Oh, I can’t believe it! This is amazing, @ebaeschnbliah. You surely remember how I kept going on about the changed layout of the Watson flat which drove me crazy. And now this!
And then of course the box falling open – this is a wonderful discovery.
@tendergingergirl nominated me to try to find a way to keep track of the new meta that has been written since s4 of bbc sherlock aired in January, 2017. This is my first experiment. The folder and contents will be viewable by anyone with the link. My thought is to create a document for each writer, which will consist of their meta master list, ie a title and/or description, with a link back to the meta on their tumblr (or ao3 or wherever else their meta is made available to readers). If you tag me when you reblog your list, I’ll try to make sure it’s included, or updated.
I don’t have the time or skills to run a library of the actual texts, or a wiki that’s group edited. I also don’t have the intestinal fortitude to deal with mischief, if that happens I’ll have to shut it down or find some other method.
I’m a “both-and” meta reader, I enjoy the many different perspectives that various fans bring to the show. You may find writers in this folder whose views are different from yours, and I hope if that’s the case, you will exercise your good manners and use the back button rather than leaving rude comments.
I’d like to include LOTS more meta writers, one of the really exciting things for me about this hiatus, is how many new people are writing analysis! So if you have written even just a few pieces, please make a “master list” and reblog it and tag me! I’d like to include you!
I had promised @ebaeschnbliah to write this meta sometime before Christmas when we were chatting about a few more of the infamous rainbows we had discovered on the show. So here goes…
Is there a metaphor for the closet on the show that’s more excruciatingly painful to watch than the bonfire scene in TEH? I don’t think so.
Because that bonfire is a giant closet metaphor: The whole thing goes up in flames (=John’s in love), John is writhing in pain (=heartbreak) and yet he just can’t speak out, no matter how hard he tries.
It’s very painful to watch.
And it’s more than just a metaphor for the closet; it’s a metaphor for what it’s like to FALL IN LOVE while you’re still in the closet.
Because being deeply in love while still trapped in the closet is absolutely horrible, and Gatiss knows exactly what he’s talking about in this episode here.
Wanna take a look at the bonfire (=closet) scene step by step? Come along.
The whole scene starts by giving us…the moon. The ‘moon’ is Mary, remember (x)?
The moon is watching the bonfire scene from above right from the start.
This tells us…
a) textually: that there’s no doubt that Mary has known right from the start that John’s in that bonfire.
b) subtextually: that Mary has known right from the start that John’s closeted (=in love with a man and not out about his same-sex feelings)!!!
The ‘moon’ (=Mary) is watching all of what’s going on. (And you will see in a minute that that moon shot is no coincidence and not just an establishing shot to tell us what time of day the scene is taking place at. The whole scene is perfectly framed between the moon at the beginning and the sun at the end. So, the moon here is definitely a metaphor, ie, subtext.)
Then we see John coming to. He is trapped (literally and subtextually). Because subtextually John is trapped in the closet now that he is about to marry a woman:
And surprise, surprise…John looks miserable about the whole situation he is trapped in.
How do we know, though, that this bonfire is supposed to be read as a metaphor for the closet? Well…I give you…THE RAINBOW!
So, a situation in which you’re trapped and that’s tagged with a rainbow for our subtextual-interpretation-convenience…Yep, that’s the closet.
Wanna see how horrible it is to be trapped in something like this. Here have a close-up of John trying to scream in horror.
Then we get a shot of Mary which again (visually) connects her to the moon (remember that this happens just a few seconds after the moon shot I showed you above): Over Mary’s right shoulder, there’s a light that’s perfectly round and has the size of the moon as if it were supposed to remind us of that celestial body.
I don’t want to repeat myself, but this tells us that Mary knows that the man she’s about to marry is in the closet.
(Also, note the black gloves that mark her out as a Sherlock!mirror, albeit a quite dark and distorted one. We will see Sherlock wear those same gloves just a few moments later in a rather prominent scene.)
Let’s skip the next part because I’m not too keen on Mary pretending to be innocent, Mrs Hudson pretending to like the idea that John has a female fiancée and Sherlock pretending that he isn’t totally freaking out about John being in danger.
Also, people have already written lots and lots of metas about the John/James distinction, so no need to go into that here.
Here comes the really horrifying part: John’s not only trapped in the closet; he’s trapped in the closet and IN LOVE! Remember how ‘fire’ is a metaphor for love on the show?
This ‘Guy Fawkes’ (who’s dressed exactly like John with his chequered shirt) is being set on fire:
And if ‘burning’ is a metaphor for being in love…look what kind of love John is experiencing right now. Look how huuuuge that fire (=love) is:
And the crowd (=the audience watching this TV show) doesn’t understand what’s going on and is cheering this ‘bonfire’ on.
Yeah, man, just one episode later, the TV audience of this show absolutely did cheer for Mary and John’s wedding, not understanding John’s situation.
In the bonfire (=closet), right at the centre of the metaphorical ‘fire’, John is trying, he is trying so, so hard to speak out, to scream…but he can’t. Because when you’re trapped in a loveless straight relationship with a woman, while actually being in love (=ablaze) with your same-sex best friend, you just CAN’T SPEAK OUT.
Try as he might, he can’t make a move (both literally and figuratively with Sherlock):
John’s in pain (heartbreak), he’s paralyzed, and he’s trapped (in a loveless relationship). But no sound escapes his open mouth…
It’s excruciating to watch. And I betcha Gatiss knew exactly what he was writing about here. Because let me tell you that’s what being in love while also being paralyzed, scared and ‘mute’ in the closet feels like.
Remember that subtextually it’s no coincidence that this bonfire incident happens right after Sherlock returned to John in TEH:
The moment Sherlock returned, John was basically trapped in his loveless relationship with Mary (=the bonfire-closet) while at the same time absolutely burning up because of his love for Sherlock.
Let’s get back to our bonfire.
The only one who can save John Watson from the horrible pain (=heartbreak) of burning alive (=being in love while being trapped, paralyzed and mute in the closet)…the only one who can save John from that horrible fate is Sherlock.
And Sherlock does. As others have pointed out long before me, the little-girl-Sherlock!mirror (with a hat similar to the train-guy!hat Sherlock wore earlier in this episode)…this Sherlock!mirror is the only one who can hear John’s muted screams in the bonfire (=closet). And she’s horrified by it.
And Sherlock (as Sherlock himself) is the one who can bodily drag John out of the bonfire (=closet). They will both get pretty singed doing that, though…because they’re both metaphorically ‘on fire’ for each other.:)
As I pointed out above, the two pairs of black gloves highlight the difference between Sherlock and his dark!mirror Mary in this shot: Sherlock’s gloved hands are tenderly cupping John’s face. Mary’s gloved hands seem to be holding John down (=Sherlock loves John; Mary is just controlling him).
And because John is Sherlock’s metaphorical ‘sun’ (while Mary, as shown above, is nothing but a cold moon watching on), John’s face here morphs into the sun shining above Baker Street (the metaphorical residence of Sherlock’s ‘soul’):
Let me come back to TSoT. I know, it is painful but there are some thoughts I would like to share. Much has been said about the symbolism of dancing in this episode and I would like to take a closer look.
What is the meaning of dancing in the individual scenes and how does it symbolise Sherlock’s emotional development?
Mrs Hudson discovers Sherlock dancing alone to the waltz he has composed for John and Mary.
MRS HUDSON: You were dancing. SHERLOCK: I was road-testing.
He deflects. He feels caught in the act which has been foreshadowed by Lestrade repeatedly using these very words in the Waters gang story. And the fact that he deflects proves that Sherlock allowed himself to dream of dancing with John even before we learn that he gave John lessons. And what is also important: he is dancing a waltz which is meant to be danced by two people, not alone.
Then there is the scene with Janine. He teaches her how to waltz (like he did with John) and confesses that he loves dancing. This is something he has not even told Mrs Hudson, else she would not have been so surprised. So we have Sherlock who wants to dance with Janine even though she is just a substitute for John – now as a dance partner, later on in HLV as his love interest. But there ist more.
SHERLOCK: I love dancing. I’ve always loved it.
And then he does a pirouette, an element of classical ballet usually executed alone. There has never been any mention of Sherlock and ballet dancing so I suppose it is something he did in the past ⇒ “I’ve always loved it”. He loved to dance alone in the past and now wants to dance with another person. Dancing alone is a thing of the past for him. He has realised that he would prefer to dance with a partner, in this case Janine as a stand-in for John.
(As a little extra, here is the ballet scene from TPLoSH: X in which male ballet dancers are presented as gay and bi. Would anyone put it past Moftiss to play with this association?)
Sorry in advance to put you through this again, but after deflection and confession there is of course sacrifice.
SHERLOCK: Both of you, now, go dance. We can’t just stand here. People will wonder what we’re talking about. JOHN: Right. MARY: And what about you?
I have no idea if this is another dig at Sherlock or true compassion, but it boils down to this: clever Mary feels that something is off. This is not how such things are supposed to go, weddings, pregnancy announcements, etc. Because of his sadness Sherlock has become the spectre at the feast (no need for Mycroft here). And Sherlock’s sacrifice (not dancing/being with John) is paired with John’s rejection:
JOHN: Well, we can’t all three dance. There are limits!
Followed by the horrible “closed curtains” remark. But there is also hope if we take John’s “We can’t all three dance” not just as a rejection but also as foreshadowing.
There will be no crime-solving trio, there will be no happy family plus uncle in series 4. Because in this show only two can dance and we know who these will ultimately be.
What a nice post this is, @gosherlocked! Thanks for sharing your insight!
Also, to add onto the clues we have about ‘Sherlock + dancing’ in the past, remember how Moriarty taunted him, using the kidnapped old lady’s voice: “I like… to watch you… dance.”
And Sherlock GETS it, because at the pool, when he brings the memory stick for Moriarty, he tells him: “All your little puzzles, making me dance… all
to distract me from this.”
So this, imo, tells me that Moriarty knows
about a young Sherlock who used to dance. And Sherlock is aware of that, therefore his little quip there. Maybe this was among the things from Sherlock’s ‘life story’ that Mycroft ‘blabbed about’, or maybe because young Moriarty had seen him with his own eyes (…and that’s when Moriarty developed a crush on/started stalking him?). I favour the latter, because in TGG they took pains to tell us how this dates back to the Carl Powers case, and how that was young Moriarty’s first murder, and young Sherlock’s first case (”Started young, didn’t you?”). And they even made John be jealous of that fact for good measure. So, there’s that.
Even Mycroft inside the flight of the dead, when he calls Sherlock on deducing that e-mail and telling him that this was ‘text book’, says: “Give him a puzzle… and watch him dance.” And he moves his umbrella dramatically pointing it at Sherlock for emphasis.
So my bet is Sherlock danced most likely ballet, and of course, flawlessly. 😉 That’s my headcanon. I mean, look at that pirouette! ❤
Therapist: What about his brother? John: Mycroft? He’s fine. I mean, obviously normal and fine are both relative terms when it comes to Sherlock and Mycroft. Therapist: [Chuckles.] Obviously. But, I didn’t mean Mycroft. I meant the other one. John: Which other one? Therapist: You know, the secret one. John: Oh, that was just something… I said. I’m sure there’s… [He pauses.] How did you know about that? I didn’t tell you that. Therapist: You must have done. John: I really didn’t.
Images 1–5 above: From The Lying Detective, starting at approximately 1:02:58 Image 6: Zoom in on reaction of female agent in background when John first says the word “brother”
First of all, I need to make it clear that this catch—and it’s a great one—1000% belongs to @discordantwords. Not me. The only reason I’m building out a new post instead of reblogging the original is because when I saw the stills I went “Eh, maybe?” but when I saw the video I went “Woah, YES.” So this felt like something that needed a gifset.
The wheel turns and there’s really nothing new under the sun… It struck me that just about everything we see in Series 4 of BBC Sherlock, seems to have happened before, in one form or another. Which I believe is strong evidence for EMP theory (or at least something similar). I’m sure several people have already commented on this, but I’ll try to write down a whole list of what I’ve found this far – feel free to add to it!
Events in The Six Thatchers
1. Sherlock (in a Secret Service meeting about how to cover up him shooting Magnussen): “I am taking it seriously; what makes you think I’m not taking it seriously?”
Earlier event: In TEH, the Gothic fan in Anderson’s Holmes fan club, theorizing that Sherlock and Moriarty are attracted to each other: “I do take it seriously. I don’t think we should wear hats.”
2. Sherlock is brought back to London to figure out how Moriarty can be transmitting his “Miss me?” message on every screen in the country. Sherlock’s plan is to sit and wait for Jim’s “spider web” to quiver, rather than trying to find Moriarty himself.
Earlier event: In TEH Sherlock was brought back to London to foil a terrorist attack on the city. At first, he was just waiting for one of his markers (“rats”) to make a move.
3. In one case, Sherlock is in 221B, holding a plastic bag with ice and a human thumb in it.
Earlier event: In ASiB Mrs Hudson discovers a plastic bag in the fridge of 221B, containing human thumbs.
Super interesting theory! Where are all the mind palace moments in S4? Were there any?? Was it all? I love this stuff so much
this meta is actually rly cool and is organized so well its like ur actually following a story !!!! reminds me of the theory of morality: mary v. moriarty !!!!
Thank you so much, @selinaphile. That is a lovely compliment and I’m thrilled you took the time to check it out.
A very cursory search on “sherlock holmes 1893” shows me that FINA (the final problem) was published in the strand that year, as well as CROO, GREE, RESI, and NAVA. Having recently read all of those with the @astudyincanon book club, each of those stories mirrors or highlights some aspect of the central relationship. A love triangle, self sacrifice, betrayal by a close family member or crony.
I’m guessing the FINA connection is the most important, maybe another indication that “reichenbaching the show” is part of the plan?
Tagging some of the usual suspects, hope that’s ok.
The bloh jpeg, the picture of John they changed, the adress isn’t the same as the real blog’s from what I would see, the 18493. Even reading the post is horrible because nothing in here makes sense.
Even when you compare how John updates his blog, you see it’s not the same:
It’s obvious in the second one that he’s definitely not writing anything on his blog.
The Hit counter is definitely suspicious because it vanished before S4 began.
As for what it means, I don’t know. I get the feeling that we’re not supposed to see the date is wrong from the get go.
It’s like, you know that poem, it’s always 18… what year is it again? 18 something? And there’s a 9, right?
If you tell me it’s always 1894, 1893 or 1895, I wouldn’t be able to tell you which one is the right one.
Emelia Riccoletti died in december 1894. It’s always 1895.
But for someone who glances at it, when you always know it’s 18 something+ a 9, when you don’t pay attention, you go past this.
It’s because there’s one number too many you can’t help but look back. Like the funny gravestones in TFP.
John isn’t writing his blog. In fact, the blog is the fakest fake to have faked this world.
The only one writing anything here is Sherlock.
You think he’s texting, but he always has his phone when we see the case file, from that, you can wonder if he’s not tapping what we’re seeing as we speak.
There’s no John, but it’s only him there. Who else would write this case?
He never stops!
And yes, John wrote on his blog 221Back! But Sherlock wrote to twitter 221BringIt.
We may even speculate that, because this is nothing but infos on the case and none of the little things John says like, oh Sherlock was so baffled, or Lestrade came and gave us that case, that this isn’t John’s style. He rarely goes straight to explain what the case is about without telling us how he and Sherlock are. Look, not once can you know who wrote it! Sherlock’s name never appears!
NURSE CORNISH: I love his blog.
You believe in EMP from Sherlock’s POV? You think EMP’s John knows this isn’t real?
The blog is an utter fake, and Sherlock knows how it’s supposed to look but missed a few precious details. 18… something 9. 18493, that’d do. It’s 1895, but he forgot it was a 5 and hesitates between a 4 and a 3. So 18493.
I mean… that’s literally how I remember the number. I can’t unsee it now.
It’s not 1895. It’s… well not a 5, a 4 or a 3? Oh, let’s put both, that way I’m right! 18493. Nailed it.
Because it’s Sherlock’s EMP, he is the one writing the cases and John’s blog is only a facade and because John isn’t real, he can’t modify his blog.
Sherlock is using his phone/heart to write what happens next. It’d do for now. Sorry John, Sherlock has taken over your blog. And Nurse Cornish is right.
The blog we see in S4 is Sherlock’s.
I have been pointing out the exact same things about the blog for months now, @impossibleleaf. (X) (X) (X) There is literally no doubt in my mind that we are meant to understand the blog is now being ‘written’ by Sherlock, as we are in his head still from HLV.
I love your explanation for how he got to the number 18493. That is the most Sherlockian idea I have ever read and makes so much sense in his head.
Wonderful explanation, @sarahthecoat, @impossibleleaf and @monikakrasnorada. And isn’t it exciting that we get such a blatant signal? We all wondered about the exchange with Nurse Cornish in TLD although in TST we already saw that John technically did not write his blog. Love this. @ebaeschnbliah
Yes, this is a very good explanation. It makes sense that Sherlock views certain things as highly important and others as trivialities …. decorations for his mind-stage its main purpose. :)))
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