Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed character in all of film – he’s been portrayed over 250 times on the small and large screen. While this is good for fans of the character, it makes bringing a unique Holmes to life difficult for producers, directors, actors and others involved with the film-making process.

A recent adaptation that captured the imagination of the public is the BBC adaptation “Sherlock”, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, which recently premiered its fourth and possibly last season. Since the last “Sherlock” episode before this season aired in 2014, hype was running high to see what new adventures were in store for the detective and his sidekick.

The season opened with “The Six Thatchers”, the plot of which centered around Mary Watson’s past and Sherlock’s attempt to save her while solving a mystery relating to six busts of Margaret Thatcher, one of Britain’s previous prime ministers. This episode is the weakest of the season, and that’s for a few reasons. First, it feels less like a “Sherlock” episode and more like a short movie about Mary Watson’s character. While it’s fine to focus on characters other than Sherlock, I didn’t like this instance of it. I felt explaining Mary’s character made her less interesting, and this episode didn’t feel like Mary Morstan’s (the actress who plays Watson) best work. A decidedly mediocre episode.

Luckily, the second episode returned the show to form. The episode, titled “The Lying Detective”, pitted Sherlock against a slimy philanthropist by the name of Culverton Smith, portrayed brilliantly by Toby Jones. This episode was made especially memorable because Sherlock was impaired by his drug addiction for the majority of it, which made “The Lying Detective” feel even more urgent and, at times, like a bad trip.

The follow up to “The Lying Detective” is also the season finale (possibly the show finale as well) and is titled “The Final Problem”. In this episode, John, Sherlock and Mycroft are imprisoned and forced to face an old Holmes family secret. If “The Lying Detective” channeled “Naked Lunch” in its reality-bending drug hallucinations, “The Final Problem” channeled “Saw”, in a sadistic, trapped sense. I loved this episode, beginning to end. It was tense, unpredictable and all of the things that make “Sherlock” good. Specifically, a scene between Molly and Sherlock in the middle of the episode had become one of my favorite scenes of the entire show.

“Sherlock” season 4 took some time to get off the ground, and requires viewing of the prior three seasons to understand and appreciate. However, I found it to be immensely enjoyable in spite of several faults with the first episode. If this is indeed the “Final Problem” for Cumberbatch and Freeman, I found it a worthy send-off.