Is there a Moriarty connection?

We look at the unanswered questions of the Sherlock Season 4 premiere.

Warning: This article contains MAJOR spoilers for the Sherlock season 4 premiere.

After all, new episodes ofSherlockonly come around once a blue moon.

We need to take advantage of them.

I knew it wouldnt end like this.

I knew Moriarty made plans, Sherlock says aloud to Mrs. Hudson after receiving the Miss me?

disk in the shows final minutes?

Wefinallygot a mention of Sherlock and Mycrofts other brother in the final minutes of The Six Thatchers.

Mycroft sees a post-it note on his fridge with the message 13th.

Yes, Ill wait.

Guys, Mycroft willwait.

Where is Sherrinford that Mycroft cant call him directly?

And what did the 13th symbolize?

Was it a message from Sherrinford or simply a reminder Mycroft had written to himself to call Sherrinford?

Perhaps January 13th or which ever date the 13th represents is an important date for the Holmes brothers.

Why is Sherlock dreaming of Redbeard?

Much season 4 speculation surrounds the mysterious Redbeard, depicted as Sherlocks childhood dog in season 3.

It seems worth noting that Sherlock had an obsession with pirates as a kid.

A child sings in the background.

Later in the episode, Sherlocks therapist mentions that Sherlock is having a recurring dream.

Is this the dream?

Is Sherlock guilty over something that happened with Redbeard and/or Sherrinford when he was a child?

Is his guilt surrounding Marys death dredging those feelings and thoughts up again?

Did Marys message say anything else?

After the credits, we see another snippet from Marys message to Sherlock saying Go to hell, Sherlock.

Was there much more to Marys message than what was shown on screen?

Could it be related to Moriarty?

Is the hell Mary tells Sherlock to go to a specific clue?

It certainly sounded like it.

Why did AJ attack now?

In The Six Thatchers, we learn more about Marys years as a hired assassin/general spy-key in.

We even get to meet AJ, one of the people she worked with in AGRA.

Sherlock and Mary wonder what happened to AJ during the six years he was missing since the Tbilisi incident.

Did the random Eastern European terrorists really just keep AJ in a cell for six years?

Why not kill him?

Could AJs timely arrival be part of Moriartys master plan?

Um, whats with Johns random flirtation?

No, but really.Sherlockgave us absolutely no insight into this interlude.

Never has the shows slow phasing out of John Watson as Narrator been more apparent.

This was Johns show more than Sherlocks, in many ways.

IfSherlockwas intent on giving John this storyline for some reason, give us some insight into Johns reasoning.

Is he still pissed about Marys lies?

Does he regret his decision to forgive Mary her past?

Has his brain been hijacked by an alien slug host?

Any or all of these could be true.Sherlockdidnt bother to tell us.

How long does John flirt with E?

The two smile at one another.

Did John continue seeing E after that?

Its also unclear how long their relationship goes on.

This entire subplot is depressing.

Even more pressingly, could E somehow be related to Moriartys big plan?

We all know that John is Sherlocks biggest weakness.

To first get Sherlocks attention, Moriarty kidnapped John and strapped some bombs to him.

It makes sense that he would so something similar for his post-mortem game.

Furthermore, both Moriarty and E are Irish.

What does Johns note say?

Is he simply angry at Sherlock for breaking his vow?

Is he angry that he broke his own vow to Mary?

Is he angry that Mary died to save Sherlock?

Is he angry that Sherlock goaded Norbury, even when Mary told him not to?

Is he afraid to lose someone else that he loves?

Again, we didnt get much of where John Watsons head is at in this episode.

How will Sherlock save John Watson?

I need to know what to do.

Guys, Sherlock is asking his new therapist for advice about how to save John Watson.

Thats how desperate he is.

Whose death was the ep foreshadowing?

The Six Thatchers went heavy on the death foreshadowing.

Will someone else die this season?

Could it be Sherlock?

Or does Sherlocks childhood obsession with the story have something to do with the mysterious Sherrinford/Redbeard clues?

All questions to discuss as we wait for next weeks episode…