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.
Evolution- Deductions vs Mind Palace: A Comprehensive Look
“Sometimes a deception is so audacious, so outrageous that you can’t see it even when it’s staring you in the face.”
Disclaimer #1: This is where you get off if you are not on the EMP train. Sorry, but the entire reason for all of these posts boils down to EMP theory and what it means for the show as we’ve seen it.
Disclaimer #2: I know. There are loads of amazing meta out there, pointing to different origins for Sherlock’s continued mind palace wanderings. The pool. The fall. There’s amazing proof that could back it up all the way to the gay pilot. There is difference of opinion on when it began even within the diehard group of us that have been crying EMP since TAB. And, I’m not trying to disprove any of those theories or ideas. Like I said, there’s loads of proof for all of them. This is my interpretation and what I believe is happening and why. If it turns out that the beginning point ends up somewhere else in the timeline, I will not be hurt at all. Because, for me, if EMP ends up being what is truly happening within the show, I will take any starting point they want to give us. It’s all about Sherlock in the end. His journey and what he reveals and understands of himself.
Disclaimer #3: EMP, as a theory, was never meant to ‘excuse’ what we didn’t like about the show, and especially S4. It was never meant to be a bandaid over plotholes or an eyepatch to hide what we didn’t like seeing. It’s not to excuse Mofftiss’ heinous comments or to prop them up as infallible and almighty. It was truly only ever an idea we saw clear evidence in support of. We didn’t go looking for a way to shape this theory, as some other theories in the past have done. We aren’t- and will never- claim that anyone that doesn’t believe or support this theory are wrong. Or that this is the only theory for what could possibly be happening within the show.
I have no illusions that I am in any way, trying to reveal something new about this episode. It’s been talked to death, examined, meta’d to within an inch of its life. None of these mind palace posts are meant to highlight new information. I am merely trying to illustrate the continued expansion and use of the mind palace device in a linear fashion. There is a method to my madness, I promise. 😉
So, all of that being said, this meta series (X)(X)(X)(X)(X) is based on EMP starting with Mary shooting Sherlock.
tl;dr- In case you don’t want to read K’s of words of no new info- HLV is mind palace heaven. The amount of mind palace in this ep is astronomical, and thus, this theory (that I’m trying to prove) remains in place: With each consecutive episode of the show, the mind palace moments we see, increase in length and intensity.
I really hope that this reading of tfp, as John’s tab, which @the-7-percent-solution has been talking about since practically the moment the episode aired, and which has been expanded upon incredibly skillfully by @marcespot, gains the traction it deserves, because it results in some absolutely gorgeous textual call-and-response, and unfolds some truly beautiful johnlock dynamics.
Waterfall vs. Well
In TAB, Sherlock comes to the understanding that, no matter how brutally he feels he needs to wrestle with his inner demons, and no matter how brutally they beat him, with John by his side, everything is fine. John in Sherlock’s dream is a super manly man, with full control over his pistol (hur hur), and the ability to stand with Sherlock, even in this place where his inner Moriarty is beating the crap out of him, and his emotions are on full, gushing display.
John is all he needs, in order to take the leap at the end of dream. He does it willingly, joyfully, with complete confidence.
John, on the other hand, has not managed his emotions at all, which is abundantly clear from the entirety of s4, and I think, might account for a lot of the ooc stuff we see in tst and tld. He’s caught in a deep conflict, between the dissatisfaction of the hetero cover story life he’s chosen for himself, and the real connection he wants to have, with Sherlock. He isn’t the man he wants to be.
Rather than the free flow of emotion, potentially overwhelming, and powerful, that Sherlock experiences at the end of tab, John is deeply stuck. I know on a textual level everything about the well in tfp is dumb, but on the level of the dream, it’s incredibly profound.
LEONARD: You know I could arrest you? VELMA: What for? LEONARD: Wearing a dress like that. VELMA: Would you like me to take it off? LEONARD: Then I’d really have to press charges. VELMA: Press away.
VELMA (offscreen): Isn’t that how they got started? LEONARD (offscreen, with Mycroft mouthing along): Who? VELMA (offscreen): Adam and Eve. LEONARD (offscreen, with Mycroft mouthing along): Oh, them. VELMA (offscreen): And that turned out okay. LEONARD (offscreen): You think so?
VELMA: Now, what was all that about arresting me? (She flicks the ash from her cigarette onto the floor beside her. Mycroft smiles.) LEONARD (offscreen): Well, maybe not arresting you. VELMA (offscreen): No? LEONARD (on the footage): I could just keep you under close watch.
VELMA: Very close? LEONARD (offscreen): Uh-huh.
VELMA (offscreen): Shame. I was looking forward to putting myself into the hands of the authorities. LEONARD: You were? VELMA: Fingerprinting … (Turning back, Mycroft reaches over and stubs out a lit cigarette in an ashtray.) VELMA (offscreen): … being searched … (Mycroft turns to the screen.) VELMA: … thoroughly.
It’s the little things that make John’s mind bungalow so freaking good.
Velma (Wilhelmina, William) and Leonard (brave lion, my GOODNESS) are delicious together.
Leonard flirts like John does: he comes on clearly enough, but backs down again to allow room for a “no.” (“Well, maybe not arresting you…I could just keep you under close watch.”)
Velma smokes. Nice touch? Nice touch.
John realises that Sherlock wants him: Velma wants to put herself in authoritative hands; Velma wants to be searched thoroughly; Leonard is pleasantly surprised.
I LOVE THIS.
The Final Problem isn’t about sex. John’s figured out that it won’t be a barrier. It’s about whether he can trust Sherlock. It’s about love.
And what about voyeur Mycroft? Well, he’s been watching them from the start, hasn’t he? Bit embarrassing, that. Probably has cameras in 221B. Probably enjoys himself a bit too much.
It’s John’s idea to disrupt the movie. It’s okay for Mycroft to keep an eye on Sherlock as family, but that’s all. The rest is private.
I was thinking, what’s the point of having Eurus become unresponsive after she opened up to Sherlock and everything’s okay? What does that add to the plot? Ansolutely nothing. Not it you don’t add emotional context to it. Now, we know John is most probably hospitalized while dreaming up this story and that Eurus is John’s mirror (watch this if you didn’t already know all that). This is all in his head, mixed with his perception of what’s really happening around him. So, if we apply emotional context and change imaginary Eurus for the real John, we get this exchange about the condition he’s in at the end:
MYCROFT: There’s no possibility he’ll ever be able to leave the hospital. MR. HOLMES: When can we see him? MYCROFT: There’s no point. MRS. HOLMES: How dare you say that?! MYCROFT: He won’t talk. He won’t communicate with anyone in any way. He’s passed beyond our view. There are no words that can reach him now. MRS. HOLMES: Sherlock? [Montage of Sherlock taking his violin with him to hospital every single day, to play a special piece he composed for a comatose John, always hoping he can hear him, and that he’d eventually wake up.]
The shots and their order also drive home this idea. As soon as Eurus responds to Sherlock’s playing, she stands looking like a hospitalized patient
–white gown and all–
next to that bed, from which she grabs her own violin. Then they cut to John talking to Sherlock over the phone, asking him to come to where he is, to reach him, while literally looking at the words “Miss You”. And immediately after, we get a shot of Eurus, eyes closed, repeating the same melody Sherlock is playing; because John’s actually learned it by heart and re-playing it in his head. He’s in that hospital bed missing Sherlock and wishing he’d return soon to see him and play for him again.
He even imagines Sherlock’s parents and Mycroft giving him a visit, because of course they would support Sherlock in a time like this! And I do think Harry went as well–but they couldn’t possibly have shown us such a spoiler. Enough was with the “tell my sister I’m here” message in the sand!
I just think his interpretation is the only one that adds a logical, poignant meaning to this scene and the story. ‘No words can reach him now’ becomes a statement on the power of ‘words unspoken’ between Sherlock and John. And of course, not only means Sherlock can actually reach John’s ears–unlike what he may be told–, but that he could always reach John’s heart.
John eagerly waits for Sherlock’s visits, everyday.
This sounds crazy, but hear me out because this would make for a great fix-it fic even if none of this is real and I’d love to read it.
So. Remember the beginning of His Last Vow? We see John dreaming and Sherlock doping again? These two ideas hold a lot of weight in the narrative of series 4 and TAB. I believe we’re seeing alternate realities converge into one to create a mind palace sequence that doesn’t belong to any character, but belongs instead to the viewer.
Remember when Molly said “Forward or Backward?” as Sherlock got shot? The answer was backward. I think everything shown from that moment on has been something either Sherlock or John has fantasized before that moment – in the month of their separation. We saw the narrative as going forward, when really we were being filled in as to what happened “backward”.
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