Sherlock: The Empty Hearse

Two years after his supposed death, Sherlock Holmes is exonerated and quietly returns to London. Mycroft corners him in Siberia and enlists him to uncover an imminent and huge terrorist attack against the city. Sherlock's reappearance marks the start of a complex deception-driven plan to outwit Moriarty and regain his credibility.

An interleaved scene shows how Sherlock might have faked his death: leaping from a roof with a bungee, then re-entering through a window. Moriarty's face is masked as Sherlock to mislead onlookers, while Watson lies stunned and unaware. The public narrative is a carefully staged ruse devised to cripple Moriarty's network.

Philip Anderson spreads media stories painting Holmes as a fraud and orchestrates a plan to erode public trust in him. He even founds a club called the Empty Hearse to discuss how Holmes could have faked his own death. The guilt over his role lingers as the plan progresses.

Disguised as a French waiter, Sherlock approaches John and Mary's dinner. John initially fails to recognize him, and the moment of recognition triggers a hostile confrontation, with John attacking him three times in different restaurants. Sherlock finally reveals that his death was fraudulent, creating anger and a fragile reconciliation.

When John refuses to team up, Sherlock enlists Molly Hooper to assist him with the next case. Molly recognizes that Sherlock misses John and reluctantly agrees to help, though she ultimately questions the deception. The collaboration marks a shift in how the investigation is conducted.

An underground skeleton behind a desk, containing a manuscript titled How I Did It by Jack the Ripper, is planted by Anderson to lure Sherlock out of hiding. The fake clue is part of a broader trap designed to draw Holmes from the shadows. It demonstrates the extent of the ruse surrounding Holmes's death.

Mary receives a skip-coded text warning that John has been kidnapped and will die unless rescued in time, with a coded location. Sherlock and Mary then ride a motorcycle to rescue John from a burning bonfire scene where a Guy Fawkes effigy is about to be burned. The escape showcases the plan's audacity and John's growing trust in Sherlock.

A London Underground video shows a passenger vanishing from a train between two stations. Sherlock deduces that Moran is involved and that the attack will target the Houses of Parliament during a late-night hearing on an anti-terrorism bill on Guy Fawkes Night. The threat shifts from personal to institutional.

Holmes and Watson locate the secretly diverted carriage rigged with a massive bomb in an abandoned station near Parliament. Sherlock defuses the device by turning off the switch, while John believes it may be impossible to stop the attack. Sherlock apologizes for dragging John into danger, and the moment deepens their bond.

In a flash-forward, Sherlock visits Anderson and explains how he faked his death to mislead Moriarty and dismantle his network. An alternate version of the plan is shown, along with the realization that thirteen possible outcomes were anticipated. It ends with Moriarty's suicide as not something Sherlock expected.

Sherlock sends the code name 'LAZARUS' to John’s attention, signaling the final leg of the ruse. The homeless network coordinates a public display while John, riding in a cab toward the hospital, becomes an unwitting spectator. A body double and a manipulated pulse create the illusion of Holmes's death.

Anderson remains skeptical of the whole story, tearing theories off a wall in disbelief. Meanwhile, Lord Moran, a foreign agent involved in the conspiracy, is arrested by the police as he leaves a hotel. John asks who abducted him, and Sherlock offers no immediate answers, keeping the mystery alive.

In the final moment, a bespectacled man with blue eyes watches footage of Sherlock and Mary rescuing John from the fire. The shot suggests a watcher with a larger stake in Holmes's fate, leaving the conspiracy open.

John remains unsure how Sherlock survived the rooftop jump and why someone would want to burn him inside a bonfire. The ambiguity lingers as the credits roll, hinting that not everything is settled. The episode closes with unresolved questions about the conspiracy's full scope.