Rewatch: Sherlock - A Study in Pink (Part 2)

[hells_half_acre]

Part 1



"Did I get anything wrong?"
"Harry and I don't get on, never have. [...] Harry's short for Harriet."
"Harry's your sister. Sister. There's always something."
-There's always something. I think that's also important to remember about Sherlock...I mean, it's why we have a story really, the fact that Sherlock isn't perfect - that he misses crucial things.

Also, I used to have this whole theory about John and Harry's relationship. Harry and him have NEVER gotten on. And I kind of wondered: what kind of person would John Watson NOT get along with? Also, what kind of sibling relationship would have set John up as someone who would be able to live with Sherlock Holmes? Anyway, at one point, I developed this whole image of Harry Watson as a cruel older sister who was constantly belittling John and making him to feel somewhat worthless...but now I can't remember my reasoning behind that. So, I honestly have no idea. Maybe John and Harry are just like me and my older sister - we get along fine as long as the conversation is kept on a superficial level, but fundamentally we are just night and day when it comes to personalities, and it's extremely hard for us to understand each other on any sort of deeper level. I'd still describe us as getting along though...but perhaps John is Harry are more antagonistic than me and my sister. Some people are. I have a friend whose family seems to show affection by teasing each other to the point of (what I see as) cruelty, yet they see nothing wrong with it as though siblings are supposed to be that cutting. So, maybe it's a cross between those two - they don't understand each other, and they were raised to tease each other...to the point where they've just got this horribly antagonistic relationship when they're together, so they try to stay away from each other as much as possible.

"A colleague? How did you get a colleague? Did he follow you home?"
-The thing is, we see Sherlock being VERY antagonistic towards Anderson and Sally, and we see it bite him in the ass later...but part of me really doesn't think it's unwarranted. I don't think Sherlock's really ever that nasty when unprovoked. I mean, yes, insensitive, but not nasty. In my mind, there's a backstory there in which Sally and Anderson really DESERVE what they get from Sherlock - but we just never see it. And Sally and Anderson don't seem the types to analyze whether they might deserve it or not, so in their minds, maybe Sherlock is being antagonistic for no reason. It might come down to the "freak" thing, who knows.

Sherlock really shouldn't be allowed at the crime scene without putting on the gear, but, I guess if I'm going to start complaining about procedural realism, I should start watching a different show...or, well, stop watching any cop show on TV.

"Shut-up"
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking. It's annoying."
-I just like this exchange.

You can't feel wet and dry with rubber gloves to the degree that Sherlock does unless something is sopping wet. Just saying.

My long-time happily married friend pointed out that wedding bands are ALWAYS polished on the inside, whether you take them off or leave them on.

"What am I doing here?"
"Helping me make a point."
"I'm supposed to be helping you pay the rent."
"But this is more fun."
"Fun? There's a woman lying here dead."
"Perfectly sound analysis but I was hoping you'd go deeper."
-How intently Sherlock watches John, it's a test...like the apartment, Sherlock is wanting John to BE someone. He's pinning hopes on him.

"It's obvious, isn't it?"
"It's not obvious to me."
"Dear god, what must it be like in your funny little heads. It must be so boring."
-Not to sound arrogant, but I've often wondered the same thing as Sherlock does here...not because I'm a genius, but because I have a very interesting brain that, from what I can tell, does things a little differently than other people's brains. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. I've often thought that people would pay admission to ride around in my brain for a bit...though, I'd have to have a disclaimer/warning for accidental kinky porn and graphic violence.

"That's fantastic"
"Do you know you do that out loud?"
"Sorry, I'll shut-up."
"No, it's...fine."
-I love how Sherlock doesn't know what to make of John's admiration of his abilities. I think it's better than he was hoping for, in terms of hoping that John was friendship material...and Sherlock is like "Is he really this perfect? This can't be right. How does one respond to this?"

"Rachel? She was writing Rachel?"
"No, she was leaving an angry message in German. Of course, she was writing Rachel!"
-When I die, I'm totally going to write an angry message in German...haha. Sorry, I just love Sherlock's "don't be an idiot" voice/expression/sarcasm here.

The extras in the stairwell should have been instructed better. The black dude's movements are unrealistic for the situation. (/rant-in-which-I-pretend-to-be-a-professional-at-something-when-I've-only-done-it-five-times.)

I love how Sherlock looks like he's having a surprise orgasm whenever something intellectually excites him.

I also love how slow things move as soon as the whirlwind of Sherlock leaves the building...how we actually take the time to watch John hobble down the stairs and out onto the street.

"You're not his friend. He doesn't have friends. So who are you?"
"I'm nobody, I just met him."
"Okay, bit of advice then. Stay away from that guy."
"Why?"
"You know why he's here? He's not paid or anything. He likes it. He gets off on it. The weirder the crime the more he gets off. And you know what, one day just showing up won't be enough, one day we'll be standing around a body and Sherlock Holmes will be the one that put it there."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he's a psychopath. Psychopath's get bored."
-John's first glimpse into how OTHER people see Sherlock. It's very important that John doesn't see Sherlock this way. I'll get to that later, because I think John's seemingly unique way of seeing Sherlock is actually what makes Sherlock fall in love with him.
-I also love how John describes himself as “nobody”...John is very good at not looking like he’s special at all, when in fact, he is. Like I said, he’d make an awesome assassin. It reminds me of the Gray Men in the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordon. I always thought they were the most terrifying “villain,” because they blend in so well that you literally cannot see them!

Unlike the cabs, I DID fall for the mislead here and I thought that Mycroft might be Moriarty...or, I at least didn't realize that it was Mycroft. Mind you, I wasn't as well versed on Sherlock Holmes canon, and I didn't KNOW there was a Mycroft Holmes...so, yeah, totally blaming them duping me on that.

I like the way Anthea kind of looks at John like he's a funny naive little duck.

"Have a seat, John."
"You know, I've got a phone. It's very clever and all that, but you could just phone me, on my phone."
-I love the delivery of John's line there. Also, these are the first lines that John and Mycroft ever say to each other face to face. Mycroft giving an order and John not only disobeying, but pointing out that in his cleverness, Mycroft is actually being ridiculous and stupid. Mycroft really does botch this meeting from the get-go. I can see why he always wants Sherlock to do his leg-work for him, because he sucks at it.

"...The leg must be hurting you. Sit down."
"I don't want to sit down."
"You don't seem very afraid."
"You don't seem very frightening."
"*laughs* yes, the bravery of the soldier. Bravery is by far the kindest word for stupidity don't you think?..."
-And here's Mycroft's second mistake. Best not to insult soldiers around Captain John Watson, buddy. He's seen better men than you die.
-Also, why would John sit down when there is only one chair? He’d be deliberately putting Mycroft in an even greater position of power.

"...What is your connection with Sherlock Holmes?"
"I don't have one. I barely know him. I met him ...yesterday."
"Mm, and since yesterday you've moved in with him, and now you're solving crimes together. Might we expect a happy announcement by the end of the week?"
-It makes me wonder if even Mycroft isn't aware of what Sherlock's sexuality is. I don’t think he is.

"Who are you?"
"An interested party."
"Interested in Sherlock, why? I'm guessing you're not friends."
"You've met him, how many friends do you imagine he has?"
-John, I don't think, has realized that Sherlock might have difficulty making friends yet.

"I'm the closest thing to a friend Sherlock Holmes is capable of having"
-Capable? Interesting word choice. The more Mycroft talks to Sherlock, the more I get the feeling like Mycroft really has no idea who his brother is. Furthermore, I think he's got an extremely low opinion of Sherlock and what Sherlock is capable of.

"And what's that?"
"An enemy."
"An enemy?"
"In his mind, surely. If you were to ask him, he'd probably say his archenemy. He does love to be dramatic."
"Well thank god you're above all that."
-BURN! Oh John, I love you.

*John reads Sherlock’s text*
"I hope I'm not distracting you."
-And I love this, because Mycroft is THROWN. He is doing his whole intimidation routine, and there's John, taking the time to READ A TEXT. I mean, even in the most mundane conversations, if my phone beeps, I'll wait until the person is done talking and then I'll say "excuse me while I read this for a second, just to see if it's important. Sorry!" But no, John is just like "I wonder if this text is more interesting than this strange fellow who's trying to intimidate me."

"Do you plan on continuing your association with Sherlock Holmes?"
"I could be wrong, but I think that's none of your business."
"It could be."
"It really couldn't."
-Oh John, I love you.

"I worry about him, constantly."
-And here Mycroft is telling the truth, I think...doesn't make him any less misguided. He worries about Sherlock, but he doesn't know him... and maybe that's why he worries. Mycroft insists that he and Sherlock have a lot in common, but I don't think they really do. It's like me and my sister again... we have similar taste in TV, sexual positions (shut-up, we talk okay), and we have a good time when we visit (she's visiting this weekend actually), but we just don't UNDERSTAND each other. We're too different. We prioritize our lives differently and different things make our lives happy ones. And when we forget to keep the conversations superficial, we can piss each other off to a degree that few other people can manage.

The therapist notes...it's Mycroft's last ditch attempt to intimidate John, and it's another huge mistake. Don't try to intimidate someone with trust issues by violating their privacy....you are not going to win them over to your side.

"I imagine people have already warned you to stay away from him, but I can see from your left hand that's not going to happen."
"My what?"
"Show me?"
"Don't-"
"Remarkable."
"What is?"
"....when you walk with Sherlock Holmes, you see the battlefield. You've seen it already."
"What's wrong with my hand?"
"You have an intermittent tremor in your left-hand. Your therapist thinks it's PTSD, she thinks you're haunted by memories of your military service."
"Who the hell are you, how do you know that?"
-John is angry as soon as Mycroft brought up the hand - something he tried to hide from Mike earlier. He's seething. He doesn't want his disability put on display and that's yet another mistake on Mycroft's part. Sherlock didn't bring up the hand - perhaps because he didn't know about it and the limp was more obvious, but still, that hand is why John can't be a surgeon and I don't think it's something he wants pointed out in neon.

"Fire her. She's got it the wrong way 'round. You're under stress right now and your hand is perfectly steady. You're not haunted by the war, you miss it. Welcome back. Time to choose a side Doctor Watson."
-Firstly, missing war is actually just as much a symptom of PTSD as being haunted by it. So, it's Mycroft who shouldn't be a therapist, not the therapist.
-Secondly, Mycroft tells this to John in his lovely condescending way, like there's something WRONG with missing the war...he makes John feel wrong about wanting to be on a dangerous adventure, whereas Sherlock smiles at John like it's the best thing about John EVER. Also, if the battlefield is with Sherlock, telling John to choose a side is like telling John that the battlefield is the WRONG side to choose.
-Thirdly, what side do you think he's going to choose, Mycroft? The side that smiles at him and want to go on adventures? Or the side that tries to intimidate him by driving him out to warehouses in the middle of the night, calls bravery/soldiers stupid, and acts like everything about him is a giant fault? Well played there, Mycroft.
-That all said, I do think this is a test of John on Mycroft's part - to see if he's easily intimidated, to see if Sherlock is going to be disappointed. In that respect, Mycroft DOES do a good job of letting John prove himself, both in bravery and loyalty.

GUN! You also have to wonder if it's Sherlock's "could be dangerous" that makes John get the gun, or if it's the meeting with Mycroft.

"Listen, you're boss, any chance you could not tell him this is where I went?"
"Sure"
"You've told him already haven't you."
"Yeah,"
"Do you ever get any free time?"
"Oh yeah, lots....bye!"
-I love how John tries to pick up someone who is essentially one of his kidnappers.

Sherlock overdosing on nicotine patches... that's not healthy, Sherlock.

"My phone?"
"Don't want to use mine...it's on the website."
"Mrs. Hudson's got a phone."
"Yeah, she's downstairs, I tried shouting but she didn't hear."
"I was the other side of London!"
"There's no hurry."
-And here you get Sherlock focused on the case...and he's beginning to be less and less concerned about whether John is the person he's seeking or not. He's not as worried about offending him. Possibly because John's already passed his tests. John liked the flat, he was fine around a dead body, he's impressed with Sherlock's abilities. Sherlock already has a plan to get rid of the limp to seal the deal. And really, if there's going to be a deal at all, then John has to be okay with Sherlock calling him to travel across London and hand him a phone.

"You brought me here to send a text."
-Annoyed... and this, I think, is the first time that John is openly annoyed at Sherlock while Sherlock is right there. John's not a saint, and he might be impressed by Sherlock's ability, and willing to put up with a lot...but I like the fact that Sherock annoys him just like Sherlock annoys everybody. The different between John and everybody else is how John RESPONDS to Sherlock.

"What's wrong?"
"I just met a friend of yours."
"A friend?!"
"An enemy."
"Oh, which one?"
"Your archenemy according to him. Do people have archenemies?"
"Did he offer you money to spy on me?"
"Yes"
"Did you take it."
"No"
"Pity, we could have split the fee. Think it through next time."
-Brilliant. The faces throughout this exhange are brilliant. Sherlock's especially. I also like the differences in his voice... the way he says "did he offer you money to spy on me?" Just, really well done all 'round.

"That's... That's the pink lady's case. That's Jennifer Wilson's case."
"Yes, obviously...oh, perhaps, I should mention, I didn't kill her."
"I never said you did."
"Why, given the text I just had you send and the fact I have the case, it's a logical assumption."
"Do people usually assume you're the murderer."
"Now and then, yes."
-I love Sherlock's smile here. 'Aren't people silly, John?' 'Isn't amusing that people think I'm a murderer sometimes?'

"Why didn't I think of that."
"Because you're an idiot."
"No, don't look like that, practically everybody is."
-See, this is how Sherlock USUALLY is with people. What he does with Sally and Anderson is above and beyond, which to me means they did something to warrant that. He walks John through the thought process...not because John is special, but because that's his default unless someone isn't receptive to it.

"Have you talked to the police?"
"Four people are dead, there isn't time to talk to the police."
"So why are you talking to me?"
"Mrs. Hudson took my skull."
"So I'm basically filling in for your skull."
"Relax, you're doing fine. Well?"
"Well what?"
"Well you could just sit there and watch telly."
"You want me to come with you?"
"I like company when I go out and I think better when I talk aloud. The skull just attracts attention, so..."
-Sherlock has an amused smile throughout this exchange. This is Sherlock joking. John's not really replacing his skull, Sherlock is just teasing...the line that gives it away is "I like company when I go out" - I think he's telling the truth here. So, my question is, before John, what company did Sherlock have? None. Sherlock is fundamentally as lonely as John. He's ostracized for being too intelligent and having an abrasive personality, and he has an abrasive personality because he's ostracized. Sherlock may choose not to involve himself in romantic relationships and maybe being alone DOES protect him to a degree - but that doesn't mean that Sherlock's isn't lonely...isn't, perhaps, just as lonely as John is. John is home from the war and no one understands...and Sherlock...well, no one understands Sherlock either.

"Problem?"
"Yeah, Sgt. Donovan."
"What about her?"
"She said you get off on this - you enjoy it."
"And I said dangerous and here you are."
"Damn it."
-Again, this just points out WHY these two men get along...how much they have in common. They're both lonely men with a thirst for adventure, and they both have a drive to do good in the world - though, I'd argue that they're both Chaotic Good, if I was doing their D&D charts (I apologize to those of you who don't know how alignments work in D&D.)
-Also again, we see the dislike of Donovan.

"...It's the frailty of genius John, it needs an audience..."
"yeah"
-Hehehe

"Sherlock, anything on the menu whatever you want free, on the house for you and your date."
"I'm not his date."
"This man got me off a murder charge..."
-One thing I love about the way they did this was that 1)No one knows what Sherlock's sexual orientation is. 2)Everyone is cool with whatever it might be. It just sort of...breaks stereotypes a bit. You have Mrs. Hudson, who's from an older generation that may hold different "values", and she's so cool with it that she openly ships them. And you have Angelo, who's this former thug house-breaker who was suspected of murder, and he's just thrilled that Sherlock might not be eating pasta all lonely in the corner any more.
-Also, I love the whole exchange between Angelo and Sherlock, with Angelo talking him up so much and so thankful, and Sherlock is like "You still spent time in prison for housebreaking, you kind idiot." I also love that Sherlock's "friends" are his former clients...all people who at one time or another found themselves (or a loved one) on the other side of the law - for right or wrong.

"People don't have archenemies."
"Sorry?"
"In real life. There are no archenemies in real life. Doesn't happen."
"Doesn't it? Sounds a bit dull."
"So who did I meet?"
"What do real people have then in their real lives?"
-I love the way Sherlock says "real" in that last line there. Or, I guess I should say Benedict. I love the way he's interpreted that line...because Sherlock is annoyed at the language. IMO, he's annoyed that John is basically suggesting that Sherlock isn't "real", which is the mistake that everybody makes with Sherlock and something that he clearly doesn't like. (I'll talk more about this later.)

"Friends, people they know, people they like, people they don't like, girlfriends, boyfriends."
"Like I was saying, dull."
"You don't have a girlfriend then?"
"Girlfriend, no. Not really my area."
"Oh right. Do you have a boyfriend? Which is fine, by the way."
"I know it's fine."
"So you have a boyfriend?"
"No"
"Right, okay. You're unattached, just like me. Fine, good."
-I love seeing Sherlock's realization here. Why is Sherlock attuned to John, but not Molly? I think Sherlock prefers Molly to live in hope, because he can use her crush as a way to get what he wants. With John, Sherlock wants friendship not sexual attraction. I think Sherlock doesn't consider Molly a friend because he KNOWS that she's interested in him sexually...so he doesn't realize that she'll still do him favours as a friend. He might keep her in this weird waiting state, because he assumes that it's the only way he can have her and access to the morgue. Of course, the counter-argument is that Sherlock honestly doesn’t realize that Molly is infatuated with him...in which case, why does he recognize that John might be trying to pick him up, but he can’t see the same in Molly? Is he just paying more attention to John?

"John, um, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work and while I'm flattered by your interest, I'm really not looking for any-"
"No, no, I'm not asking, no. I'm just saying, it's all fine."
"Good. Thank you."
-AWKWARD....and adorable. I do love how awkward Sherlock is with letting John down. Again, I also like the way he doesn't confirm or deny the sexual orientation. It's not "oh, sorry, you misunderstood, I'm not gay", it's "I'm married to my work." Likewise, John doesn't confirm or deny the sexual orientation either, it's not "WHOA! No! I'm completely straight! I'm so straight that I've shagged girls on 3 continents!" It's just, "No, I didn't intend for that to sound like I was picking you up, sorry. I just meant to say that I'm not a bigoted asshole and it came out all unintentionally flirty."

"Oh that's clever. Is it clever? Why's it clever?"
-Haha, oh Sherlock, I love you.

"Don't stare."
"You're staring."
"We can't both stare."
-For some reason I feel like this is a profound metaphor about their friendship...it's either that, or I've just over-metaed myself.

The chase.
-My friend laughed at this scene, because of the way it set up the relationship perfectly: John is the one that says sorry in Sherlock's wake. ;)

"That was ridiculous. That was the most ridiculous thing I've ever done."
"And you invaded Afghanistan."
"*laughs* that wasn't just me."
-Another thing I like about this series is that a lot of buddy-cop shows (as I like to call them) work from the premise of "these people can't stand each other and yet they have to work together" and you either eventually see why they become friends or you get stuck in this sort of quagmire of the long-suffering partner and the idiot/genius/whatever dude. What I really like here is that Sherlock and John aren't FORCED to be together. Either one of them could leave at any time... and it's not just handed to us like "Oh, but they won't because then there'd be no show, so just believe it, okay?" Instead we genuinely see WHY they get along. WHY they enjoy each other's company. We get to see them have FUN and it's not just the "chase the bad guys fun" it's the DOMESTIC FUN of telling jokes and giggling.

Then the way Sherlock smiles at John as John goes to the door and gets his cane from Angelo....awww...it's basically Sherlock's way of seeing "See what I did there? You aren't broken at all. You're brilliant and I want you to chase me around London for always, okay?"

Part 3