Painful truth behind Sherlock’s shocking climax
IT was already one of the most awkward situations imaginable – two actors having to appear alongside each other as husband and wife just a fortnight after ending their 16-year relationship. Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington’s position was made all the more difficult by the fact that they were starring in the television event of the New Year period – last night’s Sherlock.
And then came the script itself, which required them to relive the experience of being new parents and then express how much they loved each other.
After all that, the two stars might be forgiven for feeling somewhat relieved that Miss Abbington’s character was dramatically killed off at the end of the first episode last night. Mary Watson was fatally shot as she jumped in front of a bullet aimed at Sherlock, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, by a villainess codenamed Love, played by Marcia Warren.
As she died, she told her husband, Dr John Watson, that he had been her ‘whole world’ and begged him to look after their new-born baby. And despite the recent strains in their real-life relationship, she told him: ‘You made me so happy, you gave me everything I could have ever wanted.’
While the words were painfully ironic, given their split, it was Freeman’s guttural cry as his on-screen wife died that was perhaps the most telling.
Indeed, the 45-year-old admitted that filming the episode had been an ‘odd’ experience, particularly given that he and Miss Abbington have two children together, and so were revisiting their shared experience of being new parents.
He told The Observer: ‘So we did this series not being together, which was kind of
‘There was no hostility, really’
odd, although we were doing it as friends and we’re still very close. It’s always interesting doing stuff with your partner because you know each other better than anybody else and that was obviously still the case with this series. But it wasn’t lost on me and Amanda that, “Oh look, we’re holding our fictional baby. Remember this?” ’
Asked if she found the filming strange, Miss Abbington, 42, told Stella magazine: ‘Yes, so weird. Especially playing new parents again, up all night feeding and things, because we were effectively revisiting how it was when we first got together.
‘I love working with Martin, and we definitely would do again, but there were some pressure points in this episode where we thought, “Oh, are we doing the right thing here?” But the resounding answer was always yes.’
She also opened up about the reason for the split, which she described as ‘amicable’, saying Freeman’s extensive work abroad had played its part. On how their two children reacted to the news, she said the youngsters were upset at first… ‘but they’re very cool. They know they’re so loved, and have a huge support network.’
Miss Abbington admitted their separation was ‘sad’ but said they had decided it was best for them to split and had been ‘really lucky’ to make a clean break that minimised upset to their children. She added: ‘There was no hostility, really. We just said we couldn’t live together any more.’
The main strand of last night’s Sherlock episode, titled The Six Thatchers, focused on six stone busts of Margaret Thatcher being smashed, which raised controversy among some fans. However, co-writer Steven Moffat said the choice of Baroness Thatcher was merely a modern twist on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original tale The Adventure of the Six Napoleons.
Last night’s episode, which was expected to be watched by 11million, also showed Sherlock in some near-death encounters, including one where he almost drowned in a swimming pool.
However, the closing minutes showed an even greater struggle for the sleuth than avoiding being killed, as Watson blamed him for his wife’s death.
Fans expressed their shock over the death. Alicia Barney tweeted: ‘What the hell is going on? Mary? I am heartbroken’.
While it would seem Freeman and Miss Abbington will no longer have to act alongside one another in Sherlock, TV writers have been known to bring characters back to life. But perhaps that would be one twist too far for this acting couple.