The year was 1891.
Storm clouds were brewing over Europe.
France and Germany were at each other's throats...
...the result of a series of bombings
Some said it was Nationalists...
others, the anarchists
But as usual...
...my friend Sherlock Holmes...
...had a different theory entirely.
Bombing in Strasbourg! Read all about it!
- Thank you. - Anarchists suspected...
...in Strasbourg bombing!
Bombing in Strasbourg!
When did you start working for the postal service?
That was you back there.
Shame your activities have landed you in the gutter.
A curious parcel. Who's the intended recipient?
Why don't we discuss that over dinner tonight?
- I'm free for lunch. - Hmm. I'm not.
How about the Savoy, 8:00?
- Splendid. - Hmm.
And will you be coming as yourself?
Most likely.
Three men have been following you for the last half mile...
...their motives highly unsavory.
No.
Oh, and, by the way, they're not pursuing me, they're escorting me.
And instead of three, there seems to be, uh, four.
Heh.
Steady hands with that, Irene.
Oh, I don't think it's my hands you have to worry about.
Be careful with the face, boys. We do have a dinner date tonight.
Don't fill up on bread.
I forgot the rest.
Oh, it's coming back now.
Aah!
Peelers!
We now come to Lot 34...
...Egyptian sarcophagus of outstanding provenance...
...retrieved from the Valley of the Kings.
Your payment, doctor. He sends his thanks.
Who will bid 100 pounds?
One hundred. Thank you, sir.
Please, give this to him. He's expecting it.
Tell him our friend thinks I delivered it to his sister.
Uh... Stay...
...while I check the contents.
I was assured full payment would be there.
Yes, but assured by whom?
Have you ever met him in person?
Or like me, have you been...?
Hold it, hold it. Please, don't move it.
Judging from size and weight, it's not the payment you were expecting.
I'd wager the contents are rather more incendiary.
- Who is this? - It's...
Hello, darling.
Oh, dear. I told you not to move it. It seems a secondary charge has been activated.
Sweet thing, I might need your help in the disposal of this parcel.
One thousand six hundred, 1700, 1800.
- Well, good luck. - One million pounds.
Oh, and by the way, fire.
Fire!
Leave my side, you'll be dead in an hour.
And don't be late for dinner.
My schedule will be quite tight because of these activities here.
- I've never been late in my life, only early. - Fashionably.
Mm. Mm-mm. Mm!
Very witty. So confident, even in retreat.
I'll hold onto that. We'll read it together over an aperitif.
Fine. Dinner and a show.
Stay. Trust me. This is what I do for a living.
Herr Hoffmanstahl, you should count yourself lucky.
This faceless man with whom you find yourself in business is no ordinary criminal.
He's the Napoleon of crime. Fortunately, you now have me as an ally.
I'm a consulting detective of some repute.
Perhaps you've heard of me? My name is Sherlock...
...Holmes.
Hyah!
A fresh pot of tea. Thank you, George.
Yes, Miss Adler.
Fine choice, this place.
Do you have the letter?
It was taken.
Taken? Now, that is unfortunate.
During the chaos created by your package.
Thank you.
Perhaps if you had shared your plans.
You wish to know my plans now, do you?
Did you imagine, Miss Adler, that something would happen to you?
Is that why you chose to meet here in a public place?
Your favorite restaurant?
I don't blame you.
I blame myself.
It's been apparent to me for some time that you had succumbed to your feelings for him.
And this isn't the first occasion Mr. Holmes has inconvenienced me in recent months.
The question is...
...what to do about it.
But that's my problem to solve now.
I no longer require your services.
Mrs. Hudson?
Oh, Mrs. Hudson?
Holmes, you in there?
Your hedge needs trimming.
HOLMES Where am I?
I don't care where you are as long as you're ready.
I'm waiting.
I'm not gonna play this game.
Remember, I have to catch the last...
- ...train. - Uh-oh.
- That's you dead, I'm afraid. - You win.
I lose. Game over.
Still don't see me?
I'm not going out with you dressed like that.
Would you prefer I joined you in the fashion faux pas...
...of wearing fine military dress with that heinous handmade scarf...
...clearly one of your fiancée's early efforts?
Oh, how I've missed you, Holmes.
Have you? Why?
I've barely noticed your absence. Then again, I'm knee-deep in research.
Extracting fluids from the adrenal glands of sheep...
...and designing my own urban camouflage...
...all the while verging on a decisive breakthrough...
...in the single most important case of my career, perhaps of all time.
Mrs. Hudson, how are you?
Oh. I'm so pleased to see you, doctor. Thank you for inviting me tomorrow.
And thank you for looking after Gladstone.
Dear, dear sickly-sweet Nanny, might I have a word?
Yummy. Feed the snake, woman.
You feed it.
Touchy, touchy.
Doctor, you must get him to a sanatorium.
He's been on a diet of coffee, tobacco, and coca leaves.
He never sleeps. I hear multiple voices as if he's rehearsing a play.
Leave him to me.
Don't you have a goat that needs worming?
Oh, how kind of you to remind me.
So much to look forward to. What would I do without you?
Good luck with your patient, doctor.
Why are you here?
I'm getting married tomorrow.
Oh! Embrace me.
Watson's getting married.
- You've lost a few pounds, Holmes. - Yes, and you've picked them up.
- Noshing on Mary's muffins, no doubt. - Ha.
Pour us a brandy. The stag party has begun.
It is our last adventure, Watson.
I intend to make the most of it.
I see you've made good use of my old office.
- Do you like my spider's web? - Is that what you call it?
Follow that strand.
What do a scandal involving an Indian cotton tycoon...
...the overdose of a Chinese opium trader...
...bombings in Strasbourg and Vienna...
...and the death of a steel magnate in America all have in common?
Well, according to your diorama, Professor James Moriarty.
Indeed.
Mathematical genius. Celebrated author and lecturer.
Boxing champion at Cambridge...
...where he made friends with our current prime minister.
Do you have any evidence to substantiate your claim?
This. Now do you see?
- Dr. Hoffmanstahl's death? - Yes.
I've heard you speak of him, extolling his virtues.
Hoffmanstahl was at the forefront of medical innovations, a true pioneer.
Just the other day, I averted an explosion that was intended for him.
Says here he died of a heart attack.
Has all my instruction been for naught? You read the official statement and believe it.
It's a game, dear man, a shadowy game.
We're playing cat and mouse, the professor and I. Cloak and dagger.
I thought it was spider and fly?
I'm not a fly, I'm a cat.
Not a mouse, but a dagger.
You're drinking embalming fluid.
Ooh. Yes. Care for a drop?
You do seem...
- Excited? - Manic.
- I am. - Verging on...
- Ecstatic? - Psychotic.
- Should've brought a sedative. - I'll give my life to see his demise.
He must be stopped before his evil machinations come to a crescendo.
And how will he do all this?
Don't be a dingy bird. Bad people do bad things because they can.
No one, not the victims, the police, the governments, not anyone...
- Except the great Sherlock Holmes... - Correct.
- ...on this diet, will work it all out. - Right.
- Or thereabouts. - Thereabouts, not quite there.
Here's to your good health.
Dingy bird.
What have you done to Gladstone now?
Ricinus communis. The fruit is highly toxic.
He's barely breathing.
What an excellent opportunity.
This may be just the thing.
Sorry, do you mind terribly if I try my adrenal extract?
How many times are you going to kill my dog, Holmes?
Took off like a monkey from a box.
- Hmm. - I may need one of those in a few hours.
Consider it a wedding gift.
Watson, might we use an alternative exit?
Is there something different about you?
I'm under observation.
As you should be.
You drive.
Will your beard be with us all night?
I'll remove it once we're south of Trafalgar Square.
If you believe Moriarty has you under observation...
...isn't this a bit conspicuous?
It's so overt, it's covert.
Trafalgar Square. You must be safe by now.
Why are you looking at me with such concern?
I'm so very worried. Your vitality's been drained from you.
- Marriage is the end, I tell you. - I think of it as the beginning.
- Armageddon. - Rebirth.
- Restriction. - Structure.
- Answering to a woman. - Being in a relationship.
A life in matrimony, the possibility of a family.
Who wants to die alone?
We'll have a good old-fashioned romp tonight...
...you'll settle down, have a family, and I'll die alone.
Yes, that's about it.
Perhaps it's better for one to die alone than to live life in eternal purgatory.
Anyway...
Not bad, that.
So where are we going?
In the future, there'll be one of those machines in every town in Europe.
Loitering in the woodshed again, are we, Myccie?
- Good evening, Sherly. - Well.
I see your bootmaker is ill, dear brother.
As I detect that you've recently changed the brand of soap with which you shave.
The chimney in the front room at Baker Street...
...still needs a damn good sweeping up.
Were you aware that the hackney carriage by which you arrived had a damaged wheel?
Yes, the left. And it's plain to the meanest intelligence...
...that you have recently acquired a new bow for your violin.
Same bow, new strings.
And may I deduce, Mycroft...? Good evening, by the way.
No.
- He doesn't. - May I deduce that you...
...who rarely strays from the path that runs from your home to the Diogenes Club...
...and never on a Monday when they serve your favorite potted shrimps...
...must be here for some far more important reason than my stag party?
You know, he's nothing like as slow-witted as you'd been leading me to believe, Sherly.
No, you're quite right, Dr. Watson...
...but with all the conflict in Europe at the moment, the whole situation could...
Excuse me.... suddenly erupt.
I am here to avoid a dire catastrophe.
If the concerns of two nations...
...which shall remain nameless...
...but I can tell you they speak French and German...
...are not dealt with tonight, I shall be forced to go to Switzerland...
...to attend the ghastly peace summit in Reichenbach.
The worst thing about Switzerland is the altitude.
It gives me nosebleeds, exacerbates my asthma-1...
I'm so glad you invited your brother.
This looks promising.
And your poison of choice, gentlemen?
We'll start with the champagne. We may need several more chairs.
Perhaps a good cigar.
And don't bother with the chairs.
What is it your brother does exactly?
He's the keeper of the broom cupboard of state.
No ambition, no energy...
...yet I'm repeatedly told that he's indispensable to the British government...
...particularly the Foreign Office.
- I would like to propose a toast. - Really?
To my dear friend, Dr. John...
...um, Hamish Watson...
I'm right here.
...On the eve of his wedding. He...
...has been the best companion.
Shouldn't we be waiting for the boys from my rugby club?
He has always kept us... They couldn't attend.
...flat-footed on the ground.
All of them? Hmm. The chaps from my medical school?
- They declined. - The lads from the regiment?
- No man's better worth having at your side... - Who is it you're looking for?
Because I don't know a single damn person here, do I?
There's no need for hysterics. You know me and Mycroft.
- Don't be a ponce, Watson. - Ponce?
You completely forgot about my stag party, didn't you?
- Why are we here? - Your very good health, doctor.
Shame none of your friends could make it.
I'm going to the gaming tables. I refuse for this night to be a total loss.
- Give me my money. - Happily. Give me the wedding ring.
So now you're interested in being the best man.
You're supposed to keep the ring anyway.
Just as you're supposed to organize my stag party.
- Don't want to lose it on a bet. - And invite my friends...
...of which, by the way, there are many. You're the one with no friends...
...Sherly No Mates.
He's all "me, me, me," isn't he?
I win!
Please, sit.
Put your money on the table and we will begin.
Welcome. I am Madam Simza.
Cards can illuminate your past...
...clarify your present, and show you the future.
If you have a specific question, hold it in your mind.
Mm.
I'm holding.
Let me know when you're ready.
Actually, I'd prefer to read...
...your fortune.
Temperance inverted.
Indicative of volatility.
A woman who has recently taken her comfort in drink.
From what does she seek solace? What does she not wish to see?
- A fool embarrassing himself? - Hmm.
- Oh, yes. The Fool.
Someone has been led astray, involved in something without their knowledge.
Not bad, but you have to make me believe you.
I have to see it in your eyes.
- Right. I can do better. - Uh-huh.
The Two of Cups, a powerful bond.
But between whom? A brother and sister perhaps?
And I see a name. Yes, it's...
...Rene.
What do you want?
The Devil.
Why are we playing this game?
Where did you get this?
I stole it from a woman in an auction room, but I believe it was intended for you.
"Found my purpose in life."
So the question I've been holding is, what purpose is Rene fulfilling?
Time is up.
I have other clients.
Though you may not have detected the wisp of astrakhan fur...
...snagged on a nail over my left shoulder...
...you couldn't have failed to notice the overpowering aroma...
...of herring pickled in vodka...
...in tandem with a truly unfortunate body odor.
There's a man concealed in the rafters above us.
A Cossack, renowned for their infeasible acrobatic abilities...
...and are notorious for moonlighting as assassins.
So it's safe to presume that your next client is here to kill you.
Anything else? No?
First, pillage the nest.
Clip wings.
Now blunt his beak.
Crack eggs.
Scramble. Pinch of salt.
Touch of pepper.
Flip the omelet.
Additional seasoning required.
Breakfast is served.
Come with me. I need you alive. Now.
Oh!
Aah!
Didn't see that in the cards, did you?
Oh...
Coming down, folks, coming down.
Looks like we've got ourselves our next cockfight.
Five, four, three, two, one...
...let him go!
Get up there!
All mine?
Now, wait a minute.
You're right. He did stink.
Hey, you can run...
Where's you?
Just had a fight.
- Just had a fight. - Yes.
- Where were you? - I'm glad to see...
...you're taking your best-man duties so seriously.
I was on my own! Not gonna get my monies!
She was biting my leg.
I'll have Carruthers put some fuel into that motor carriage of yours.
You do have a wedding to attend.
Oh, I'll drive.
Hmm.
Ho-honk. Ha-ha-ha.
- Let's have another drink. - No, no, I think you've had quite enough.
Present arms!
I've been to a wedding here before.
Funeral too.
The professor wants to meet.
I'd expected to hear from him sooner, in light of recent events.
He was wondering if it'd be convenient for you to come by the college this afternoon.
His lecture concludes at 4.
Looking forward.
One side, chummy.
"Fischerweise," Schubert, 1826.
- "Give up your foolish trickery." - "This fish you cannot cheat."
I hope I'm not intruding.
Excuse me. Matthew, take these up to Mr. Williams.
And make sure he packs my white tie and tails.
- I'll take care of it, professor. - Thank you. I do apologize.
I'm off on a blasted lecture tour. Would you care for some tea or coffee?
- Neither. - Something stronger, perhaps?
No, but might I trouble you for an inscription?
I read that the good doctor was to be married today.
How was the service?
Definitive.
He'll no longer be party to my investigations. He's out of the equation.
I trust you'll take this into consideration.
And what considerations will you grant me?
Have you actually read the book?
I found it compelling...
...though I'm primarily interested in your more recent endeavors.
I take that as a compliment.
I have the utmost regard for your talents.
It's a pleasure to finally meet you...
...officially.
Are you familiar with the study of graphology?
I've never given it any serious thought, no.
The psychological analysis of handwriting.
The upward strokes on the P, the J, and the M indicate a genius-level intellect.
While the flourishes on the lower zone...
...denote a highly creative yet meticulous nature.
But if one observes the overall slant and the pressure of the writing...
...there's a suggestion of acute narcissism, a complete lack of empathy...
- ...and a pronounced inclination toward... - No.
...moral insanity.
In answer to your previous request regarding Dr. Watson not being involved...
...the answer is no.
The laws of celestial mechanics dictate that when two objects collide...
...there is always damage of a collateral nature.
Exempli gratia.
Two gentlemen find themselves at cross-purposes.
A young woman torn between them.
The strain proves too much for her, and she suddenly falls ill...
...with tragic consequences.
A rare form of tuberculosis.
She succumbed in a matter of seconds.
Now...
...are you sure you want to play this game?
I'm afraid you'd lose.
Rest assured, if you attempt to bring destruction down upon me...
...I shall do the same to you.
My respect for you, Mr. Holmes, is the only reason you're still alive.
You've paid me several compliments.
Let me pay you one in return...
...when I say that if I were assured of the former eventuality...
...I would cheerfully accept the latter.
I'll be sure to send my regards to the happy couple.
Another time, then.
All aboard for Brighton! All aboard!
Which coach are we?
We should be just here.
Ooh.
First class.
All aboard for Brighton! All aboard!
Hurry up, Dr. Watson, your wife needs you.
Coming, Mrs. Watson.
Ooh. First class, champagne.
You do know how to spoil a girl, Mr. Watson.
You're not just any girl.
I'm sorry, madam. You can't use the lavatory while the train's in the station.
You're Mrs. Watson.
Give me that bottle.
John, there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be.
There's no one I'd rather be with.
Why do you have a gun stuffed down the back of your trousers?
Heh. Old habits.
Ahem. Come in.
- Oh, yes, please. - We didn't order that.
With our compliments, sir.
Thank you. Put it there.
Open the door, John.
I think it's time for you to leave.
Sit down.
Shh.
I agree it's not my best disguise, but I had to make do.
- My God. - They'll be back.
- John, shut the door. - They'll only shoot through it.
- He's right, you know. - Oh, my God.
- I understand. - Do you?
Terribly inconvenient.
We don't have much time.
- How many are we expecting? - Half a dozen.
- Who are they? - A wedding present from Moriarty.
Lovely ceremony, by the way. Many a tear shed in joy.
Oh, John?
Yeah, just a minute, darling.
- Do you trust me? - No.
Well, then I shall have to do something about that.
Who's up to bat next, you bastards?
Send out the fast bowler!
John, do shut the door.
It had to be done.
She's safe now.
In my own defense, I timed it perfectly.
Did you kill my wife?!
Did you just kill my new wife?!
Of course not!
What do you mean? How do you know that when you just threw her off a train?
I told you, I timed it perfectly.
What does that mean?!
- Calm down. - Explain!
By the time I've explained, we'd both be dead!
I'm sorry, madam. You can't use the lavatory while the train's in the station.
That was no accident.
It was by design.
Now, do you need me to elaborate...
...or can we just crack on?
Come on!
Don't worry, old boy, she's as safe as houses.
She's with my brother.
I'm on my honeymoon!
Why did you lead them here?! Why did you involve us?!
They aren't here for me! They're here for you!
Fortunately...
...so am I.
Now mind the door.
Good evening.
I think you'll find that second class is more comfortable.
The coast is clear.
To the south, quick march.
Lie down with me, Watson.
- Why? - I insist.
What are we doing down here?
We are waiting. I am smoking.
- Patiently waiting. - For what?
Your window of opportunity.
Make it count.
I said make it count. How many windows must I provide?
Who'd have known that honeymooning in Brighton was such a dangerous notion?
Is that what this is about?
By your own admission, you've never enjoyed it there.
I've never been to Brighton.
Or you're just too fragile to remember at present.
Oh, shut up.
Tell me my wife's safe.
I can't do both.
I promise. As I said, I timed it perfectly.
Over here, madam!
I believe congratulations are in order, Mrs. Watson.
I'm the other Holmes.
You mean there's two of you?
How marvelous. Could this evening get any better?
Why were Mary and I targeted at all?
Excellent question. The answer is twofold.
He's after us because of you.
I'm afraid you must bear half the responsibility.
- Here it comes. So predictable. - Had you and Mary...
...not been hell-bent on wedding, we could've solved this case.
- Oh, it's my fault now. - The argument could be made...
- No, it couldn't. - ...that your nuptials were poorly timed.
Thus, our relationship...
Relationship?
Very well, partnership.
...has not yet run its course.
My dear fellow, if you could be bothered to see this through to the end...
...I shall never again ask you to assist me.
Once more unto the breach.
That's the spirit. Now, to the question.
This is so deliciously complicated. You may be asking yourself...
...what does a criminal mastermind want with a simple gypsy fortune teller?
It's her brother, I tell you. When we find him, and we must...
After you find my luggage.
Go on.
Wait.
Where is it we're going?
Paris, the most sensible honeymoon destination of all.
- So why Paris? - Peaches.
Outside the city at Montreuil...
...there's a Gypsy camp famous for its dried fruit, especially peaches.
And there we shall find our fortune teller...
...and return her bag.
And my ticket?
Unfortunately, you won't be needing yours.
That's a shame, professor. I was looking forward to Don Giovanni.
Follow Meinhard.
Wake up, we're here.
Brace yourself. We're about to be violated.
Don't be so cynical.
- They're taking my luggage. - Laugh them away, Watson. I have her bag.
You had her bag.
Now they have my coat.
Where is Madam Simza?
This is Simza.
Sim is a goose.
I am Sim. Ha-ha-ha.
Nice scarf. I like.
- You hungry? - Famished.
Madam, this is a glorious hedgehog goulash.
I can't remember ever having had better.
Do tell me, when was the last time you had a hedgehog goulash?
I told you, Watson, I can't remember.
Perhaps you've repressed it.
That's where we differ. Unlike you, I repress nothing.
Perfectly normal.
How dare you be rude to this woman who has invited us into her tent...
...offered us her hedgehog?
Says the man who throws women from trains.
Who are you two?
Concerned citizens.
Why did someone try to kill me?
Your brother has become involved with a very dangerous man...
...who clearly believes that Rene has told you something you shouldn't know.
I don't know anything.
I've been looking for him for over a year.
That was why I was in London.
- It's the last place anyone saw him. - It's clear that your brother loves you.
He'd never send you a message that would put you in harm's way.
Any information, therefore, would be, by default, unintentional.
Has he sent you anything else?
Just a few drawings.
Let's just see what they have to tell us.
Unusual choice of paper. Thicker gauge, designed for a printing press.
- And it's the same stock as the letter. - Mm.
They smell musty.
Must have been stored somewhere cold and damp.
What's that? Blood?
Wine. So a wine cellar located near a printing press.
That should narrow it down.
There's a wine cellar used by the anarchist group Lapin Vert.
Rene was close to their leader.
Claude Ravache.
- A bomb maker. - I sampled some of his work last week.
I was a part of the movement. So was Rene.
Until it became too extreme for us.
Ravache knows me.
If my brother's back there, he will see us.
We will send a message.
Whatever you do, don't let these gypsies make you drink.
Of course.
You dance?
For God's sake, don't dance. It'll be the death of you.
You know what happens when you dance.
Huuh...
Oh, good morning, Mrs. Watson.
- Have you had breakfast? - I...
Stanley here does a wonderful deviled kidney.
Ahem.
- Carruthers? - Morning, sir.
Telegram for Mrs. Watson.
Uh...
It just doesn't make any sense.
Allow me.
Oh, yes.
"My most loathed Mary, I do not love you. I never wish to see you again.
Every moment I count away from you is a blessing."
Fret not. It's a double encryption, my dear...
...that Sherly and I have used since we were boys.
If the first letter of the message is a consonant...
...then what follows is the mirrored truth.
- I see. - Hmm.
Stanley!
You know, although our time together has been but a brief interlude...
...I'm beginning to understand how a man of particular disposition...
...under certain circumstances, extreme ones perhaps...
...might grow to enjoy the company of...
- ...a person of your gender. Hmm. - Hmm.
Thank you so much.
Most charming.
May...? Terribly sorry. Thank you.
Where are you going, Stanley?
Whoa, whoa.
Still hiding in basements?
I'm not here to see you.
Yeah.
...with your English friends.
1189, a seminal vintage.
The year of our glorious revolution.
- Is he here? - When freedom triumphed over tyranny.
Is my brother here?
I haven't seen him for a long time.
You're lying.
Sit, please.
A letter was received from Rene using this same paper.
Of course. He took it with him wherever he went.
He's telling the truth. Rene isn't here.
- He was given another assignment by an... - An anonymous benefactor.
Another Englishman...
...with money, power, who supported our cause.
And now...
...he dictates our every move...
...demanding I take responsibility for his acts of terror.
I made a deal with the devil.
But after tonight, ahem...
...it will be over.
My job is almost done.
He's had you plant another bomb, hasn't he?
Claude, please.
These men can help you.
I wish they could.
You see, gentlemen...
...he has my wife and children.
If you tell us where the bomb is...
- ...I'll find a way to help your family. - That's already taken care of.
We have a deal.
He and I.
No loose ends.
There's only one thing I can do to keep my family safe.
- You have less than 10 minutes. - Don't!
He has no further need of that pistol. Why don't you take it and cover the stairs?
There's only one way out of this place.
Right you are.
Ah. Ingenious.
That's the one. Quickly as we can.
You know what to do with that sandbag, Watson.
Quick now.
Doctor, could you secure that lever?
You could have told me.
Ravache was strong. He lived for liberty. He would never take his own life.
Calm yourself.
My brother, he's weak.
Sim, I need you to take a deep breath...
...and follow us.
To the opera.