There has been much discussion about the modern scenes in TAB, mostly centering on scene 1 and 3 since their connection to reality is more debatable than that of scene 2 which is clearly not real, mainly because of the bizarre events at the cemetery. However, I think that we may have missed the importance of the beginning of scene 2 which IMO is a key scene.
We see Sherlock seemingly waking up from his drugged MP for the second time, with John and Mycroft by his bed and Mary in the background. It clearly does not take place on the plane. Sherlock imagines himself in a hospital. You can even see a nurse passing behind Mycroft.
But there is more. I would like to argue that this is a slightly distorted version of Sherlock’s hospital room in HLV.
