Warning! This review on Yuukoku no Moriarty Chapter nine contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, I recommend watching it and then going back to read the review.
# 9 Sherlock’s study, act 2
Yuukoku no Moriarty Chapter nine begins with the end of the crime scene inspection. With the help of Inspector Lestrade, Sherlock manages to escape and reunite with Watson. To prove his innocence and solve the crime, Sherlock turns to the Baker Street Irregulars for help. In addition to trying to set a trap with the ring found at the crime scene. Finally, Holmes collects all the clues and reaches the criminal, who offers him information about his benefactor in order to kill him. However, Holmes refuses the offer and takes Hope to court. The chapter closes with Watson thinking that there won’t be any dull moments with his new partner. He also ends the story in his diary with the title: “Study in scarlet fever”.
Hope wish
After the case is closed, we can retrace our steps and talk about what led to this situation. As in all cases where Moriarty has rendered his services, this also involves the cruelty of the nobility. Count Drebber was far from being a saint, he enjoyed a peculiar and disturbing hobby, raping and torturing young women of the lower class. As in most cases, the count got away with it thanks to the power of money. Regardless of his misconduct, he always managed to fix things with a few coins. But the exception was Jefferson Hope, Lucy’s husband. When he lost his lover, everything in Hope’s life lost its meaning, in addition to the fact that he didn’t have much time to live, he decided to do the only thing he could, to get revenge.
Faced with a desperate plea for justice that the authorities would never deliver, Hope turned to the only man who could help, Moriarty. The revenge plan was tailor-made, including a small test on a particular detective. For Hope everything was an all-or-nothing gamble as she had nothing to lose as it had already been taken from her. Hope’s wish for Holmes to end her life was not exactly her own wish, but rather her last attempt to serve her benefactor. There was no wish to be removed until the authorities were reached as Hope had finally given up hope. He didn’t really care to live or die because he was doomed to failure.
The truth of all of this is that Hope’s only wish was granted when he himself pulled the trigger that ended Drebber’s life. What Hope wanted from the beginning was to avenge the death of her beloved, moreover, she only thanked them for having granted her wish. Although it is true that Hope was pleased that someone could solve Drebber’s misdeeds. What I personally find unfair about all of this is that while it was seemingly easy to investigate the count’s evils, no one ever did anything to stop him.
What makes it a mystery
The Holmes study came to its conclusion. The test went in two directions, the first to see if he could solve the crime, which he did perfectly. The second was a character test, since Moriarty wants to use Holmes as the protagonist of his crime scenes, it was necessary to know his person. The trap was simple, it offered the answers to his questions in exchange for killing a murderer. As I said, it was a simple test, but at the same time it was completely revealing. The conclusion was that Holmes is not the kind of “anything goes” guy. Unlike Moriarty’s group, Sherlock doesn’t seem like the type to believe that the ends warrant the means.
But Holmes not only falls into the protagonist of the protagonist of impeccable morality, but is also a person who serves his own interests. The reason he turned down Hope’s offer wasn’t because of a moral sense of right and wrong, but because of his own ego. I’ve said it before, Sherlock is a genius and he doesn’t doubt it, he’s confident in his own mind. Accepting the answers on a silver platter is a betrayal of your own perception of your genius, and you cannot tolerate that. Sherlock enjoys secrets because they test his intellect and by solving them he affirms himself as a genius, which is why he does not tolerate the idea of giving up a secret by letting it serve him. It’s not moral, it’s ego, he has to be the one to find the answer, otherwise it isn’t worth anything to him.
It was precisely this character that helped William get interested in him and put him to the test. They are both two sides of the same coin, and while Sherlock solves puzzles to his ego, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a scale of values. His apology to Hope was proof of that, because he understood what it meant to decline the request. Holmes’ decisions put him on the side of the light because he does not question the justice of the law. However, this does not mean that the injustices committed under these laws will be removed. Because in the end, uncovering a secret gets to the bottom, with all the filth that implies.
Watson’s role
Another character who made a brilliant debut is Dr. John H. Watson. This man has become Holmes’ adventure companion. Watson’s arrival was a perfect fit for the new role our detective advisor had been given. Sherlock as the protagonist needs a henchman who can keep up with him and who is interested in his progress. But it’s not just about that, the role of Watson will also put a brake on Holmes’ folly. As we have already seen, Watson is a man of high morality who knows how to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong and who will constantly reveal Holmes’ moral compass.
As a bonus, we now know that it will be Watson’s job to reveal Sherlock’s genius to the world. His diary will be the record of the adventures they will have together and how this man discovers the most fascinating secrets in ways that are not always conventional. The latter is an incredible detail. As I said in the last review, this case was a variant of the classic “Study in Scarlet “ by Doyle, a novel written from Watson’s perspective, by the way. The fact that it is precisely Watson who wrote the adventures of Holmes in these episodes and that he titled it “Study in scarlet fever“It’s not free, it’s the best reference to Doyle’s universe that could have been made.
Final comment
Yuukoku no Moriarty Chapter nine was a fascinating episode and a perfect end to the Sherlock study. Not only did we know the true background of the Count’s death, but we also received the answer as to whether Sherlock was worth being the protagonist chosen by William. The script doesn’t generate more than praise, the details presented are superb. It should be noted that as Sherlockiana I was particularly pleased with the conclusion and astronomical reference to Doyle’s novel that we knew from the previous episode that we relived.
Before I finish with that, I have to say that I am still very intrigued by the details of the animation. The alternation of colors and lights for moments of confrontation or tension is wonderful. In addition to the details of the crows watching over Holmes when he met Hope and from a window in his house while talking about him in the Moriarty house, they were perfect. I enjoy the difference between the stress of a crime and the stress of solving it. Although in both cases the scene is darkened and gray predominates, there is a significant change in tones. While red predominates as the secondary color in crime, the breakup between Sherlock and Watson was tinted green, which gave the situation an entirely different tone.
Anyway, these were my impressions from the chapter: What do you think of this episode? What’s your take on Sherlock’s decision? What do you think of Watson and his role in this story?
