The Six Thatchers
| "The Six Thatchers" | |
|---|---|
| Sherlock episode | |
| Episode no. |
Series 4 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Rachel Talalay |
| Written by | Mark Gatiss |
| Produced by | Sue Vertue |
| Featured music |
David Arnold Michael Price |
| Cinematography by | Stuart Biddlecombe |
| Editing by | Will Oswald |
| Original air date | 1 January 2017 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
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"The Six Thatchers" is the first episode of the fourth series of the British television programme Sherlock and the eleventh episode overall. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC First, PBS and Channel One on 1 January 2017.
The episode opens with a monologue from Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) telling a version of the Appointment in Samarra tale. Mycroft briefs Sherlock and a committee chaired by Lady Smallwood on the new 'official' story of Charles Augustus Magnussen's death ("His Last Vow") – the video footage has been doctored to make it appear as though he was shot by a sniper. John and Mary Watson welcome the arrival of a baby daughter, whom they name Rosamund Mary. Following the events of "The Abominable Bride", Sherlock becomes obsessed with working out his archenemy Moriarty's posthumous revenge, with Mycroft and Scotland Yard detectives including Greg Lestrade assisting him in solving seemingly trivial cases, hoping it will lead them to a larger scheme. Meanwhile, John starts having a relationship with a woman he met on a bus, implying an affair, though he later texts her to say that it's over.
Sherlock investigates a case where the son of a Conservative cabinet minister is found dead in a car crash, despite seemingly being on a gap year in Tibet. Sherlock quickly solves the case, but is distracted by a missing bust of Margaret Thatcher at the victim's home, discovering that it was stolen and smashed upon the front porch. Four other identical busts are smashed and upon encountering and fighting the culprit, Sherlock discovers that the last bust contains a memory stick with information about Mary and her past as a government agent. The culprit, a former teammate, seeks revenge in the belief that Mary betrayed him. Upon being questioned by Sherlock, Mary explains that she was part of a freelance task force named 'A.G.R.A.', derived from the members’ names, Mary being 'R' for Rosamund (her real name) and 'A', her pursuer, Ajay (Sacha Dhawan). All members had a memory stick containing data on each other, in the event that one was betrayed. Six years prior, a rescue mission of hostages at the British embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia went wrong when a coup d'état (set off by a code word "Ammo") resulted in the presumed death of all A.G.R.A agents, save Mary. Sherlock tries to persuade Mary to not go after Ajay. Feigning agreement, Mary knocks Sherlock out with a drugged letter and escapes.
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