Warning: SPOILERS forWatsonseason 1, episode 13, “My Life’s Work Part 2.”
While the titular doctor faces several new challenges asWatsoncontinues, one prediction by its main star could potentially weaken the series. Going intoWatsonseason 2, things are looking uncertain for John and his UHOP team. They’ve all agreed to knowingly violate their oaths in the interest of taking down a threat, but Moriarty’s stolen DNA samples are still unaccounted for at the end of theWatsonseason 1 finale. This means that Moriarty’s work still presents the possibility of future danger if any villains with similar ambitions have access to his lab.
That’s not the only uncertainty facing Watson’s team, however. Interpersonal issues could begin brewing as Stephens and Lubbock enter into a new relationship, not to mention the potential for lingering resentments afterIngrid’s betrayal put John in the position of having to threaten Moriarty’s life in the first place to save the Crofts. But amid all of this dramatic tension, it’s one of the least heavily featured members amongWatson’s cast of characterswho threatens to undermine the very core premise of the series itself.
Morris Chestnut Believes Sherlock Holmes Will Return In Watson
Holmes Survived The Same Fall In The Books
AlthoughWatsonpicks up after Sherlock Holmes’ death during his encounter with Professor Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls, he’s not entirely absent from the series.Matt Berry plays the voice of Holmes in a series of aural hallucinations Watson experiencesafter Shinwell switches around his medications at Moriarty’s behest. This seems to be the extent of Sherlock’s presence in the series, but leading actor Morris Chestnut believesSherlock Holmes will return inWatsonalive and unharmed. “I will say Holmes, you know, in the mythology, does come back,and we are part of the mythology,“states Chestnut.
This twist would be much more appealing if Moriarty were still alive.Randall Park’s Moriarty casting inWatsonlends the character a rather understated quality that would have played curiously against Matt Berry’s generally dynamic performance style.Bringing Holmes back is also the easiest way to service fans who watch primarily for the show’s literary connections, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best move for the series. In fact, Sherlock’s survival was never initially planned as anything much more than a last resort.
Sherlock Holmes Was Never Meant To Return In Watson Season 2
He’s Being Saved For When The Story Needs Him
Were Sherlock to become a major character in a show calledWatson, then the obvious concern is that the title character would start to be overlooked.Casting Matt Berry as Holmes would particularly draw attention from Morris Chestnut’s John Watson, given Berry’s natural tendency toward spotlight-stealing performances. According to showrunner Craig Sweeny, that concern forms the basis of whySherlock Holmes is dead inWatsonto begin with. The series could just have easily taken place before Watson and Holmes met each other at all, but Sweeny explains the decision to specifically start at Reichenbach Falls:
“If you have Watson front and center, to allow that character to shine, you definitely don’t want him competing with the most famous character in all of literature, so a very natural construction for me was to begin with the death of Holmes at Reichenbach Falls. Now, of course, even in Conan Doyle’s stories, Sherlock is not truly dead.
My belief is that Holmes is gone. I don’t want to be held to that if there’s some great story that presents itself, but I don’t believe that we’re ever going to feature Sherlock as an ongoing character in the show Watson at this time.”
This is a rather sensible approach to handling an adaptation in which the original main character isn’t meant to be the primary focus. Sweeny’s certainly right not to close off the idea of bringing Sherlock back completely, butHolmes’ return is a plot twist best saved for when the well of stories is running dry forWatson’s current main cast. It would also be particularly self-defeating to bring Sherlock back inWatsonseason 2 when the season 1 finale took a major step to ensure that John could step out of Holmes’ shadow even further.
The Watson Season 1 Finale Was Meant To Further Remove Watson From Holmes
John Shouldn’t Be Overshadowed In His Own Series
Given the season-long buildup to the ultimate reveal of Moriarty’s plan to create targeted bioweapons using stolen genetic materials, it felt very much like he was being set up as the primary villain of the entire series. It was therefore more than a little surprising that Watson killed James Moriarty when the professor had barely field-tested whether his homegrown diseases would actually work. Speaking withScreenRanton the subject,Watsonshowrunner Craig Sweenynotes thatMoriarty’s surprisingly quick death was part of the plan to distinguish Watson’s present storyline from his past with Sherlock. Sweeny explains:
“It was not a vengeful act by Watson, but rather a prophylactic one to prevent the damage that [Moriarty] was able to do in the future with all of that DNA. As far as why now, I love TV, and I’ve always written TV and responded to TV that tells stories in chapters and that ends those chapters conclusively when it is time to do so.
And so I really did like, narratively, the idea that season 1 was the story of Watson becoming his own man outside of the shadow of Sherlock Holmes by confronting Holmes’ nemesis and defeating him. That made sense to me as a way to firmly establish that Watson deserved the spotlight.
When you have a show called Watson, right, the question of ‘Well, why should we follow that guy?’ hangs over it. One way is you cast Morris Chestnut, but the idea that he would earn his worth, and this is from the character’s point of view, he comes into his own confidence by defeating the nemesis that had bedeviled him and Sherlock.”
This actually makes a great deal of sense when considering thatWatson and Moriarty never shared any real rivalry in the literature. Sherlock pursued the professor on his own, intentionally leaving Watson out of his trip to Reichenbach. Additionally, John Watson doesn’t even recognize Professor Moriarty when they first meet in theWatsonseason 1 finale, further illustrating how little interaction they’ve shared in the past. James Moriarty was little more than a painful ghost from Watson’s history, and that spirit has now been exorcised.
Sherlock Holmes Can Still Play Into The Story Of Watson Season 2
His Presence Can Be Felt Without His Survival
Sweeny wants Dr. Watson to stand on his own as a character, but that doesn’t change the fact that the formerElementarywriter still cares deeply about the lore. Although it’s important for Sherlock not to overshadow the good doctor,Sweeny makes it clear in hisScreenRantinterview that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original lore will continue to feature in the show. There have already been multiple references to key villain Sebastian Moran, although Sweeny’s comments onhow the Sherlock Holmes stories tie intoWatsonsuggest something more complex than simply changing up the villain each season:
“The Sherlock Holmes canon will not go away. In fact, it will be present in a new and hopefully inventive way in season 2. It’s not as simple as like ‘Well, we did Moriarty, so now we’ll do Gruner, and this time he’s stealing the post-it notes instead of the DNA.’ … We work the lore in what I think is going to be a really pleasantly surprising way for the audience in season 2. But yes, we’re not just saying the flavor of the stories, but actual events and characters from the stories will figure into season 2.”
A few notable characters have made their way into theWatsoncanon already. Shinwell Johnson features as a main character, as does Watson’s ex-wife Mary Morstan. Carrying on the long tradition of Holmes adaptations making more of the character than Doyle’s books did,Irene Adler is even revealed inWatsonseason 1 to be the mother of Sherlock Holmes’ child. She’s also revealed to have ties to literary villain Baron Gruner, who tries to use her to acquire Sherlock’s DNA. EvenMrs. Hudson is established as a prostituteand fake landlady of 221B Baker Street in the universe ofWatson.
Watson also has the potential to carry on his acquaintance with several more direct allies of Holmes as well. Although not associated with Sherlock in this series,Inspector Lestrade’s relationship with Watsonhas already gotten off to a great start. And some of Sherlock’s allies, such as Hudson, have yet to be introduced onscreen. Much as the series did with Irene,Watsoncan continue introducing characters from the literature while furthering their stories to examine what their lives (and Watson’s) would have looked like if Doyle had continued their narratives in a modernized world where Sherlock never survived the fall.
Watson
Cast
Watson follows Dr. John Watson a year after Sherlock Holmes' demise as he leads a clinic for rare disorders. Despite his return to medical practice, Watson is drawn back into the mysteries and challenges of his past, suggesting that his association with Holmes is far from over.
