Enola Holmes 3 Confronts Colonialism as Enola Weighs Marriage to Lord Tewkesbury

Q: Is the film's deep dive into colonial history a genuine critique or just a dramatic backdrop?

It is both, but more convincingly a partial critique than a fully sustained one. The film clearly tries to do more than use empire as scenery. Reviews and plot details show it directly names British colonial violence in Malta, India and Afghanistan, gives Dr. Watson a stronger anti-imperial voice, and includes pointed exchanges such as a Maltese freedom fighter calling Enola a “colonizer” and a British officer dismissing war crimes as wartime “practicalities.” Tewkesbury’s growing discomfort with his title also ties the critique to the story’s class and power structure. That said, the criticism from reviewers is consistent: the film raises serious colonial questions but does not always follow them through. Several responses describe the politics as diluted by the franchise’s glossy YA-adventure format, with the mystery, romance and family drama still taking priority. Some critics argue the colonial material is unevenly woven into the plot, that characters closest to the colonized experience are sidelined, and that the script smooths over the hardest implications. So the deep dive appears genuine in intent, not cynical window dressing. The historical references are specific, and the dialogue is unusually direct for the series. But the execution seems limited. Rather than a definitive reckoning with colonial history, the film offers a meaningful but restrained critique that often functions alongside, and sometimes beneath, Enola’s personal coming-of-age story.

3 articles · Updated · The A.V. Club · Jun 30

Enola Holmes 3 opens with Enola facing an impending wedding to Lord Tewkesbury, pushing the Netflix series toward a more mature story about whether marriage would end her life as a detective.
That shift deepens the franchise’s coming-of-age arc, moving beyond the lighter mystery tone to ask what a young woman who built her own name would sacrifice under Victorian social rules and Tewkesbury’s aristocratic status.
The film also makes colonialism a central theme, invoking British oppression in Afghanistan, India and Malta through clashes with a Maltese freedom fighter and a commander defending wartime abuses.
Like the second film’s use of the 1888 Matchgirls’ Strike, the sequel ties Enola’s personal growth to real historical injustice, broadening the series beyond Sherlock-style case solving.