I really don’t think that Sherlock “woke up” the first time we see the modern scene in TAB. Imho, he goes a level down, not up. Like, I know that this stuff is nearly two years old, but let me sum it up, for posterity. Maybe I am wrong, maybe I am making it too complicated but anyway, this is how I see those scenes.
What happens here in this scene? Holmes takes cocaine. This is Holmes inside the 21st century!Sherlock’s mind, and in this scene and do forgive me for saying this…
He goes deeper into himself. He has a conversation with Moriarty….
Then the MP begins to fall apart. The Elephant falls (does not shatter though)
Sherlock eventually falls into his chair
Aaaand wakes up. Or does he? Yeah… no, I don’t think.
And why? Because:
First of all, why does he, completely randomly start speaking in Watson’s voice? I think it’s because this scene is a part of the fantasy Holmes has after he takes cocaine. The scene with Moriarty and the first plane scene are Holmes’ cocaine-induced fantasy.
And proof? Holmes talking about a jet in the scene where Watson finds him on the floor. Interestingly enough, he only mentions that John and Mycroft were there with him, not Mary. But that’s just a side note. If I have to make it complicated, the first plane scene is, basically, Sherlock inside Holmes’ mind inside Sherlock’s mind. Though it really isn’t THAT complicated, it’s similar to Inception, they have their own rules though.
And, I already talked about this bit yesterday, so…
He’s drugged in this scene and momentarily, he has lost control again. He doesn’t know if he is awake or not, not anymore. Modern world?
Must be the reality, except… it isn’t. And again, why would it be? This is exactly the same thing that happened the first time before we switched to the modern world. Moriarty appears out of nowhere and Holmes all of a sudden starts losing it and “waking up” and the victorian world becomes the modern world, but, as demonstrated in the graveyard scene, being in a modern world does NOT mean that it is the reality.
The skeleton attacks Sherlock and poof, scene cut. The Waterfall. But this scene has nothing to do with any other scene in TAB. One would think that because Watson and Holmes are acting like a cross between the victorian and modern versions of themselves, that we’re on the edge of MP, ready to dive back into the reality. But, that is not quite true. I mean, alright, Watson kicks Moriarty off the cliff, Holmes jumps and…
…viola, the 21st century Sherlock awakes.
Or so we’re led to think. Remember what I said about the first plane scene? It’s a part of Holmes’ cocaine-induced fantasy. So, what does that mean? What about this scene? Well, I believe, that this scene and therefor all of these scenes as well
Are Holmes’ fantasies as well, and, like I said, it starts here, again, with Moriarty appearing out of nowhere:
And why do I think that? Because of the actual last scene of TAB. The ending is – Watson and Holmes sitting in their chairs. Talking about the case that, in their “world” happened, most probably, a couple of days prior to that. Hard to tell since Watson is wearing different clothes but Holmes isn’t. Also, they talk about the 7% solution and Holmes’ take on the modern world, things they, again talked about sooner which means that only a short time must have passed since it feels like they are continuing a conversation.
These are not the Holmes and Watson who have fought with Moriarty in the waterfall scene. These are the Holmes and Watson we last saw in this scene:
Holmes and Watson from the universe where this and everything after that did not happen:
This next part might sound like a stretch and I don’t really have any proof for that, it’s just an assumption. Holmes must have sort of “blacked out” for a moment during the scene in the catacombs, like, he was still drugged after all. So, he experiences a blizzard of bizarre fantasies, that end with this:
And that’s it. It’s where it ends, after the car drives off, he comes back to himself, they go back home, few days pass and he and Watson end in front of the fireplace. I mean, sitting. But, like I said I am not really sure about this part, if anything it’s just an assumption, might as well be just a headcanon of some sort.
You could argue that in this last modern scene of TAB Sherlock says “I know exactly what he’s going to do next” and since Lady Smallwood repeats the line in the beginning of TST then that means these scenes are definitely related and the last properly modern TAB scene must be real, except… first you must ask, why EVEN would Lady Smallwood know what Sherlock said there on the tarmac? And also, why did Mycroft stay behind in TAB? Why didn’t they go straight to Lady Smallwood to solve the problem immediately, since it was a matter of national importance? It’s clear, from the way everyone is dressed in TST, that it is a completely different day. Plus, Sherlock suddenly has a twitter. And also, like many other people pointed out too, since Sherlock tears apart The List from modern scene #1 in modern scene #3 then that can only mean, that neither scene #3 is real.
And, imho, it’s neither what precedes TST. TST is not the continuation of the last modern scene of TAB. Imho, it’s what follows after THIS happens in TAB.
It’s what happens after Holmes, once again, “goes deeper into himself”, this time, however, I am not sure if voluntarily or not. Either way, it explains all the TAB references in S4, Mary’s “my darling, John“, it, explains, pretty much everything. And like I once mentioned already, I think that S4 might as well be: Sherlock inside Holmes’ mind inside Sherlock’s mind.
One more thing. I am afraid that drugs have a lot to do with it. It seems, the more drugs Sherlock/Holmes takes the deeper he falls, or, maybe, he just has less control over the events. Maybe he isn’t even the one drugging himself? Who knows. All I know is what exactly made him start using drugs again…
maybe Wilder is some kind of Diogenes Club ‘judge’ swearing them to secret-illegal-Victorian-gay-marriage because honestly I die
Fun fact! Some 19th century gay men’s clubs would really conduct clandestine marriage ceremonies – often with invitations, guests, cake, the whole deal.
I was JUST trying to find out if this as the case, @weeesi OHMYGOD
Ahhh!!!! @cupidford yes – both London and the Culture of Homosexuality AND Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century talked about this. To quote from Strangers:
“…marriages continued to be a common expression of love and sociality. A surprising number of priests and vicars were prepared to perform marriages for homosexual men or lesbians, and there were also many private arrangements. […] There is evidence from late 19th-century America, Britain, France and Germany of hotels rented for weddings, male brides in gorgeous gowns, exotic honeymoons (sometimes ruined by blackmailers) and bridal bouquets kept under glass in front parlours. These events were the feast days of small communities, dates in an otherwise blank calendar. The fact that they took place at all shows a remarkable sense of organisation.”
And now, I’m here thinking about 1895 Sherlock reliving when he met John, the choice of Wilder at the club, and the meaning of potato as described by @welovethebeekeeper He reimagined John getting married, but with him instead, in their own quiet little ceremony.
John strolling up alongside Sherlock, no wedding ring on, and Sherlock looking so happy.
YES,
Fun fact!
Some 19th century gay men’s clubs would really conduct clandestine marriage ceremonies
More fun facts…Arthur Conan Doyle was friends with/spent time playing casual games of cricket with George Cecil Ives, the man who founded, in 1897, The Order of Chaeronea, “a secret society for the cultivation of a homosexual moral, ethical, cultural and spiritual ethos…as a result of his belief that homosexuals would not be accepted openly in society and must therefore have a means of underground communication.” (x)
An elaborate system of rituals, ceremonies, a service of initiation, seals, codes, and passwords were used by the members. The Secret Society became a worldwide organization and Ives took advantage of every opportunity to spread the word about the “Cause.” [the end of the oppression of homosexuals] (x)
In Ives’ words:
We believe in the glory of passion. We believe in the inspiration of emotion. We believe in the holiness of love. Now some in the world without have been asking as to our faith, and mostly we find that we have no answer for them. Scoffers there be, to whom we need not reply, and foolish ones to whom our words would convey no meaning. For what are words? Symbols of kindred comprehended conceptions, and like makes appeal to like. (x)(x)
If clandestine marriage ceremonies were being held in 19th century gay men’s clubs, then I imagine that Ives’ Order of Chaeronea would likely be one group to conduct and support such marriages. And ACD was friends with its founder.
A little more about the Order:
The primary goal of the Order was to form a global chain of lovers, building upon the Platonic ideal of the “army of lovers” first realized by the Theban Band. The “bibles” of what amounted to a homosexual-centered (or proto-Gay/Queer Spiritual) faith included Ives’ own books of ritual as well as the Greek Anthology and Whitman’s ”Leaves of Grass” (1855). The god of the Order was Eros, that “gay, capricious angel of night” with “vast wings” of Ives’ poem “With Whom, then, Should I Sleep?”(1896).
The seal of the Order is comprised of: a double wreath of calamus (sacred to Whitman) and myrtle (sacred to the Greeks), a chain signifying the “great chain of lovers;” the number 338 referring to the Sacred Band; the letters “D” (for discipline), “L” (for learning), “and “Z” (for zeal); and the mystical word AMRRHAO.
@holmesguy THANK YOU for the additions!!! I’ve been wondering for a while now whether Eminent Order of Freemen/The Scowrers in The Valley of Fear may be alluding to Order of Chaeronea, but was lacking any collaborating evidence that suggests ACD knew George Cecil Ives – now the connection has been upgraded from possible to probable because of the information you provided…… please accept my teary gratitude 😭
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