The Enola Holmes movies have long been a fan-favorite franchise on Netflix, fueled in part by the fact that Enola actress Millie Bobby Brown is herself beloved (and has dominated Netflix since her debut in Stranger Things 10 years ago, in 2016. However, ahead of the latest installment, Enola Holmes 3, there were already concerns for a range of reasons. Among the biggest concerns audiences voiced before the movie was released was the change in Brown’s appearance, which had nothing to do with Brown being several years older than when she first took up the role.
Rather, fans were quick to call out that the trailer for Enola Holmes 3 no longer seemed to match the period and place in which Enola Holmes movies are set (Victorian England, in the 1880s specifically). In particular, the style of Enola’s hair, dress, and even the way her makeup is done feels much more modernized than either Enola Holmes or Enola Holmes 2. Once the movie hit the streaming service, though, it became clear that this was far from the only thing about Enola Holmes 3 that made no sense.
One of the biggest events of Enola Holmes 3 was the wedding of Enola and Tewkesbury, after the prior two movies built up their budding romance (concluding with Tewkesbury’s declaration of love and Enola’s reciprocation towards the end of Enola Holmes 2). Early in Enola Holmes 3, it wasn’t actually clear whether this wedding would happen, as Enola effectively left Tewkesbury at the altar to go find Sherlock, who had been abducted. However, by the movie’s end, the two young lovebirds had actually tied the knot.
Yet, among the issues with this second and actual wedding was Enola’s mother, Eudoria Holmes, officiating. For one, it wouldn’t have been legal in Victorian England for a woman to officiate a wedding, making their marriage null, but that isn’t really a serious problem; Enola Holmes has always required the suspension of disbelief and demonstrated that Enola and Eudoria didn’t adhere to norms. The bigger problem is that Eudoria was a wanted fugitive, and Enola and Tewkesbury’s wedding was attended by lords and ladies. There is absolutely no way they would’ve accepted this and not turned her in.
Yet another oddity of Enola Holmes 3 was the absence of the third Holmes sibling, Mycroft Holmes. Mycroft had been in the first Enola Holmes movie, played by Sam Claflin, and he actually proved to be a detestable character (and Claflin’s portrayal of him was brilliant, especially considering one of Claflin’s better-known roles is the lovable hero Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games franchise). Mycroft did not return in Enola Holmes 2, though, evidently because of scheduling conflicts with Claflin.
Whereas his absence made sense in Enola Holmes 2, in part because he had been such a terrible brother to Enola in the first movie, it didn’t make any sense for him to not appear in Enola Holmes 3. After all, in this new movie, Enola gets married, and Sherlock is kidnapped. Mycroft is far from the world’s greatest brother, but both events are something that certainly would have demanded the oldest Holmes sibling’s attendance. However, he was nowhere to be found, and neither the character nor the actor’s absence has been explained thus far.
Eudoria officiating Enola’s wedding wasn’t the only strange thing about the character that made no sense in Enola Holmes 3. In perhaps an even more bewildering moment, Eudoria tells Enola that Sherlock is her “favorite child.” Granted, this happens when Sherlock is missing, but Eudoria isn’t the type of character to be driven by her emotions. She isn’t even upset when she says this; she sounds perfectly calm and matter-of-fact. This goes against everything that audiences saw in Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2, however.
Perhaps in another version of the Sherlock Holmes story this declaration would have made sense, but it doesn’t fit at all in this franchise. After Enola’s father died (which happened when she was still quite young), Mycroft and Sherlock both moved away and barely came around for many years, and Eudoria raised Enola as her closest friend and confidant. There is simply no way that she actually favored Sherlock, and Enola’s shock at this nonsensical comment is likewise felt by audiences for that reason.
The wedding of Enola and Tewkesbury obviously came with various complications, but even before they actually got married, there were some bizarre plot points regarding this couple. Among the strangest was the scene in which the two become intimate, removing one another’s clothes and taking a swim together while Sherlock and Tewkesbury’s mother, Lady Tewkesbury, both remain missing. This would have been odd if it was any character, but Enola and Tewkesbury in particular do not feel like characters who would put their worry and desperation to find their loved ones on pause to have a romp.
The movie had (sort of) introduced tensions between the two, especially after it seemed like Enola had left Tewkesbury at the altar, but this was still neither the time nor the place for this moment of reconnection. If anything, this could have happened after Sherlock and Lady Tewkesbury were found, and there still could have been a time jump to the wedding. As it was written, it just felt awkward and out of place.
Finally, as mentioned, the stylization of Enola Holmes 3 felt way too modernized. This was true in various ways, although Millie Bobby Brown’s styling was by far the most distracting. Unlike the first two movies, Enola didn’t match with the period, particularly with her hair and makeup. Yet, nothing felt as strangely modern as both of Enola’s wedding dresses. While the first dress looked like something that a bride would wear today, the second dress, which had a fully off-the-shoulder design, would never have been worn in the 1880s, even by a radical character like Enola.
This change was truly a shame, as Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 hadn’t really fallen into this issue, at least not to the degree that Enola Holmes 3 did. For now, it’s unclear whether another sequel movie is coming in the Enola Holmes franchise, but hopefully, if one is made, it will correct this problem.
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