Sherlock & Daughtertakes a familiar story back to its origins with a fun twist and comes together beautifully. While many adaptations of theSherlock Holmesstories have been made since they were first released, most recent versions have made the story more contemporary. To distinguish itself,Sherlock & Daughterleans into the period setting, with mystery and drama elevating the source material to make it fresh again.
The show opens up with a young American woman sailing to England to find her long-lost father, Sherlock Holmes. However, along the way, she finds herself drawn to a kidnapping and a series of crimes that see her exercise her incredible skills of perception and deduction. Meanwhile, an aging Sherlock Holmes appears to be off his game, having become more reclusive and avoiding any work in the preceding weeks.
Sherlock & Daughter Delivers A Classic Story With Clever Twists & Updates
Throughout the first four episodes of the premiere season,Sherlock & Daughterdelivers a compelling mystery narrativein a way that feels familiar to the character. And with the introduction of an alleged daughter, the story immediately distinguishes itself. Amelia Rojas, the young woman who claims to be the biological daughter of Sherlock, possesses many traits in common with the man, but Sherlock is intent on putting her to work and proving her capable before he can make an accurate assessment of the facts.
Sherlock & Daughterdelivers a compelling mystery narrative with the renowned detective in a way that feels familiar to fans of the character.
David Thewlis (Harry Potterfranchise,Wonder Woman) and Blu Hunt (The New Mutants) fall into their roles well. Thewlis plays a disinterested and distant Holmes whose obsession revolves around solving his own mysteries, while Hunt delivers an emotional, engaging, and enthusiastic performance as the defiant Amelia. Together, they have a unique charm, and they do a wonderful job of making the period setting feel authentic and fitting. It’s this relationship that takes the story beyond the source material from Arthur Conan Doyle, replacing Watson as an assistant with Amelia.
It’s also wonderful to have the adventures of Holmes referenced throughoutSherlock & Daughter, indicating that this is a more seasoned version of the detective who has already embarked on many of his greatest adventures. The result is a show that pays tribute to the source material, seeking to authentically revive the characters while still expanding on the original stories as it imagines Holmes at a later point.
Sherlock & Daughter Takes Inspiration From Popular Adaptations
Recent adaptations ofSherlock Holmeshave sought to display the detective’s incredible mind and thoughts through visual cues and overlaid narratives. Here,Sherlock & Daughterintroduces its own visual signature with text that summarizes and denotes important details. However, this can be heavy-handed at times as it fails to reveal Sherlock’s mind and plays as more of a grocery list in the plot. There are moments where this becomes comical, but it’s a largely lazy tool to track the story.
Thewlis and Hunt do a wonderful job in playing their parts, and the show delivers sufficient intrigue and excitement as to keep the narrative moving forward at pace.
In addition, the way the series applies scene changes can be frustrating, especially when characters move from one place to another. However, these minor details fail to override the general fun of the series. It’s dramatic, mysterious, and entertaining to see these characters engage. Thewlis and Hunt do a wonderful job playing their parts, and the show delivers sufficient intrigue and excitement to keep the narrative moving forward at a good pace.
Overall,Sherlock & Daughterdelivers with a unique period style, talented performers, a wonderful new twist to a familiar story. The show balances humor with drama, resulting in a wonderful outing that could prove to be one of the more popular adaptations of the detective’s stories, even asSherlock & Daughterhas stiff competitionfrom many other contributions of Doyle’s work.
Sherlock & Daughter
Sherlock & Daughter is a mystery-thriller series created by Brendan Foley for The CW. A young American woman named Amelia seeks the truth behind her mother’s recent murder - but she soon discovers that her father may be the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes.
