Watson found a way to bring back Sherlock Holmes but there is still speculation about the iconic character’s return — and Robert Carlyle has his own thoughts.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Carlyle, 64, weighed in on theories that Holmes isn’t actually alive after seemingly returning from the dead, saying, “As far as I’m concerned — at this point — Sherlock is alive. Sherlock is there. He has appeared. He has put himself in front of Watson — and it’s up to Watson to figure this whole thing out.”
Carlyle isn’t ruling out the twist, though.
“Who knows how it’s going to be [as the season goes on]? It’s almost the notion of it. Is Sherlock real? It’s like a Sherlock Holmes mystery in itself,” he noted. “It’s fun. I hope it’ll be fun for the audience to try and figure out as the season progresses just exactly what the truth of this is. But at this point, this is the truth at this point and as far as I’m concerned, he’s alive.”
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Based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson takes place six months after Moriarty kills the legendary detective. Watson (Morris Chestnut) came to terms with the loss of his best friend and partner by resuming his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders.
Season 1 built up to a confrontation between Watson and James Moriarty (Randall Park). Then in the season 2 premiere, Watson came face to face with Sherlock Holmes despite it being established that Holmes previously died at the hands of archenemy Moriarty.
Chestnut, 56, spoke exclusively with Us about the reveal — including whether Holmes is real or a figment of Watson’s imagination, teasing, “That’s an excellent question. I’m still trying to figure it out myself. Is he here or is he not? It’s a very perceptive question. Quite honestly at the time we filmed it, I didn’t know.”
He continued: “At the time we filmed the first two episodes, I personally didn’t know. Because I don’t ask [creator] Craig [Sweeny] what is coming up in the future. I don’t ask him about certain things. I just read [what’s on the page].”
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After the Monday, October 20, episode of the hit CBS series, Carlyle acknowledged that Watson was the only one who saw Sherlock.
“You’re already picking away at it. That’s interesting, isn’t it? Holmes doesn’t actually see anyone else. But it doesn’t mean he’s not actually there. He may just be hiding because he is. This reveals itself as the episodes go by,” he continued. “Sherlock is in a place in his life and his age that he’s thinking about his mortality now. He’s thinking about the end and what is it that he’s actually achieved in his life — if anything at all.”
Carlyle confirmed that Watson will dive deeper into Sherlock’s concerns about what he has accomplished, adding, “That tells you where he is. He’s thinking, ‘Has any of this been worth it or has this been time wasted?’ He’s different from a lot of the Sherlocks that have been in the past. Most of the time in the past, these portrayals of the character show him single-minded. In this Sherlock’s mind, this is what he and Watson have to work their way through.”
Watson airs on CBS Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.
