‘Sherlock’ Redbeard Season 4: Will Fans Get A Look At Detective's Past? 3rd Brother Appearing?
The older Holmes brother, played by Mark Gatiss, was seen noting the mysterious name in his notebook after discovering the genius detective overdosing on drugs during the "Sherlock" special episode.
But what exactly is "Redbeard?"
According to USA Today's For The Win, Redbeard is actually Sherlock's (Benedict Cumberbatch) childhood dog. This isn't just a seemingly insignificant detail for the detective, at least in Mycroft book. The same name was also mentioned in Magnussen's "file" of Sherlock.
The dog was first mentioned in "The Sign Of Three," according to the show's Wikia page.
"Remember Redbeard?" The elder Holmes brother had asked him, to which Sherlock replied, "I'm not a child anymore, Mycroft."
The dog became more significant when he looked to a memory of himself petting the Irish Setter to keep him calm when Mary shot him.
Meanwhile, an avid fan of the show also talked about the significance of the dog in Sherlock's life.
Tumblr page Sherlock Meta pointed out that Redbeard could have been a family dog that was put down, which became an "important, or life-shifting moment" for the detective.
Apparently, the dog was used by the season three villain as a "pressure point" for Sherlock.
On the other hand, another Tumblr user theorized that Redbeard could actually be "the other one."
Other publications and fans have speculated that Mycroft's mention of "the other one" was pertaining to another Holmes brother, even going so far as to tag Tom Hiddleston's name to the alleged character.
Apparently, the blog site Well Then Game Over noted that Mycroft never mentioned a dog when he was questioning Sherlock on the plane.
The post went on to note that having a childhood dog put down doesn't seem to be that much of a trauma trigger for a genius detective.
The post therefore concluded that Redbeard could actually be the missing Holmes brother, who might have met an untimely death when they were younger.
Still, how the Redbeard theory will be incorporated in "Sherlock" season 4 remains a mystery.
Should this aspect be explored in the next series of episodes, viewers might get a look at the Holmes brothers' past.
