Enola Holmes is a feminist icon.
And the second movie was fucking fabulous! I've/We've only waited two years for this sequel, but it was very, verrrrrrry well worth it.
I have a lot of comments/critiques, but I'll try to keep them (mostly) spoiler free for you. And as I listed them in two lists (pros and cons), I realized I was putting almost every pro in the cons list as well, and vice versa. So, I decided to make a different kind of list..
Like the first movie, the second movie didn't stick strictly to the second book. It had aspects from various books in the series as well as added some new and non-Nancy-Springer plot. It added:
*The Enola Holmes Detective Agency: It's hard to fit all of the books' details into a movie (as seen in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban and the Percy Jackson movies--as well as others), which I get; however, Enola Holmes never named her detective agency after herself. She knew she would never be taken serious with her last name, let alone that she was female. In the books, she posed as the secretary/note-taker to a mysterious/never-actually-seen detective (who was secretly also her). She was more successful that way (not entirely so, she still had lots of trouble getting started) and taken (a bit) more seriously. But again, I get (mostly) why the writers decided to change it.
*A Moriarty twist. At first, I loved it. Who doesn't love the classic Sherlock versus Moriarty games. Then, I wasn't so sure, because these books were about Enola, not Sherlock. Then I loved it, because there was another twist to the twist (which is a major spoiler). I thought the twist was refreshing and fun and fit into the overall original themes of the original books. Then, I just wasn't so sure; like I said, Moriarty is/was strictly a Sherlock thing, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this character getting involved in the Enola movies (I could be wrong, but I don't remember Moriarty ever being in the book series). The only reason I can see them adding Moriarty was the popularity of Henry Cavill as Sherlock and wanting to see more of him (which, I mean, I get--but again, this series is supposed to be mainly about Enola).
*Sherlock himself: Yes, Enola does pop into and out of Baker Street in the book series. She does help Sherlock with a few cases, as does he (and many of their cases do overlap). But, he was never super supportive of her or her dreams/freedom until the end of the series. He just...wasn't there. I like how they've changed it in the aspect that they're showing his feminist side and showing how all of these powerful women are changing the world, but it just...again, probably because Henry Cavill is hot and popular and plays a good Sherlock.
*Romance: Speaking of adding more men to the series because they're hot...Viscount Tewkesbury. From what I remember, he pops up in one other book, and like Sherlock, I think it wasn't until the very end of the series (and maybe it wasn't even the original series, but a book Nancy Springer added after the popularity of the first movie--and Louis Partridge. Enola never had any romantic interests in the books. She wanted to focus on herself and her dreams and her freedoms. She never wanted to be tied down to a man or tied into the traditional social norms of her time. It was her Thing. Netflix added the heightened romance to the movies, because Loius Partridge is attractive and plays Tewkesbury fabulously, and everyone loves romance (including myself--a self-proclaimed romance addict). You can't have an attractive female without giving her a romantic ending (there's a feminist theory for that--I learned about it in college, but can't remember the name of it right now). Again, I'm suuuuuuuper conflicted to this addition.
*Real-Life/History Tie-Ins: I'm not at all conflicted to this addition..The Match Girls Strike was real, as was Sarah Chapman. I don't think this was part of the original series (as I remember a veeeerrrrrrry different ending to the second book--that, spoiler alert, also has a female being forced into a romantic relationship with a rich, well off, white man), but I love it. I love the need for equality and safe working places and the female-leadership of it all. It was perfect. My only comment on this is now I have to go and research more about it, wanting to know even more.
*Dr. John Watson: Watson was in the original series from the get-go. He was just there. He was already Sherlock's flatmate, friend, and confidant. In one of the books, they introduced Mary and their relationship/marriage. Watson was still not introduced in the second movie until the very, very end (spoiler alert) in a really fun and cute end-credits scene.
*Mycroft Holmes: He just wasn't in this one. He spends most of the series, like the first movie, trying to stop Enola and bring her back to "normal" society and make her conform. I'm not sure if audiences didn't like his character, didn't like Sam Claflin's portrayal (I did, a lot), or if Sam Claflin has prior conflicts and couldn't be in this addition. Either way, I missed him.
I feel like I had more to say, but I've already said a lot (venting a lot), so I'll just end it all here.
Anyone else watch the new/second Enola Holmes movie?
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