XistentialAngst's Blog, page 203
January 4, 2016
Random thought but could Eustace be a mirror for Mary? According to him he has committed so many sins, according to Homes his guilt is eating away his soul, his past is haunting him and he is a marked man (also Sherlock wants to use him as bait which I thi
Okay I’m in the midst of a bunch of HLV vs TAB work but here are my beginning thoughts in regards to this, because, YES.
What is so interesting is that we are introduced to Eustace through Lady Carmichael’s eyes, very similar to how we are introduced to Mary through John - we only know things about her that John knows, at least for TEH/TSOT.
One of the first things we are told about Eustace is that he is an acquaintance of Mycroft’s - this is interesting in terms of a Mary mirror. I am not at all convinced Mary is working for Mycroft like Sherlock’s mind palace seems to think, but more likely she is acquainted to Mycroft through more dubious channels of being involved in the Moriarty situation. Possibly?
Anyways here’s where things get even….deeper.
Eustace receives 1) pips and 2) a blank letter. The blank letter reminded me a lot of the A.G.R.A. flash drive - Lady Carmichael sees the letter and “My husband destroyed it, but it was blank. No name or address of any kind.” I would totally like to think that this is the drive, that John saw the contents of the drive, and that it was empty, and after he saw it, it was destroyed. Later, Lady Carmichael goes on to say “He refuses to speak about the matter.“ Sounds eerily similar to Mary talking about her past and the flashdrive.
And the pips - well there is meta out there at Mary is the final pip but on the other hand I also see the pip as a mirror for the “miss me” video. Eustace knows exactly what it means, knows what it refers to but thought that sender was dead, and is terrified. Similarly, think of Mary’s reaction when she sees the video, and both in HLV and TAB she keeps on wanting to confirm that Moriarty is dead. She is threatened and terrified. If you think about it, she has that reaction in the beginning of TAB as well - “Impossible”
Anyways, so Eustace feels threatened and gets a message from beyond the grave from a bride who we’ve established as a Moriarty mirror already, so you see where I’m going with this.
At one point he actually sees the bride, saying “my sins have found me out”. Again yet another parallel to Mary, and how CAM was blackmailing her and her past was finally starting to catch up to her.
THEN we get the entire conversation between John, Eustace and Sherlock, which felt to me rather similar to the Mary as client scene also.
We get John standing between Sherlock and Eustace/Mary. Sherlock deducing a bit about their marriage. “She married you” vs “You chose her”. Mary/Eustace being asked to explain their case in order for Sherlock to help them against an evil. (The only thing I have quite figured out is Eustace saying that he sleepwalks and that it’s a bad dream - how does this parallel to Mary?)
Mary, like Eustace, has a past. This past originates in America. Eustace/Mary is threatened that their secrets will come to light.
What I think is so great though, and where things get really interesting, taking into consideration previous discussions on Lady Carmichael as a mirror for John. Keep this in mind and then take this list into consideration:
The take down of Eustace et al “is the work of a single minded person” John/Lady CJohn/Lady C “knew first-hand” of Eustace/Mary “mental cruelty”John/Lady C is sent home to help set up a trap where the evil spouse is bait [read: forgiveness scene?]The dark secret, kept from all but John/Lady C closest friends
A secret kept even from someone who was wronged by the spouse (perhaps saying that Sherlock doesn’t/didn’t know John was against Mary)a message is sent by John/Lady C to distract/send terror to the evil spouse
Lady Carmichael puts the final nail in Eustace’s coffin.
Thus, possibly foreshadowing John putting the final nail in Mary’s coffin?
Still need to think way more on this, but some initial thoughts.
Sherlock/John/Mary Conflict (TAB)
A great thing about the special was how in the beginning, before Sherlock could really get into the case, he set up some exposition. Since exposition explains those things that are going to be relevant to understanding the continuing story, and in this case serves as a bit of a refresher going into the episode, it’s interesting what the writers choose to show us.
After we’re shown Sherlock and John’s introductions and first meeting, the next thing we’re really shown is the ongoing conflict between John and Mary. There are still plenty of people, especially casual viewers, who view the “forgiveness scene” between John and Mary in HLV as genuine. As making things work, and resolving the conflict and tension in their marriage shown earlier on in HLV.
However, this scene we’re given in 221B in the beginning of TAB quickly establishes that the conflict is still very present. It’s as if the writers are saying, “Well, because some people didn’t quite catch on the last time around…” Mary rarely gets to see her husband, and vocalizes her frustration with his constant absence. As they argue in the background of a shot of Sherlock playing their wedding waltz on his violin, it is revealed that John /still/ abandons Mary for Sherlock; Sherlock is still coming between them. No matter what they do, John’s putting Sherlock and their adventures before his own wife.
Mary is continuing to come between John and Sherlock’s relationship as well, initially by standing right between their chairs in 221B and immediately causing an interruption as they enter the flat (which kind of reminds me of Sherlock and John each returning to 221B in The Empty Hearse, and each being immediately aware of a shift, a change brought on by Mary’s presence in their lives), being placed between John and Sherlock visually in the frame in which John and Mary are arguing:
(gif by @soratasekakoi )
…and finally, to push further and insinuate that John isn’t of any value to Sherlock on a case. Upon hearing this, Sherlock stops his music, says “Enough!” and begins the case. He has set up everything he needs to. The conflict still exists. Even the casual viewer must be aware of it now. And yet, it is never resolved in any way within the special. Nothing anyone’s doing is smoothing it out. So it will be an issue that must be handled in Series 4. John must pick one or the other. And because this is about John and Sherlock, because the last scene in Sherlock’s mind palace was he and John, together, “There’s always two of us,” this won’t be resolved in favor of Mary.
This.
heimishtheidealhusband:
The sherlock fandom going back to work: Wait so you’re telling me I have to...
The sherlock fandom going back to work: Wait so you’re telling me I have to leave the house and not watch the special for 8 hours? That sounds fake but okay
It’s been all consuming since it aired! I love this fandom. Definitely the hive mind is much smarter than me.
beejohnlocked:
watsonshoneybee:
caitlinisactuallyawritersname:
consultinggalpals:
therealmartinsg...
:
listen, I was just talking with @caitlinisactuallyawritersname about her about how Mary has always been Moriarty and I had this lightning strike realisation that it was foreshadowed by Sherlock’s first missed deduction, of getting Harry Watson’s gender wrong. The very first time we see him being wrong, it’s because he made a heteronormative gender assumption.
There’s this overarching theme through the whole of show of Sherlock dismissing or underestimating women, or simply not seeing them. Which was fixed in the end of TAB, when he has a revelation about all the women he’s wronged or dismissed.
So, this fits perfectly with the idea that Mary’s been Moriarty all along, but he couldn’t see it because he expected Moriarty to be a man, and now that he’s had this realisation, he can see her for what she is. He can give her the credit for being the dastardly, brilliant, genius villain that’s been behind everything all along.
And now that he can see it, he and John are going to take her down.
Yes! I just had the same thought last night, regarding the whole twin theory and how John has already corrected Sherlock twice (”How did he survive…?” “You mean she. How did she survive”) irt the gender of their opponent and I just… omg I can’t wait to see how this whole thing pans out, it’s so exciting!
IT WAS ALL THERE IN SHERLOCK’S FIRST MISSED DEDUCTION.
It’s the culturally normative assumptions that have always been his blind spot.
And M knows this. So she sent him the villain he expected to meet.
*incoherent screaming and flailing*
Just like Sherlock saw the Hound at Baskervilles - the monster he expected.
Jeff Hope in ASiP: But you’re just a man. And they’re so much more.
Sherlock in TRF: Moriarty isn’t a man at all. He’s a spider.
A spider. Like a black widow perhaps? LIKE MARY’S INTRODUCTION IN TAB??
Beyond that, the fact is we’ve always known that Mycroft and Moriarty had a relationship. They’ve worked together and Mycroft is under Moriarty’s thumb. And we see Myc and Mary working together in the MP special as well.
miadifferent:
lindefishway:
totally-sherwholocked:
just-sort-of-happened:
weeesi:
AS! SHERLOCK!...
AS! SHERLOCK! SITS! DOWN! IN! HIS! CHAIR! WHILE! TALKING! TO! LESTRADE! LOOK! HOW! MARY! IS! HOLDING! HER! ARMS!
Ready to stick a dagger into his heart, tbh.
For comparison:
and this
no?
headtilt and folded hands (I think the hands aren’t as twisted as in HLV/221B?)
January 3, 2016
confirmedjohnlock:
the biggest confirmation of tjlc for me was the sheer clarity and understanding...
the biggest confirmation of tjlc for me was the sheer clarity and understanding we felt in the aftermath of the special, while everybody else was utterly lost or desperately trying to twist canon to fit their theories.. never forget how it felt to watch prediction after prediction ring true, or to experience sherlock’s personality and view of those around him as they perfectly lined up with your understanding of his characterization. it says a lot that the only points we need to reexamine (sherlock’s drug use, mary as moriarty’s twin) came largely from new information and that only continue to support tjlc. it says everything that our ideas have consistantly provided the clearest, most coherent, and most simple explanation of the show as a whole.
Nice.
"When you're ready to go to work, give me a call."
This is such a telling line, because this takes place in modern day, but also when Sherlock /thinks/ he has already woken up. This isn’t him fantasizing about how he wants things to be, this is how he perceives all of these people in real life. In real life, he thinks that John only sticks around and puts up with him for the work. Not because it’s Sherlock (“This is important to me!”).
When Sherlock can’t provide the work, the excitement, John just leaves with Mary. Just like when Sherlock died. A part of Sherlock still thinks that John just got bored, and left, found someone new. He still doesn’t realize that what John loves about being with Sherlock is /being with Sherlock./
Sad but true.
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