I'm just going to dump all my sherlock s3 HLV thoughts in one place, so I can keep my shit straight.
At some point through the last episode, I realised that I couldn’t ship John/Sherlock again. I love it, really. I do. I think it’s an amazing pairing and that the characters have demonstrated chemistry and compatibility time and time again in this show.
But when John forgave Mary, I realised two things were going to happen.
1. Mary was not going to be removed from the dynamic. Forgiveness is the emotional drop - it’s the relief after the tension. Moffat is too clever to create tension using the same non-main character again. Mary was going to stay where she was. and
2. I could not, however I tried, ship John and Sherlock. It was gone. Whatever magical spark they had, that survived two seasons and a fake suicide and multiple kidnappings and whatever, that spark, was gone. I really felt it. Even if I forced it, even if I thought forward, if Mary dies, or if there’s infidelity, or whatever, it’s gone. There’s nothing left.
It was a french farce, that’s what it was. Oh ahahaha actually she is exactly what John need she’s dangerous and badass and an ex-CIA agent blah blah blah. But it was farcical, because of the ‘redemption’ arc. There was no emotional depth or resolution to this episode. Moffat has proven that he doesn’t know how consequences work. Nothing is final. Relationships are bendy and can never be broken. You can cheat and lie and you’ll always be forgiven, but that’s just not true, is it. In our hind brains we know it. It’s not true. You can cheat and lie and break someone’s heart, and they will still be in love with you because you can’t make that go away, but they won’t love you. They’ll hate you. Because they were vulnerable and you hurt them.
Sherlock has been vulnerable this whole season. John has been vulnerable to Mary since he asked her to marry him. That’s the point of marriage; trust and vulnerability. Backing each other up.
Mary is the strongest female character we’ve seen in this series. But she was strong and amazing before she dressed up in a black catsuit and could shoot like a pro. She was strong because she could deal with everything while still being perfectly normal and lovely. But nope. She has to be a magical secret psychopath ninja and it has to be because of John.
It was a cheap ploy. These writers are amazingly talented and yet, somehow they return to the same cheap ploys time and time again in the hope that we’ll have a knee-jerk emotional reaction, but the problem with those is that they’re temporary. They just leave a sour taste on our tongues when the shock is gone.
There is nothing in Mary that should make John and Sherlock love her. There is nothing in John that should make Sherlock love him the way he does. There’s a lot of characters failing to live up to their potential, and yes, that would be fine if that was the way they were written. But instead they’re written to be these amazing people and it’s a plastic facade - there’s nothing underneath.
My ship is sunk. We thought it was too big to fail, but it did.
I think I’m in a state of emotional shock.
It was a clever episode. Very clever. Moffat displayed his penchant for resurrection, and his tendency to think himself above consequences. I seem to remember in the books that Moriarty had an elder brother (because ACD gave no fucks and just names everyone James Moriarty). I was thinking that since we’ve got Andrew Scott, who’s a hell of an actor, they might have him playing his own eviler twin.
I was very relieved that my impression of Mummy!Holmes was correct. I’ve been thinking it for a long time; the genius has to come from somewhere. Now I want to write a gazillion domestic family fanfics.
I don’t know what the fuck Janine has to do with the cottage in sussex like did he give it to her in exchange for pretending to sleep with him? I don’t get it.
New headcanon: you know how we thought Tom (Molly Hooper’s boyfriend) was actually the sniper/Moran, but now that Moran’s proven to be some second-rate politician, what if Tom isa sniper. What if he was the sniper outside Barts. What if he’s dumped Molly, broken up their relationship, because Moriarty is back, and he’s been recalled. What if no one realised but Moriarty had understood Molly’s value too, and he’d put a sniper on her. What if Tom getting engaged to Molly was like Sherlock getting engaged to Janine - all business?
The Mycroft/Lestrade scene made me laugh. The single gesture exchanged was so supremely dismissive that there are only two alternatives. First that they don’t really know each other at all, except that Mycroft makes Lestrade’s boss’s boss piss his pants in terror. Alternatively, that they’ve been working together to keep Sherlock alive for so long, that they’re kinda used to each other and it’s NBD because Lestrade is worried and he understands how Mycroft is worried about his baby brother, who’s apparently hopped up on morphine.
I was glad that they didn’t do anything terrible, like make Sherlock bear the news of Mary’s ‘betrayal’ to John. I’m so relieved, because that would have been farcical, and cheap.
As usual, John disappointed me in this episode. I have no idea why. He seems to have but one emotion (anger), and if pressed, frustration. He had some lovely bamf moments, I guess, but beyond that there was nothing. He doesn’t seem to have even the emotional range of a teaspoon, and I can’t. I don’t even know.
Also, this Sherlock seems to be a completely different Sherlock from the previous episodes. The emotional depth we got, it’s pretty much gone. Except for that one spectacular scene, starting from Magnussen’s office all the way till when he wakes up in Hospital. Everyone acting in that scene was phenomenal. Benedict was mind blowing. Andrew Scott was genius. I can’t get over that scene. I was on the edge of my seat like whoa. That mind palace sequence was gorgeous.
The crack den scene was good, but lacked something. It lacked the sort of pain it could have. Molly did a good job of it, but no, otherwise. Wiggins was brilliant. I loved it.
The rest of the episode lacked the same “something” in terms of the emotional gut-punch. The farewell was mediocre at best, and much much less, at worst. I know it was supposed to be perfunctory, because that wasn’t the end of it. There was going to be a reunion. But fucking hell, they didn’t know that! And they ended it with a handshake?! (??????)
I liked how Mycroft effectively bailed Sherlock out of supermax, presuming that’s where you go for treason + murder. But I kinda expected it the moment the job offer was mentioned. Did I mention how much I loved the family scenes? Also the redbeard thing was lovely. Very lovely. Also, who the fucking fuck is the “other” brother? WHAT.
I also REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MYCROFT DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MARY. DON’T TELL ME THAT FUCKING NONSENSE MYCROFT KNOWS EVERYTHING. HE’S THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE COUNTRY BECAUSE HE KNOWS EVERYTHING. DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT HE FUCKED UP ON MARY. EXPLAIN THAT, MOFFAT.
The villain. Okay look. CAM was creepy as fuck. Like. shudders down my spine creepy. But he was a pretty shit villain, logically. I know logic doesn’t really come into it, but guys. You can’t blackmail anyone into anything unless you have evidence. I liked how they were basically hinting at Rupert Murdoch with CAM, but I- you really can’t. You can publish it in the news, but your newspaper will have the reputation of a gossip rag. The Daily Mail could tell me that the prime minister actually slept with a fifteen year old, and I doubt that there would even be an inquiry of any sort, because it’s the Daily Mail. Or like, the Sun, or something. You can’t pretend to wield and imaginary stick to bully people into doing stuff you like. That’s a terrible idea because your stick is imaginary.
People are confused about lots of stuff regarding magnusses. I don't think Magnussen is widely known to be a blackmailer, per se? i think only the people in the know, actually know what he does. To everyone else he's just a filthy rich media mogul (a la rupert murdoch). I think Janine wouldn't have hidden it from Sherlock, because it's a job. Everyone has a job. She's a PA for a media modul NBD, right, but it's Magnussen.
In my head, you know in the beginning she says, "Solve a crime for me Sherlock" when they're doing the digusting kissy thing in front of John? IMO the only reason she's in it, is because she's being blackmailed by Magnussen too. They hint at this later on, when he says I flicked Janine a lot too (or whatever). So. I think she went to Sherlock, having met him at John and Mary's wedding, and she's like, you're obviously a genius. You can help me, right? She says something about him being useful.
Later on, she approaches him, because Magnussen is a creep, and he's given her a job but he's also blackmailing and he's upped the creep intensity to eleven. He goes okay, I'll help you solve it, under one condition; you be my fake girlfriend.
And she's like, if you were into that I wouldn't mind being your real girlfriend, but after that exchange about Sherlock's dubious sexuality/availability in TSOT, I think they both know it isn't going to happen. So it's a fake relationship. He's dealing with Magnussen and she's giving him access and pretending to be his girlfriend.
I think both of them were in it with their eyes open. I think maybe Janine's 'task' to not have all her blackmail stuff released, was to spy on Mary and also to work as his PA.
We know Sherlock knew Mary was a liar way back when, but he didn't exactly know why, or he ignored it. All of it kinda came full circle when the foreign office woman who was licked by CAM in the beginning, and she went to Sherlock Holmes. Otherwise, Sherlock would have had no interest in Magnussen.
Am I making sense?
I want to lock myself up in some permanent season 3 state, and write John/Sherlock. Write their reunion with depth and intensity. Deal with Mary politely and respectfully. I want this season to not have happened. I hate to even say it, because I love this show. But the ship we thought was too big to sink, actually did. There’s no coming back, and that’s what makes me uncomfortable. It’s like, in his distaste for Johnlock he’s just shut down every single avenue by which it could be respectfully explored. Every avenue is disrespectful and if someone stumbles across it, he’ll call it that and no one will be able to say anything. He’s effectively pissed on our fireplace.
They couldn’t even leave us the bees.
But when John forgave Mary, I realised two things were going to happen.
1. Mary was not going to be removed from the dynamic. Forgiveness is the emotional drop - it’s the relief after the tension. Moffat is too clever to create tension using the same non-main character again. Mary was going to stay where she was. and
2. I could not, however I tried, ship John and Sherlock. It was gone. Whatever magical spark they had, that survived two seasons and a fake suicide and multiple kidnappings and whatever, that spark, was gone. I really felt it. Even if I forced it, even if I thought forward, if Mary dies, or if there’s infidelity, or whatever, it’s gone. There’s nothing left.
It was a french farce, that’s what it was. Oh ahahaha actually she is exactly what John need she’s dangerous and badass and an ex-CIA agent blah blah blah. But it was farcical, because of the ‘redemption’ arc. There was no emotional depth or resolution to this episode. Moffat has proven that he doesn’t know how consequences work. Nothing is final. Relationships are bendy and can never be broken. You can cheat and lie and you’ll always be forgiven, but that’s just not true, is it. In our hind brains we know it. It’s not true. You can cheat and lie and break someone’s heart, and they will still be in love with you because you can’t make that go away, but they won’t love you. They’ll hate you. Because they were vulnerable and you hurt them.
Sherlock has been vulnerable this whole season. John has been vulnerable to Mary since he asked her to marry him. That’s the point of marriage; trust and vulnerability. Backing each other up.
Mary is the strongest female character we’ve seen in this series. But she was strong and amazing before she dressed up in a black catsuit and could shoot like a pro. She was strong because she could deal with everything while still being perfectly normal and lovely. But nope. She has to be a magical secret psychopath ninja and it has to be because of John.
It was a cheap ploy. These writers are amazingly talented and yet, somehow they return to the same cheap ploys time and time again in the hope that we’ll have a knee-jerk emotional reaction, but the problem with those is that they’re temporary. They just leave a sour taste on our tongues when the shock is gone.
There is nothing in Mary that should make John and Sherlock love her. There is nothing in John that should make Sherlock love him the way he does. There’s a lot of characters failing to live up to their potential, and yes, that would be fine if that was the way they were written. But instead they’re written to be these amazing people and it’s a plastic facade - there’s nothing underneath.
My ship is sunk. We thought it was too big to fail, but it did.
I think I’m in a state of emotional shock.
It was a clever episode. Very clever. Moffat displayed his penchant for resurrection, and his tendency to think himself above consequences. I seem to remember in the books that Moriarty had an elder brother (because ACD gave no fucks and just names everyone James Moriarty). I was thinking that since we’ve got Andrew Scott, who’s a hell of an actor, they might have him playing his own eviler twin.
I was very relieved that my impression of Mummy!Holmes was correct. I’ve been thinking it for a long time; the genius has to come from somewhere. Now I want to write a gazillion domestic family fanfics.
I don’t know what the fuck Janine has to do with the cottage in sussex like did he give it to her in exchange for pretending to sleep with him? I don’t get it.
New headcanon: you know how we thought Tom (Molly Hooper’s boyfriend) was actually the sniper/Moran, but now that Moran’s proven to be some second-rate politician, what if Tom isa sniper. What if he was the sniper outside Barts. What if he’s dumped Molly, broken up their relationship, because Moriarty is back, and he’s been recalled. What if no one realised but Moriarty had understood Molly’s value too, and he’d put a sniper on her. What if Tom getting engaged to Molly was like Sherlock getting engaged to Janine - all business?
The Mycroft/Lestrade scene made me laugh. The single gesture exchanged was so supremely dismissive that there are only two alternatives. First that they don’t really know each other at all, except that Mycroft makes Lestrade’s boss’s boss piss his pants in terror. Alternatively, that they’ve been working together to keep Sherlock alive for so long, that they’re kinda used to each other and it’s NBD because Lestrade is worried and he understands how Mycroft is worried about his baby brother, who’s apparently hopped up on morphine.
I was glad that they didn’t do anything terrible, like make Sherlock bear the news of Mary’s ‘betrayal’ to John. I’m so relieved, because that would have been farcical, and cheap.
As usual, John disappointed me in this episode. I have no idea why. He seems to have but one emotion (anger), and if pressed, frustration. He had some lovely bamf moments, I guess, but beyond that there was nothing. He doesn’t seem to have even the emotional range of a teaspoon, and I can’t. I don’t even know.
Also, this Sherlock seems to be a completely different Sherlock from the previous episodes. The emotional depth we got, it’s pretty much gone. Except for that one spectacular scene, starting from Magnussen’s office all the way till when he wakes up in Hospital. Everyone acting in that scene was phenomenal. Benedict was mind blowing. Andrew Scott was genius. I can’t get over that scene. I was on the edge of my seat like whoa. That mind palace sequence was gorgeous.
The crack den scene was good, but lacked something. It lacked the sort of pain it could have. Molly did a good job of it, but no, otherwise. Wiggins was brilliant. I loved it.
The rest of the episode lacked the same “something” in terms of the emotional gut-punch. The farewell was mediocre at best, and much much less, at worst. I know it was supposed to be perfunctory, because that wasn’t the end of it. There was going to be a reunion. But fucking hell, they didn’t know that! And they ended it with a handshake?! (??????)
I liked how Mycroft effectively bailed Sherlock out of supermax, presuming that’s where you go for treason + murder. But I kinda expected it the moment the job offer was mentioned. Did I mention how much I loved the family scenes? Also the redbeard thing was lovely. Very lovely. Also, who the fucking fuck is the “other” brother? WHAT.
I also REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MYCROFT DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MARY. DON’T TELL ME THAT FUCKING NONSENSE MYCROFT KNOWS EVERYTHING. HE’S THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE COUNTRY BECAUSE HE KNOWS EVERYTHING. DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT HE FUCKED UP ON MARY. EXPLAIN THAT, MOFFAT.
The villain. Okay look. CAM was creepy as fuck. Like. shudders down my spine creepy. But he was a pretty shit villain, logically. I know logic doesn’t really come into it, but guys. You can’t blackmail anyone into anything unless you have evidence. I liked how they were basically hinting at Rupert Murdoch with CAM, but I- you really can’t. You can publish it in the news, but your newspaper will have the reputation of a gossip rag. The Daily Mail could tell me that the prime minister actually slept with a fifteen year old, and I doubt that there would even be an inquiry of any sort, because it’s the Daily Mail. Or like, the Sun, or something. You can’t pretend to wield and imaginary stick to bully people into doing stuff you like. That’s a terrible idea because your stick is imaginary.
People are confused about lots of stuff regarding magnusses. I don't think Magnussen is widely known to be a blackmailer, per se? i think only the people in the know, actually know what he does. To everyone else he's just a filthy rich media mogul (a la rupert murdoch). I think Janine wouldn't have hidden it from Sherlock, because it's a job. Everyone has a job. She's a PA for a media modul NBD, right, but it's Magnussen.
In my head, you know in the beginning she says, "Solve a crime for me Sherlock" when they're doing the digusting kissy thing in front of John? IMO the only reason she's in it, is because she's being blackmailed by Magnussen too. They hint at this later on, when he says I flicked Janine a lot too (or whatever). So. I think she went to Sherlock, having met him at John and Mary's wedding, and she's like, you're obviously a genius. You can help me, right? She says something about him being useful.
Later on, she approaches him, because Magnussen is a creep, and he's given her a job but he's also blackmailing and he's upped the creep intensity to eleven. He goes okay, I'll help you solve it, under one condition; you be my fake girlfriend.
And she's like, if you were into that I wouldn't mind being your real girlfriend, but after that exchange about Sherlock's dubious sexuality/availability in TSOT, I think they both know it isn't going to happen. So it's a fake relationship. He's dealing with Magnussen and she's giving him access and pretending to be his girlfriend.
I think both of them were in it with their eyes open. I think maybe Janine's 'task' to not have all her blackmail stuff released, was to spy on Mary and also to work as his PA.
We know Sherlock knew Mary was a liar way back when, but he didn't exactly know why, or he ignored it. All of it kinda came full circle when the foreign office woman who was licked by CAM in the beginning, and she went to Sherlock Holmes. Otherwise, Sherlock would have had no interest in Magnussen.
Am I making sense?
I want to lock myself up in some permanent season 3 state, and write John/Sherlock. Write their reunion with depth and intensity. Deal with Mary politely and respectfully. I want this season to not have happened. I hate to even say it, because I love this show. But the ship we thought was too big to sink, actually did. There’s no coming back, and that’s what makes me uncomfortable. It’s like, in his distaste for Johnlock he’s just shut down every single avenue by which it could be respectfully explored. Every avenue is disrespectful and if someone stumbles across it, he’ll call it that and no one will be able to say anything. He’s effectively pissed on our fireplace.
They couldn’t even leave us the bees.