disclaimer i do not own After a series of high-profile cases lead Sherlock to fame, Moriarty launches a simultaneous heist on the Tower of London, Bank of England and Pentonville Prison, for which he allows himself to be captured and put on trial. He secures a not guilty verdict through blackmailing the jury and visits Sherlock, explaining he still intends to 'burn' him, taunting him with a "final problem" for him to solve. Soon afterwards, Moriarty arranges for the kidnapping of the children of an American ambassador, who are terrified of Sherlock once he has them rescued. This, in conjunction with the ease with which Sherlock solves the case, leads to Sherlock becoming a suspect. Sherlock escapes arrest and soon learns Moriarty has constructed a fake identity as an actor hired by Sherlock, and has seeded the press with the story. The two meet on the roof of a hospital, where Moriarty explains that assassins will kill John, Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade if Sherlock does not commit suicide; he wants Holmes to do this to cement his planted story of Sherlock being a fraud. After a tense conversation in which Moriarty realises the two are enough alike that Sherlock could extract the code to call off the assassins from him, Moriarty shoots himself. Sherlock calls John and 'confesses' to being a fraud (which John refuses to believe) and then apparently steps off the roof. He is vilified in the press. John and Mrs. Hudson meet alone at his grave to say their goodbyes; the final seconds show Sherlock watching from afar, having faked his death in a manner unseen by the viewers.
