The Worst Episodes of Sherlock

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Worst Episode
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   7.0/10(191 votes)

   #1 - The Six Thatchers

   S4:E11/1/2017

   Why is someone destroying images of Margaret Thatcher? Is there a madman on the loose? Or is there a much darker purpose at work?

   Director:Rachel Talalay

   Writer:Mark Gatiss

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   Director:Rachel Talalay

   Writer:Mark Gatiss
2. 

   7.4/10(234 votes)

   #2 - The Blind Banker

   S1:E28/1/2010

   A mysterious cipher is being scrawled on the walls around London. The first person to see the cipher is dead within hours of reading it. Sherlock plunges into a world of codes and symbols, consulting with London's best graffiti artists. He soon learns that the city is in the grip a gang of international smugglers, a secret society called the Black Lotus.

   Director:Euros Lyn

   Writer:Steve Thompson

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   Director:Euros Lyn

   Writer:Steve Thompson
3. 

   7.6/10(139 votes)

   #3 - The Final Problem

   S4:E31/15/2017

   Holmes and Watson travel to Europe to escape Moriarty's vengeance.

   Director:Benjamin Caron

   Writers:Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat

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   Director:Benjamin Caron

   Writers:Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat
4. 

   7.8/10(213 votes)

   #4 - The Hounds of Baskerville

   S2:E21/8/2012

   A hound from hell. Sherlock's most famous case. But is a monster really stalking Dartmoor?

   Director:Paul McGuigan

   Writer:Mark Gatiss

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   Director:Paul McGuigan

   Writer:Mark Gatiss
5. 

   7.8/10(211 votes)

   #5 - The Empty Hearse

   S3:E11/1/2014

   Two years on from reports of his Reichenbach Fall demise, Sherlock resurfaces as London comes under threat of a huge terrorist attack. John, though, has mixed feelings about his friend's shocking return.

   Director:Jeremy Lovering

   Writer:Mark Gatiss

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   Director:Jeremy Lovering

   Writer:Mark Gatiss
6. 

   8.0/10(213 votes)

   #6 - The Sign of Three

   S3:E21/5/2014

   Sherlock faces his biggest challenge of all – delivering a Best Man’s speech on John’s wedding day! But all isn’t quite as it seems. Mortal danger stalks the reception – and someone might not make it to the happy couple’s first dance. Sherlock must thank the bridesmaids, solve the case and stop a killer.

   Director:Colm McCarthy

   Writers:Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Steve Thompson

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   Director:Colm McCarthy

   Writers:Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Steve Thompson
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7. 

   8.2/10(270 votes)

   #7 - A Study in Pink

   S1:E17/25/2010

   A war hero, invalided home from Afghanistan, meets a strange but charismatic genius who is looking for a flatmate; it is London, 2010, and Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes are meeting for the first time. A string of impossible suicides has Scotland Yard baffled - and only one man can help.

   Director:Paul McGuigan

   Writer:Steven Moffat

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   Director:Paul McGuigan

   Writer:Steven Moffat
8. 

   8.2/10(226 votes)

   #8 - The Great Game

   S1:E38/8/2010

   A strange clue in an empty room, a blood-soaked car, a priceless Old Master, a deranged bomber. With the clock ticking, the curtain rises on a battle of wits between Sherlock, John and the shadowy stranger who seems to know all the answers...

   Director:Paul McGuigan

   Writer:Mark Gatiss

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   Director:Paul McGuigan

   Writer:Mark Gatiss
9. 

   8.2/10(197 votes)

   #9 - His Last Vow

   S3:E31/12/2014

   A case of stolen letters leads Sherlock Holmes into a long conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen, the Napoleon of blackmail, and the one man he truly hates. But how do you tackle a foe who knows the personal weakness of every person of importance in the Western world?

   Director:Nick Hurran

   Writer:Steven Moffat

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   Director:Nick Hurran

   Writer:Steven Moffat
10. 

    8.4/10(249 votes)

    #10 - A Scandal in Belgravia

    S2:E11/1/2012

    Blackmail threatens the monarchy and Sherlock is about to meet the woman who beats him.

    Director:Paul McGuigan

    Writer:Steven Moffat

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    Director:Paul McGuigan

    Writer:Steven Moffat
11. 

    8.4/10(174 votes)

    #11 - The Lying Detective

    S4:E21/8/2017

    Sherlock faces perhaps the most chilling enemy of his long career: the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith – a man with a very dark secret indeed.

    Director:Nick Hurran

    Writer:Steven Moffat

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    Director:Nick Hurran

    Writer:Steven Moffat
12. 

    8.7/10(224 votes)

    #12 - The Reichenbach Fall

    S2:E31/15/2012

    The return of Moriarty. The crime of the century. Can Sherlock possibly survive?

    Director:Toby Haynes

    Writer:Steve Thompson

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    Director:Toby Haynes

    Writer:Steve Thompson