XistentialAngst's Blog, page 81
August 31, 2016
isitandwonder:
futchcassidy:
real convenient how john’s wedding ring it just shoved into his elbow...
real convenient how john’s wedding ring it just shoved into his elbow out of sight, huh
coincidence!
wssh13:
I need help. I am reading meaning into every single...
I need help. I am reading meaning into every single thing. I see boomerang guy and think MARY! I see his Knit cap, red coat, ends up dead. Dead by his own hand in the shape of a boomerang. I see MARY! ending up dead by her own hand as well…ghost from her past. Something she set into motion herself will be her undoing. There is no heaven or hell. You don’t leave this earth until your life book is balanced. Reap what you sow. OkI'mdone!goodnight!
The Abominable Bride and The “Conan Doyle Syndrome”
This all started thanks to @deducingbbcsherlock’s post on Naked is the Best Disguise by Samuel Rosenburg here- without it, I wouldn’t have discovered this book/ checked it out of the library, so thank you! <3
I haven’t finished reading the book yet, so I could very well come back and add more parts to this later on. But, there was one chapter I read on the train today where I thought ‘OMG, did he basically describe a skeleton plot of The Abominable Bride?!’ and I just had to share!
1) What is the “Conan Doyle Syndrome”?Basically, Rosenburg goes on a hunt through the canon stories noting down whenever any book titles appear. In his own words, then: [italics are his own, bolding is mine]:
My procedure was a simple one: When a book was mentioned, I read the book, something about its author in various reference works, and then wrote a brief gloss of the story and scene in which the book was mentioned.
Soon, after I had repeated this process with the books mentioned in fourteen stories, a very strange phenomenon began to loom up out of the pages of The Complete Sherlock Holmes. My accumulated notes had revealed that in almost every story I’d synopsized, the printed or written word in any form- books, book titles, magazine or newspaper articles, advertisement, signs, diaries, manuscripts, letters, words scribbled on scraps of paper, words written on the wall (even in blood) or in the floor dust of a murder chamber, or even expressions read in a person’s face- was always accompanied by an allusion to some form of forbidden sexual expression, either heterosexual or homosexual, or both.Shock horror! Forbidden sexual expression hidden in the cold logic of “simple detective stories”? (Rosenburg puts his own sceptical air quotes around that, bless him, he knows it’s not about the (literal) cases #oneofus <3)
2) The “Elements” of the “Syndrome” and The Abominable BrideRosenburg says that the syndrome and “its central theme of illicit love or sexuality linked to a set of unique Doylean images and ideas, is expressed with the following elements…” He then gives us a step by step guide to these elements. Yes, he’s talking about patterns found in the canon stories… but, guess what? The Abominable Bride follows them pretty much to the letter, I’d say. And, you know what we say about coincidences…
From the beginning, then! [All bolding is mine]
(A) After using his superlative reasoning and detective powers to penetrate the mystery brought to him, Sherlock Holmes generally anticipates the criminal’s plan of action and goes to the scene of the intended crime. In other instances he sets a trap for the suspected malefactor.
HOLMES: No, no! He must stay exactly where he is.
LADY CARMICHAEL: Well, you don’t think he’s in danger?
HOLMES: Oh no, somebody definitely wants to kill him, but that’s good for us. You can’t set a trap without bait. (x)In The Abominable Bride, Sherlock anticipates “the Bride” wants to kill Sir Eustace, and so sets up the apparent perfect opportunity for her to do so, what should be a perfect trap.
(B) There, with Watson and sometimes others as well, he conducts a vigil at night or in a dark room for the…(cont)
*Ahem* Enter Dr. “Good God, this is the longest night of my life,” Watson! *Ahem*
August 30, 2016
HLV - Fives Holes in the Fabric
MARK: This is another lovely bit; that decision to just go well away, so you can go back.
STEVEN: D’you know, in all honesty I don’t know why that works. I remember thinking as I was writing it, ‘I have to cut forward. I need to get out of here,’ but then you have to go back.
MARK: But it sort of makes you look forward to it.
STEVEN: But it felt odd to me. I kept waiting for the note, ‘Don’t do that,’ and it never came.This exchange from the HLV commentary is important because it addresses the biggest and most infuriating hole in the narrative of series 3. And what is more, it is blatantly untrue.
You don’t know why that works, Steven? Let met tell you something - it does not. At least not for people who watch an episode more than once. Your tricky jumping forwards and backwards in the narrative does not cover up the fact that important months are missing making the Christmas happenings seem completely unmotivated. Taking two logically unconnected scenes, cutting them into pieces and mixing them does not make them more coherent or logical or palatable to the audience.
So I had a closer look at the five transitions between Leinster Gardens/221B and Christmas, concentrating on the text and leaving out all visual and musical elements (just like @miss-dramateen’s wonderful scenes without background music):
SHERLOCK (softly): Now talk, and sort it out. Do it quickly.
MYCROFT: Oh, dear God, it’s only two o’clock. It’s been Christmas Day for at least a week now. How can it only be two o’clock? I’m in agony.
Cutting from a highly dramatic moment to Mycroft’s comical complaints.SHERLOCK: Well, you know – they’ve had their ups and downs.
SHERLOCK (quietly): Baker Street. Now.
Cutting from Sherlock talking to his Dad about the ordinary Watson marriage troubles back to the same highly dramatic situation in Leinster Gardens.JOHN: … the people who come in here with their stories. Th-the clients – that’s all you are now, Mary. You’re a client. This is where you sit and talk … and this is where we sit and listen, then we decide if we want you or not.
JOHN: So, are you okay?
Very jarring transition, from John distancing himself from Mary and siding with Sherlock to the beginning of the so far inexplicable reconciliation scene.MARY: Seriously? Months of silence and we’re gonna do this … now?
SHERLOCK: ‘A.G.R.A.’ What’s that?
This one is really interesting. Here we cut from bitchy, superior Mary back to the reason this reconciliation has to take place at all. In a backwards movement the narrative underlines her arrogant attitude - being sarcastic with John even though she has lied to him about her whole existence.JOHN: Got him?
MARY: So, have you read it?
This is the most jarring transition of all - from Sherlock being resuscitated by paramedics to Mary whose only concern is if John has read the flashdrive and will leave her for good.Conclusion: Steven basically subverts his own words because the juxtaposition of the scenes underlines the absurdity of the narrative. He does not even try to go for smooth transitions. It seems he went for a double bluff:
Using the jumps forwards and backwards to make the reconciliation superficially more palatable while at the same time undermining this reading by choosing transitions that refer us back to the fact that this does not work.Tags under the cut
You are so damn right @stillgosherlocked! And you know what I just discovered after reading your breakdown? Sherlock DOES NOT interact with Mary at all after Watson Domestic up until Tarmac. In the whole Christmas Scene they do not meet once. She is sitting in his parents house, heavily pregnant, but Sherlock doesn’t as much as ackonwledge her (he just mentions her to John to warn HIM not to drik Mary’s tea).
Neither does Mycroft by the way. He and Mary are at the same house. How could Mycroft just sit there with Mary a few metres away, knowing she had shot his brother (and he must know, he’s the British Government and concerned about Sherlock, even maybe because of rather unhealthy reasons, but he would use every resource at his command to find out who shot his brother)? Mycroft knows that his own mother is furious at whoever shot Sherlcok - yet he tolerates that very person in their house on Christmas? He even lets his mother serve this person tea and pat her shoulder?
The same goes for John: John does think nothing about bringing the woman who nearly killed Sherlock to his parent’s house for Christmas? John, for god’s sake, the shows moral compass! Even before he had ‘forgiven’ her? And what did he actually forgive her? Lying to him? Or nearly killing Sherlock? This is all so wrong on so many levels…
Yeah ….. strange things happen ….. strange things indeed …..
Yes, one of the reasons I suspect EMP/EDT may be true? There are so many story holes in this Christmas scene.
ebaeschnbliah:
monikakrasnorada:
welovethebeekeeper:
Can this...
Can this be a coincidence? A Mary doppelgänger behind Vicky in the court room scene? It’s more noticeable in the actual scene. No idea what this could even mean, but what are the odds?
And the other women during the scene are most of the time just staring ahead of them. The Doppelgänger-Mary is looking directly at Sherlock. The whole time.
Creepy.
Mirrors: Billy Kincaid and Mary Morstan
So just when I am thinking there is nothing more to be said about Mary before we get series 4 (or the special), another idea pops up. We all know this dialogue from HLV. It has been discussed over and over again:
JOHN: So you were just gonna kill him.
MARY: People like Magnussen should be killed. That’s why there are people like me.
JOHN: Perfect(!) So that’s what you were? An assassin? How could I not see that?
MARY: You did see that … and you married me. Because he’s right. It’s what you like.And many of us want to say “No, it is not.” But how to refute it? Well, look at this:
True dat.
i-detect-your-bullshit:
keepmeright:
rewatching the Sherlock Uncovered from S3 is just ajshdfhk....
rewatching the Sherlock Uncovered from S3 is just ajshdfhk. Just a few of the gems:
Moffat says Sherlock “dies in Watson’s arms”, but …
no he didn’t
how is that not romantic?
Sue says it would be nice to not have to keep a secret for that long if they don’t do a cliffhanger
Benedict mentions “watercooler moments” Cough, BBC LGB study, cough
They all talk about fan theories and fan fiction
Amanda says “John has found someone he wants to love and be with” and then they cut to Sherlock interrupting the proposal
Benedict says Sherlock traumatizes John by “taking himself away”
the blog counter stuck on 1895
Martin saying “we don’t want to have to manufacture it, wind it up. It’s kind of there” about the chemistry between Sherlock and John
Voiceover of “together they are about to make history”
Martin mostly just talking about how it is nice to have a devoted audience with his “I just work here” face
Mark saying “Blow away the victorian fog to get back to the fantastic relationship between these two men. That’s what we wanted to do. And that’s what has happened”They end with that comment from Mark. What could the “victorian fog” possibly be referring to? Seriously how is it possible to not see the love story?
*screeching*
watsonshoneybee:
let’s talk about tab for a minute here
you’ll do YOU, YOU SMALL, CUTE ARMY DOCTOR,...
let’s talk about tab for a minute here
you’ll do YOU, YOU SMALL, CUTE ARMY DOCTOR, GOODNESS YOU, HAVE YOU BEEN SHOT AND YOU STILL CAUGHT THAT THING WHEN I THREW IT AT YOUR FACE, LOOK AT YOUR SHOULDERS AND HIPS IN THAT THREE PIECE SUIT, MY LORD, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY DO I’M GOING TO TAKE YOU HOME AND PUT YOU IN MY POCKET
david nellist’s cute smirky face. you know what he told us at con? “oh, i don’t really have a plan, you know, I just react to whatever ben and martin are doing.” like. ok. also getting out of the elevator with him and him going “nighty night” like please. he’s so cute.
john stepping in between sherlock and lord what’s his name, all smiles, what are you going to do about it sir, jesus fuck
“there!! are!! no!! ghosts!!” pause “you okay, what’s happened?” like oh my god john just knew
the elephant falling off and breaking. what a detail.
mary having to pose as a client to get any attention from her husband who has run off with an “unsavory companion”
correct me doctor like JESUS, THIS IS A FMAILY SHOW
sherlock looking at john at any given moment
the smiles on the plane
sherlock reading their first case together as he flies off to his death
sherlock thinking that john has wholly abandoned him but for his utility
JOHN!!! SHOWING UP!! TO SAVE HIM!!! ON THE WATERFALL!!!
THERE’S ALWAYS TWO OF US
sherlock taking a swan dive into a LITERAL WET DREAM okayokay so. like. this exists and is part of canon so A+++++ johnlock content.
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