by Hadley Fay (’26) | November 18, 2022
Everyone’s favorite young fictional female detective is at it again, solving her second case. Enola Holmes, played by Millie Bobby Brown, previously established herself to be worthy of the family name in the first Enola Holmes movie, which was released about two years ago. A few weeks ago, on November 4, Netflix finally followed up on ambitious Holmes in Enola Holmes 2.
The first movie was an immediate hit, with critics rating it a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film stayed quite true to the traditional stories of the famous Sherlock Holmes. Set in London in the 1800s, Enola Holmes finds herself facing many of the same challenges that women of that time typically faced. She constantly fights to prove herself and thus break out of the shadow of her two older brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock, because she is a female in an extremely male-dominated profession. Despite this, Holmes never fails to showcase her talent, especially when it comes to solving a case.
While the first movie focused on Holmes exploring her own identity and place in society, in her latest adventure, she begins to realize that being independent does not necessarily mean being alone. She even ends up helping others learn this lesson too. The sequel also references the real-life matchgirls’ strike of 1888 where women and teenage girls advocated for industrial action at the Bryant and May match factory in Bow, London. Enola Holmes 2 references this theme of women empowerment throughout its duration.
Perhaps one of the prime aspects of Enola Holmes 2 is its ability to keep an audience captivated through its entire two hours and eight minutes runtime. The cinematography alone is superb enough to incite a round of applause, as the scenes are always vibrant and full of life. This, along with Brown’s pronounced expressions aimed directly at the camera, breaking the fourth wall, makes the audience feel like Holmes’s own personal Dr. Watson, deciphering the clues and ultimately helping solve the mystery. The plot itself is incredible, with unexpected twists and turns. Even if somebody hasn’t watched the original film or has simply forgotten certain details, flashbacks to the first movie are placed strategically throughout the first portion of the sequel for context.
Even though Holmes steals the show all by herself, it wouldn’t be right to not mention her other half, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether, played by Louis Partridge. From the beginning of the first movie, Tewksbury and Holmes had incredible chemistry on screen. Their relationship flourishes in Enola Holmes 2, two years later, something that many audience members were more than happy to see. All in all, Netflix did not disappoint with this latest release, and we can only hope that this will not be the last we see of Enola Holmes.
