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Young Sherlock is Way More Fun Than It Has Any Right to Be
- Sakshi D
- 57 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Guy Ritchie’s fast-paced mystery hits harder than expected
I had heard of Young Sherlock on Prime Video while scrolling on Instagram and figured I’d give it a shot.
The premise sounded ridiculously fun: a young Sherlock Holmes origin story where he meets his future nemesis, James Moriarty, before Watson even enters the picture. That’s such a specific angle that it could’ve gone completely sideways. But it just works.
Binged all eight episodes in basically one sitting, and by the end, I was fully invested in this chaotic, action-packed mystery.
TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿/5
What’s Young Sherlock About?
The show takes place in 1881, which is traditionally when Sherlock meets Watson in the original stories. Except here they flip it completely. Instead, we get Sherlock fresh out of prison for petty theft, sent to Oxford University by his brother Mycroft. But he’s not there as a student; he’s a porter, basically a glorified errand boy.
A Chinese princess arrives at Oxford carrying special scrolls for the library, which get stolen.
Everyone thinks Sherlock did it because of his criminal past. He teams up with James Moriarty, another student, to prove his innocence and solve the mystery.
What starts as a simple theft case spirals into a massive conspiracy involving weapons manufacturing, family secrets, and a plot that literally spans the globe.
The Cast Delivers
Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Sherlock. I only knew him from those After movies, so seeing him as Sherlock felt risky. But he nails it. He’s charming, witty, arrogant in that classic Sherlock way, but also genuinely curious and passionate.
You can see he hasn’t developed the cold detachment yet. What sells his performance is how raw and reckless this Sherlock is. He makes terrible decisions constantly because he’s young. When he finds a clue, he charges ahead without thinking, and it makes him feel real.
The real MVP? Donal Finn as James Moriarty. Their chemistry is electric. Every scene crackles with competitive energy where they’re simultaneously best friends and complete opposites. Moriarty is the better fighter, always ready to throw a punch. Sherlock is the better detective, three steps ahead mentally.
The show makes them allies before they become enemies, which is brilliant. You understand why they’re drawn to each other. Both brilliant, both hungry to prove themselves, both outsiders. But you also see how their moral compasses point in opposite directions.
Zenzhen Sang plays Princess Gulan Shuan, who kicks serious ass throughout. She’s a kung fu master in gorgeous costumes designed so she can pull off insane fight sequences. Every time she’s on screen, she commands attention. You would recognize her playing the younger self of Ye Wenjie in Netflix's 3 Body Problem.
The Guy Ritchie Effect
If you’ve seen his Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr., you know what to expect. Fast-paced editing, constant witty banter, action sequences that feel more like brawls.
The first two episodes feel hyperactive. Scenes move so fast that if you look away for 30 seconds, you’ve missed five plot points. The pacing threw me off at first because it felt exhausting.
But stick with it. By episode four or five, the show finds its rhythm. They take more time with important scenes while maintaining that kinetic energy. Once I adjusted, I actually appreciated it because the show forces you to stay engaged. You can’t scroll on your phone and just have to be locked in.
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The Mystery Works
What starts as stolen scrolls becomes a murder investigation, then a weapons conspiracy, then ties into Sherlock’s family drama.
Every answer opens three new questions. The mystery keeps growing until you’re dealing with a full international conspiracy by the finale.
The show does this cool thing with Sherlock’s deduction abilities. When he’s piecing together clues, he enters this “mind palace” space where he can rewind and fast-forward through his memories.
The people in his memories are aware he’s there and talk to him, which is genuinely funny.
Where It Stumbles
Some plot points feel rushed in the last couple of episodes. The conspiracy gets so convoluted that by the end, I was like “okay, reel it back in.” The finale wraps up the main villain pretty anticlimactically.
Also, Sherlock is maybe too good at everything. He speaks Chinese, memorizes entire math textbooks in four hours, pulls random historical knowledge out of nowhere. Sometimes it crosses into “how could you possibly know this?” territory.
The supporting cast outside the main trio doesn’t get much development. Side characters mostly just move the plot forward, which is fine, I guess.
My Final Verdict
Young Sherlock is a blast. It’s messy, chaotic, moves at breakneck speed, and absolutely
should not work as well as it does. But the cast is phenomenal, the mystery has real layers, and the action sequences are genuinely thrilling.
The first couple of episodes might feel overwhelming if you’re not used to Guy Ritchie’s style.
But if you stick with it past episode three or four, the payoff is worth it. The character dynamics between Sherlock and Moriarty alone make it worth watching.
Really hoping we get a second season because the way they set up future conflicts has me hooked.
Have you watched Young Sherlock? What did you think of the Sherlock and Moriarty dynamic? Drop your thoughts below.