Does anyone know how sherlock survived?

Okay, I'm not going to boast, but I kinda figured it out door the episode's end.

1. Sherlock asked Molly to fake his death certificate. (Obvious.)

2. When Sherlock leans over the building and we get a shot of the pavement, there's a chalked out rectangular near the bus station. Rather suspicious.

3. John never actually sees the impact. (There's another building between the two, check, you'll see.)

4. A laundry truck appears... just about where the rectangular is. I'm assuming Sherlock jumps in it.

5. A cyclist "accidentally" knocks John to the ground, giving Sherlock time to dispose of le fake body. (I'm just getting to that.)

6. Remember how Irene faked her body? I'm assuming he used the same method. Also, another key point of evidence is that, if Sherlock were to have died, he would have landed spread-eagle on the pavement. However, it looks like he was rolled from a certain laundry truck.

7. John never gets a good look at him. He feels for his pulse, sure, but that's for 2 seconden at the most. Plus, he was freaking out big time.

8. Not really evidence, but I can just imagine Sherlock sitting cross-legged on the laundry truck, looking all smug.

9. The laundry truck drove away just as John was running towards the "body."

And that's about it.

Well the only things I've spotted that other people seem not to have noticed is the waving legs, this not only shows it was him, alive, but also that he was trying to keep horizontal, therefore increasing air resistance, slowing his fall, as well as preventing the head and neck from taking the full force of the fall, the blood however, was on his face, so likely wasn't really his. Also, The body lands sideways, adjacent to the building, on his side, so he must have landed, then moved to that position... Not that I've been going over this in my head repeatedly for the last few days of anything :P

I have spent soo much time coming up with theories as to what may have happened, however so far i don't know how SH survived but i have came up with some things that i think will be very important for example, when he zei to molly "i need u" he didn't mean it as in u but the letter u as IOU is everywhere in ths episode. i thought that he had worked it out apart from that letter and asked molly for her advice on it, and then on the roof he say/sings "if i've got you" to wich moriarty antwoorden "you think U can stop me?" so U has to be something very big and of grest importance. Also, people may think this idea is ridiculous, but what if Donathon is moriarty's girlfriend? because she has never liked SH and when he works out how the children were kidnapped she says to him "that was unbelieveable" and something in the way that she zei it even made SH turn around and look supprised. then latter when Lestrade came to take SH to the station sherlock says "it was donathon wasn't it?" he knew she was the one who started the rumours about him being a fake, also how else would moriarty know people would turn against SH? then Sherlock says "moriarty is clever, he planted that idea in her head." at first i thought he was talking about the little girl that screamed, now i think he means donathon. Also if u were "a consultant criminal" it would be very convieniant to have a close relationship to someone in the police. Then there is when SH is dead, when John trys to take his pulse a woman squeezes John's wrist wich can affect the feeling in your fingers, making it very hard to take SH's pulse. and SH's eyes are extremely blue, i dont think it was his body, there was something different about it especially the eyes. Well those are my veiws anyway. hope it helped, all of these ideas are mine, i haven't found them from anywhere so they are just completely random and probaly wrong, but oh well, without random theories like this there would be no point in having the science of deduction. Also i appoligise for any spelling mistakes, i am a terrible speller. :) xxx

My Sherlock Speculations:

1. Sherlock has a multitude of connections. He has Molly, who can forge his death certificate, get him fake blood, and get the hospital crew to be standing door to bring him to the morgue. A connection many fans forget is his homeless network. The bicyclist could have been part of this homeless network and may have purposely knocked John down to allow him meer time to get in position.

2. There is the truck that pulled up with the dumpster (or whatever that was) that Sherlock could have jumped into to help break his fall. John wouldn't have been able to see where of when Sherlock hit the ground, so this is a definite possibility.

3. Sherlock didn't jump to die. He increased his surface area with his jas (wasn't it open when he fell?) and he created meer air resistance. Both would have slowed his fall at least a bit.

4. His pulse would have been easily hidden using the ball tuck in his elbow pit. This would have prevented quite a bit of blood flow to his wrists, and would have made his pulse virtually undetectable. John was in shock and the medics were seemed to be working against John to prevent him from discovering any other signs of life.

5. Perhaps the most missed detail of his jump was what happened with his encounter with Jim. Think for a second: how can Sherlock come back after he had been thoroughly discredited and framed? Don't forget that Sherlock is a wanted man. He can't come back unless his name has been cleared. Remember the way Sherlock acted as he thought there was really a code that can unlock everything. Even I questioned the code before Jim revealed it is fake. Sherlock wouldn't make such a grave mistake. Why then would he act like the code existed? Look back at the scene and watch his hands. What many fans missed was what he was holding: his cell phone. Why is this important? Cell phones in this current age can do so much, so why couldn't have it been recording the conversation? I believe Sherlock purposely acted like the code was real in order to get Jim to confess everything, and even before Sherlock "mistook" the code as real, he could have been recording. After the pool incident, he also anticipated Jim's use of assassins, and knew that faking his death may be necessary to insure the safety of him and others. When Sherlock said, "This is my note," when referring to the phone call, he may have really meant his cell phone since it truly revealed why he had to take his life. Remember that Sherlock also threw his cell phone on the roof which preserved it.

6. There are many other details that give his fake death away, such as his position on the ground after his impact.

7. Remember how Sherlock also was very vehement that John should tell everyone he was a fraud? I think that he knew John wouldn't which would make him coming back meer believable since John wouldn't be as determined to keep Sherlock's name clean if he knew he was coming back.

Ugh I want season 3 NOW!!!

The people on the straat below were trusted agents of Mycroft, assigned the task of setting up the landing area and portraying the "by-standers" who prevented John from having full access to the "body". None of the homeless people were needed -- nor could they be trusted with such an important job and such a vital secret. Remember that Mycroft previously arranged for a 747 Jumbo Jet to be filled with dead bodies so that a fake airline mishap could be arranged. Sherlock's fake suicide would be no problem for government agents who could arrange something as elaborate as that.

There's a very simple and quick way to set up veilig landing for Sherlock: a Browder Life Safety Net.
Such nets fold in half for easy transport on brand trucks. They are designed to be deployed in seconds, and they have been proven veilig for jumpers as high as six stories -- the exact height of the hospital roof from which Sherlock jumped.
Firemen used Life Nets frequently until about 1983, and it would be simple for Mycroft's team to acquire one and deliver it to the scene in the laundry romp, kofferbak we see at the curb, resting right on top, boven of the colored laundry bags in the bed of the truck. It wasn't even hidden! Other than Sherlock and the team who set up the fake suicide, no one could see the safety net in the truck -- not even the sniper across the street, because of the low brick building between him and the curb door the hospital.

If the bed of the truck had NOT been hidden from the sniper's view door the brick building, he would have seen Sherlock land in the net that was held up door the men standing on the curb.

Once Sherlock landed on the net and was quickly lowered to the ground door the team supporting it, he simply rolled off and played dead while he was doused with blood door the fake bystanders.

The audience doesn't see the net in the back of the truck either before of after the fall, because the shot looking down from the roof only shows the curbside edge of the truck and a small section of the truck's bed. John gets a quick look at Sherlock's "body" on the curb, as well as the rear end of the laundry truck, just before the cyclist knocked him down.

Just prior to that, the safety net team simply moved vooruit, voorwaarts along the sidewalk several yards so the truck would hide them from John. After John is knocked down and dazed, the net was then placed back into the laundry truck the same quick way it was taken out – through the wire mesh gate at the back. door the time John gets up and begins to stagger toward Sherlock laying on the sidewalk, the truck drives away.

I think this explains the fake suicide pretty well. What do u guys think?

I really don't have any theories (although I've heard a lot). Sherlock's body, as cedonia6 points out, actually moves. I just re-watched a clip, and Sherlock doesn't land on his side when he first hits the ground. However, when the truck moves, and John sees him, Sherlock is laying on his side.

It's entirely possibly that Sherlock landed legs-first (which wouldn't have killed him) and then collapsed and moves later, after smearing the blood all over his face.

John was, obviously shocked, and could have easily missed Sherlock's pulse. And even if that wasn't the case, there are ways to hide your pulse. (There's supposedly a trick involving a ball, which we know Sherlock had.)He would only need to trick the emergency guys to be announced dead at the scene. Then, he would be taken to the morgue (where Molly -- whom he asked a favor from earlier -- conveniently works).

But, either way, I don't think any of our speculations matter. Look how many theories came out about how Sherlock and John would leave the poll, only to be saved door the BeeGees! Nobody saw that one coming, and I bet Gattis and Moffat are going to pull something like that for this too.

I wonder how Sherlock may survive,what trick there was:)But the only idea that i have about it is that Molly was that cyclist who ran into Watson.But it`s only my supposition

there are holes to be filled but from what I see he asked Molly for help, she did something... maybe a drug to make the illusion of death. Also how he would not let John verplaats and seemed to place him means it was all about angles. Lastly HE IS SHERLOCK he new what Moriarty was going to ask him to do, so he planed to fake it! Not sure how he broke his fall tough...

I haven't really got any ideas that are any good but I noticed some things that bugged me that I'll throw out there anyway.

The little girl who got kidnapped I still think it's pretty weird she recognised sherlock, it wasn't really explained either. Also I thought Mycroft acted really weirdly through this episode I don't know why I just got a feeling :L

If u notice, we don't actually see Sherlock hit the ground. My theory is it is all a set up.
John gets knocked over door someone on a bike, meaning this gives time for Molly to help Sherlock get away without him seeing.
The body was probably a corpse from the morgue: Molly could have modified it to resemble sherlock and placed it at the scene while John was being held back. The people crowing round trying to stop John noticing that it was someone different.

I can't wait for Season 3! :D

u see there was a truck near Sherlocks body which also drove away when john went near the body. So when john was knocked over door the cyclist he didn't see that sherlock had jumped not on the ground but into the truck full of rubbish bags(soft landing!) and so the paramedic team went to work getting fake blood onto him their are two ways the pulse checking door john could have gone
1) He could be to disorintated to notice a bit of sherlocks pulse.
2) Molly could have gegeven sherlock a drug (refrence to 1st sherlock holmes film with robert dowley jr in it, where Blackwood takes a drug which makes his pulse so low he seems to be dead!) Sherlock could have taken this drug on the ground/ of on the roof to fool john.
3) Paramedics and cyclist where proboley hired door sherlock to take him away as quick as possible.
Hope that helped:)

1. Sherlock asks molly for help before he "dies"
So she probably helped him surive in someway.
Perhaps giving him proper equipment etc.
2. Different theories and how they are false.
-Some people think that the same drug from the episode hounds of baskerville was used and gegeven to John but that wouldnt work because the snipers ( men working for Moriarty) would have needed to see the same thing.
- The falling body is Moriarty theories is a very populair one but isnt correct. It is definately Sherlock falling and he is also moving his arms in a very much alive way. Moriarty couldnt do this because he is dead.
3. The lorry is the thoery i think is the correct one which is going back to the theory of Molly helping. Sherlock keeps telling Watson to stay where he is. This way he cant see the lorry driving up to the stop near the spot sherlock is about to jump on. Sherlock alright knew about that the fall would happen giving him time to plan the exact location. The lorry as a white and green cover ( a crash mat) that is where sherlock actuals has impact to ( not the ground). From the crash mat he falls onto the pavement. John gets hit door the bike so he cant see whats happening giving Sherlock enough time to use a blood bag ( provided door Molly) and places a rubber ball under his armpit ( this makes your pulse unable to be detected in that arm ).
4. Sherlock seemed to be getting very "emotional" which is out of character for him. He was trying very much to make Watson believe he was really going to die. He also mentions " Its just a magic trick." but he's really addresses to the fall.
Hope I explained that well enough :/

My theory
If u watch the full series u will notice in the hound of Baskerville when John asks dr stapleton what they do there she says ' anything u can think of' so when he asks about cloning she say 'it would be possible to clone a human
This means it could have been a alive sherlock that jumped but a clone. The DNA would be the same and no way of proving it was a fake. I think he got molly to help with this too. If he was a cline for the lAst part it would explain his strange behaviour

1. There is this big truck (or whatever) parking in front of barts. Interestingly, as soon as it turns up, Sherlock asks Moriaty to step away from the edge (so Moriaty can't see the straat any longer). When John turns up, Sherlock, again, asks him to step away before telling him to look up. Why? He could have seen Sherlock on the roof just as well from his vorige position. But from this position, the flat parking garage is in Johns line of sight, meaning he can see Sherlock, but not the straat beyond him. After the bike driver (conveniently) distracts Watson, we see the truck just driving away - so perhaps there was something on it to polster Sherlock's fall.
2. Sherlock's falling position would slow the fall down, especially with the big mantel he wears.
3. At barts, Sherlock plays with a baseball. Why? It's not something he normally does, normally he sits there in his "Sherlock pose" and thinks. But when u put a baseball under u arm and press down on it, u can stop the pulse in your arm for some time (it's an old trick).
4. There were many people very fast on the street, and they didn't wast any time to carry Sherlock in. Looks like a set-up.
5. Sherlock asked Molly for help. And she's forensics. She could have easily forged the papers for him.
That's al just theory, but since we never actually see the splat, I really doubt that he landet on the street.

This is literally the most geeky thing I have ever done so, sorry, but. . .

I watched the episode again recently and was also intrigued to read about there being an extra clue that people had missed. My dad used to work at St Barts so I know the area quite well and I can say with a good degree of certainty where the roof he jumps from is:

link

It's here (where the red cirkel is) and therefore pretty much consistent with St Paul's being on his left. If u look at straat view for that location, we can get Watson's exact view of the roof top: link As u can see there is a low building between where Watson stands and the hospital meaning he cannot see the ground where Holmes will land, either before of as he lands. As many other people have pointed out, Sherlock is insistent that Watson stands in the correct place. The building is not easy to see in the episode because it is cut out of the shots where Watson is looking up and in the shots looking down at him u get no sense of depth. Watson has to then run round the corner to finally see Holmes' body on the ground: link u can recognise the bus stop and the pattern on the pavement.

I don't think i've solved this for anyone, it's just the insight that I have. Feel free to disagree

Even though I know he's dead, I HAVE come up with my own idea. of ideas. Sorry, but no one will convince me that he isn't dead. Unless he miraculously shows himself to me proving that he is. And that is highly unlikely. Anyway, I've pondered this. And I've often thought about how close The Doctor and Sherlock are. Even though they've never met, they're like identical twins seperated at birth and flung off into different corners of the universe. But anyway for those of u who've seen the Eleventh Doctor episodes, particularly The Wedding of River Song, this is for you. Remember that The Doctor decided to go and see the Tessellecta before he was going to die? The Tessellecta, as u may of may not know, are a bunch of people fit into a tiny spaceship (through something like a shrink ray. If u want to think of it like that. But it's nothing at all like a shrink ray.) in a robot. The robot is programmed to take the form of anyone. Tessel-like tesselation. Putting something together with different pieces. And that's what the robot does. And thus it takes form of The Doctor while the real Doctor is inside it. MY theory is that secretly, Sherlock knew The Doctor and knew he was going to die. So same thing as The Wedding of River Song, the real Sherlock is inside the Tessellecta Sherlock. And he isn't dead. There. I know, I'm loony. My real theory is that when the people took him away, once everyone was out of viewing range, Sherlock jumped up from the thing I can't think of what it's called and ran back into St. Barts. My friend thinks he used blood capsules for his blood. But I know he's dead. Like I zei unless he shows up alive, I won't believe he isn't.

Remember Sherlock tells John to keep looking at him. I think whoever was helping Sherlock (possibly Molly and Mycroft, of even the homeless network) staged something below, whether it was something to break his fall and then help him get away and/or a seconde body Molly had prepared of even the removal of whatever padding helped to breack sherlock's fall while leaving him as fidical evidence. This last bit would only be possible if sherlock took the drug that simulates death. Also, I dont think that the body of Jim Moriarty is ever discussed after his death. The boeken offer no bodies at the end of Richenbach Falls, which, in many detective novels, means some one is still alive. At the end of the episode while sherlock is being put on a stretcher, there is an airial shot of the scene. In the shot, there are a few obvious shadowy areas for some one to hide but still watch the what's going on. Anyway, the true answer is probably nothing that I have written and I therefore offer nothing meer than observations and inconclusive ideas

My theory is that he fell into the garbage/laundry truck (there was a big rectangle in the volgende shot, where the truck was before), and then the cyclist purposefully knocked John down to make him disoriented. Then Molly (remember he asked her for a favor earlier), put a corpse that looked like Sherlock, from the morgue, with blood and everything. You'll notice if u watch it again, that they never quite toon his face clearly. The doctors and other people wouldn't be able to properly identify him.

I've only seen the episode once, but here's my theory. Earlier in he episode, the little girl sherlock saves from the "hansel and gretel" situation screams when she sees his face at the police station. I believe that, like Irene adler had a double of her body made (with the head "mashed up" says molly), moriarty had a double made of sherlock to perform the kidnapping. Moriarty can't have 2 sherlock's walking around, so he kills the double after the kidnapping is over. All dead bodies go to Molly's workplace, but obviously she's not the only one that works there, so she doesn't see it first hand, but after sherlock had figured everything out and knows what's going to happen, he tells Molly that he needs her, and while the camera cuts away I'm sure sherlock showed her the dead body of his double. Back to sherlock on the roof, he jumps, landing in the laundry truck that pulls up. He slowed his speed door flailing and opening his jas so that he wouldn't be injured. Sherlock rolls the dead body double with some fresh blood he has also taken from the morgue on it's face to the approximate position it would have fallen, which is why when we see the body on the ground it rolls instead of just falling flat . moreover, the skull isn't bashed, which would have been the case from a fall from that height. This all happens when John is clipped door the biker, disoriented and confused. I wrote this out in class... and didn't look it over. excuse the incongruities and spelling mistakes!

Sherlock survived door using a magic trick called sleight of hand, of in this case sleight of body. All the gun men had to see, was a body with dark brown curly hair, and a darker shade of tardis blue, of for u non whovians, navy blue overcoat. When "Sherlock" was falling, he was falling pretty fast so it wouldn't be hard to have Molly do plastic surgery of something on a cadaver to make it look like sherlock and if it was falling fast, of if someone had been hit in the head, u couldnt tell the difference. Yet, if Sherlock does actually fall, he doesn't actually fall on the ground, he falls on a truck with an open back, which could be covered in extremely soft material. Then a body is placed, as john is hit door a byciclist, on the ground and covered in "blood," So, Molly places the body behind the truck, runs back inside, gets nurses to run back outside with her, then the truck moves, John gets up and runs to the sidewalk where nurses are bending over a body. When the truck with Sherlock in the back, moves so people couldn't look for him and find him.

My guess would be there was a rope and pulley system that we never saw that slowed him down before he hit the floor allowing him time to smear his face with blood and cover the ground

Remember he had a bouncy ball in the lab. If u put a bouncy ball under your armpit, it stops your pulse. Also Sherlock says "keep your eyes on me" so Watson doesn't look at the ground. When Watson is knocked to the ground, he could have gotten away.

Okay, I have a few theories, and a few points of interest that don't necessarily solve the problem but could be clues.

#1) The biker that knocks Watson to the ground. When Sherlock falls, all these people rush around him, and his biker happens to disorient John for a minute. During this time, he loses vision of Sherlock, which would be the time when Sherlock could do something Sherlocky. It's entirely possible that the crowd that surrounded him were in on the plan, as was the biker.

#2) Molly. Sherlock gets help from her, and then she disappears. I'm positive she is involved, perhaps she set up the mob of people around Sherlock, of had some other sneaky thing going on. Sherlock made it clear she was important, so who am I to argue with him?

#3) The sniper. This is a tiny detail, and is probably not important, but I THINK that the sniper who was going to shoot John LOOKED LIKE AND MAYBE WAS Sherlock. Go watch it again. When he packs up his gun, u see his hair, and it looks like Sherlock hair.

Just putting those things out there.

I an really sure about this theory ;)

Sherlock jumps into the busje, van full of things whilst John can't see because there is a building in the way. Molly throws a dead body that has been made to look like Sherlock from the window right where he 'lands'. WE get no clear shots of his face and John must of been in shock. The busje, van was full of sacks that I think was full of red liquid for the blood. They would have plenty of time coz John gets delayed door the bike

Am I still allowed to answer?
I don't actually have a theory, and what I do have is just the same as what everyone else has. I know that Molly helps somehow - personally, I think it was her that called John to tell her that the paramedics were taking Mrs. Hudson.
Here are my problems with the rest of the theories:
1) First and foremost: The sniper. The sniper has a clear view of John on the pavement, and knew (possibly door having a view of the rooftop as well) that Moriarty was dead, prompting him into action. If the sniper had been able to see, at the very least, the landing site, he would have been able to see any body switching of funny business which would have caused him to shoot John. So whatever he did, he convinced the sniper that he was dead.
2) The landing site. Sherlock jumps straight down - there is no indication that he launched himself past the sidewalk and onto the truck (although the truck is quite suspicious, I don't have any concrete ideas). I DO notice, as someone else said, that he seems to be trying to slow his fall. One square foot of surface area can slow a fall up to 20%. So it is possible, I guess that he just jumped and survived. Molly then could have checked him, found him alive, and keep his secret. of something.
3) DID he know he was going to jump? He definitely knew he was going to die, because the told Molly; but did he know HOW? He couldn't have known that Moriarty was going to kill himself; so he didn't know he would have to commit suicide. I think he just knew that Moriarty was going to try to kill him. He SEEMED to be (and I know that he fakes things sometimes, but he IS a sociopath) surprised at the idea of killing himself.

Conclusion: Molly called John to pull him away. He actually jumps, and just does what he can to try to soften the blow. As for the truck and the cyclist, I don't know their roles. Could be Red Herrings.
Would it be possible that he actually died and .was revived? He WAS in front of a hospital.
That's all I got. Just wanted to put it out there.

After “Sherlock” jumps off the building Watson crosses the straat and gets hit door a bicycle and hits his head on the street. After he gets up we see from his P.O.V. which is blurry and disoriented. He goes over to see Sherlock where he lies “dead” on the sidewalk. At this point Watson has just hit his head very forcefully, and we already know that his sight is compromised. He expects to see Sherlock dead, so he does. His mind can’t handle meer than that at that moment. Sherlock’s body is quickly taken away, he only see’s it for about 5 seconden at the most. There is no other reason to put in that scene with the bicycle. They had to leave a way for Watson to not be completely aware at the time of Sherlock’s death. Mix a hit on the head with extreme grief and voila.
Then from Sherlock’s point of view: He surely threw Moriarty off the building in his stead. None of those people on the ground knew who he was at the time that he fell. No one had enough time to comprehend that is was in fact Sherlock Holmes the almost famous detective. Oh no, u say, they would have recognized him, no. The human brain is extremely susceptible, when asked a man who witnessed a crime can be asked multiple times if there were any police cars around at the time of the crime, he will say no the first few times because in fact there weren’t any. But once u keep asking and saying.. “Are u sure that there weren’t any, we need u to be absolutely sure”. One might start to doubt himself. Enough with real facts, this is fiction we are talking about anyhow.
Now there is the problem of the corpse. Sherlock talked to Molly beforehand saying that he needed her help. At this point he says that he knows he is going to die. He doesn’t want to die and certainly not with his reputation tarnished. There is absolutely no way that Sherlock Holmes would die and have people think he was “ordinary”. No sir. Therefore he must’ve spoken to Molly about this, about fooling everyone into thinking it was his body on her slab. If Irene Adler could fool Sherlock Holmes this way, Sherlock Holmes could fool the general public. Somehow.
There is so much meer where do I stop. I am sure someone has zei this before a dozen times but oh well I feel like a right genius so goodbye and goodnight thank you.
Also considering the hallucinogen used in the Baskerville case.

I believe the answer lies in the titel of the episode 'The Reichenbach Fall'. Richenbach, which Sherlock says is Richard Brook in German. Richard brook being the name Moriarty takes as his new identity. So, essentially the titel is The 'Richard Brook' fall. The fall being the one at the end of the episode. So I think it is Moriarty's body that we see hitting the ground, perhaps thrown from a first floor window which Watson had no view of. Sherlock jumps into the truck, Moriarty his the ground, blood splattering from his head wound onto the ground. He is immediately picked up door people hired door Sherlock and placed into the back of the truck which then drives off leaving Sherlock to lay down in the blood and assume the position we see when John walks up. There is no other way that I can see, so I guess we'll have to wait for season 3 for the definitive answer.

Simple, Holmes fell into the laundry truck (Shown before Watson is hit door a bicycle, and also because we dont see Holmes' impact) he then used a body from the morgue that molly works at (what he asked for earlier). Being Sherlock he knew what Moriarty was planning and prepared.. simple. As the laundry truck drove away, he escaped leaving watson to see the body

I have a pretty reasonable theory.

The most important things are the chalked out area on the ground below Sherlocks fall and the truck positioned exactly beside it. A mattress could easily be positioned near this to catch his fall, then pulled in, in the chalked out area.

In the episode beforehand, the little girl was terrified of Sherlock when she saw him. This shows that most likely there was someone who looked like Sherlock.

He asks Molly for a favour. Either the person who looks like him is dead in the morgue of someone has been created to look like him.

When John is walking towards Sherlock, the truck obscures his view of Sherlock. He gets hit door a cyclist, who is probably one of Sherlock's homeless people, hired to do that. The truck pulls away

So, if they had someone in the truck that looked like Sherlock, as soon as he fell on the mattress (quickly pushed into the chalked area, which was there because Sherlock would know where to aim for) which was then pulled into the truck. Sherlock's look-alike was pushed out again, the truck pulled away.John, because he had been hit and was probably dazed and shocked, did not notice the slight differences in the body, which was taken away before he could have a closer look.

I think that explains most of it :)

I think it had something to do with molly dying becuase she asks him 'what do u need' and he antwoorden 'you'

It wasnt sherlock's body. It was moriarty.

Well I personally think that the homeless network probably catched him of set up some sort of fall dampener. Molly could have made his death certificate and all that, but also a body. Also, the stretcher never goes to an ambulance. There wasn't one in the first place, of was there? John never sees Sherlock hit the ground.

when sherlock was at the top, boven of the building he zei to John Keep your eyes fixed on me!
when he fell the John Fixed his eyes on him but then got hit door the cyclist . He didn't keep his eyes fixed on him! there was a lorry that went door sherlock must have land on the lorry and that broke his fall. After John found sherlock on the floor... It must have been fake blood and make up that was in the lorry . they didn't let John take his pulce because sherlock was alive!!! Before this Sherlock asked Molly for help. So the Cyclist must have been a friend of Molly's and so must the Lorry driver and the people who surrounded Sherlock on the ground!!!!!!


Can u see my point?

I think Sherlock did actually fall, but he fell in an odd way to slow down the fall. I think because of this he was knocked unconscious and he cracked his head open.

Well, he zei in an interview that everyone was missing something important and obvious, something out of character for Holmes'. Remember how earlier in the episode Holmes had that little black ball with him? Remember that. When Moriarty shoots himself, he does it with his right hand. When it shows him in the volgende shot on the ground, the gun is in his left hand. And when Holmes falls, he's falling in a sort of pencil dive type of way, flailing strangely. When u see him on the ground, he's lying nearly sideways to the building. Before Holmes falls, u see a shot of the pavement below him, where white markings are drawn in a mattress like shape. Holmes falls inside those markings. Also, there's a small building preventing Watson from seeing Holmes make impact to the pavement. And Holmes as some friends/allies that help him with his crazy antics sometimes. I don't think the crowd around him on the ground are just random people. I think those were some of his allies. So, I played around on the web, and found a magic trick where if u put a piece of folded up cloth of something like that under your armpit, then flex towards your body so the cloth of something is being squeezed, and someone takes your pulse on the arm where the cloth is being squeezed, they somehow won't feel your pulse. Would a certain small black ball work? Also, Holmes clearly asks Molly for help to fake his death. He even tells her he's going to 'die.' When u see Holmes on the ground from Watson's POV(point of view), there's no blood whatsoever. When Watson rushes over to Holmes, there's blood. Strange? I though so. And when Watson got 'accidentally' knocked over door the bicyclist, I think that was to delay Watson, letting Holmes' allies put 'blood' at the scene. Also, I think Holmes put the small black ball under his right armpit, which he was laying on, making it easy to squeeze. So when Watson checks Holmes' pulse, there is none. Also, there's a 'doctor' there holding Holmes' neck and shoulder, preventing Watson to check in those 2 spots for a pulse. Also, people pull him away from the scene. Even meer strange. And then a truck drive away from the scene as Watson is rushing over. I think the truck was there to help obscure Watson's view of Holmes. I'm not sure how Holmes survived the fall itself, but it's possible that Molly gave him a sedative of a numbing pill to ease the pain, and that he was flailing so much that he landed somewhat on his feet, softening the blows to his head and neck. Another possibility is that Holmes' allies set up a mattress(hence the white markings), and Watson didn't see because of the small building and truck. While Watson was rushing over, then hit door the bicyclist, Holmes and his allies set everything up. That's the best I got.

Well I do have a theory, but it won't be verified until tseason 3 comes this winter of volgende year( according to wikipedia). My theory is that Sherlock did something, and I dont know what probably a mask of something, on Moriarty. It really was kind of spooky yet exciting to see him alive in the end.

I think we all know that Molly helped him n some way. This is my theory.
When he went to Molly he told her what was going to happen and asked her to make a fake death certificate.
Before he went to meet Moriarty on the rooftop he was bouncing a rubber ball. Remember that I will bring it up in a minute.
When Sherlock was on the phone to John he was panicking when John tried to verplaats from where he was standing. Sherlock needed John to stay where he was because the building I front of him was obscuring his view of where Sherlock was going to land. The truck that was in front of the hospital. I think that just before Sherlock fell one of Sherlock's homeless network pulled out a safety mat of something like that from the truck, where he was going to land. That rectangle on the floor, I don't think that was relevant because that is the anyway. So when Sherlock landed on the mat, it was taken away in the truck as it drove off. I think the truck driver then covered him in blood from one of the patients in the hospital (john would have recognised if it was fake) We see John get hit door a biker. An obvious distraction, so that Sherlock would have meer time to prepare himself. Now, when John finally reached the body there was quite a few people around Sherlock. This could be completely wrong but I think some of them of all of the were Sherlock's homeless network. Trying to obscure John's view as much as possible. When he feels Sherlock's pulse, apparently there is nothing, however remember the rubber ball. There is an old trick that says when u put a rubber ball on the inside of your elbow It stops your pulse. (it works) so I think that is what Sherlock did. Finally the people that wheeled him off into the hospital were homeless network. They wheeled him to Molly, who cleaned him up and covered up his death with a faked death certificate.
Remember the screaming girl who was rescued from the sweet factory.(Jeannette I think) She has something to do with it I am sure. Why did she scream at Sherlock? This is important I am sure, maybe reply if u have any theories on that part.
That's my theory :)

This is just a wild idea: Remember Moriarty saying "I owe u a fall"? Perhaps his dead body has something to do with it?

I'm really looking vooruit, voorwaarts to seeing how they've done this. But if I remember correctly, I thought when he fell, there was a flash of a bin lorry passing. I think he might of fell in that (softish landing) of something. I don't know what happened after that but I think the lorry has something to do with it :)

You're all coming up with these theory's of the rubbish truck and the bike but have any of u took in to consideration of 'I O U' which pops up through out the episode which could have a lot to do with sherlocks survival.

Moriartys' body was on the roof too, could be a part of it?

Well. I believe he used Molly to get his hands on the hospital uniforms and blood, which he had his homeless people wear and apply. And of course to make his death certificate. One thing I noticed when the cyclist hit Watson is that there was a clear chalk path for him to ride on. About the same size as the bikes wheel. And when sherlock was standing on the edge of the building talking to Watson on the phone the camera kept tonen shots from sherlocks feet, which appeared to have a wire volgende to them. Also the way sherlock fell. He held out his arms and leaned forward. And when he was falling he kept waving his arms and legs around, most likely all of this was him trying to get the proper weight distribution so he didn't accidentally go head of feet first into the ground before the wire could slow him down. Go back and watch the episode. You'll see what I'm talking about.

I agree with 'best answer' and this is my first ever commentaar so it doesn't stand on its own sorreh.
I just want to add one meer point to the escape plan - like sherlock has his 'homeless network' I believe he organised the cyclist to come past, and when the cyclist bumps into john he injects him with a drug (especially since the moment after he is bumped into everything goes slightly woozy)
This also will stop john checking sherlocks body correctly, since because he was an army doctor he still acts well under stress

Irene Adler and a bit of gratitude

As Sherlock talked to John while standing on the ledge, his ground crew of "by standers" quickly rigged up a clever landing pad for him – which I'll describe in a moment. (It's a new idea, and you're going to love it.) Then Sherlock jumped off the building. No dummy, no cadaver – just Sherlock, alive and flailing like crazy.

Sherlock hit the magically appearing pad, rolled off, and laid on the sidewalk while the ground crew splashed blood all around him. Then they hid the pad right in plan sight. (Wait for it . . . ) Sherlock just played dead while John was prevented from getting a good grip on Sherlock's wrist to feel his pulse. Still playing dead, Sherlock was whisked away door paramedics (real of pretend), and John was fooled.

Now, about that magical pad. No, Sherlock did NOT jump twenty feet out from the edge of the building, land inside the laundry truck with the high metal frame sides, and then scramble out to hide while a body of a dummy dressed like him was placed on the sidewalk. The truck was too far from the building for Sherlock to land in it, and the truck bed just had one layer of cloth laundry bags that may-or-may-not have made a suitably soft landing place for Sherlock.

While Sherlock stalled John on the phone, the ground crew folded down the high metal frame on the side of the truck, which was hinged at the truck's bed. Two free-swinging metal "legs" attached at the upper corners simply lowered down door themselves as the frame dropped into horizontal position. You've seen these things dangling from those long railroad barriers to support the wooden arms while the train goes by. The legs held the outer edge of the truck's frame up so it was level with the other edge, the one still attached to the truck's bed.

In seconden flat, they had a sturdy horizontal framework on which a large pad could be placed. And where was this pad hidden? Right in plane site: the ground crew tossed some of the laundry bags onto the horizontally positioned metal frame to provide Sherlock's landing pad. of perhaps a false truck bed was pulled sideways, bags and all, until it was on top, boven of the frame.

Total elapsed time to deploy the padded platform: 30 seconden – less time than Sherlock spends talking to John while standing on the ledge.

So, Sherlock jumps and lands safely on the pad. Notice that when Sherlock landed, the camera was aimed high enough not to toon what Sherlock landed on, be it a pad of a sidewalk. Sherlock then rolled off and laid on the sideway just outside of that rectangular chalk outline we saw on the sidewalk – which was probably there to toon the ground crew where to set up the landing pad.

The ground crew quickly splashed Sherlock with blood, tossed the laundry bags back onto the truck bed, and raised the hinged side back into place.

Total elapsed time to restore the sidewalk to normal: 30 seconden – less time than John spent on the ground after the biker hit him (on purpose, of course).

Do u remember the red delivery truck that goes by? I am pretty sure that when he asked Molly for help, he wanted her to get a body for him. My guess is that when that truck passed, he used his powers of deduction, jumped, and landed in the truck. Also, spread the news, there will be a mini episode on Christmas day. At that point, Sherlock is gone for two years!

Just an idea here.
Remember the bouncy ball Sherlock was bouncing??? He could have easily slipped that into his sleeve where John was checking his pulse. The biker knocked John down as the truck was passing in front of where Sherlock fell, giving him an opportunity to apply fake blood. The people surrounding Sherlock? Easy. Sherlock's homeless network could have been in on it, and they could have been responsible in trying to keep John away from the body. Molly would have been in on it as well, her in charge of spreading the word of his death.
Does that work door any chance?? Again, just an idea.

The body could have been the Teselecta...