However, this episode made me go back. There is hope after all. Granted, it is a theme episode, and you usually expect to forget about the plot and just enjoy the performances. This episode managed to weave in excellent storylines and amazing performances seamlessly.

They are starting to get their acceptance letters to their respective colleges. I am glad that they made it realistic this time. Hooray Kurt for being a finalist to NYADA! That bonding moment between Burt and Kurt was heartwarming. And I’m glad that Rachel toned down her more irritating habits in this episode.

And ooh, we’re finally getting some New Directions-vs-Warblers showdown. We now get to settle once and for all who is better between the two of them. I’m glad that the New Directions didn’t disappoint. You can tell that they were just dying to do a homage to Michael Jackson. They are THAT good. And my favorite performance? It’s got to be Sebastian-vs-Santana in Smooth Criminal. Made infinitely better by 2Cellos playing in the background. I absolutely love their Smooth Criminal cover, and I was just squealing with delight when I found out that they are in Glee.

Come on Ryan Murphy, we need more Glee episodes of this caliber. It doesn’t have to be dramatic all of the time.

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This episode is based primarily on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes story: A Study in Scarlet. It was quite amazing how they  adapted the story in modern times. For instance, John Watson is blogging his adventures with Sherlock instead of keeping notes and writing memoirs. Another example would be the cars populating the streets of London instead of carriages. But this is without a doubt a proper Sherlock Holmes story. The way Sherlock explains his deduction is just like how you would expect him to do it in the canon: quite amazing when you first hear about it and yet so simple once you’ve caught up with his train of thought. (Not to mention it makes you feel like an idiot for not thinking about it in the first place.)

The story itself is similar to the original story, but not quite the same. The writers raised the stakes, so instead of the killer killing his enemies for revenge, we get a serial killer being sponsored by the big bad of the Sherlock Holmes universe: Moriarty. Elements of the canon are still there, like the message “Rache” and the victims choosing between two pills (and practically choosing between life and death). It was brilliant how they changed these canonical elements slightly, so the Sherlock Holmes fans will not base their deduction on the events of the book. I also liked they way they placed inline text within the scene instead of having the viewers look at close-up shots of phones. They also used that technique to give the viewers an insight on how Sherlock makes his deductions. It’s pretty instructive in a way, just in case you want to impress someone with a deduction ala Sherlock Holmes.

Probably the most important thing that got me hooked in the series is the interaction between Sherlock and John. I am glad that they decided to portray John Watson as someone who is not entirely stupid, just a bit slower that Sherlock when it comes to deductions. And of course, the actors playing Sherlock and John are really amazing. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman has a nice on-screen chemistry going on, and it is amusing to watch the development of their friendship in the span of 90 minutes. I also like their approach on Lestrade’s character. Unlike in the original books where Lestrade is entirely antagonistic, here we have Lestrade who respects Sherlock for his talents and yet frustrated by his arrogance. And the addition of Mycroft Holmes in the cast made me squeal in delight. Someone smarter has to keep Sherlock’s arrogance in check.

Overall an engaging series, definitely a must-watch. Watch it and you will understand why the fans are absolutely devastated when Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss refuse to confirm if there would be a third series just before the end of the second season.

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But of course, everyone knows by now that season 3 has been commissioned. With this announcement, the viewers are now asking: How on earth did Sherlock survive the fall?

My theory? He never jumped in the first place. Someone else took the fall, probably the guy who kidnapped the two kids and made them eat chocolates. The girl’s reaction upon seeing Sherlock implied that the kidnapper looks a lot like Sherlock. There are several points that would support this theory.

• Having a stunt double is easy to arrange. Someone who vaguely looks like Sherlock from afar is seen standing on top of the ledge, while the real Sherlock stays hidden. He makes the phone call to John, and the stunt double holds a phone to his ear, making it appear that he is the one talking to John. He probably made the stunt double lip-sync too, for added effect. Or maybe he tried the trick that Jim Moriarty used to his victims from The Great Game (season 1 episode 3). From below, all that John could see was the figure of ‘Sherlock’ holding a phone to his ear, and he would think that he is talking to the man who is standing on the ledge.
• The scene should be enough to convince both John and the sniper. They cannot simply switch bodies or arrange a soft landing, because the sniper might discover the trick from his point of view.
• After the fall, people on the scene were a bit too keen on keeping John away from the dead body. It was probably to prevent John from noticing that he is not looking at Sherlock but rather a stunt double.
• The movie The Prestige comes to mind. The “transported man” trick involves a stunt double, but the rival magician insists that there is a more complex explanation for the trick. Turns out that he was wrong, his rival indeed had a stunt double. So, stunt double it is.
• It is more consistent with the canonical story. Not really a valid reason, but the solution that Doyle explained in The Adventure of the Empty House sounds logical. Not to mention an elegant solution to the problem.

So if Sherlock didn’t fall, how did the scene play out?

• After Moriarty killed himself, Sherlock made the stunt double stand over the ledge. He made the phone call to John, preventing him from entering the building so that he would not see the deception. And since John is being targeted by a sniper, Sherlock probably used this opportunity to locate the sniper, so he could deal with him after the scene played out.
• We see John and Sherlock talking over the phone, but we are actually seeing the face of Sherlock’s stunt double. This is probably why Sherlock is a bit too weepy in this scene.
• Sherlock’s stunt double threw away the phone and jumped. He fell and died upon hitting the pavement. People immediately rushed towards the dead body and tried to prevent John from getting a closer look.
• The body is taken away, leaving John believing that Sherlock is truly dead. This also convinces the sniper aimed at John’s head to abandon his mission.
• Molly is the only one who knows the truth. Sherlock needed her to fix all the paperwork and declare that Sherlock Holmes died from the fall.

While I am pretty convinced with my theory, there are a few things that bug me if this is indeed what happened.

• Sherlock made someone else jump to his death. I know that he said that although he belongs to the side of the angels, he is not really one of them. Still, the thought that he forced someone else to die for him is a bit unnerving. It’s like he’s turning into the next Moriarty. But then again, this is probably the reason why Moriarty was so convinced that they are the same.
• I really like the suicide scene. We get to see Sherlock pour his heart out while saying goodbye to John. If it turns out that this is all an act (like what Sherlock did to John in the lab from the previous episode), then I would entirely sympathize with John if he decides to punch the life out of him in the next series.
• EDIT: The success of that plan relied heavily on the fact that no one else is on the rooftop. Sherlock has to be crazy prepared to make sure that Jim Moriarty would kill himself. He couldn’t make the switch if Jim Moriarty was still alive.

There you go, my own theory on the Reichenbach Fall. It will take some time before we find out the real answer, so this will have to do.

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I was late in the Glee phenomenon. My former students have been buzzing about it in Facebook, Twitter and Plurk, so I was finally intrigued and started watching it late last year. And being the music lover that I am, I was immediately hooked. Here you have a group of high school misfits, each character displaying an over-exaggerated stereotype. But when they perform together, it’s just amazing.

Though the plot may be ridiculous at times, what I love about it is that they are reviving the songs I loved when I was younger. Now I don’t feel so old whenever I hear my students sing to Journey or Madonna. And thank God, I finally know the titles of some of the songs I’ve been singing since I was a kid. You see, I grew up listening to 96.3 WRock and 94.7 Mellow Touch because of my father, but for the life of me I don’t know the titles of the songs or who sang them. But play the first few lines of the song and I know the rest of the lyrics. This is the reason why my music library is pretty limited, because I cannot search for the MP3 when I don’t know the title or the artist, can I?

Now what finally pushed me to write this article is because of the preview for the season finale next week. Here’s a preview of the ballad that New Directions is going to sing at the regionals. (Embedding is disabled, so just go to the YouTube video.)

Faithfully, by the Glee Cast

Okay, this video focused too much on Rachel and the other members were left in the background (even Finn, who is supposed to be Rachel’s partner). But still, it’s pretty awesome. I can’t wait to try singing it in a karaoke bar when I get back home.

Now they recently released a track list of what they are going to sing in the season finale next week. OMG they are going to do Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. That alone makes it worth watching.

I can’t wait for next week’s episode.

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As soon as I finish watching an episode, I can’t help but proceed with the next one. Who would have thought that I would be hooked with following Aang’s journey as he learned how to control or “bend” all of the four elements while countering the attacks made by the Fire Kingdom. For three days, I was treated to amazing fight scenes among the benders of fire, air, water and earth.

Perhaps what draws me to this series is the main character itself: Aang. He was told of his destiny as an Avatar at a very young age. Too scared of his burden, he escaped and managed to hide for a hundred years, together with his animal spirit, Appa. And even after he was awakened by Katara and Sokka, he was still preoccupied with childish games and couldn’t quite grasp the concept that a war is being waged. Only upon discovering that the Air Kingdom was destroyed by the Fire Kingdom a long time ago did he realize that he is the only air bender left. Only he had the power to defeat the Fire Lord to bring back peace. He had to fulfill his destiny: he had to become the Avatar.

It was also interesting to follow the quest of Zuko to kill Aang. As the disgraced son of the Fire Lord, he would naturally seek Aang and present him to his father in order to regain his lost honor. We see further in the series that he endured a lot of hardships even as a child. However, he observed the suffering of the people of the other kingdoms under the Fire Lord’s rule. Possessed with a strong sense of justice, he eventually deserted his father and joined Aang and the others to defeat the Fire Lord.

I was looking forward to the end of the series, where we have the final battle between Aang the Avatar and the Fire Lord. Trained by the monks of the Air Kingdom to value life, he was at a loss when Zuko asked him how he would defeat the Fire Lord without killing him. Moreover, Aang suddenly went missing just before the final battle, leaving the rest of the gang to fight the Fire Kingdom. When all hope is lost, a Lion Turtle showed him the way to defeat the Fire Lord: remove the Fire Lord’s bending ability.

Lion Turtle: The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginningless time, darkness thrives through in void but always yields to purifying light.

In the era before the Avatar, we bend not the elements, but the energy within ourselves.

To bend another’s energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed.

I say that this is a good way to spend my idle time. It tackles heavy concepts without been too dark-themed, making it easily understood by a younger audience. We have a nice combination of thought-provoking themes and comedic episodes (courtesy of Sokka’s antics). And the fight scenes are simply superb. Definitely a must-watch series.

A live action movie based on this series, entitled The Last Airbender, is being prepared for summer of next year. It will be directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

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I was impressed with Adam Lambert’s version of Mad World. Haunting, just haunting. It’s not just his singing that impressed me: it’s the overall package. And as I watch his other performances, I can see his versatility. He can sing any type of song, damn.

A lot of people I know are annoyed by his shrieks, though. I don’t mind, although I have to admit that there are also times that I wished that he would just stop shrieking. But putting that aside, I admire his creativity in his every performance.

Kris Allen, on the other hand, only caught my attention when he sang Falling Slowly. Beautiful song, and it suited him perfectly. Why, I searched for the movie Once just to learn more about the song. And to be honest, I like Allen’s version even better than the original.

The judges were a bit unfair about Kris during the latter parts of the competition. I can’t help but sympathize with Allen, he’s just so likeable.

Who do I want to win? I don’t really know. Kris Allen is good for those easy-listening moments, the kind of background music you would like to hear while curled up with a good book. On the other hand, I would play Adam Lambert to get me pumped up in the morning, jogging or maybe cleaning the house.

But wow, they sound good together! I love their duet towards the end of the results night. Can’t we just have a tie and have them both as idols this year? I’m sure the “Kradam” bromance fans would love that.

So who won?

KRIS ALLEN

Wow. Nice show, both of you. Congratulations to Kris, the dark horse of the competition! In any case, I’m sure that both of them will have a nice career ahead of them, just like what happened with the two Davids last year.

One final note. They have to do something with that so-called “winning” song. Come on, it’s too high for Kris. Have you no pity? Haha.

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