Worst pre-Sherlock time ever.

Oh, crap, Sherlock's mother and father are still alive . . . at the moment.

Y'know, for decade after decade we've heard tales of those readers from 1893 onward who read "The Final Problem" and thought Sherlock Holmes was dead. How sad they were. What a dark time it was.

But I don't think any reader of Sherlock Holmes has gone through the emotional turmoil prior to a story coming out that BBC Sherlock is putting its viewers through.

In interviews, previews, and the casual tweet, things are looking pretty grim for our heroes. A villain supposedly more completely evil than any before. Loss. Tragedy. Bad hair.

Seriously, that bad hair and slightly moist complexion is definitely a worry-point, as he could herald anything from drug addiction to mental breakdown.

John Watson has a wife, a dog, a baby. Sherlock Holmes has charming parents, that non-Canonical favorite friend Molly Hooper, and the long-suffering Mrs. Hudson. And Mycroft . . . aaaa, he isn't going anywhere and his driver can take care of herself.

The cliff-hanger we were left with this time, Moriarty video appearing all over London, was a fun little tease. Past seasons, with a bomb-laden Watson, a pavement-smashed (but not!) Holmes, both had the jeopardy provided, a single worry to focus on. But this time?

The lack of a single target for concern makes everyone a target for concern.

Sort of like when Moriarty had snipers on all of Holmes's friends in "The Reichenbach Fall," which reminds one that Sebastian Moran still hasn't shown up in Sherlock, and who better to carry on Moriarty's legacy . . . especially when we've been thrown a Culverton Smith shaped bone to distract us.

And if all of that wasn't bad enough, BBC Sherlock drops a preview that ends with Sherlock Holmes saying "I love you" to someone behind the camera's point of view. Watson is behind him. Mycroft is behind him as well, diluting the notion he could be speaking to John without looking at him. Given that much of Sherlock fandom was already known not to be enjoying the impediment of Mary Morstan to a John-and-Sherlock love match, using that clip seemed almost the opposite of fan-service.

So if it wasn't enough to worry about who is going to be killed this time around, we get that just-plain-weird bit. It's not really a romantic "I love you" and quite naturally so, Sherlock is not a romantic kind of guy. Could be his mom. Could be Irene Adler. Could be Molly, Janine . . . or, big twist . . . a guy who's not John. (Well, I guess that would give Johnlock fans a little hope.)

Man, I just hope Sherlock isn't saying "I love you" to a corpse.

Crap, waiting for the fourth season of Sherlock is rough!