What Was Mycroft Holmes’ Job In Sherlock? His British Government Connections Explained


Sherlock brought the famous detective and other characters to modern-day London, which required a couple of changes that left some mysteries, too, including what exactly was Mycroft’s (Mark Gatiss) job in the British government. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular literary characters of all time, and as such, he and his cases have been adapted to all types of media for decades. Thanks to the state of the rights to the character, Sherlock Holmes and company have gotten some very creative adaptations that require many changes.

One of the most different but also successful adaptations of the Great Detective in recent years was the BBC’s Sherlock. Created by Gatiss and Steven Moffat, Sherlock was set in modern-day London, so Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his cases were adapted to modern technology and social issues. Accompanying this modern version of Holmes were John Watson (Martin Freeman), Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves), Moriarty (Andrew Scott), and Mycroft, among others, all of them with a couple of changes. Sherlock left a couple of unresolved mysteries, including what exactly was Mycroft’s job and why he was so powerful.

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Mycroft Works For The British Government In Sherlock

Mycroft Is Mentioned To Have A Position In The British Government

Mycroft looking confused in Sherlock The Final Problem

In Sherlock, the detective wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person to be around, and he even had a difficult relationship with his older brother, Mycroft. Gatiss’ Mycroft made his first appearance in Sherlock’s first episode, but it wasn’t until the ending that he was revealed to be Sherlock’s brother. From the beginning, Mycroft showed that he had a lot of power, influence, and connections, and it was later revealed that he worked for the British government, but the show wasn’t very clear about what exactly he did.

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It’s mentioned in Sherlock that Mycroft had a minor position in the British government, but the detective himself later said that Mycroft was the British government when he was not being the British Secret Service or the CIA, thus implying he had a much more important role than just a “minor position.” In some episodes, such as “A Scandal in Belgravia”, Mycroft got to display how influential and important he is within the British government, and throughout Sherlock, he showed he had access to mass surveillance to track his brother, which would later be key to helping him fake his death.

Mycroft’s intellect and his position in the government made him a great ally to his brother.

In Sherlock, Mycroft is part of the Cabinet Office, a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. Throughout Sherlock, Mycroft was involved in some big projects and tasks, such as working on a counter-terrorism project with the US government, and had access to top-secret military bases, and even convinced other officials not to incarcerate his brother after he killed Magnussen. Despite their many differences, Mycroft’s intellect and his position in the government made him a great ally to his brother.

How Different Mycroft’s Job Is In Sherlock From The Books

Sherlock Made A Couple Of Changes To Mycroft Holmes

Mycroft in Sherlock was very different from his book version, but something the show stayed true to was his job. In Conan Doyle’s stories, Mycroft Holmes was also a government official, but his exact job was never revealed. Holmes once told Watson that Mycroft audited books for the British government, but later confided in him that he was a lot more than that, also mentioning that “occasionally, he is the British government.” On another occasion, Holmes mentioned that there had never been anything like Mycroft’s role in the government, nor will there be again.

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Holmes described Mycroft’s job in the British government as one where the conclusions of every department were passed to him, as he was the central exchange. Holmes also praised Mycroft’s brain and capacity for storing facts, which is quite impressive coming from someone who also had an unbelievable brain. The mysteries around Mycroft’s job in Sherlock were canon, but the books offered a bit more insight into what he did than the show ever did.


Sherlock Show Poster


Sherlock


7/10

Release Date

2010 – 2017-00-00

Showrunner

Steven Moffat

Directors

Steven Moffat






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