The problem with being a fan is that the shows we enjoy sometimes accidentally engage in a limited kind of inter-textual cross-pollination. In the latest episode of Sherlock, we see Moriarty shoot himself. This supposedly takes Moriarty off the chess board.

We know from Zombieland and to a lesser extent Supernatural that the big bad is never really off the chess board until you decapitate the body (double-tap), bury the bones, salt them, and set them on fire. Then bury the remains and bless it with an uncorrupt religious figure.

I posit that both Sherlock and Moriarty survived Richenbach Falls. All we saw was some blood leaking out of Moriarty. Not extensive cranial destruction a shot to the head would entail, so it was theater. It looked like he shot himself, but after Sherlock performed his whammy I bet Moriarty got up, dusted off his pants and made his way out being the ultimate expression of his character. A dead mastermind. This has got to be how it is, otherwise it would pooh pooh the power of deductive reasoning that Sherlock is rooted in!

Characters, especially leads never die. Except in King Lear. Then they die a lot. Lovely death, there. 🙂

I love Sherlock more than salt.