Sherlock Holmes is approached by an agent of a very illustrious client, a client whose name cannot be revealed. The daughter of General Merville is engaged to Baron Gruner, a man with a reputation for wooing women, using them and then disposing of them. His last wife died in very suspicious circumstances. Holmes must prevent Ms Merville from making the same mistake.
A different sort of Holmes episode: no crime to solve and the villain is known and out in the open. Holmes must thwart the nefarious intentions of Baron Gruner, rather than necessarily bring him to justice.
Initially this was a very intriguing proposition as it provides Holmes with a nemesis, something he hasn't had since Professor Moriarty, a long time ago. However, this intrigue dissipates over time: Baron Gruner is not a patch on Moriarty. Moriarty was intelligent and operated in the shadows, Gruner is a thug, operating in plain sight.
The nature of Gruner also means the solution will be physical rather than cerebral, and so it is. It all seems beneath Holmes and makes for a clumsy-feeling conclusion.
It's still watchable and interesting enough, just not up to the usual Holmes standard.
A different sort of Holmes episode: no crime to solve and the villain is known and out in the open. Holmes must thwart the nefarious intentions of Baron Gruner, rather than necessarily bring him to justice.
Initially this was a very intriguing proposition as it provides Holmes with a nemesis, something he hasn't had since Professor Moriarty, a long time ago. However, this intrigue dissipates over time: Baron Gruner is not a patch on Moriarty. Moriarty was intelligent and operated in the shadows, Gruner is a thug, operating in plain sight.
The nature of Gruner also means the solution will be physical rather than cerebral, and so it is. It all seems beneath Holmes and makes for a clumsy-feeling conclusion.
It's still watchable and interesting enough, just not up to the usual Holmes standard.