The Great Game (Sherlock)

"**The Great Game**"
"The Great Game"
Sherlock episode
Episode no.	Series 1; Episode 3
Directed by	Paul McGuigan
Written by	Mark Gatiss
Featured music	David Arnold; Michael Price;
Editing by	Mali Evans; Charlie Phillips;
Original air date	8 August 2010
Running time	89 minutes
Guest appearances
	Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes; Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper; Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty; Vinette Robinson as Sgt Sally Donovan; Zoe Telford as Sarah Sawyer; Di Botcher as Connie Prince; John Sessions as Kenny Prince; John Lebar as Golem;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Blind Banker"	Next →; "A Scandal in Belgravia"
	List of episodes

"The Great Game" is the third and final episode of the first series of the television series Sherlock. It was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 8 August 2010. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Paul McGuigan.

The episode follows Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) as they race to solve a series of seemingly unrelated cases presented by a mysterious bomber. If they fail to solve the case in the time specified by the bomber, he will kill the hostage he is holding. After four such cases, the episode ends in a standoff between Holmes and the bomber, who it turns out is Jim Moriarty, the "consulting criminal" and the main antagonist for the rest of the series. The standoff is left as a cliffhanger until Season 2. Like its predecessors, the episode features numerous references to the works of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Critical reception of "The Great Game" was highly positive, being praised for its complex and gripping plot, and its unusual and original portrayal of Moriarty.