With Moriarty taking a bullet to the brain in Sherlock’s second series finale, a future appearance from the character seems unlikely, but not impossible.

If they wanted to bring him back, his death would arguably be easier to fake than Sherlock. The gun he used to shoot himself could have just fired a blank. A concealed blood pack could have completed the illusion.

Perhaps the better question is, should Moriarty actually return? After such an incredible face-off between the two, another would risk diminishing such a great moment. Perhaps, then it’s better to leave it there. Although Sherlock was revived in Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Holmes novels, his nemesis remained dead after the events of The Final Problem, the story the finale was loosely based on.

Steven Moffat seems to agree with this sentiment. In a recent interview with Le Village (via Radio Times) he said: “Moriarty’s a one-shot deal in the original [books]. I don’t want [Sherlock] to turn into a show that’s about one villain and one hero. Moriarty was great because he was a surprise. Every time you bring him back he won’t be as big a surprise.”

He added: “We need to find new villains, we need to find new ideas, otherwise the show doesn’t keep growing.”

“There are other great villains in [the Conan Doyle books] that we want to visit. We have to keep the show growing otherwise it won’t surprise you. Once you get the measure of it you’ll just get critical – if we keep surprising you and keeping you off balance you won’t.”

What do you think? Should Moriarty return or is Moffat right?