In the fog-shrouded spires of 1870s Oxford, where privilege masks peril and intellect sharpens like a blade, a rebellious, disgraced young Sherlock Holmes—raw, anarchic, and far from the legend he will become—stumbles into his inaugural case.

Young Sherlock Review (S1: E1)

COMING SOON

WOKE REPORT

Ladies Night

• Set primarily in 1871, the Oxford University of the series has an inordinate number of women studying there, especially given that women weren’t allowed to attend until 1879, couldn’t get degrees until 1920, and classes weren’t made coed until the 1970s. Still, there are lady students in almost every frame set at Oxford (which accounts for most of the episode).
• 1871 marked the later years of the Qing Dynasty in China. At that time, princesses were raised under strict Confucian gender norms that emphasized obedience and modesty. Such princesses would have been educated in subjects such as poetry and court rituals.
  • The Chinese princess in this series is a kung-fu master girl-boss who orders the men around her and is almost indistinguishable from a modern woman, minus the snarkiness.
• I didn’t mark the Woke-O-Meter down much for these infractions because, as a matter of percentage, the princess has very little screen time, and most of the other women are little more than set pieces. Furthermore, none of the men are portrayed poorly at their expense, and Sherlock et al. remain intelligent and resourceful throughout.