potential love interest in doctor Sawyer, who he also meets while looking for a different career path than the one he is already in with Holmes. This character dynamic works the way binary opposition does, with the actions of the two and the reactions they cause between each other leading into further plot points during the episode and eventually bringing us to its conclusion smoothly and in a way that makes logical, satisfying sense.
3. Can Propp's character types be applied to the narrative and if so, how do they help to shape the plot?
There are eight different characters in Vladmir Propp's 'character theory', consisting of: the Hero, Villain, Helper, Princess/Prize, Dispatcher, Donor, Victim and False Hero. Often, movies story's have most, if not all of these character types within their plot, which help the story move along nicely and shape the plot. In terms of this episode of Sherlock, the Hero is of course Sherlock Holmes himself, being the main character who will be recognised as the key character in the narrative by the audience. The Villain, who fights the hero somehow, is recognised from the beginning also, being the person who killed the person from the apartment and is leaving the messages, although we are not shown who exactly the villain is until the end in terms of a physical character. The Helper, as the name shows, helps the story's hero in some way, in terms of giving advice and support for example, who of course would be John Watson in this case. The Princess/Prize character is a bit harder to determine for this story, but it could be argued that Dr Sarah Sawyer fits into this role, being saved at the end from the villain and forming some kind of a relationship with Watson during the episodes runtime. The Hero is given their task by the Dispatcher, in this case being Sebastian Wilkes, Sherlock's old University friend who gives them the job to solve the initial mystery at the beginning of the episode. Finally, Soo Lin could either be the Victim or Donor, the character we are first introduced to in the episode and who disappears when seeing something frightening (of which we find out what it was at the end), but also helps out the Hero by giving them the book cipher in the story's midpoint. The final three character types, being the False Hero, Victim Donor, these are a lot harder to assign to this episode's characters.
4. Who are the main characters and what is their name, age, gender, role in narrative and dramatic intentions?
This episode of the show arguably has three major characters that progress the plot forward: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson and Dr Sarah Sawyer. Sherlock, the title character, is an mysteriously aged male, as it is never stated in the show (although he is said to be aged 34 in the books the show is based on). shown throughout the episode's plot to being dedicated to completing the task they have been set and finishing whoever is behind the murders they have come across - also, like in the rest of the show, his job is a large part of his character, being very good at it due to his analytic mind and personality. Watson acts as his living and working partner, also a male with an age never stated, but simarlily to Sherlock, can be guessed as sixty due to the books. He has the same intentions as Holmes, trying to solve the mystery and progressing the investigation which is set in front of them, but he also plays the role of bringing Sarah into the plot by looking for a different job during the plot. Sarah is the female doctor Sherlock meets at the job he applies to, who ends up going on a date with him and inadvertently helping out the guys solve the problem they are trying to solve.
5. How did the episode vary with the shooting script, and why?
It is not uncommon for a project's shooting script and final product to have some differences, some more noticeable than others. In the case of this episode's shooting script's beginning, a whole two scenes are included in it which are not present within the final aired episode, where a character by the name of Eddie exits a taxi in a panicked rush, entering his apartment and finding a gun, seemingly being followed by and or running from something/someone. There are many reasons why a situation like this could occur, such as those creating it maybe deciding that episode's mystery would flow better with the scenes removed.
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