The Ending Of Enola Holmes 3 Delivers A Bittersweet Justice
Moriarty actress Sharon Duncan-Brewster reveals why the villain isn't 100 percent in the wrong.
In Enola Holmes 3, the titular girl detective is a long way from home — though not totally out of her depth when it comes to the latest mystery that falls into her lap. Well, more like the latest mystery that brings Enola’s (Millie Bobby Brown) wedding to Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) to a screeching halt and brings everything down in literal flames. The third Enola Holmes movie takes the action to Malta and takes Sherlock out of the picture, as Enola’s famous older brother gets kidnapped on the day of her wedding. Who could be the culprit? Why do they also kidnap Tewkesbury’s mother (Hattie Morahan)? And what does a British military cover-up of a lost Afghan treasure have to do with it?
The return of a familiar face reveals all, including the true nature of the Tewkesbury wealth. But Enola Holmes 3 star Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who returns as Sherlock Holmes’ dastardly archenemy Moriarty, argues that the line between good and evil isn’t quite as simple as you might think.
Spoilers ahead for Enola Holmes 3.
Enola Holmes 3 Ending Explained
Enola, Tewkesbury, and Dr. Watson face off against Moriarty.
Since Enola Holmes 2 weaved a surprisingly deft mystery around a real-life historical event steeped in important sociopolitical issues, the Enola Holmes franchise has made socially conscious storytelling its calling card. And that element is at the forefront in Enola Holmes 3, which tackles stolen treasure, military corruption, and that grand old specter of colonialism. Enola Holmes 3 takes place when Malta was still a British colony, and the latest mystery unearths all the rot and pain connected to that history. After Sherlock and Lady Tewkesbury are kidnapped, Enola follows a string of clues that leads her to the name Professor Adeline Rathe. It turns out, this Adeline Rathe is actually Professor Moriarty, released from prison and seeking vengeance against Enola and Sherlock. Their presence in Malta was actually Moriarty’s doing — she had influenced Lady Tewkesbury to choose Malta for the wedding and kidnapped Sherlock to lure Enola into solving the puzzle. And the puzzle that Moriarty has set up has an odd sense of justice to it.
It turns out the late Lord Tewkesbury was part of a conspiracy to hide Afghan treasure stolen during the Battle of Khost in Malta. It was Brigadier Sampson, Tewkesbury's godfather and his father’s closest military friend, who had orchestrated a cover-up of the treasure, alongside the British governor and several senior officers, for decades. Remembering a childhood story that Lord Tewkesbury had told his son, Enola finds the treasure, leading Moriarty and her hired Maltese soldiers right to it. But Moriarty, it seems, wants more than just the treasure — like her plot in Enola Holmes 2, Moriarty’s goal is to expose and bring down people in power for their sociopolitical wrongdoings. And in Enola Holmes 3, she embraces that “avenging angel” archetype — though she’s not above humiliating and outright torturing the Holmes family for her own pleasure.
“I think in both films, Moriarty is very much a source of exposing things that should be exposed for what they are,” Duncan-Brewster tells Inverse. “And also a lot of the time it is a lot of historical happenings that she's stating you've robbed, you've stolen from vulnerable people, or... just people who deserve to have what is theirs back.”
Moriarty is ultimately arrested, but her actions have huge consequences for the already-waning British presence in Malta. The corrupt British officers involved in the cover-up are arrested and imprisoned, while Maltese freedom fighters get to claim the treasure to aid their fight for independence. While in reality, Malta wouldn’t gain its independence for another 70-plus years, it seems Moriarty’s dastardly scheme did set something good in motion.
Is Moriarty Kind of Right?
Moriarty gloats over Enola.
Since Duncan-Brewster plays the character with a great deal of affection, she certainly thinks so. The choice to cast Professor Moriarty as a Black woman recontextualizes all her actions, which is what makes the Enola Holmes movies feel so fresh, Duncan-Brewster says.
“[In] the world that Arthur Conan Doyle's created, [Moriarty] is a character who, yes, you'd seemingly think they're dastardly. But because of who she is, I think she has always been there as a challenge to Sherlock and Enola, but... just making sure that they're aware of exactly what's going on around them. Everybody here in this show is trying to create a clearer, fairer world. And I think Moriarty definitely has a hand in that.”
That’s not to absolve Moriarty of all her sins — she does kidnap and torture Sherlock and Lady Tewkesbury, manipulate and assassinate many of her allies, and generally leaves a trail of bodies longer than anyone she helps. “I think the dark side of Moriarty, the mental manipulation, the narcissistic-like behavior... is a great way for an audience to see how things aren't clear-cut. It's not black and white. It's not good or bad because the world doesn't work like that.”
