Sherlock: The Blind Banker

Does the episode follow a 3 act structure or classical Hollywood narrative?

The episode does follow a 3 act structure as we start the episode in what is considered normality - at least by Sherlock's standards - where Watson is at Tesco's having self-checkout troubles and Sherlock is fighting a Sikh man in his apartment, move onto the murders and the mystery of the stolen artifact that disrupted that equilibrium and finally end on another case being finished, Watson collecting the paycheck and Sherlock finding the jade dragon pin, although the actual ending hints at a much greater adversary awaiting Sherlock along with an even bigger conflict.

How does binary opposition apply to this episode?

Binary opposition is most clearly present in the characters, with Sherlock, Watson and Sarah presenting a traditional protagonist role against the Black Lotus Tong, the antagonists of the story, casting a very clear good vs evil dynamic in the episode. These characters also represent light and dark as an extension to that, as we always see the Black Lotus in dimly lit environments with the exception of Soo Yin's apartment, where an unknown figure dressed all in black attacks Sherlock. The heroes of the story on the other hand do a lot of their work in light environments out of the shadows.

Can Propp’s character types be applied to the narrative and if so, how do they help to shape the plot?

An obvious link to Propp's character types is in the shows main characters, Sherlock and Watson, who fulfil the hero and helper roles respectively. The dispatcher is Wilkes, who assigns Sherlock the case of the banker painting, while the princess is the case itself. The princess role can also be fulfilled by Sarah, however the case more prominently fulfils the role. The princesses father is Inspector Dimmock, who is in charge of the case once police involvement is required. The donor in the story is Soo Lin, who provides Sherlock with the means to solve the case. The villain is the Black Lotus Tong, who Sherlock is trying to track down and is behind the crimes.

Who are the main characters?

Sherlock Holmes - Sherlock is a young British male and the worlds first consulting detective. Tasked with solving a case behind a vandalised banker portrait, he soon finds himself in the midst of a much sinister case involving international crime and a stolen artefact.

John Watson - John is a youngish male who is a former British Army doctor and is currently Sherlocks roommate who has landed a new job as Locum in a doctors surgery ran by Dr. Sarah Sawyer. His motivation is to solve the case for Wilkes as a lot of money was offered for the case to be solved, which he and Sherlock were severely lacking.

Sarah Sawyer - Sarah is a young female doctor who runs a surgery. She hires Watson as a Locum, and after covering for his first shift agrees to go on a date with him, which Sherlock manipulates into the case and ends up in her involvement in the case, eventually leading to her needing to be saved by Sherlock after being kidnapped by the Tong.

Shan - Shan is an old Chinese woman who heads the Black lotus Tong, a criminal organisation operating between China and London. Her motivation is to track down the jade hairpin and have killed those suspected in its disappearance.

Soo Lin Yao - Soo Lin is a young Chinese woman, who is a Chinese pottery expert working at the National Antiquities Museum and a former member of the Black Lotus Tong. She is one of those targeted by the organisation, and is a key part in Sherlocks eventual triumph over them by giving him the means to solve the case and find the hairpin.

How did the episode vary from the shooting script?

The main difference between the shooting script and the episode is an entire scene that follows Edward Van Coon as he hurries from a taxi into his bedroom and locks himself in, panicked. The aftermath of this is seen later in the episode when Sherlock finds him murdered in his room, and the scene was most likely removed from the final episode as it is unneeded exposition which doesn't really add much to the episode except wasting part of its runtime.