The season ends - S4 E's 23 and 24, my thoughts.

Speaking of bombs!

Okay, okay. Maybe it wasn't that bad.

Season four came to an end this past Sunday with episode 24, 'A Difference in Kind',
A continuation of episode 23, 'The Invisible Hand'.
I must admit that the fact that my 'The Woman', Natalie Dormer, did not return may be clouding my review, but I will do my best not to be jaded.

In 'The Invisible Hand' people surrounding Morland Holmes are dropping like flies. And it is eventually determined, by Sherlock, that the lead suspect, in his book, Vikner, is responsilbe.
Vikner also turns out to be the leader of Moriarty's crime sydicate, and the father of her daughter.

In episode 24, 'A Difference in Kind', the Holmes' try to get another top ranking boss in Moriarty's orginazation to help bring down Vikner, An Iraqi diplomat, she feels Vikners death is the only way to really bring him down. (Why she would want to bring on Moriarty's dipleasure about this is beyond me.)

It is shortly after this that we find Morland has been recruited to head the organization, and he accepts the job to protect Joan and Sherlock.

Morland has spent most of this season trying to get back into Sherlock's good graces. And unless Morland dives in front of a bullet to save Joan, that does not seem likely to happen. And the ending of this season may have been a way to get him out, at least for the time being, of the story line.
While the Canonical Moriarty and the 'Elementary' Vikner seem to be able to carry on a normal life in public view as teachers, I doubt if Morland will be allowed to do so.

While in the canon we never really find out what happens to Moriarty's organizaion, every one telling Sherlock in these last two episodes seems kind of like a dig to his abilities and that he left something unfinished and now Morland needs to clean it up, as he did with Sherlocks drug problem by finding Joan. It felt to much like, "What do I have to do to prove myself to you Sherlock, die?"
Canonically many of us believe Holmes spent a good part of his time in hiatus helping to round up most of Moriarty's compatriots in crime, finishing off with the capture of Moran in EMPT.
(The spotting of someone in the flat from across the street rang of EMPT.)
If the cliff hanger of this season had been the bomb going off and Joan and the rest of us not knowing what happened to Sherlock, it may have worked better. But since B.C's. 'death' as Sherlock in 'Sherlock', the public may have seen that coming.
At this point in time, if Dormers 'Moriarty' will not be returning they need to come up with their own 'FINA'. Dormer was Elementary's Moriarty and it will be a shame if they can not bring that story to completion without her presence. And if indeed John Noble's 'Morland' is pretty well gone, it leaves very much about this season unresolved.

 That also leaves Sherlock as the least effective of all individuals involved with the resolution.

The way this episode ended, did however make room for new story developments that do not include Morland or Moriaty and actually help the show advance into better stories.

While I find this season the strongest so far, for me, these two episode, along with 'Hounded' are the weakest.

A good question from these two episodes would be; Could a Sherlock Holmes in modern times take on an organization like Moriarty's?

If I look at these two episodes as the season finally ending a story line I was getting tired of, I can fairly give these episodes;