Sherlock and Moriarty: the confrontation of great minds

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the most scandalous adaptations of the legendary "Sherlock Holmes" showed us the characters in a completely different light. The plot is built around the confrontation between two geniuses of our time - Sherlock and Moriarty. A sociopath genius and a crazy villain, too inquisitive to fit into the society we are used to, blew the minds of the public with exquisite puzzles and mysterious crimes. What lies behind this rivalry of great minds and what is the secret of the project's success?

The Role of Moriarty: Actor's Choice

According to the director of the series, Moriarty was originally planned as a minor character, but the team approached the choice of an actor for his role very seriously. The script that the applicants were supposed to play was extremely ridiculous, and many clearly failed to capture the perception of Moriarty's image. However, Andrew Scott came on the scene and he was great! The team immediately approved him for the role, which simply doomed him to success asthis character, and the whole project as a whole. Choosing Andrew for this role was one of the most successful decisions, because in the end the character gained almost the same popularity among the audience as Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock himself.

Andrew Scott character

The actor intentionally did not watch other adaptations of Sherlock in order to understand for himself what image of the villain he wants to present to the viewer. Sherlock and Moriarty are both extraordinary personalities, and this was to be shown to the public in the most favorable light. In his interview, Andrew tells how exactly he came to the image of Moriarty: “I didn’t want to copy anyone, at some point I just imagined what kind of villain I personally would be … and the image itself surfaced in my mind.” Quite an eccentric manner of speech (a sharp transition from a normal tone to a high one) Andrew tried out before filming, and the director immediately approved it, as it especially emphasized the slight madness and imbalance of the character. It was also decided to leave the actor's funny Irish accent, because the name Moriarty is of Irish origin. By the way, it was for this that the series was disliked by some categories of British viewers.

Relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty

Being extraordinary personalities, both characters inevitably suffer from boredom in our everyday world full of mediocre people. When a serious enemy appears on the horizon, Sherlock is immediately enthusiastically involved in the game. Like Moriarty, he does not care about the struggle between good and evil, only the confrontation of minds,brain charger. At first, he really does not see much difference between himself and Moriarty, because for each other they are the best cure for boredom. However, over time, Sherlock learns true friendship, he begins to be surrounded by people who are ready to take care of him and even sacrifice themselves. This greatly changes Sherlock and his perception of life. In the end, he has to choose the side of good or evil, self-sacrifice for the sake of dear people, or the selfish continuation of the game.

The Riddle of the Brilliant Villain

Moriarty also suffers unbearably from boredom, and his only fun is mind games with Sherlock Holmes. He is like a cruel child without brakes, who fell into euphoria from eating a piece of cake. Moriarty is having fun, but behind this joy lies a deep longing and loneliness. Andrew Scott perfectly conveyed this inconsistency of the character. Sherlock and Moriarty are like two sides of the same coin, no matter how trite it may sound. Sometimes they look just terrifying, and sometimes they appear before the public by the charm itself…

What happens next?

It is known that the release of the 5th season of the project is scheduled for January 1, 2019, however, according to Benedict, the continuation of the series is still in doubt. There are several reasons for this: on the one hand, the heavy workload of the actors, both Cumberbatch himself and Martin Freeman, on the other hand, quite tense relations between the actors. It is curious that for 6 years of filming, Sherlock's best friend in real life, ironically, became friends with Andrew Scott - Moriarty. In any case, the audience is looking forward to the return of Moriarty and Sherlock to the screens, because the storyline of season 4 leaves many mysteries, the resolution of which promises next season.