WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 9 of Moriarty the Patriot, "A Study in 'S', Part Two," now streaming on Funimation.
In the last episode of Moriarty the Patriot, the criminal consultant ensnared his iconic adversary, Sherlock Holmes, in an incriminating trap -- framing the detective for murder. Naturally, Holmes caught on quickly, as Moriarty knew he would, leaving us to wonder what exactly it was that the antihero wanted with him. To be caught? To meet his worthy match? To defeat his equal?
Episode 9 resolves the murder case and lifts the lid on the answer to this question, revealing what Moriaty's intentions for Holmes are from here on out -- and it's nowhere near as nefarious as you might imagine.
The case itself revolves around the slaying of a Count in his home with no witnesses to point the finger of blame. A finger was pointed, however, at Sherlock by way of his name being spelled on out in blood next to the cadaver, leaving Scotland Yard with no choice but to arrest their consulting detective. After persuading Inspector Lestrade to "accidentally" shake him loose, Holmes goes on the lam to solve the mystery and clear his name in the process. Using his network of street urchins ("Irregulars"), the clues at the crime scene and uncovering the Count's disgusting history of molesting women, he discovers that the killer is an angry, cab-driving widower, Jefferson Hope, out for revenge on the man whose actions pushed his wife to suicide.
This leads Holmes and Watson into another trap of Moriarty's making -- this one designed to put Holmes' character on trial rather than his detective skills. Hope gives Holmes a pistol and issues him an ultimatum: kill him and the criminal mastermind's agent (Fred, watching the scene from a rooftop) will reveal the identity of the man behind it all. Not only that, but the mastermind will ensure Holmes is exonerated, too.
Naturally, Holmes isn't even vaguely tempted to take him up on the offer, much to Watson's relief. "Mysteries aren't mysteries unless you solve them yourself," the detective explains. Instead, he turns Hope in to the authorities, closing the case and keeping himself in the dark, for now, about who the puppetmaster is. But Moriarty isn't displeased in the slightest about this outcome. "It was Holmes' quality I wished to test -- whether he would resort to any means," he tells his gang. "He will be our leading man shining a light on darkness."
It seems that this iteration of Moriarty, one with a more altruistic mission, does view Holmes as a "worthy" opponent but not one to fight against; rather, he plans to use Holmes to aid his cause: exposing the seedy underbelly of high-class British society for all to see.