The 2020 Netflix film Enola Holmes quickly drew a lot of attention unsurprisingly. it offers not only an intriguing story full of tension, action, and humor but also plenty of fascinating characters. Some of them count as heroes, others belong to the ranks of bad guys, but all of them play an important part in the movie.
Despite all of its facets, Enola Holmes is primarily a film about investigation. That means that its main heroes have to be intelligent enough to pull it off, to find a solution to the case. However, some of the film's characters are simply smarter than others.
Updated on November 12th 2022 by Aya Tsintziras: Enola Homes 2, the sequel to the 2020 Netflix movie, was released on Netflix on November 4th, 2022 and sees Millie Bobby Brown returning as Sherlock Holmes's younger sister Enola. It's fun to revisit the smart and likable character and see what she gets up to. This time, Enola is looking for a girl who has disappeared and is determined to crack the case. The sequel is also another chance for fans to see how wise the main characters are after observing the decisions that they make.
Lestrade
The funniest lines in Enola Holmes make the movie fun to watch as many of the characters have quirks. Inspector Lestrade never had an easy job, what with Sherlock Holmes running around and solving crimes for him. Lestrade is not a bad person, he's honest and tries to do the best job he possibly can. But intellectually-wise, he's nowhere on the same level as the Holmes sibling.
Enola is much younger than him and still manages to trick the Inspector, run from him when Mycroft tasks the police to find her. The only reason Lestrade catches her, in the end, is because Enola refuses to let Tewkesbury get captured, which says more about her selfless nature than about Lestrade's investigating skills.
Miss Harrison
Miss Harrison leads the school for young ladies that Enola ends up in - courtesy of her brother Mycroft. Miss Harrison doesn't have that much space in the film so it's hard to judge her intelligence.
She seems capable enough when it comes to her job as no other girls among her pupils cause her as much trouble as Enola. However, in the end, she falls for a rather simple trick which results in Enola's escape from the school.
Viscount Tewkesbury
Enola's already solving the mysterious disappearance of her mom by the time she meets the young Viscount Tewkesbury and learns that someone's trying to kill him.
Unlike Enola, Tewkesbury has no idea who's after him and he's not very helpful during the investigation. In fact, quite the opposite - he's the reason why Enola ends up in a strict school and has to escape. Still, it's possible Tewkesbury will grow wiser when he grows older, and while he's not the smartest person in the film, he at least has noble goals and treats other people kindly.
Linthorn
Linthorn is one of the biggest villains in the film - and he rarely gets the chance to be anything but, so not much is known about his personality or intelligence. However, he's at least clever enough to put two and two together and find the same place where Enola is going while she's investigating what happened to her mother.
In the end, Linthorn seems fairly efficient at his job as a hired assassin - and it's only when he meets the super-intelligent Enola that he loses his life, simply because she beats him at his own game.
Mycroft Holmes
The eldest Holmes sibling, Mycroft Holmes, works for the British government. Judging by his line of work, he can't be stupid otherwise he wouldn't be able to do such a high-profile job. No, Mycroft is fairly smart, he simply doesn't possess the same level of brilliance his younger siblings have.
Mycroft also lets the societal conventions bind him to such a degree that he seems overly stubborn and less than understanding in the film. Overall, he does more harm than good but from his point of view, it's clear that he believes what he's doing is the right thing.
The Dowager
Viscount Tewkesbury's grandmother, the Dowager, seems like a sweet, albeit old-fashioned lady at first. She's one reason why Enola Holmes is a wholesome Cottagecore movie. But just like with multiple characters in this movie, there's more to her than meets the eye.
She has a dangerous plan going on and is smart enough to know how to reflect the suspicion away from herself. In the end, she might have succeeded - if she hadn't crossed Enola's path, hadn't had the misfortune of meeting someone even more intelligent than her.
Edith
Edith is a close associate of Enola's mother and the two women work on their shared goal. Edith is smart enough to fly under the radar. She has her own business - a thriving one at that - which proves that she's smart enough to work for herself.
That's no easy task, especially in the times when the story is taking place. Edith doesn't let societal conventions limit her, and she's also not scared to confront Sherlock about them when he comes around.
Eudoria Holmes
Enola is one of the best Enola Holmes characters and has inherited most of her good character traits from her mother - but she's even smarter than Eudoria since she quickly realizes what's happening with the young Viscount, why somebody's after him. In the end, it's Enola and not Eudoria who has the biggest chance to change the world.
That said, Eudoria was the one who taught Enola everything she knows and she did an amazing job in raising her daughter to be intelligent and independent. Like mother, like daughter, is true in their case, and even though Eudoria's no detective, she still ranks high when it comes to the characters' intelligence.
Enola Holmes
Despite her young age, Enola is a very intelligent and well-educated person. What's more, she knows how to put the knowledge she gained into action - as she demonstrates when she takes on her enemies.
Enola thinks twice before she acts. Her deduction skills aren't quite on the same level as her older brother's but considering the difference in their ages, Enola could one day be as successful a detective as Sherlock is. She certainly has both the smarts and the courage to do so.
Sherlock Holmes
Henry Cavill is one of the best actors playing Sherlock Holmes, and the character is already a well-established, famous detective by the time the audience meets Enola. And it's safe to assume he hasn't gained such a reputation for anything. True, Sherlock steps aside in the story and lets Enola solve the mystery of their mother's disappearance as well as the young Viscount's trouble.
But considering what's known about him, if he decided to put his mind into it, he could solve the issues just as fast as his sister, if not faster. They're both extremely intelligent but his years of experience still give Sherlock an edge over Enola... for now, at least.