The Sherlock Special finished filming this past week and fans have been theorizing about the different scenes filmed during Setlock.

I do have speculations about the scenes shot in Victorian times, but, for me, the first question is HOW can the two timelines--from Modern and Victorian--be reconciled without resorting to supernatural elements?

I believe there is a way to connect the two. I've had a theory in my head for a few weeks now and I've been reluctant to put it forward because, frankly, I don't like it very much.
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However, that being said, it's the only explanation I can find that explains all of the facts

I propose that the trip back through time is achieved through hypnotism.

I'll try to explain the 'how' in Part 1 and the 'why' in Part 2. I will also explore how it all connects to ACD canon, the missing scenes forms The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (henceforth known as TPLOSH), and cleverly hidden clues in S2 and S3 of BBC Sherlock.

*Disclaimer: I'm not a psychologist or a trained illusionist. I'm just presenting these ideas because, right now, it's the only thing that can connect ghosts, Victoriana, and the modern day Sherlock plot elements. (I'm a scientist and you have no idea how much my own theory pains me!)

1) How can hypnosis be the answer?

There are many different methods of hypnosis that can create the illusion of time travel. (ex. revivification, regression, and suggestion). In all cases, the subjects are put in a 'trance' and literally feel like they are in a different time period. (Yes, I'm skeptical too). It wasn't until I watched a clip of a Derren Brown sending a subject back into a different era that I thought "well maybe…"

I've transcribed part of the Brown segment below because, to me, something in the wording made me think 'okay, perhaps, the writers have extrapolated from that concept'...

Imagine yourself in a hotel corridor with doors on both sides of you. You're going to start to move--as if being pulled backwards--slowly at first through that corridor. I want you to be aware that this corridor takes you back through time. You start to move, you feel like there's a real pull, and you can feel it building like a G force. As you wisp backwards through the corridor, you see the 60's and the change in decor and then the 50's. Picking up speed you really feel pulled back faster and faster, you see the war time and the clothes of the time and then you go back a bit more and stop. It's September 2nd 1938.
(Source: Trick or Treat .Season 2 episode 4: BBC1)



2) How could hypnosis be incorporated in modern day Sherlock? (in the context of S3-S4)

I have 3 theories as to why hypnosis could be potentially used on the show (and if Hypnosis is the key factor in explaining the time travel, I think it will use a combination of all three).

A) Hypnotherapy: (Btw, Hypnotherapy was the main plot element in a spin off from a deleted scene in TPLOSH. John brings Sherlock to Freud to have him hypnotized so he can be cured of his delusions about Moriarty and his addiction to cocaine.) In the context of 'The Special", Sherlock could undergo hypnotherapy for his "issues" (I have a theory about Sherlock's past but it's too long to fit here, I'll add a link later.)
OR It could also be John undergoing hypnotherapy (PTSS rate high on the hypnotic susceptibility scale.) Interestingly enough, the first deleted scene in TPLOSH is one where 'modern day' John Watson receives his ancestor's tin dispatch box (which contains war memorabilia.) Some clever Sherlock fans have deciphered the first page of the script from the Sherlock Special is the beginning of ACD canon A Study in Scarlet. I believe it might be John reading the material found in his ancestor's tin box just like in TPLOSH.

B) Investigative Hypnosis: Whereby a subject is hypnotized to revisit a crime scene and look for clues. In the context of 'The Special" Sherlock could be hypnotized to help solve murders from a different era. (At first--from the gruesome scenes filmed in the basement of the theatre--I even thought he might be solving the Jack the Ripper mystery…) Anyway, there's all sorts of fascinating articles on how hypnosis is used to solve crime. (Try the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.) Also, if you're interested, This article can be found online; Solving Crime and Hypnosis. (Hammond, DC. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. April 2011). That being said, I haven't found anything about solving a murder from a different era in peer reviewed journals.

C) "Mind Control": Whereby someone is unknowingly hypnotized to do different actions when triggered by an implanted suggestion. This is often used as a plot device in mystery fiction. In fact, it's a major plot element in two Sherlock Holmes adaptation. In the Rathbone series, mind control is used in The Woman in Green (which interestingly enough Douglas McKinnon twitted a photo of that DVD case a few days ago). In the 1945 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, The Deadly Prophecy episode centred around Hypnosis/mind control. And last but not least, in ACD canon, Holmes discusses hypnosis and mind control in The Illustrious Client.


3) Other random facts linking BBC Sherlock to hypnosis.

- Well, Derren Brown appears in S3.
-The international symbol for hypnosis is on Anderson's wall. (include image)
-Illusionists are often trained in hypnosis and memory techniques(ie. memory palaces)--which is what Sherlock's and CAM's 'mind palace' techniques are based on. (In fact, Derren Brown's book Tricks of the Mind explains both mind palaces and hypnosis in details. (I loved the book because Brown is very concise and logical about his trade).
-The Sherlock Special posters advertise illusionist shows.
-CAM's memories are stored with an abundance of illusionist/magician props.
-Hypnotherapy is often known as facing 'ghosts from your past'.
-Arthur Conan Doyle was fascinated with hypnosis. (Some of his other books/stories have hypnosis as the central plot).
-As I mentioned before, Douglas McKinnon tweeted a photo with Sherlock and The Woman in Green DVD cover.

4) Whatever remains must be the truth (cliche I know…)
I think there is an instance of mind control hypnosis cleverly hidden in Sherlock S2 and S3. This is something I had concluded after S3 aired because I could think of no other explanation for it.

The fact that Sherlock is unable to recall Greg's name:

Yes, the first time in THoB it's funny. It's even sorta cute when Sherlock and Lestrade are reunited in TEH… but after that, (to me) it's not humour anymore, it's plot. Sherlock cannot remember Greg's name. He can recall Anderson's name--Phillip--but he can't remember Greg's after being told multiple times? (One of the first exercises to practice building a memory palace is remembering people's names…)
Anyway, for me, the only explanation for this odd behaviour is a little hypnosis trick called "name amnesia'. Stage hypnotists often use it to make the audience laugh during a performance. "When you go back into your seat, you will be unable to remember your name when asked…" Name amnesia can also be used to erase someone else's name from your memory.

I don't know why name amnesia was used in this case, but it's the only explanation that makes sense to me portrayal-wise. (Sherlock is a genius, he wouldn't forget!) I'm well aware that in ACD canon, Lestrade is always referred to by his last name and that people have offered that as an explanation for the name amnesia. (i.e.. merely a wink to ACD canon). I was happy to accept this explanation up until S3 episode 2. The joke was used too many times to be funny…

5) In Conclusion…

I'm not crazy about the idea that the "time travel' to the Victorian era is as a result of Hypnosis, but it is still the only explanation that remotely works for me without resorting to supernatural elements. For hypnosis to work, I believe it will take a certain amount of "suspension of disbelief' from the viewers part (but we've done it before with the Moriarty court case, the forensic chemistry lab methods, etc…) The main problem I have with my theory is explaining why several of the characters are involved in the "time travel" too.

That being said, hypnosis works really well to explain Moriarty's apparent return and the clever mix and match of ACD canon stories shown being filmed during Setlock. I will leave these explanations for Part 2.

I'm not 100% convinced myself (more like 50%)… but would love to springboard ideas with others who don't mind being spoiled for the Special and S4. :D