Sandbox / Broken Base Sherlock

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• The more bellicose fans were happy to feud with fans of other shows for the first two seasons. This was not true later, however.
• The third season, however, sparked some heavy arguing over whether Mary was an enjoyable character, or a two-dimensional slash-wrecker who was too similar to other female characters in Steven Moffat's shows, and whether the explanation (or not) of how Sherlock faked his death was well handled or tilted too far towards trolling and mocking the fans.
• The large amount of Homoerotic Subtext between John and Sherlock (which has even been lampshaded multiple times) has caused many reactions by the fandom. Some viewers enjoy it or even believe it is genuine Ship Tease to hint at John and Sherlock getting a Relationship Upgrade while others believe that the writers have no plan on getting John and Sherlock together and simply added the subtext to attract more Yaoi Fangirls.
• Season 4:
  • Episode 1, "The Six Thatchers", has been one of the most polarising episodes to date:
    • Some fans outright detested it for focusing on drama rather than an actual case and for focusing too heavily on Mary and her super spy background. 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. Mary taking a bullet for Sherlock and dying was also disliked because it was poorly set up, and shot in a way that looked absolutely ridiculous. Some fans also disliked that Sherlock was made more 'human', to the point of seeing a psychologist at the end of the episode.
    • However, other 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. In other words, most opinions on this episode are extremely contrasting in nature.
    • There is a third group which dislikes some things from the former points while enjoying others.
  • The finale "The Final Problem" somehow manages to be even more polarizing.
    • Some believe that it was an intense, emotional roller-coaster of an episode and served its role as an exhilarating conclusion for the darkest and most tragic season of Sherlock. The ending of the episode is considered to be both a satisfying uplifting wrap up of the series, in case it is indeed the end, and a positive affirmation of the immortal status of Sherlock Holmes’ legend.
    • Mary's narration at the end is seen as either a touching way to cover the ending montage, while others found it Narm and out of place. A fan edit was made removing the narration, which had many people feeling it made the ending a lot better.
    • Some fans think that despite the episode’s plot being a mess, its emotional moments, especially the ending, as well as completed character arcs for Sherlock and John were more than enough to make up for its other shortcomings.
    • Yet another group liked the episode fine despite its flaws, but disliked the Grand Finale-like ending, feeling it came out of nowhere after the whole Eurus story, thus ruining an episode that could have been fine on its own if not for it being treated as the very last.
    • Other than the argument of whether or not it was a good finale, the fact that John and Sherlock are not explicitly in a romantic relationship at the end did not go over silently. One half of the fandom is enraged that the creators queerbaited them for the entire series only to not go through with it at the end. The other half point out that the creators never said the relationship would happen, and that some fans looked way too deeply into John and Sherlock's relationship. The argument of whether the Johnlock ship is more appreciated than the show itself is a whole new war entirely.
  • Aside from (possibly) "The Lying Detective", the first and final episodes of the series were polarizing at best, with critics and fans crying out about how the series became less of a detective series and more action-packed and obsessed with the mentality of Darker and Edgier. "The Final Problem" became the biggest polarizing episode however, with more fans and critics debating on whether the series ended on a good note or if it ended in a cop out, especially with the revelations involving Eurus. And of course it lead to some fans attacking Steven Moffat for "ruining the show", like some do to the other show he writes for.

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