‘Sherlock’ Season 4 Episode Titles, Spoilers, Plot Revealed: What Lies Behind ‘Sherrinford’ Clue?

It has been a long time since viewers last saw the popular duo of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, respectively. The standalone Christmas special episode titled "The Abominable Bride" was released last year and though it hinted that Andrew Scott's Moriarty is still alive, Sherlock realized that his nemesis is indeed dead. His minions, however, are more than willing to carry out his evil plans.

The official Facebook page of "Sherlock" recently unveiled the titles of the first two episodes of "Sherlock" Season 4. Episode 1 is titled "The Six Thatchers" while the second episode is titled "The Lying Detective." The third one still remains a mystery.

As what fans are accustomed to, the Season 4 episodes of "Sherlock" will serve as a play on classic "Sherlock" stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Entertainment Weekly reported. "The Six Thatchers" is likely a nod to "The Six Napoleons" story, which involves a criminal destroying bust sculptures of the French military and political leader in a bid to find a hidden black pearl. That tale eventually led to a murder.

It's intriguing that the title of the premiere episode of "Sherlock" Season 4 was already featured on Watson's official blog, which BBC created for publicity. Meanwhile, the second episode titled "The Lying Detective" refers to "The Dying Detective" story, where Sherlock pretended to be dying of a rare disease to catch a murderer named Culverton Smith, according to Screen Rant.

The second episode is the one that will feature Toby Jones' Mr. Smith, a villain who had a prominent fixture in the original story, TVGuide.com noted. It should be noted as well that the titles of the first two episodes reflected showrunner Steven Moffat's 'Thatcher' and 'Smith' clues, with Sherrinford as the last and most interesting hint.

Sherrinford Holmes was one of the original names Doyle considered for the genius detective before ultimately naming him as Sherlock, Screen Rant noted. Sherrinford was later used as the name of Sherlock's new, eldest brother, who was already mentioned by Mycroft in the third episode of Season 3 titled "His Last Vow."

Co-creator Mark Gatiss, who also stars as Mycroft Holmes on "Sherlock," said last July that Season 4 will be the series' "darkest season yet" though it will still have "laughs and fun," according to a separate report from EW. "Sherlock" Season 4 premieres in January 2017 on BBC One and PBS Masterpiece, with Amanda Abbington reprising her role as Mary Morstan.

Other guest stars are Sacha Dhawan, James Holmes, and Daniel Hoffmann-Gill, Den of Geek listed. Watch the trailer below.