I OWE YOU.

I had this whole theory in my head for a long time but didnt have time or the courage to take some time out to publish it. But today, I finally decided to do so. So here is my theory on how Sherlock Holmes survived the fall.

"I OWE YOU !"

The most basic clue which everyone seems to have forgotten/overlooked is Moriarty telling Sherlock that he 'owed' him. Now what was it that he owed him?

As we all know, Sherlock in spite of being praised did not like to be celebrated as an icon and that too especially by the tabloid media; and he certainly didnt like his pictures in the tabloids with that silly hat.

That was a life he never wanted and it was forced upon him. 

But how did it all come to that??

The answer is, Jim Moriarty. Moriarty was the man who perpetrated all the crimes which brought Sherlock to his 'fame'. 

So what was it that Moriarty owed him, besides making him famous? 

Now with this 'I Owe You!' thought in our mind, lets see how Sherlock's fall happened. 

Remember the scene when Sherlock meets Molly in the lab; what did Sherlock say to Molly? He said, "Molly! I think I am going to die."

How did Sherlock knew he was going to die? Did he know what was going to happen? My theory is; YES!

Sherlock knew how the whole game was going to be played and he knew what he needed. And that is why he asked Molly for her help.

So Sherlock tells Molly that he is about to die and after that Dr. Watson is sent home after he receives a fake phone call informing him that Mrs Hudson has been shot. 

Now as we all are aware of, Sherlock and Dr. Watson were hiding in the hospital because they were running away from the police. And when Dr. Watson reaches home, Mrs Watson informs him that she heard that Sherlock sorted all the things out with Police. How did that happen?

Now back in the hospital, as soon as Dr. Watson is gone, Sherlock receives a text from Moriarty that he is waiting. Sherlock goes to the rooftop and there he meets a bored Moriarty who was sick and tired of just 'staying' alive.

The conversation takes place and Holmes is now left with no other choice to jump when Moriarty suddenly takes out a gun and shoots himself. Sherlock stands on the rooftop and waits for Dr. Watson to come back. And as soon as he leaves his 'note' with Dr. Watson, Holmes bids farewell and takes the fall.

Now Dr. Watson was placed in such a position by Holmes that he was not able to see Holmes hitting the curb. So technically, Watson never saw Holmes hitting the ground.

And now lets come to a few technicalities of the fall.

As we all saw, when he jumped from the rooftop, Holmes was perpendicular to the building while falling.

GERONIMO! Holmes is perpendicular to the building during his fall.

But when we see his body lying on the curb, we see that Holmes is lying parallel to the building and the garbage truck parked by the curb.

So was it a SWITCHAROO or Holmes jumped into the garbage truck and then on the curb?

How did he change his position in the air?

Also, just before Watson's arrival to the spot, we see the garbage truck driving away (which was parked there prior to Holmes fall). 

Now the Cyclist Angle; Dr. Watson was fixed when he saw Sherlock jumping from the roof and came to his senses when the fall was finished. He then started running towards the curb and was hit by a cyclist. I believe we all speculate that this accident was pre-planned. But Sherlock didn't have time to plan this whole thing as he was busy running away from the Police (remember?). 

So who planned all this for him? Who paid the cyclist to hit Dr. Watson who was frantically running to check on his best friend?

It could be Moriarty and maybe that's what he meant when he said, he owed him. It wasn't Sherlock but Moriarty who planned it all for him. Moriarty even says to Sherlock when he was standing on the ledge, "I told you how it ends."  

Because it was Moriarty who brought Sherlock to fame and so he owed Sherlock a life where he wasn't being chased by the media, a life which was most congenial to him; a quiet life. So I believe it was a game played between Sherlock and Moriarty with a mutual consent.

But why did that cyclist hit Dr. Watson?
Remember, the 2nd episode of this season; 'The Hound of Baskervilles'?
In that episode, we were introduced to a drug which makes people hallucinate. Isn't it possible that the cyclist injected the same drug in Dr. Watson? Making it the 2nd time when the same drug was used on him.

That is why when Dr. Watson went to check on Sherlock he was not able to detect if he was really alive or dead. Or maybe it had something to do with the rubber ball Sherlock was seen playing in the lab. I am not too sure about this whole angle. But there could be a lot of explanations on how Sherlock was declared dead.

So coming back to the main theory, I believe that it was a pre-planned mutually agreed act, played both by Moriarty and Sherlock.

And why do I seem to be the only one who is so concerned of what happened to Moriarty's dead body on the roof?

No newspaper covered that a man named 'Jim Moriarty' or 'Rich Brook' was also found dead on the rooftop of St. Bartholomew Hospital. Finding his body on the rooftop could have given the case a whole new angle, and I WILL NOT BELIEVE that Steven Moffat just forgot about Moriarty's dead body while writing the rest of the script.

So what happened to his dead body? Did Moriarty fake his death too?
Remember, if Sherlock can do it, so can Moriarty. 

After all, he 'owed' him!


EDIT: So after the Series 3, we all can say that the creators decided to skip over this whole theory thing. This proves;

1. either the writers were not able to come up with a believable explanation, or;
2. after all the hoopla after this thing, they decided, "To hell with it." and followed the 'Lost Finale' fashion.

Whatever the case may be, now there is no official theory from the creators of the show about how Sherlock survived this fall. So please leave a comment, telling me what you think of my theory and do let me know if you have one of your own.

And here is the second most accurate theory I have seen on Sherlock's fall. Title Image from Skip's blog. I do not own this image or its right.