Sherlock Holmes has been a popular character since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle began writing the notorious stories in the late 1800s. Throughout the years the popularity has increased, and since then, there have been many popular books, movies, and television shows based off the high-functioning sociopath.

Sherlock, one of the most popular television shows on BBC, has been full of intensity ever since its start in 2010. The show’s main characters are Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman), who solve crimes that follow mostly the same story line of Doyle’s mysteries. The main difference between the show and the writings is that the television show has a modern twist.

On January 1st, 2016, the beginning of season 4 launched at 8 pm Central time, and the season finished on January 15th. Before presenting this intensive program, the creators of Sherlock, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, gave hints that it would be the darkest season yet. It was also mentioned that Sherlock Holmes’ emotions would be touched more than ever.

Some people have only just started watching the television show, and are excited to see what comes ahead. “I’ve enjoyed the character development of John. He eventually trusted Sherlock more and more,” stated freshmen Maddy Moe.

Sophomore Douglas Zhang mentioned that action gets many people sucked in. “I like the pacing and how everything is connected.”  

Those who have watched season 4 were incredibly surprised when they saw the episodes. “I do think season 4 was darker, it went off the route of the usual- just solving weird cases,” said sophomore Leslie Chu.

Catherine Irrgang, another sophomore, believed that the season was darker than normal as well. “I liked how they had humor, even if the show was dark.”

 One of the main questions people wondered about since the end of the season was, will Sherlock continue? “I don’t think this will be the the last season. I feel they still have enough content to make the story more elaborate and continue,” added Leslie Chu. Catherine Irrgang thought opposite and doubted they would continue.

Season 4 has also been very surprising, and some didn’t expect it to be such a dark season. The added humor was amusing, but that balanced out with the emotional moments. Season 4 was definitely different from the other seasons that normally were just about solving cases. This season brought up many unexpected plot twists. There will most likely be a season 5, as many secrets haven’t been uncovered yet, but many of the actors, including Benedict Cumberbatch, have numerous upcoming events in their careers, and may not have time to continue.

Whether a new or old fan, Season 4 has been a shocking wrap on the Sherlock series.