XistentialAngst's Blog, page 204
January 3, 2016
Impertinent! Offensive!
So I was reading lots of other Sherlock TAB meta and reviews, and several people have commented on these two exclamations from John and Sherlock when Moriarty whines that they should “just elope already.”
The comments range from basically “I’m offended that they’re offended” to trying to explain what they’re really offended about (the idea that they should have to hide their relationship by eloping).
I think that both these interpretations are overlooking the sarcasm in how the lines are delivered. The tone tells us the lines aren’t meant to be taken literally. Furthermore, it’s pretty rare for a good, self-respecting screenwriter to write such “on the nose” dialogue. It’s considered very amateurish, and Moftiss are definitely not amateurs.
John says “Impertinent!” in the same general tone as someone might say “Oooh, snarky!” And Sherlock’s “Offensive” lacks the bite of one who is actually angry or offended. It almost sounds to me like Sherlock is one-upping John’s line–tag team reactions. They’re having fun.
They’re mocking Moriarty. They are calling HIM “impertinent” and “offensive.” And they should–he’s ruining their “moment” with his snark. But they don’t need to be actually angry about it–he’s at their mercy. They’ve won.
Think back to earlier in the episode where John is upset with the maid for talking back to him. He calls it impertinence. It’s basically mouthing off to someone of higher rank or authority. It’s being overly familiar with someone you don’t have a right to be. It has nothing to do with the suggestion itself–it’s the snarky way it’s delivered and the context of who is saying it to whom.
So if John is referring to Moriarty himself as being impertinent for horning in on the private conversation of his superiors, in context, it only stands to reason that Sherlock’s “offensive” is also referring to the same context–Moriarty himself. And doesn’t that make more sense–that Moriarty’s presence and very existence is offensive to Sherlock?
That context is further supported when John asks “Do you mind” and comes over to shove Moriarty off the cliff. We know that he’s not sending Moriarty to his doom because he suggested the two elope. That doesn’t make sense. He’s sending Moriarty over the cliff because Moriarty himself is the problem that they want to be rid of.
Subtextually, I think the case can be made that the two lines are also mocking the horrified reactions of people who really would be offended by the idea of the two of them being in a romantic relationship. There’s a lightness to the way the lines are delivered that wouldn’t be there if they truly were upset.
Basically, they’re so totally over Moriarty’s shenanigans and since he’s powerless in the face of their togetherness, he’s not even scary to them anymore. He’s something to be mocked, rubbish to be dumped over the cliff.
John and Sherlock–taking out the trash since 1895.
TL;DR: John and Sherlock are not actually offended by Moriarty’s suggestion of eloping. They’re mocking him and mocking people who really would be offended.
Yes, I agree. Their “impertinent” and “offensive” are sarcastic. In other words “Oooh, is that the best you can come up with?” because they’re not offended in the least. It’s like a child pointing and calling “Homo!” at a mature queer adult, and the reply being “Yeah, and?”
jenna221b:
benlocked:
The Twin Theory
“Dizygotic twins, or...
“Dizygotic twins, or non-identical twins, are two ordinary siblings
who happen to be born at the same time. Like any other siblings, they
have an extremely small chance of having the same chromosome profile.
They may look similar, given that they are the same age, but they may
also look very different from each other.”
OH OH OH @waitingforgarridebs @wellthengameover
Awesome visuals
villainmorstan:
So I’ve been rewatching the entire series while taking note of John’s hand tremors...
So I’ve been rewatching the entire series while taking note of John’s hand tremors and then I came to this scene
We can see his right hand clenching in reaction to Sherlock’s offer for a handshake. But the thing is, that’s not the tremor hand. That’s not the hand that would start to shake whenever he’s feeling weak, helpless, vulnerable. The tremor always happens in his left hand, as Mycroft would confirm:
I do love the right-hand clench. It’s an understandable reaction; that hand is going to touch his beloved’s for possibly the last time in his life. But it’s not what I’ve specifically been looking out for. I’m looking for the hand that trembles when he’s reminded of how much war had changed him,
the hand that trembles as he’s begging for his best friend to not be dead,
and the hand that trembles when he has to confront the lies of the woman he’d made his wife.
It’s a shame we can’t see his left hand when Sherlock offers that final handshake. Like if it starts acting up and is shaking like crazy we wouldn’t know because it’s hidden from vie-OH WAIT NEVERMIND I DID SEE IT
Conclusions: Martin Freeman’s acting is fucking ridiculous, and the tarmac scene can go straight to hell
The MP Waterfall Scene is the key to the entire series
I know I’m risking being super repetitive, because I’ve been blogging about this scene all weekend, but honestly. It is So Important.
Up until that scene, MP John has been, frankly, pretty much of a dick to Sherlock. And Sherlock hasn’t been very kind to John, either. Their normal affectionate bickering has been replaced by anger, true irritation, a nagging exasperation with each other.
They’re fed up with not being able to let themselves be who they’re meant to be together. And as an old school Holmes Ian geek, it thrills me that Mofftiss made them this way in Victorian times. They are fed up with 150 years of repression, they are ready to be together.
But back to the Waterfall Scene.
Sherlock is trying to defeat Moriarty on his own. Again. And he’s losing. He’s getting choked, drowned in a waterfall, he’s about to go over the edge with Moriarty again, history repeating itself. Moriarty says it always comes down to the two of them…
And out steps John. Cool, calm, absolutely BAMF, but different than he’s been in Sherlock’s mind palace before. He’s softer, he’s smiling, affectionate. Everything is coming together in this moment for Sherlock, his acceptance of himself, his understanding of his and John’s relationship, it’s all coalescing.
“That’s not fair, there’s two of you,” says MP Moriarty.
“There’s always two of us. Don’t you read The Strand?” replies MP John.
This is Sherlock’s moment of epiphany. There are two of them. There have always been. And critically, Sherlock is realising that in John’s mind, it’s always been the two of them. John is the one who writes the stories in the Strand, John has always made it about both of them, and Sherlock’s always tried to keep himself separate. Alone is what protects me. This is Sherlock understanding that alone not only doesn’t protect him, but is actually destroying him.
And John handing him his deerstalker, his public persona, is the last vestige of his holding onto the idea that John needs him to be anything other than exactly who he is. Sherlock cedes control of the Moriarty situation to John, he allows John to kill his self loathing, his fear, his terror at being wrong, his fear of his own sexuality. All that goes over the cliff with Moriarty.
And Sherlock stays with John.
Because he understands fully, for the first time, that John will always be there for him, no matter what. And that’s why MP John is different in this scene, because Sherlock is seeing the Real John here. The John that cares, that never leaves him, that loves him beyond measure, that is his one fixed point in a changing age.
This is a huge moment for Mofftiss as writers, because this is the first complete divergence from ACD canon. This is the fix-it moment. It is the pivot point around which the entire series spins, and has from the beginning. This is the moment that Sherlock chooses not to be alone. He’s changed his own destiny, and Mofftiss has thus changed the whole trajectory of the Holmes/Watson stories.
This episode doesn’t end as ACD canon ends, with Sherlock alone, John gone. It ends with them sitting together, in their home, looking toward a future where they can be together.
Spot on. I too was so pleased to see that in the BBC Sherlock verse, these two Victorian men are where they should be, where they should have been for 135 years, together in 221B. I know Mark and Steven HAD to do this, this was why it had to be 1895. Because it is ALWAYS 1895, and these two survive; together, in love, and they will never die.
Love this.
Season 4 Speculation
WHAT WE CAN GUESS ABOUT S4
**Spoiler warnings. This is a pure speculation meta, but like many fandom metas, some or all of it may prove to be correct and thus ruin a ‘surprise’ for you in S4. So read at your own risk.**
This is post TAB and incorporates various TAB metas. See this page.
1. Mary is the big S4 villain. And a stupendous one she is/will be too. Dangerous and intimate as Moriarty, as conniving and skeevy as Magnussen. I imagine that it won’t be obvious right away. Expect a S4.E1 with an unknown mastermind and Mary still being cutesy, clever, snarky Mary Watson. She is the SNAKE IN THE GRASS, the ENEMY AT OUR ELBOW. She is ‘unstoppable’ by Sherlock because she’s carrying John’s child and is John’s wife. Therefore, Sherlock can’t move against her. But John can (see point #2). Probably by S4.E2, she will be formally ‘outted’ as the villain and then will torment our heroes before the final showdown.
* Possibly Mary is Moriarty’s sister/twin and was always on par with him or even ‘the boss’, whereas Jim was 'just a front’ or public face. Alternatively, she was like Moran, his right-hand man, who was in on Jim’s death scene and will take over the Moriarty name like Dread Pirate Roberts. I’ve seen a few people mention that Moriarty might have been terminally ill and so that’s why he agreed to ‘die’ publically ala Emilia.
* “I will burn the heart out of you”. I believe it was always Moriarty’s plan to steal John away from Sherlock, a long game Mary executed to perfection. It wouldn’t be enough to kill John physically, or Sherlock either. This is the TAB Sir Eustice mirror/parallel: Eustice fears a fate “worse than death”. He fears he’s to be “dragged to hell by the corpse of the late Mrs. Rigoletti”. Emotional hell = Sherlock loses John to the bride (Mary).
* I believe Mary does actually WANT John (as much as a psychopath can) just as Moriarty genuinely lusts after Sherlock. Imagine if the situation were reversed – Sherlock marries Moriarty and John is left as the third wheel. How horrible would that be! This is the torture Sherlock has had to face.
* At the end of TAB, Sherlock has figured out that Moriarty is really dead and that others will carry on his name, but I don’t believe he yet CONSCIOUSLY realizes it’s Mary (John in TAB: “Sherlock can be blind”. Mycroft in TAB: Sherlock doesn’t understand emotion.) But Sherlock’s subconscious mind must see it to some extent, because we see the 'bride’ mimic movements that Mary made (head tilt, hands folded in front, later the 'bride’ unmasked as Moriarty).
2. We’ll get Badass!John in S4. S3 was nearly all Sherlock’s POV, and thus John was confusing and OOC at times to me (S1 and S2 were mostly John’s POV). I think S4 will be John’s. He’s holding his cards close to the chest and we’ll see that in S4. Molly in TAB is the mirror/hint for this. John sees what Sherlock is blind to—he sees through Molly’s disguise. And he also sees through Mary. He’s back with her because that’s how the game needs to be played to protect him and Sherlock (and the baby), but he’s in total solider mode. John is ‘smarter than he looks’ (end of TAB) and this time he’s the one with secret plans. His plans may or may not involve Mycroft, but at this point I would guess not. The roles will be reversed: Sherlock will be the ‘damsel in distress’ and John the ‘dragonslayer’. I’m excited about this because John is my fav character and I didn’t like how wimpy he was in S3. John needs to break some bones!
3. We’ll get Three Garridebs angst. Someone, mostly likely John, appears to be fatally wounded (likely by Mary in a final confrontation). Sherlock loses his shit and confesses his feelings. We’ve already been told in interviews that S4 will be the most angsty yet. I don’t believe John will literally die, because then there’d be Sherlock then, but it will be a near thing. Meanwhile, in other angst, Mycroft is definitely in danger. Mary will very likely buy it. I’m betting on a confrontation in S4.E3 in which John is forced to choose between Sherlock and Mary and kills Mary.
4. What about the baby? Unclear. The way the baby was such a non-element in TAB makes me wonder. They don’t need it, frankly, and it muddies the logical story arcs no matter how you look at it. I’m not one of those who thinks that Mary is faking a pregnancy. How dumb to fake a pregnancy when married to a doctor. Then again, she might have faked it early on (the wedding) planning to ‘miscarry’, and then, when John moved out for 6 months, decided to keep playing the game with a fake stomach. If John wasn’t touching her and wasn’t going to Dr’s appointments she could get away with this, her trump card to lure him back. The *reason* for the baby in the first place is, I think, for Mary to secure John by her side (to ‘burn the heart’ out of Sherlock). If there really is a pregnancy, it might not be John’s. Either way, my guess is the baby will be gotten rid of in S4. However, there are some hints they might keep a baby Watson after Mary is killed—the mirror of Mother Holmes having given up her career to raise kids. Not sure if Moffat/Gatiss would stray this far from canon.
4. Sherlock will be more including of John. This seemed to be the whole point of TAB – he realized “alone protects me” is false and it’s only with John he wins (the end at Reichenbach Falls). So I think Sherlock will try from the very start of S4. However, this won’t be an easy fix to their relationship. Perhaps it will be John who is the one being more secretive and pulling away (after all, he’s playing his own long game). Another complication, Sherlock cannot just confess his 'love’ feelings to John because of Mary/the baby. I think he’ll try to reach out to John more in S4, not be the 'machine’ he showed John in HLV. But it won’t be very effective for awhile.
5. Redbeard. In S4 we’ll get to the heart of Sherlock’s past trauma, which is not a dog at all, but some horror involving a person dear to him, possibly the 'lost brother’ or a beloved grandmother (Vernet). (s) Clue: In Hounds, Henry was ‘too young’ to process the horror of witnessing his father being murdered, so his mind made up a story about a dog instead. 'Redbeard’, the irish setter, is a cover for Sherlock’s worst memory, something he feels guilty about. (In TAB this is mirrored with Sir Eustice – “Hard to say what he’ll do. Guilt is eating away at his soul. Something in his past. The orange pips were a reminder.”). This mental block/past guilt is the thing that keeps Sherlock in ‘a machine’ mode and prevents him being able to feel lovable or love another (because he believes he’ll only hurt them). This will be faced/resolved probably in S4 but possibly in S5.
6. Johnlock will ratchet up quickly. In TAB in the scene where Mycroft is talking about his impending death and he says “It’s getting exciting! Tick tock tick tock!” This meta by caitlinisactuallyawritersname talks about how the whole dialogue about the timing of Mycroft’s death relates to essentially the timing in which he, as protector, ‘dies’—that is hands over the reins to John Watson. i.e. The timing of when Johnlock becomes real. I think it will become inescapable in S4 in a blatant canon way (such as Sherlock admitting his feelings to John, or Mycroft or another character telling John Sherlock is in love with him). Whether or not they actually kiss/consummate in S4 or drag it out to S5 remains to be seen. But with Mary as the main villain, the entire season will definitely be a fight for John Watson’s heart, soul, and body. NOTE: from a story arc POV, they can go two ways. 1) in S4 John and Sherlock do admit their mutual feelings and possibly kiss but then John is ripped away ('boy gets girl, boy loses girl’), possibly due to a horrific injury/cliff hanger at the end of S4 or John being abducted (possibly willingly to save Sherlock ala “Supernatural”). S5 would then be Sherlock trying to find John. Alternatively, they could just give lots of hints that John and Sherlock WOULD get together but then have them tragically 'miss’ it due to calamity at the end of S4, thus setting it up for S5.
That’s it for now. I’ll update as things become clearer.
XA
silentauroriamthereal:
Oh, splendid, the Mary stans have discovered my most recent anti-Mary post!...
Oh, splendid, the Mary stans have discovered my most recent anti-Mary post! Good morning to ME, lol!
What I find really amazing is how, no matter how completely ridiculous and uncanonical or out of character their War/stan and whichever other accompanying popular ship or delusionally pro-Mary posts are, I never see them reblogged on my dash with hateful comments from people who disagree. Either I just follow really quality blogs (obviously!) or my side of the fandom just doesn’t partake in that kind of shitty behaviour. Karma’s a bitch, folks!!
I’ve seen some “See, the special proves how much Sherlock LOVES Mary!” posts, and I’m just flabbergasted at the way a person’s biases come completely skew their logic and perception. Which honestly makes me doubt my own at times! (not, however, about Mary, which couldn’t be clearer if they gave her horns and a tail).
multifandom-madnesss:
“It was simply my conjecture of what a...
“It was simply my conjecture of what a future world might look like and how you and I might fit inside it,”
Sherlock says, a casual elephant in the background.
LOL, yes, there is an elephant right behind him. Subtle.
sherlock-andhispotato:
Sherlock has accepted that he doesn’t...
Sherlock has accepted that he doesn’t have to be alone. He needs John.
Lovely
January 2, 2016
Stories referenced, no details (UPDATED):
The Adventure of The Abbey Grange (Sir Eustace)
The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter (Mr. Melas)
A Scandal in Bohemia (A particular boot-slitting specimen of the London slavey, Grit in a sensitive instrument)
The Five Orange Pips (The pips, I have come for your advice. That is easily got, And your help. That is not always so easy. )
The Final Problem (The falls, Moriarty)
The Adventure of the Creeping Man (Come at once if convenient…)
Silver Blaze (Strand Paget illustration of H & W on a train)
The Adventure of the Second Stain (The fair sex is your department)
A Study in Scarlet (The entire opening sequence, almost word for word)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (the door stained glass)
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (as published)
Edit: The Sign of Four (Which is it tonight, morphine or cocaine?)
The Adventure of the Speckled Band (These are very deep waters)
The line about “What strange happening compels you to my door” is familiar but I’m having a hard time placing it. I’m still searching my Canon.
this is amazing, Maz! Apparently the “obliquity of the ecliptic” is also Greek Interpreter.
And then there are even more references in the props.
This bit is also from Five Pips: “I have come for advice.”
“That is easily got.”
“And help.”
“That is not always so easy.”
And the whole thing with two female bodies in the same grave is from The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
I got the line from FIVE, but Carfax, I totally missed that. Thanks! Will update. AlSO, Ricoletti is an untold case. My canon searching failed me last night.
Is “vernet” also a reference?? It’s super familiar…
Yes, it is! It’s also in The Greek Interpreter:
“To some extent,” he answered, thoughtfully.
“My ancestors were country squires, who appear to
have led much the same life as is natural to their
class. But, none the less, my turn that way is in
my veins, and may have come with my grandmother,
who was the sister of Vernet, the French artist. Art in
the blood is liable to take the strangest forms.”
“
and may have come with my grandmother,
who was the sister of Vernet, the French artist.
“ another reference to a sister/sibling. Possibly the Mary/Moriarty collection. Emilia’s gravestone also mentions ‘sister’ and there’s the whole ‘it’s never twins!’ pronouncement.
Mary likes to embarrass people
Some people consider this “cute” or “smart” but personally,
I just consider it cruel, abusive, and nasty.
Some examples:
“I agree, I’m the best thing that could have happened to
you.” John fumbles and hesitates and thoroughly bungles his proposal to Mary. Mary
laughs, finishes his sentences for him, and insincerely apologises for having
laughed.
“The famous blog, finally!” Mary dramatically reading out
excerpts of John’s blog, which embarrasses him (he explicitly tells her to stop
and she doesn’t), then calls him out on shaving off the moustache that Sherlock
didn’t like, giggling at him when he denies it.
“I’m not John; I can tell when you’re lying.” Here Mary
embarrasses them both in saying that she is more capable of reading Sherlock
than John is, and that she, unlike her gullible husband, isn’t as easily
fooled. Nice! Two birds, one stone.
“He mentions him all the time to me. He never shuts up about
him.” Mary, brutally rubbing in something which almost certainly isn’t true, in
the face of Sherlock’s obvious jealousy. She says this, confirms it, then
watches his discomfort with unholy glee.
“What is that?!” Mary wants to know, referring to the tyre
lever John puts down his jeans just before going into the drug den to rescue
Isaac Whitney. Why this question, to Captain John Watson, of all people?
Obviously John can handle himself, yet Mary insists on trying to embarrass him
over this, demeaning his choice. Gross.
“You’ve been reading John’s blog. The story of how you met.”
Mary announces this in the midst of Sherlock apparently newly revived from a
serious drug overdose/suicide attempt, humiliating him in front of all those
present, including John, as to what Sherlock was thinking about at the time of
his would-be death. This, for me, is the most unforgivable thing on this list. Sherlock
overdoses, is woken up in the presence of his best friend, brother, and
supposed friend, and what does the latter do? Not-so-subtly lets everyone
present know that he’s desperately in love with her husband. Thanks, Mary! That
will definitely help him right now! Look at that smirk. Bitch.
There are so many more examples. Mary is not cute and lovable. Mary is that girl from school who knew how to say things that were funny to the group and made the victim’s skin crawl with humiliation or stinging shame. Mary is a manipulative, cruel bully. And on top of it, she’s a murderer.
Other “highlights” among my many Mary posts, lol: here, here, here, here, and here. Well, those are the longer ones, mostly. :P
@ravenmorganleigh, @happierstill, @snogbox1, @starrla89
Agreed.
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