133 Years Later, Guy Ritchie Just Rewrote Sherlock Holmes' Final Problem

Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock riffs on 133 years of Sherlock Holmes lore, crafting a unique origin story for Hero Fiennes Tiffin’s Sherlock and Dónal Finn’s James Moriarty. It’s been 133 years since Moriarty made his debut as Holmes’ nemesis in “The Adventure of the Final Problem,” intended to be the Great Detective’s swan song. The characters of both Holmes and Moriarty have been reinvented so many times since, but Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock goes further than most. It’s essentially an origin story for both, with Sherlock and James developing a friendship at Oxford.

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Sherlock’s first case is surprisingly personal, though, when he links a spate of murders to a family tragedy. Sherlock and Mycroft’s younger sister Beatrice was believed to have died in tragic circumstances that tore the entire family apart. In reality, her death had been faked by their own father, in a shocking twist that turned Silas Holmes into Sherlock’s first nemesis – and a villain who foreshadowed James Moriarty himself, who Silas believed was destined for greatness.

Why Silas Holmes Faked Beatrice’s Death

Facing financial ruin, Silas had arranged for Beatrice to be slipped away from the Holmes estate so he could quietly take control of his wife Cordelia’s fortune during her time of grief. He pretended Cordelia had been driven mad with sorrow, paying for her to be sent to an asylum where her every action was monitored so as to protect Silas’ financial position. In the meantime, Beatrice was sent to an adoptive family; Silas did still care somewhat for the daughter he’d sent away, arranging for a gift to be sent to her every birthday.

This annual birthday present changed everything, however, and Beatrice tracked her father down. Recognizing Beatrice’s ruthless intelligence, Silas took her under his wing as a co-conspirator in his international criminal empire. He fanned the flames of ambition within Beatrice, encouraging her to care nothing for little things like loyalty and patriotism, and matters came to a head over Silas’ plan to sell a deadly new nerve agent. Beatrice soon began to realize that her father was lying to her, manipulating him just as easily as he did his sons.

Silas’ Last Plan Ends In His Death

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories tended to be set in the U.K., but Young Sherlock is a globe-trotting adventure that ends when Sherlock and his allies successfully destroy Silas’ laboratory. Silas’ escape attempt builds to a dramatic conclusion over a lake, in a scene deliberately evocative of the fateful confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty in “The Adventure of the Final Problem.” Unable to stand by while his father is killed by the vengeful Shou’an or Beatrice, Sherlock stands in front of their guns – only for Silas to wrestle him to the cliff-edge before plunging to his death.

Silas realized there was no way out, and he apparently chooses death on his own terms rather than allowing Shou’an or Beatrice to end his life. He also deliberately leaves a last clue for Sherlock, one that leads to a mysterious key that presumably hides another aspect of Silas’ legacy. Unknown to Silas, though, Moriarty has secretly rescued the formula for the nerve agent from his base before it was destroyed. Sherlock guesses this, leaving Holmes and Moriarty in a confrontation that clearly sets up Young Sherlock Season 2.

Young Sherlock Is A Three-Way Battle For Silas’ Holmes’ Legacy

In truth, Young Sherlock is a three-way battle between Sherlock, Beatrice, and James Moriarty to embody the legacy of Silas Holmes. Recognizing Beatrice’s ruthlessness, Silas promised her that she would be his second-in-command, the heir to his criminal empire. Much to Beatrice’s fury, though, she hears him make the exact same offer to Sherlock when he realizes just how intelligent and insightful his son really is. But Sherlock does not want this legacy, and Beatrice too rejects it when she realizes there is nothing real in it.

The true heir to the Holmes legacy is in fact James Moriarty, a brilliant Irishman who clearly rivals Sherlock in intelligence while lacking any real sense of morality. James’ true nature gradually surfaces over the course of Young Sherlock, tempting his friend on several occasions only to pretend he was just joking. A clash in France leads to Moriarty killing for the first time, and he finds he quite enjoys it, setting him on the same path of violence that Silas had chosen. In a disturbing twist, Moriarty also becomes Beatrice’s lover, likely meaning she will be his first lieutenant.

Silas Holmes’ Death Mirrors Moriarty’s Own Fate

It’s impossible to watch Young Sherlock‘s final episode without recognizing the parallels with “The Adventure of the Final Problem.” There, Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty struggled at the top of the Reichenbach Falls, both apparently plunging to their deaths. Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock turns this into a dark parallel of Sherlock’s last struggle with his own father, rewriting that scene as the one in which Silas’ legacy would finally be destroyed for good. But it also raises some very curious questions about how the final battle really played out.

Sherlock Holmes did not die at the Reichenbach Falls, of course; Conan Doyle was unwillingly forced to resurrect him, and Holmes explained his survival in “The Adventure of the Empty House.” But we only ever had Holmes’ own account, and the parallels raise the possibility that Moriarty too eventually chose to die in disgrace and allow Sherlock to live on. Alternatively, if Sherlock’s own account was indeed accurate, then this would prove Moriarty to be a worse monster than the man who inspired him – someone who sought vengeance upon a person he cared for so much, right up until his final breath.

Young Sherlock is an unusual Sherlock Holmes adaptation, an origin story for Sherlock and Moriarty, and it does play fast and loose with the mythology. But it does so with remarkable skill, centering its story on “The Adventure of the Final Problem” and adding so much depth to the short story penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 133 years ago. It’s a tremendous achievement, and we can only hope Guy Ritchie gets a chance to continue this story.

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