4. The Other One

Here is one throwaway line that has really set the internet alight with theories. Towards the end of ‘His Last Vow’, while in deliberation with some officials about what to do with murderous Sherlock, Mycroft scoffs at the notion that he is protecting his brother because of a tender heart, reminding the officials: “You know what happened to the other one.” This quick aside  – which suggests there is a third Holmes brother! – hasn’t yet been elaborated on, but we can hope we get more about this mysterious “other one” in Series Four.

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3. The Empty Hearse

This obvious nod to the show’s real life obsessive fandom is an adorable way to show various versions of how Sherlock survived his apparent suicide and the lovely little reveal that he’s alive to the public. But what happened to the club once he appeared? Did they just dissolve, like Anderson tearing down his conspiracy theory notes from the wall? It’s been a heckuva lot of fun seeing Fanboy Anderson in his new fawning mode but it would be a treat to see what became of The Empty Hearse. Maybe they become Baker St. Irregulars? Maybe they continue their sordid fan-fiction?

(And speaking of Anderson, where has Donovan – his co-conspirator in bringing Sherlock down in Series Two – gone? She was largely absent in Series Three and completely absent in ‘The Abominable Bride’. Did her customary prickly disdain for Sherlock go away like it did for Anderson? Did she get reprimanded or punished for her part in the conspiracy? We need answers!)

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2. I.O.U

In ‘The Reichenbach Fall’, Moriarty declares that he owes Sherlock a fall and leaves the message I.O.U carved into an apple. I.O.U. then pops up multiple times in the rest of the episode, presumably to remind Sherlock of Moriarty’s evil presence. But even after the big literal fall at the end of the episode, it’s still unclear what Moriarty really means. What does he mean, he owes him “a fall?” Is he just referring to the fact that Sherlock has foiled several of his nefarious schemes by now, and he owes him payback? That’s not exactly what he said, though, and the appearance of the code-like I.O.U. in building windows and wall graffiti just feels more….well, it feels like there’s more there in that message than we’ve gotten yet.

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1. Redbeard

Redbeard is first mentioned by Mycroft in ‘The Sign of Three’ but in the very next episode we seemingly have this mystery cleared up – Redbeard is Sherlock’s childhood dog who it is implied was put down, suggesting that the memory of such is still an emotional trigger to a Sherlock who otherwise abhors “the fly in the ointment” that is emotion. Yet the name keeps coming up here and there after that reveal in ‘His Last Vow’ and, when we glimpse Mycroft’s notebook near the end of ‘The Abominable Bride’, there it is again – along with some other tidbits that we hope are explained later (including a numerical code, and the name Vernet).

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