Sherlock Holmes 3 theory #1:
San Francisco, bereavement, and the plague
The (rumored) word thus far about Sherlock Holmes 3 is that it will be set in San Francisco ten years after the events of A Game Of Shadows. That movie took place in 1891, if I recall, and so the events of SH3 will likely be set in 1901, but I think it is not unreasonable to assume either 1900 or 1902. Now, if this is the case, then the “old west” setting goes out the window, because San Francisco at the turn of the century was actually a bustling city of about 340,000 people. There were cable cars, a massive Chinatown, and the former Fort Alcatraz was being used as a military prison. And so, the likelihood that Dr. Watson would find himself there is actually larger than one might think.
At the turn of the century, the Cooper Medical College (formerly the Toland Medical College & the Medical College of the Pacific, and predecessor to Stanford Medicine) was going through reforms; and a few years prior, the school had changed from a three-year to a four-year curriculum. The faculty was made up of mainly practicing physicians at this time, and there was also an affiliated school for nurses.
Then, in January of 1900, a ship from Honolulu (the four-masted steamship, S.S. Australia) made port in San Francisco, bringing with it rats infected with the bubonic plague. The infection spread through Chinatown, and the area was quarantined. However, fearing for the city and state’s economy, Governor Henry Gage publicly denied the outbreak even existed. Incidentally, this outbreak is the reason burials were outlawed within the city of San Francisco, as authorities believed that the bodies would contaminate the surroundings.
Now, on to fiction and speculation:
If we are to assume that, as in the books, one of the reasons Holmes reveals himself to Watson was because the latter is in mourning, then we’ll begin with the unfortunate thought that Mary has died. Let’s say that happened 6-12 months before the beginning of SH3. Watson, being a physician, would surely put some of the blame on himself, and has perhaps sunk into a depression, causing his practice to begin to fail.
Holmes, for his part, would have been traveling the world for the past decade or so, anonymously solving crimes for the authorities before moving on. One such case, however, might have given him trouble and proved to have more creeping vines than any of the others in the past few years. He decided, then, to settle down a bit more permanently in the San Francisco area in order to suss out the possible causes and effects.
It is at this time that he learns of Watson’s bereavement; and shortly afterwards the plague begins to spread through Chinatown. Having aided members of Cooper Medical College’s faculty, he persuades them to extend an invitation to Watson to serve as an attending physician and professor. Holmes also arranges for Mycroft to offer to buy, through a third party, Watson’s failing medical business in London (much as Holmes did in The Adventure Of The Norwood Builder, when he provided the money for his distant relation, Verner, to buy Watson’s practice).
Still, Holmes only provided the impetus and did not force Watson’s decisions, so in the end it was Watson’s choice to move to San Fransisco. The choice was perhaps aided by both the desire to help quell the plague outbreak as well as the fact that, in the mid 1890s, Cooper Medical College was one of only a handful American medical schools recognized by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (which, by the way, was attended by Dr. Mortimer of Hound of the Baskervilles fame).
Despite being the very cause of Watson’s move to America, however, Holmes does not immediately reveal himself to his old friend. Now, on a personal level, I would actually like to see Holmes not willingly reveal himself to Watson at all. We have seen that done many times, and I think it would be fun if, being injured on a case, Holmes goes to his former clients at the school for medical help, but that Watson accidentally ventures upon him. I would love to see Holmes stumble over trying to pretend that he is not, in fact, who he is, and it being Watson who ultimately reignites their partnership.
Anyway, that is all I have for now as far as speculation goes. I might post more theories and thoughts in the future, if anyone is interested.
jacobvanloon
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