Why does Anderson laugh hysterically after Sherlock leaves?

Why does Anderson laugh hysterically after Sherlock leaves? - Mother and Son Sitting on Dried Leaves

In "The Empty Hearse" (Season 3, episode 1) the following occurs:

Anderson (abruptly stopping crying and looking round): Hang on.

(He stands up and walks over to his wall of papers.)

Anderson: That doesn’t make sense.

(Behind him Sherlock rolls his eyes and quietly sighs with an exasperated sound.)

Anderson: How could you be sure John would stand on that exact spot? I mean, what if he’d moved?

(Sherlock turns and quietly leaves the room.)

Anderson (oblivious to his departure): Hey – how did you do it all so quickly? What if the bike hadn’t hit him? (Suspiciously) And anyway, why are you telling me all this? (He chuckles.) If you’d pulled that off, I’m the last person you’d tell the truth ...

(Turning around, he trails off when he realises that he’s alone in the room. He stares for a moment, then chuckles. He switches between looking at all his paperwork and looking to where Sherlock had been standing.)

Anderson (quietly, sounding amused): Sherlock Holmes!

(He chuckles again, pointing to the spot where Sherlock had just been standing.)

Anderson (even softer, with a combination of amusement and exasperation): Sherlock!

(His chuckle slowly develops into laughter, and then into hysterical laughter as he starts tearing at the papers on the wall, ripping them off and whooping and giggling. Eventually he collapses in the corner, rising up onto his knees to continue clawing at the papers and still laughing hysterically until he slumps back down again.)

(Transcript from https://arianedevere.dreamwidth.org/44665.html)

Why does Anderson react in this way?



Best Answer

It's not entirely clear but it's likely that Anderson has finally realised that, despite all the wild theories created to explain the "death" of Sherlock Holmes either by himself and/or the rest of the Empty Hearse group he founded, he will never know the truth.

LAURA: I don’t see why not. It’s just as plausible as some of your theories. (Behind her, the walls of the room are absolutely covered with notes, photographs and Post It notes. Pieces of red string link some of the paperwork together, some of the strings even crossing the room. Laura is not the only person in the room with Anderson – six or seven others are squeezed onto the furniture. At least three of them are wearing deerstalker hats, and one is wearing a Sherlock-like coat and scarf.)

ANDERSON: Look, if you’re not going to take it seriously, Laura, you can ... (He makes a ‘get out’ gesture.)

LAURA (angrily): I do take it seriously. (She looks disapprovingly around at the others.) I don’t think we should wear hats.

ANDERSON: I founded ‘The Empty Hearse’ so like-minded people could meet, discuss theories ...

Even when Sherlock himself turns up and "explains" how he pulled it off, Anderson can't or won't believe it's true (assuming it is, which is by no means guaranteed).

All his theories have come to nothing and he's been wasting his time. Consequently, he destroys all the elaborate theories pinned to the wall and breaks down... slightly!

LESTRADE: A bungee rope, a mask, Derren Brown. Two years, and the theories keep getting more stupid. How many more’ve you got for me today?




Pictures about "Why does Anderson laugh hysterically after Sherlock leaves?"

Why does Anderson laugh hysterically after Sherlock leaves? - Woman Using Computer Laptop
Why does Anderson laugh hysterically after Sherlock leaves? - Woman Wearing White Top Standing Under a Tree
Why does Anderson laugh hysterically after Sherlock leaves? - Woman Smiling While Standing Beside Flowers



What happened to Anderson in Sherlock?

Anderson finally found out he was still alive and filmed Sherlock telling him how he faked his death and was relieved he finally found out how he did it.

Who kidnapped Sherlock Holmes?

Moriarty was either the mind behind or involved in some capacity in many cases from the first two seasons, and by the end of season 2, he had a whole plan in order to get rid of Sherlock, which included framing him for kidnap.

Does Anderson like Sherlock?

Philip Anderson was a member of the forensics team at New Scotland Yard that works under DI Greg Lestrade. He appears at a Brixton crime scene. Like other members of the team, he openly despises Sherlock Holmes.

What episode does Sherlock come back?

The Adventure of the Empty House. The most obvious source of this episode, to which its title alludes, is "The Adventure of the Empty House", in which Sherlock Holmes returns from his "Great Hiatus", having allowed everyone to believe him dead to root out the rest of Moriarty's criminal organisation.



Joseph Anderson Loses It [Laughing Hysterically Compilation]




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Yan Krukov, Andrea Piacquadio, matildah mariwa, Nicholas Swatz