YMMV / Sherlock S4 E1 "The Six Thatchers"

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Is John really angry at Sherlock for failing to save Mary, or is he angry at himself for having an affair, living with the guilt that he betrayed his wife and is simply projecting his anger on Sherlock?
  • Added to his guilt is also likely how he was considering cheating on Mary while the latter, in her dying breath, tells him he was her whole world. John might have realized she loved him more than he loved her at that point and didn't deserve such deep devotion from her.
• Broken Base: Some fans outright detested the episode for focusing on drama rather than an actual case and for focusing too heavily on Mary. It goes without saying that a lot of fans disliked the fact that John, of all people, was unfaithful, and that he was ultimately pushed to the background by both Sherlock and Mary; the former stating that Mary was far better at helping him. Some viewers also did not like changes to Sherlock’s characterization. On the other hand, some fans thought it was a refreshing episode with a much-needed change of pace. They liked that Mary got some more backstory, and enjoyed that she was made into a badass super spy, rather than just sitting in the background with the baby. They liked that there was more action, as opposed to detective work, and liked seeing the dynamic of Sherlock and Mary working together. Fans also liked the implication that John isn't perfect, and did cheat on his wife, and they also liked seeing the more human side of Sherlock saying it is a good case of Character Development.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: DI Stella Hopkins, mainly for being the first Conan Doyle inspector besides Lestrade to show up, plus being a Gender Flip of her book counterpart.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Some fans found Mary pretending to be a hypochondriac American woman on the aircraft disturbingly reminiscent of the real-world death of Carrie Fisher.
  • John jokingly tells Mary "Can I divorce you?" after she jokingly compares him to a dog that Sherlock got to help with a case. This becomes painful when before said episode airing, Martin Freeman and his partner (who is the actress who plays Mary) separated, although in amicable terms.
  • Sherlock tells Mary that he will protect her (which is a reference to "The Sign of Three") and even vows to do so. The episode ends with Mary dying and John becoming a broken man who berates Sherlock for not keeping his promise.
• Narm: John's sobs at the death of his wife are either heartbreaking to listen to, or they sound too much like a walrus to be taken seriously.
• Shocking Moments: Mary gets killed off, (possibly) leading to the end of John and Sherlock's friendship, as by the end of the episode he wants nothing to do with him.
• Special Effect Failure: At the beginning of the episode, John is seen writing a new blog post, but is actually just typing while staring at a screenshot◊ of his blog, with the Windows 10 Photos app's toolbar fully visible. Apparently, nobody bothered fixing it in post or just... displaying the image in fullscreen mode.

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