why does Sherlock leave the planning of his 'death' so late in the game?

[aruan]

I just finished reading Stranger at the Gate and am full of feeeeeeelings about the transcendental love of Sherlock and John, but seriously for a moment, with my serious face, let's talk about the power of that love, Reichenbach edition.

Comments

[without_me]

I love reading all your thinky-thoughts about this.

[aruan]

Thank youuuu but honestly, I kept questioning myself while writing it and almost unposted it twice because, well, you read it too. But I have no other explanation for why he begins the episode being likened to a dead man (because he wouldn't come off that way if he'd always meant to defy Moriarty by surviving) but seems to find a reason to live the night before their showdown.

[rose_cat]

This is wonderfully thought-out and very insightful. (I like your writing style, too :) )

[aruan]

Aaw, you're very kind to my effusive rambling. Thanks for reading - I'd be perfectly willing to entertain any theories on the matter, but Sherlock always makes more sense through a John-shaped prism.

[rose_cat]

He really does. You don't even need "slash goggles" for that ;)

[aruan]

Nope! We can all vouch for the power of another person who's come along and made things better and brighter. Sherlock might be more paranoid and high-maintenance than most, but then again John is also more patient and forgiving.

[extraordinary]

ADOPTING YOUR HEADCANON...3...2...1...!

This makes so much sense! I hadn't thought of it that way before - thank you so much for sharing this! =)

[aruan]

So glad to hear it makes sense to someone outside my own head! Because sometimes it can get hard to see past all my feels about this show.

[aruan]

Your constitution is stronger than mine - I've only watched the episode all the way through twice. For this post, I only checked the relevant parts. In an interview somewhere, Moffatt actually called it emotionally harmful television, and I'd have to agree.

UGH, TRUST ISSUES FOREVER. Though I suppose faking his death is what some part of John expects, given that the only way Sherlock conforms to expectations is by ... breathing oxygen. If there's one thing you can trust about Sherlock, it's his contrary nature.

OK, wow, that subtext just made my pulse go a bit wobbly. There isn't a creature on this planet worthy of John Watson's love.

saving a world with BOTH OF THEM in it is worth taking awful and apalling risksHey, thanks for writing the summary that I couldn't manage. Well done! That is EXACTLY what I was trying to say in too many words. And no, Sherlock didn't plan his escape route very well if the idea is to still have John once he "rises from the dead

[aruan]

The real problem, of course, is John's military service. He knows how to handle a gun, and handle himself under pressure - he would be a massive asset to Sherlock in taking down Moriarty's network. John has been known to do what he had to, with his bare hands (the Chinese acrobat) or his gun (the Golem) when things got hairy on cases. The fact that Sherlock's chosen to exclude him doesn't make a lot of sense.

Will John feel betrayed? He might forgive Sherlock's fall, might understand the snipers and needing Moriarty's network to back off him, but can he forgive that Sherlock (if he does exclude John for his dismantling of Moriarty's syndicate) still doesn't think of him as his partner, his back-up, when John has proven himself useful in exactly the way Sherlock needs right now?

[internetname]

Nicely done! I have only one real quibble. I think Moriarty has no intention of killing himself when he goes up to that rooftop. He has a gun because he always has a gun. Probably has a knife in his sock too

[agentotter]

I kind of agree, but I can't help thinking that no matter how many theories I read I'm still going to have the hell surprised out of me when the show comes back. :D But I'm also torn whether Sherlock is going to spend his time away with dismantling the web from the outside, or whether the "you ARE me" stuff from Moriarty is a signal that Sherlock is going to *become* him (since the whole world believes, after all, that Sherlock has been using Moriarty as a puppet all along) and take over his network, the better to destroy it.

The stuff that is most persistently a mystery to me in this ep that I just can't decipher to my satisfaction is the particular significance of the "IOU" and the "you are me" conversation. It'll be a great relief when the new series starts and I can just KNOW instead of living in a perpetual state of emotional confusion. :D

[internetname]

I comfort myself greatly with the knowledge that I can plan and scheme and figure all I want, the real thing will be better!

[aruan]

Oh, we're all definitely going to be left reeling whatever the conclusion - I mean, no one predicted Sherlock and John being saved by the Bee Gees at the pool.

Ooh, can I beg/bribe you to write the story where Sherlock becomes the mastermind of Moriarty's network? But in the show, I think Sherlock was just saying what Moriarty wanted to hear with that "I am you" speech on the roof. Moriarty thought him ordinary in the end, and he wouldn't have followed an ordinary man over a cliff. But he'd follow Sherlock Holmes, and Moriarty had to die before Sherlock could get on with whatever business he has planned.

Came across some incredible IOU meta the other day here, not finished reading it myself but it sounds FASCINATING.