Millie Bobby Brown is back on Netflix and this time she's the delightfully smart
and witty younger sister of the world famous Sherlock Holmes in an adventure that's set
to kick off a brand new franchise.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and in this video we're diving into
the ending of Enola Holmes to examine all the details and clues you might have missed
which set up the movie's sequel, plus I'll reveal some easter eggs to the original
books.
Obviously, spoilers ahead, so take care.
The ending of Enola Holmes sees the teenage detective not only solve the case of the missing
marquess by herself and escape the clutches of her controlling brother Mycroft,
but it also teases a potential team-up for her and Sherlock.
In the final few scenes, we get to see how Enola and her brother think in a similar manner
and how each seems to playfully enjoy attempting to outsmart the other.
When Enola finds a coded message in the newspaper, she initially assumes it's from her missing
mother, but quickly spots clues that reveal it's from
Sherlock instead; so she returns the trick by going to the meeting
place dressed as a boy and hiding herself away from her brothers.
However, Sherlock already suspects that Enola will know he planted the message and senses
that she'll turn up anyway.
And there's a clue that he probably spotted her disguise when he walks through the colonnade
and glances to the right, then says "Thought I saw something."
Sherlock continues walking, but I can't help thinking that he deliberately decided to leave
Enola be and not let on to his brother Mycroft what he saw.
After all, he already spotted the clue Enola intentionally left for him, so he knew she
was there somewhere.
In contrast to Mycroft, Sherlock seems to have an understanding of who his sister really
is, after all they both share a passion for detective
work, and I think he's deciding to let Enola be
free if that's what she wants.
Still, I do expect we'll see the two of them collaborate in some way in future sequels,
similar to how we already saw Sherlock mentoring Enola earlier in the movie.
"Look for what's there, not what you want to be there.
You'll see the truth soon enough."
And at the end of the film, he also asks Mycroft: "If we do find her again, I'd like her to
be my ward.
I'll take care of her."
In the original Enola Holmes novels, after dodging and escaping her brothers for the
entire series, in the final book Enola and Sherlock finally reunite and work together
to solve a case.
And I expect that in the movie franchise, like the books, we'll see Enola working cases
by herself for a while and perhaps crossing paths with Sherlock from time to time.
She might even end up solving one of his cases, getting ahead of him again like she did with
the Tewksbury case.
A full reunion of Enola and Sherlock too early in the franchise wouldn't fit with the theme
of Enola being alone and making her own way in the world,
but it could come later once she's fully grown and more established.
Although Enola's mother Eudoria is absent for much of the movie, her influence is still
felt throughout the story.
For example, she was responsible for teaching Enola reading, science, sports and martial
arts, things at the time traditionally only taught
to boys, and she also imbued a philosophy in Enola
that she should decide her own fate.
"There are two paths you can take, Enola.
Yours... or the path others choose for you."
When they reunite at the end of the film, Eudoria explains that she left because she
wanted to change Enola's future, and by that she means through her involvement
with the women's suffrage movement.
Eudoria isn't able to stay with her daughter as she's clearly involved in activities that
make her a target for the authorities; however, she thanks Enola for the irises and
says if she ever needs her again she'll be looking out for them, a reference to the secret
coded messages that Enola left for her mother in the newspapers.
"To find Mother, the first thing I need to do is leave a cipher in every newspaper she
might read.
Are you blooming?
Send iris, please."
This leaves things open for Eudoria to return or not in a sequel,
and that might depend on how much further the filmmakers want to explore the beginnings
of the Women's Suffrage movement that are touched upon in this first movie.
The 1884 Reform Bill we see Tewksbury help pass in the House of Lords with Enola's help
of course, expanded voting rights in the UK at the time.
However, the bill failed to grant universal suffrage, with women excluded entirely and
a further 40% of adult men excluded from any voting rights.
Given the prominence of this storyline in the first film and Enola's budding independence
and activist mother, I expect a sequel to further investigate the
restrictions placed on women in the late 19th century.
In contrast to the books, the movie decides to develop a romantic connection between Enola
and Tewksbury, right after they fall off the train.
By the end, this romance has bloomed to the point where we see Enola place her hand on
his and then he kisses it.
Hopefully the sequels won't overdo the romance; after all Enola turns down his offer of living
with him and his family, and insists on living independently as she
clearly wants to set herself up as a professional detective.
Still, fans of the couple hoping for Tewksbury's return in a sequel can look to Enola's words:
"You're not rid of me yet, Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether."
As for Enola's eldest brother Mycroft, he says he's glad to be free of his responsibilities
for her when Sherlock asks to be her guardian at the end.
I'm curious though to see if Mycroft will continue to play an antagonistic role towards
our heroine in a sequel.
He's clearly very reactionary in his views towards women and society in general;
however, by the end of the book series, Mycroft ends up very impressed by Enola's skills and
agrees to fund an education for her, so it'll be interesting to see if, in time,
the movie franchise will redeem Mycroft in a similar way.
"I am not the villain here."
At the end of the movie, as Enola concludes the story, she tells us that she's "a detective,
a decipherer, and a finder of lost souls."
The last point is a reference to the books where Enola decides she's going to be what
she calls a "Scientific Perditorian".
The word "perditorian" is derived from the Latin term "perditus" meaning "lost" and is
a made-up title in the novels where Enola uses it to refer to herself as "a finder of
loved ones lost".
There are numerous missing persons cases in the books that the movie sequels may adapt,
but one that's bound to prove interesting is "The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets" in which
Sherlock's associate Dr Watson goes missing.
I'll certainly be curious to see who's cast as John Watson and how he might compare to
Martin Freeman's Watson from the BBC Sherlock series.
In the books, in order to pursue her vocation of "Scientific Perditorian", Enola has to
masquerade as a secretary because in the late 19th century, she says, a scientist had to
be a man.
So, for the movie sequels, it'll be interesting to see whether Enola has to disguise herself
in the same way or if she'll pretend to be a young man, as
we've already seen her do, in order to pursue her detective work.
And to learn a lot more about the fascinating changes the Enola Holmes filmmakers made when
adapting the original book, tap here to watch my full video on that, or
follow the link in the video description.
The link will be here as soon as the video's ready.
So, what did you think of Enola Holmes?
And what would you like to see from her or Sherlock in future sequels?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!