Having read ACD canon and watched a few adaptations (the Russian series, the Granada series, some of the older movies, etc.) I expected modern!Jim Moriarty to be less old and dusty, yes, but still cold and firm and calculating like the original Professor Moriarty. Boy I was wrong: Jim is camp, over the top, fabulous in his manners, thinks bigger than I've ever seen a Moriarty do. He was very different from what I expected, knowing canon and its various adaptation, but I wasn't disappointed at all: I loved this modern Moriarty, I absolutely loved him.
But. During s1 I thought he was just a bit eccentric, a showy villain who liked games and dramatic villain phrases. Turns out during s2 he was actually really completely crazy. A genius, yes, but still crazy. For who in their right minds would rather kill themselves and lose their money, their power, their life in order to win a war? No villain ever does that, everybody wants to win and live to tell the tale and celebrate. But not him, no, he'd rather commit suicide than lose. I suppose he'll never be bored now.
I absolutely loved Reichenbach, I really did, I thought it was a brilliant episode and all the twists still shocked me even if I knew canon, I was never bored throughout the viewing. But I'm really not sure how I feel about Moriarty: I love his character as I always did, but... do I like the crazy angle they took with this modern portrayal? How would things have been if he'd been like canon!Moriarty, determined to win but not crazy? Did they take it too far from canon? Or maybe canon!Moriarty was crazy too, just not as noticeable as it was for Jim?
Idk, really. It all worked but my brain is still unsure whether or not crazy!Moriarty was a clever and interesting twist or taking it too far. Or both.
This is a rant (sort of) about Moriarty. Also, here be SPOILERS.
But. During s1 I thought he was just a bit eccentric, a showy villain who liked games and dramatic villain phrases. Turns out during s2 he was actually really completely crazy. A genius, yes, but still crazy. For who in their right minds would rather kill themselves and lose their money, their power, their life in order to win a war? No villain ever does that, everybody wants to win and live to tell the tale and celebrate. But not him, no, he'd rather commit suicide than lose. I suppose he'll never be bored now.
I absolutely loved Reichenbach, I really did, I thought it was a brilliant episode and all the twists still shocked me even if I knew canon, I was never bored throughout the viewing. But I'm really not sure how I feel about Moriarty: I love his character as I always did, but... do I like the crazy angle they took with this modern portrayal? How would things have been if he'd been like canon!Moriarty, determined to win but not crazy? Did they take it too far from canon? Or maybe canon!Moriarty was crazy too, just not as noticeable as it was for Jim?
Idk, really. It all worked but my brain is still unsure whether or not crazy!Moriarty was a clever and interesting twist or taking it too far. Or both.