Sherlock needs Molly to love him

 (Sherlock meta by ohmyolicity, mortifying-mischief, justanotherfangirls and celticmoonbeam)

ohmyolicity: 

Can we talk about how Sherlock was offended because Molly Hooper didn’t pick up the phone?

mortifying-mischief:

“It’s me calling!”

justanotherfangirls:

He may not be conscious of it, but her attention (and love) is clearly not unwanted. See how even before, he expected molly to cancel her lunch date so she could have crisps while solving crimes with him. Or how he was unnecessarily cruel to her when he thought she’s seeing someone she likes that is not him in A Scandal in Belgravia. In The Empty Hearse after their “date” he was trying to come to terms with not being the center of her world anymore. He’s not happy about it.

He needs her to love him and not give up on him even when he’s being what he believes to be the worst person in the world. (He had repeatedly implied it, and that level of self destruction with drugs can only be born from a considerable amount of self hatred). And in that same scene, she showed that she will always do, even when from her point of view, he was again being a cruel manipulative bastard who doesn’t care about her feelings. She could not be more wrong.

celticmoonbeam:

Yes, great thoughts!!

Molly has always been there for him, ALWAYS, no matter what. There are SO many examples of this, but a few highlights…. Even after he humiliates her at the Christmas party (although I guess he does apologize!) she comes in to the Morgue on Christmas to help with fake!Irene’s body. She’s the one he turns to when he needs help faking his death in The Reichenbach Fall. She’s the one he brings along to solve cases when John isn’t available (and no one will ever convince me the beginning of The Empty Hearse wasn’t a date!). He goes to her home as one of his bolt holes, seemingly even while she is engaged. He even turns to Molly when he needs help planning John’s stag night.

Molly told him that if he ever needs help, she is there for him–and she always has been.

And now, she’s screening his phone call. The one person he could always count on is ignoring him–and that cuts deep.

I’d like to have a discussion... (about Sherlock's sex life)

 (Sherlock meta by sherlollymouse, emmyjeanb, justanotherfangirls, poetattemptsfiction and 

waitingforthemaninthebluebox)

sherlollymouse:

See, I wouldn’t be surprised either way if found out for sure some way that Sherlock and Irene definitely had sex, but, I always lean towards ‘no’ because I think trust is incredibly important to Sherlock and I’m not convinced he trusted Irene.

She played the same types of games with him people all his life did, before John… Remember Sebastian in The Blind Banker? The letter was very friendly, but he even said they hated Sherlock at uni (“Put the wind up everyone, we hated him.”)… but Sherlock still tried to be friendly (calling him Seb) and felt obviously slighted by John when Sherlock went to great lengths to introduce him as his friend and he corrected him….

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that you don’t have to trust someone to sleep with them. Thats not my point, I just am not sure Sherlock is the type of man that would…

Also, there’s the is he or isn’t a virgin debate.

Heres where I stand:

- If he has had sex, it probably wasn’t the best experience or he regretted it later. (perhaps it was someone he mistakenly thought he could trust or couldn’t)

-He may not have been sober… perhaps he exchanged sex for drugs at some point when he needed a fix and couldn’t pickpocket enough money

-He finds it a distraction and the more he has, the more it’ll distract so, having as little as possible and fulfilling these urges with masterbation instead of involving another person is always preferable.

But, yes, it is bothering me a bit. It feels so silly, not being able to sleep because of the thoughts I’m having about a fictional characters sex life, but it is really bothering me.

Moffat has said something along the lines of not being able to ask Sherlock whether or not he was a virgin and Benedict seems to think he probably had sex with Irene… well, then why not Janine as well?

Again, I think it all comes down to trust with Sherlock when dealing with interpersonal relationships, so, I’m very curious to talk to others about this.The upside is IF he did have sex with Irene, than he definitely had sex with Molly (unless she turned him down) because he’s told us he trusts her and needed her for something pertaining to faking his death.

Does anyone out there agree with me on my thoughts or have more to add?

emmyjeanb:

I enjoyed reading your analysis. BUT, I’m going to have to go against the curve. Here’s my analysis, for what it’s worth:

I think that if he’d never had sex, then it would be indicative that he has some sort of hangup about sex itself. Based on things show people have said about Sherlock’s sexuality and why he is the way he is, I’m more inclined to think that celibacy is a personal choice that he didn’t always make. Part of the whole ‘the body is transport’ thing. He has eaten rich meals, had good nights sleep and had sex before…he’s just mostly cut them out as 'bad for brainwork’. My impression is that this started post-drugs and before that, he didn’t impose these strict rules on himself. Not to say it’s a religious conviction either…every once in awhile, he partakes in each, or at least thinks of doing so. Of the three, sex is the one that’s the most troublesome to come by, so it’s definitely a 'once in a blue moon’ thing.

I think that Irene was one of those times, the first woman in a long while to attract him to the point that he decided to press pause on his monk-like existence. I don’t see Irene and Sherlock’s relationship as love, more like a strong mutual attraction/admiration (their interactions were very sexually charged). They dueled, flirted, he saved her life and it culminated in consummating their attraction, at which point they both went on their merry way. I doubt either of them regrets it at all, in fact I think it’s probably a source of some very fond, tingly memories (hence Irene’s cameo in Sherlock’s mind in The Sign of Three) but not something either of them pine after in an emotional sense.

He didn’t sleep with Janine, per say. Even if he were inclined to deny it out of some sort of shame or pride, it was Janine herself who said she wished she’d gotten at least one shot at it. I’ve heard people come up with ways to read what she said in a different way that changes the meaning, but I personally think any other reading is a stretch. Although I do think it’s obvious there was some stuff going on - she slept in his bed and had no problem getting in the bathtub with him. Maybe even some non-penetrative stuff, which I guess could be called sex, depending on your classification. Janine seemed to think she was ripped off in that sense, though, so there’s that.

As for Molly - that relationship is the most complicated, in my opinion. Basically, I don’t think Molly and Sherlock’s relationship is sexual. I think you’re right in that trust is huge for Sherlock, which puts Molly on a different level than either of the other two because he doesn’t/didn’t trust Janine or Irene. Molly isn’t someone he could have 'fun’ with without lasting emotional impact/consequences, and he would never use her in that way at this point. The tone of their most recent interactions is tinged with a kind of fondness, gravity and a respectful deference that is unique to Sherlock’s interactions on the show, IMO. Something’s simmering there that hints very vaguely (tantalizingly, to me) of romantic yearnings on both sides, but it’s not exactly sexual. Yet. Of all three, Molly is the least likely person to have had sex with him, because it would never be 'just’ sex. She’s the one with whom he shares the deepest emotional connection by far.

[...]

sherlollymouse:

I don’t think you went against the curve at all… in fact I agree with you about having sex with Molly being more than sex.

I’m just trying to make sense of the obvious reactions he has when sex is brought up.

I’m inclined to think he doesn’t have the fondest memories because Janine was right, it wasn’t just discomfort, there was a bit of fear… as if those comments made her seem predatory to him.

Irene just boggles my mind… because I genuinely do think they were attracted to each other, but I still think trust is paramount to him BECAUSE he doesn’t have sex that often.

I dunno…like I said, it wouldn’t surprise me either way, I just wouldn’t get it because of the things I mentioned.

justanotherfangirls:

I do think that Benedict and Moffat heavily implied that Sherlock and Irene had sex in Karachi, so I had found it a bit inconsistent that the Irene in his mind palace had the hairstyle she had when he saw her naked the first time they met. I would have expected her with her hair down like what we saw of her in Karachi, because surely that memory would be fonder than when he met her for the first time. Unless she fixed her hair like that after Sherlock saved her life, I am inclined to believe that’s the only time they confirmed that he saw her naked. And he had memorized how she looked because he is attracted to her. I mean, I’m a straight girl but I’m attracted to her. Also his porn preference is basically “normal” in canon, whatever that means it is not the dominatrix wild kinky thing I would associate with sex with Irene. They left it open like that so viewers would think what they want, I mean you could believe that they did, but you could also believe that they didn’t. Much like what they implied with him having sex with Molly as I have previously written in another post. You could believe that they did, or you could believe that they did not.

poetattemptsfiction:

Interesting. I don’t think that he slept with Irene or Molly. I don’t think he’s a virgin, but I think he likely stopped having sex once he became a detective and was off drugs (I’m assuming here the two coincided as he alluded to the fact that he solves crimes to stay clean in His Last Vow). I think he’s stubborn, and he’s convinced that sexual intimacy would interfere with his work, so he’s celibate. Dunno, though. He could be a total slut and has had sex with the lot of them.

waitingforthemaninthebluebox:

I think it’s highly unlikely (even if his asshole does clench up at the mention of it) that at 35 or whatever age Sherlock is supposed to be that he is a virgin. I think your theory about bad experiences/trust issues is pretty solid. I know people that HAVE had sex but still don’t like to talk about or have other people talk about it. As for not having sex with Janine some girls like Janine (confident, successful and sexually confident as well) would probably get frustrated being in a relationship for a month and not having had sex or discussion about it.

[...]

If it does turn out to be revealed that he’s a virgin I dunno it makes me feel a little weird. Like I was a late bloomer but damn in your 30's? He must have had sex.

Why Sherlocks bolt hole is Molly's bedroom

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

Bolt-hole (noun): a safe or restful place; a place where you can hide or escape from something that is dangerous or unpleasant. — merriam-webster.com

I want to talk about this, so let’s. At first glance it seemed just your regular fan serving, fan-teasing trolling thing that Moffat does to tell us, yes I read your fanfiction. Have some more details that please you but will not affect the plot and won’t be leading anywhere. And it also seems that Molly was back to being the girl with the crush who [Sherlock] takes advantage of, which she allows. Might be why she is uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed in that scene.

Yes, that may well be the case. To which I say, You don’t do that. You don’t just imply that Sherlock casually stays at Molly’s, in her bedroom no less. That is just too intimate a detail I think, and it does affect the plot and characters. Yes Mr. Moffat it will. Especially since this might have happened while Sherlock was faking his death (unlikely, Sherlock himself said he was unfamiliar with London implying he was away for the whole two years), while she was with Tom (that would explain the breakup, unlikely it was after Tom because it seemed he had only known the engagement was over when he noted she didn’t have the ring anymore), and/or while he was with Janine (it was pretty much implied in their scene that he avoided sex with her). I think it would be the latter two. There is a very good possibility that their initial unspoken rule of staying away from each other in The Empty Hearse lasted only until the end of The Sign of Three. And given that their mutual decision was loaded with tension and emotions and they allowed themselves to be together like that. I am not implying they had sex or even kissed. For all we know Sherlock just came marching into her flat, demanding he needed to think and charmed her into letting him borrow her bedroom while she uses the spare one, and then he leaves without as much as a goodbye when the case calls him. And so Molly is left both guilty and embarrassed when she was asked about it. Because in her point of view, it will always be unrequited, embarrassingly so.

It was needless to say entirely different in Sherlock’s point of view. We saw his mind palace. We saw what she made him do in his mind, in the brink of death. We saw how exactly he sees her. And that had conveniently given me some ideas. And now I will try to be as logical as possible. Really.

Of all of Sherlock’s known boltholes, even counting the Big Ben one, there’s only one that sticks out like a sore thumb. What makes Molly’s place special? He could have secluded places and nice views, and he has. He could have larger bedrooms and spacier locations and he could isolate himself all he wants. The answer is easy. It’s Molly’s. Molly is the bolthole. She makes him feel safe and protected, this tiny brilliant pathologist who matters so much she doesn’t even know. He protects John and Mrs Hudson and Irene and all of London, but this woman protects him. And I think the reason he had asked for her bedroom is he was testing her, like he had tested John in The Empty Hearse. Does she still like him enough to accommodate his irrational, demanding requests? (I also think he just likes to be in Molly’s bedroom to smell her pillow and deduce her bedthings but that is already with shipper goggles, so.) Surprise, surprise. She does.

And so quoting Benedict, it’s just so beautiful, their relationship is beautiful. I have read some articles, and even Louise had said people ship sherlolly because we see ourselves in Molly’s place and wanted to be kissing Sherlock or Benedict. But unrequited love is also beautiful and bittersweet, heartbreaking and good, and I would have no problem if that’s all they would give sherlolly. But that is not what I was seeing that they’re showing us. They let us see a potential. How much Sherlock needed Molly. How much he actually loves Molly.

Rewatching Sherlolly: A Study in Pink 

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

So today I decided to rewatch A Study in Pink. Ramblings, speculations, and theories follow. I did try to be as logical as possible, but my judgement may be clouded. Sorry.

Starting off, I found it very interesting that they chose to introduce Sherlock Holmes with him beating a corpse with a riding crop and some cute girl getting turned on by it. This girl asked him out for coffee and he seemed to miss her intentions altogether. So he is eccentric, attractive, sexy and sexually unavailable. His brilliance was not really apparent in the first scene, but in the next scene with John Watson. First impressions are important for any show and this was what they went with. He was firstly, desirable, in his scene with Molly. He was a lonely genius who craves approval, in his scenes with John. He has the ability to earn respect in his scenes with Lestrade. He can be warm, in his scene with Mrs. Hudson. He was rude and arrogant with Sally and Anderson. He was petty and childish with Mycroft. He was ruthless and unforgiving with Jeff. And even if he was not yet physically there, Sherlock holds a fascination to mystery and brilliance that matches his own, even if it reeks of evil, with Moriarty.

Let’s take a closer look at Sherlock and Molly’s first scene. He is about to beat a corpse she knew with a riding crop, and she had no qualms about it. Not just anybody would be alright with that, no matter how hot the guy is. Molly is probably one of the few people who can deal with his eccentricities and get turned on by it. She is an odd one too, in her own quiet way. Later, he says, 'Anderson won’t work with me'. Not the other way around. I think he has a bigger problem getting people to work with him rather than him with them because he assumes everyone are idiots anyway. If only because of this Molly becomes somehow special.

But it gets better. Sherlock then tells her to text him after twenty minutes on what bruises will form. He is very particular in his experiments and ordinarily assumes everyone is an idiot, he’s the type to perform them himself. But he trusts Molly to be right. Also Molly has his number - this is not the first time that he asked her to assist him. I absolutely wanted to know how she was able to prove to him that she is above average, thankfully we have fics to help with that. Later he tells Lestrade that he needs an assistant. Not something one says if they are used to working alone all the time. I think at the Yard he sometimes manages to get one, but that he had no permanent one and no preference there. Something tells me he has one at St. Bart’s though.

Molly adorably turns on her awkward charms during this whole scene to ask him out for coffee. Sherlock speaks to her almost mechanically and busily writes in his notebook while Molly hesitantly tries to ask, but then Sherlock gets distracted. 'Are you wearing lipstick? You weren’t wearing lipstick before'. He is observant, but he doesn’t just deduce and then dismiss it, he asks her. He stares intently, trying to read her face. He is curious. Why does he care? Perhaps Molly had not reached importance to him to more than a reliable assistant, especially considering how oblivious he is of her before, but at that moment she was more important than continuing his train of thought. Maybe alarm signals went at the back of his mind, wondering if she put that on for someone who isn’t him. Maybe it’s just Moffat trying to be funny with the punchline in the next scene. Molly gives a non-answer, Sherlock waits for more but decides to return to his notes when Molly just continued smiling widely at him.

Molly gathers enough courage to complete her question. You could tell that she had thought through this and probably even practiced it in front of a mirror. (She had a really cute expression trying to be seductive.) Considering her hesitation and excitement, it looks like her first attempt. Now it could be argued that Sherlock knew she was asking him out and decided to reject her without looking like it, but as we see later he is more direct with John. Was it because he wanted a good working relationship with Molly? Hardly. He clearly believes clear boundaries are best for lasting relationships. If he knew what Molly was asking, he would have said he’s married to his work, though he’s flattered by her interest instead of black, two sugars. It’s more probable that he is simply oblivious, perhaps thinking that Molly can’t be attracted to him because there’s another guy she put lipstick on for, or simply that he is spectacularly ignorant in the rules of attraction. I personally think he believes Molly likes him and admires him enough to make him coffee, but not in that way. He leaves the riding crop, maybe he’s distracted by this conversation or by the next experiment he’ll do in the lab.

At the next scene, when he sees Molly, he turns all attention to her as he gets his coffee. He stares for a considerable amount of time and notices that the lipstick was gone. Again he asks, 'what happened to the lipstick?' And follows up with, 'I thought it was a big improvement, your mouth’s too small now'. He means lipstick suited her. With that follow up, of course Sherlock is an ass and could do that without reason. But it’s almost as if he was offended by her and was having his little petty revenge. It still may be Moffat trying to be funny, though.

Molly was supposed to be a one-off character to introduce Sherlock, but they loved Louise Brealey so much that they wanted her back. Needless to say they saw much potential in her and the character of Molly Hooper. And with this (very) long post about these first scenes that changed the creators’ minds in having only ACD canon characters, I could say I also think there is much, much potential indeed.

Rewatching Sherlolly: The Blind Banker

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

 Another set of ramblings and speculations, this time on The Blind Banker. Here Sherlock shows off his fighting skills, John shows him how he can overlook the simple things, and we are introduced to some remarkable women. We also get Sherlock and Molly flirtation with confusing motivations. Everything’s good.

In this episode, we get to see a nicer side of Sherlock in varying levels of sincerity. He can appear innocent and foolish enough to lock himself out of his flat. He can also listen quietly and respectfully while a girl recounts the darkest moments of her life, never once interrupting because he is bored, or sneering at her sentiment and emotion. He can comfort a girl who had barely escaped a life-threatening situation. He can even flirt to get what he wants. For the first one he’s pretending. For the next two he seemed more sincere. But the last one, I can’t be too sure.

The first time I watched this scene with Molly, I easily dismissed it as him flirting with her to see the bodies, sort of like a comedic stunt throughout the series. Fast forward to the very last episode where he tells her she’s always counted. That was very clever indeed, and for me easily the biggest twist of the series, yet. There arises the question, So when does always begin? Maybe it’s somewhere along the way that the two became friends. But what if it means, from the beginning, like the actual definition of the word? This is my point in rewatching, actually. It just gives their scenes a different kind of light.

The scene starts with Sherlock approaching Molly with his attempts at small talk, jokes and flirtation. Of course Molly knows he’s doing it so she would help him, she said so in her blog. Explains her initial refusal. But Sherlock then pays her a compliment saying her hair suits her, which is just like saying he finds her pretty. And so she decided to give in. He is adorably awkward here, and so unlike his more assured, confident self when he talks deductions and logic. Not very experienced at flirting, then, despite being a good actor anywhere else. Safe to say Molly is one of the chosen few he treats this way. In the whole series she is the only one shown.

And because it is Sherlock, he drops his smile once Molly wasn’t looking, and checks his watch. In his logical mind his only goal is access to the bodies. But to start with, he lets Molly have her dinner (his first line was, what are you thinking, the pork or the pasta?). He evidently waits for her as they are together on the next scene. It can explain why he looked at his watch and frowned. It also didn’t show him leaving her there. I believe he sat with Molly while she ate, if only so that they could start as soon as she’s done.

Somebody had pointed this out already, but Sherlock’s intentions are, on second thought, less clear. Why would he make such an active effort to do something he is obviously not that good at when he could have other ways to convince her? He might just ask DI Dimmock to show his badge, it might even be quicker that way. He might deduce her or twist some words seeing that he’s good at acting. He did not even tell her the simple truth that two victims were murdered, they are connected, and he needs her help to prevent another one. Instead he says, 'you’ve changed your hair' and 'it suits you better this way'. It would not be so far fetched to think he enjoys this on some level.

In the next scene, we see that he has his full attention to her, stares at her smiling even when she’s not looking. He never once did look at DI Dimmock until after the tattoos were shown. Seems they had maintained that kind of atmosphere throughout dinner. Up until the moment she opens the body bag, he stares at her with a gentle expression on his face, almost with a smile. And I just think, well, maybe as early as here, she already counted.

Rewatching Sherlolly: The Great Game

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

The Great Game gave us mystery and action that kept us at the edge of our seats, an introduction to our resident villain that is even better at hiding in plain sight than Sherlock himself, a good perspective on how much Sherlock doesn’t care, and how much he actually does.

As season finale, this episode ties up nicely the conflict introduced at the first episode: Sherlock’s true addiction. He would do anything to stop being bored. He would bet his life to prove he’s clever. He was very turned on by this game with Moriarty. But he realizes that he has limits. He realizes he has a heart. In a moment of pure brilliance, Benedict Cumberbatch has shown the exact moment Sherlock realized that, with a blink of his eyes and tightening of his jaw. But we have seen it earlier on his face: the anger when he heard the explosion that killed the old woman, the heartbreak when he thought John betrayed him, and what looks like regret and hurt when Molly walked out on him. In his conversations with John, it seemed that this was not a man who didn’t care, rather, one who cared too much but believes with all his being that caring is not an advantage.

Looking into Sherlock’s scene with Molly, there was already an air of friendliness between them, an improvement from the earlier episodes. Perhaps a product of frequent interaction, as Molly was most probably the one from Bart’s morgue who got him that head, and if she did, there were probably other parts too; after all Sherlock is easily bored. At the lab, Sherlock was so eager to share his excitement in finding a bacteria match with her like the science nerds that they are. But then Jim enters, and the atmosphere changes in a flash.

Sherlock looks at Jim, at Molly, then back at Jim, and sees everything. He sees his eyes, eyelashes, and underwear; he sees the way Molly looked and smiled at Jim; he even sees the three pounds she gained. And looking at Sherlock, you could see clearly that he hated Jim. It is not mild irritation like he had with Sarah when she, at his point of view, was wasting John’s time when he should be assisting him, and was making sub par deductions. It does not appear to be jealousy because Sherlock knew Jim was gay and would leave Molly eventually. I see it as more than anything else, sheer protectiveness. When Jim left his number under the petri dish, he became even more annoyed. He looked appalled by the nerve of this guy who was fooling Molly, leading her on, and trying to cheat on her! With him! He said so himself, he wants her to break it off and save herself the pain. A twisted way to show care and concern, but it is care and concern nevertheless. In Sherlock talk, he means he does not want her hurt.

What is perhaps more surprising than an emotional Sherlock (anger is an emotion after all), is him trying to suppress a show of his cleverness to bring down someone he does not like. You see him trying to distract himself with his microscope, but not really looking at the slide; he started to say gay but took it back; he is trying really hard to hold himself back. Knowing him, this could not have been easy. He even tried to deflect Molly’s question on his deduction skills, by teasing her with her weight. It is a mark of John’s influence, further confirmed by him checking if what he did was kinder. Well it was not, he did it all wrong, and in the end he did show off his cleverness, but that right there is the proof that he cares enough to not want to humiliate Molly at least not in front of this creep.

As for Molly, she seems to be trying to move on because she has figured out that she had no chance with Sherlock. The side parting of her hair says she’s failing. A selfish part of her might have wanted Sherlock jealous, but it does not seem deliberate or planned. She seemed to like Jim genuinely. Perhaps she saw some sparks of brilliance that reminded her of Sherlock. So when Sherlock spoils the illusion, she becomes angry, at him for being this insensitive unattainable guy she was still in love with, at Jim for lying to her, and at herself for foolishly believing Jim and being stubbornly in love with Sherlock. She apparently did not forgive Sherlock easily, in his succeeding scenes at the hospital Molly does not help him. Maybe he remembered this when he told John later: "you’re angry with me so you won’t help me".

What Molly says, or rather, does not say to Sherlock is curious. Why do you have to spoil -? Spoil what? Everything? Why did she stop herself? I don’t think this is the first time Sherlock spoiled her plans with a relationship, and as we will see it is not the last. Now I didn’t see this Jim fiasco as a show of his jealousy, but there may have been other times that would not always have a reasonable, purely logical basis.

I have always wondered why Jim did not think to include Molly as a target. Maybe because she did not consider herself to count to Sherlock, and had given that impression so effectively that she convinced Jim Moriarty. And Jim would never think of her love as anything other than a weakness. So it seems Sherlock fails spectacularly time and again to show her he cares, Molly reads it as further proof that he does not, and Sherlock just gets confused and perhaps hurt by that. (And his face, if Jim has seen this, he might have hired a fourth assassin.)

Some more notes on The Great Game

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

So Moffat says, sentimentalise him [Sherlock] at your own peril, and we say, bring it on, peril and all. Because this version of Sherlock is a complicated roller coaster of emotions that they could not entirely blame on the fans. They knew what they’re doing; they have direct control of the direction of the show. And this teasing and trolling is both masterful and sadistic, but undoubtedly impressive.

Jim: If you don’t stop prying, I’ll burn you. I’ll burn the heart out of you.
Sherlock: I have been reliably informed that I don’t have one.
Jim: But we both know that’s not quite true.

Before I venture through A Scandal in Belgravia again, which would be hard - I have strong and conflicting feelings with that, I have some more thoughts about this episode.

Firstly, so I have been comparing Sherlock’s deduction of Mr. Chatterjee, way ahead, in The Hounds of Baskerville, with that of Jim. Coincidentally, Mark Gatiss wrote both of these episodes. In both times he was deducing a romantic interest of someone he cares about, someone he would want to protect. Jim was gay, Mr. Chatterjee has a wife nobody knows about. But there are significant differences. Firstly, Sherlock did not tell Mrs. Hudson his deductions the moment he saw Mr. Chatterjee; it was when he desperately needed to deduce and was irritated that John and Mrs. Hudson hid his cigarette stash. But Sherlock told Molly to break it off the first time he met Jim. Secondly, it was so obvious that he hated Jim and was very distracted with him around (Sherlock was rarely distracted especially when he had such an interesting case). He displayed no such hate with Mr. Chatterjee and hardly spared him any more thought. Thirdly, he insults Molly, almost as if he’s mad at her too. He did not do anything like that with Mrs. Hudson. Lastly, at the end of the scene when Molly walks out, his eyes seem to be telling her to come back, he was really expecting her to be grateful to him. And he seemed almost apologetic. But when Mrs. Hudson walked out, he moved on. John even shouted at him to apologize and he only commented on the pettiness of it.

This is not to say Molly is more important to him - Mrs. Hudson is his mother figure, and we all saw how angry he was when people tried to hurt her. I think he did not think it important to tell Mrs. Hudson at once, romantic entanglements are petty and he was otherwise harmless. And Mrs. Hudson would get over it and be back to making them tea in no time. But Jim was harmless too, his deductions only told him 'gay'. And he was insulting Molly about her weight; it was not an innocent comment - he insults Mycroft for exactly the same reason. So he was mad at Molly, unnecessarily annoyed at Jim, deemed it important to tell her that Jim is gay at once in the middle of a case - romance is important if Molly’s involved, and was in the end guilty of his actions because perhaps he knew he was out of line and took the situation too personally (unlike with Mrs. Hudson where he saw no need to apologize). Okay I am now convinced he was indeed jealous.

That tiny moment [at the pool scene] when his emotions betrayed his face, I could imagine Sherlock thinking about how Jim would burn the heart out of him. He was afraid. How easily Jim had gotten to John and strapped bombs into him, how loyal his friend is to be willing to die to save him and kill this dangerous criminal, how close his friend was to death at that moment because of him and his pride, arrogance, and boredom. I do think he also thought of Molly, how easily Jim had inserted himself into her life, how Jim was able to smile at her, to touch her, and how she smiled at him so innocently, trustingly. I think he had deduced that in Jim’s eyes Molly did not count to him, otherwise she would be the one with bombs strapped to her body. And I believe that in this moment he decided that the only way to keep her safe, to protect her, is to never let her get too close to him.

We can only speculate what happens after this confrontation. I think despite himself they grew closer anyway. He would obviously interrogate Molly to the tiniest detail regarding his arch nemesis. He probably became very critical of Molly’s subsequent dates and he uses the Jim card every time. (He knew that Jim wasn’t actually her boyfriend, they went out three times and she ended it. But who knows maybe he just likes hearing it again.) And there’s also this case titled The Ghost of St. Bartholomew’s in Sherlock’s blog which I assumed would involve Molly and it was after the pool confrontation because she never blogged about it.

Rewatching Sherlolly: A Scandal in Belgravia

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

I would be lying if I said I did not compare the scenes with Irene with that of Molly’s, but it was really hard not to. Because, and this may be biased, Sherlock was never more sincere, honest, or caring, as he was with Molly. It’s almost as if her vulnerability, kindness, and awkwardness bring out the exact same traits in him.

At the Christmas party, Sherlock was in a good mood, even playing the violin for Mrs. Hudson. He does not look uncomfortable when Lestrade, John, Jeannette and Mrs. Hudson were there. When Molly arrived, he suddenly became irritable; honestly, his oh, dear Lord, was an overreaction. No stopping them apparently – was that Sherlock trying to look cool, or at least too cool for Christmas drinkies? He even distracts himself with the computer, typing and then checking John’s blog and his picture there. Which I do not think he normally does. He seems unnerved by Molly’s presence yet does not leave his flat. I think he does want to be in that party but does not know how to socialize so he pretends to be busy. Molly made him self-conscious.

He does pretend to be busy, but he listens to Molly’s every comment and comments on that. The attention just had to be back to him. Interesting, this part. I read somewhere that Sherlock invited Molly rather than John. That is also what I believe. Molly said there was a note on the door saying to “just come up”, which was probably Sherlock rather than John, he’s more of the notes type (Crime in progress, please disturb) and John would have just texted or told her so. He was more involved in this party than I initially thought. And he was thoughtful of his two guests (3 if you count Jeanette, but John would have advised her) who would need that note. Molly also knew stuff about the guests which I think she got from Sherlock just because she did not seem to be in the gossiping stage with John – notice that the only interaction she had with John was when he took her coat, and that they had not been talking about where he would be at Christmas before this, which would have been brought up if he was the one who told her about Lestrade, or if he was the one who invited her.

There were moments that suggested a familiarity and closeness between Sherlock and Molly, almost as if they had their own language. Quite inevitable as they worked closely often. Him advising her social cues – 'Don’t make jokes, Molly'. She probably makes jokes with him and he was used to it. There may even be times that she successfully made him laugh. And he just knows that those jokes would only work on him and not on other people. There was also his quick glance at her when she revealed he has been complaining to her about John, which she had correctly translated as, I have NOT been complaining, and that was supposed to be our secret! That she had immediately changed, no he was not complaining – he was saying.

Finally Sherlock decided that it was Molly’s turn to be deduced. He is clearly not pleased that Molly has a boyfriend, she’s serious about him, and that this boyfriend’s present is prettily wrapped while his was slap dash at best. He is also not pleased that Molly had prettily wrapped herself for said boyfriend and adds that her long term hopes are probably forlorn. He is socially inept, but I think he is also jealous which would explain the out of proportion meanness even for Sherlock. (He is often mean, but almost always for a reason. Drugs John as an experiment, harasses an old lady for accurate information.)

Sherlock maintained his defenses, an armor of brilliant, but cold, calculating, and cruel deductions; that same armor breaking down as he read the words that Molly had filled with her hopes and love, complete with the words Dearest and Love and the 3 x’s to seal the deal. (Not that I was comparing, but Irene herself only gave him 2 x’s.) Leaving him fully exposed and unsure of what to do next. He wanted to run away from them, from her, but decides that she does not deserve this and that he would do anything, even something as taxing as to apologize, something as sentimental as to kiss her, just to show her that he cares enough for her to compromise himself. He did not look exactly pleased when his phone interrupted them, knowing fully well that it would hurt Molly’s feelings if she assumed that he had a girlfriend. I think he even hid in his room so people would not see Irene’s gift and make these assumptions. Sadly she assumes anyway.

The scene at the morgue was for me the most emotional scene of the episode. Still reeling from the realization that Molly was seriously in love with him all this time, and that he had hurt her feelings by being himself, he now had to be in the same room as her and identify the body of a woman whom Molly probably would be jealous of. It is very touching that he tries to be as gentle and considerate as possible to her. For a man who in ordinary situations is already rude and inconsiderate of other people, he had shown a superhuman ability to actually be nice, in a situation where a woman, who canonically is important to him, could be dead. It is also interesting that Mycroft refers to Bart’s as his home away from home, and as Molly is a consistent part of his life there, she is, in part, his home. Sherlock however does not appear to hear any of this, all of his attention is on Molly. He tells her she didn’t have to come in. Probably because he just now realized how he was always inconsiderate of Molly’s time when he makes her help him. I think he also doesn’t want Molly to see how, and when, he identifies the body because it would break her heart. The way his face becomes gentle, caring, and sympathetic when Molly says she had nothing better to do at Christmas, unlike everyone else, is perhaps the most emotional, honest, and human Sherlock had looked in this whole episode.

It has always been my headcanon that Sherlock had chosen Molly to be in his life, not only because she is smart and competent enough to help him, as I’m sure many others were. We don’t see him try to be nice to these other competent people, it was only ever Molly. What made her special I think was that he sees himself in her, that lonely, socially awkward, weird person who cares too much, that he constantly hides under his cold, brilliant exterior. He understand her in a level that most other people can’t. And so he feels he needed to protect her, even and especially from himself.

It is worth noting that Molly was the one who made the move to reveal the body, as Sherlock was still surprised, and concerned, and gazing at Molly intently, his curiosity over the identity of the body momentarily forgotten. Only then did he break away from looking at her. There was one moment of hesitation on his part when he asked her to show him the rest of the corpse’s body, knowing that she would assume they were together and it would break her heart. I noticed that he had avoided looking at Molly during and after he identified the body, only glancing at her for a millisecond and quickly looking away as if he cannot bear to see both the pain and the sympathy in her eyes, as if it physically hurt him.

We next see Molly in the lab. They are apparently back to normal, working together and talking comfortably again. Molly seems to be pretending she’s okay with him around, even with him having a girlfriend, to make him comfortable around her. I do think Molly somehow led him to believe that she isn’t that serious about him so that they would return to their status quo and that horrible party would be forgotten (deleted). So he becomes as oblivious as ever. That, or he was a bit disappointed and then proceeded to flaunt that he does have a woman acquaintance, who loves to play games, and neglected to say that he in fact doesn’t do girl- or boyfriends. And then goes on to distract himself with the puzzle and the game to avoid this girl who had made him feel, making himself believe that she means nothing to him. But then it’s not that surprising. We all do silly things, after all.

Rewatching Sherlolly: The Reichenbach Fall (part 1)

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

(Note: I split this into two parts because the whole Sherlolly in this episode just overwhelmed me. In a good way.)

This is the episode that changed everything for me. I was pretty much comfortable with Sherlock and Molly’s setup in the past five episodes. It’s cute, sweet, and Not Happening, and I was okay with that. Until they made Molly much, much more than a fangirl with a crush. Here we come full circle from episode one of season 2, when he had believed that caring is not an advantage, love is a dangerous disadvantage, and sentiment is a chemical defect found on the losing side. Molly became the key that made him realize just how wrong he is. She had saved him, not only from Moriarty’s intricate, diabolical plan, but perhaps more importantly, from himself. With the caring, sentiment, and love that he had loathed so much.

Let’s first take a look at the scene with Kitty Riley, which had some Molly references. Sherlock classifies his fans into two types: Catch me before I kill again, and Your bedroom’s just a taxi ride away. Molly had always been labeled as a representation of the fans, but Sherlock himself doesn’t see her as a fan at all, as we would later see.

Kitty tries to seduce him into agreeing to an interview, and Sherlock then decides to beat her at her own game. He becomes so mouthwateringly seductive and dangerously sexy, taunting her just to say at the end, to her face, that she is never getting an interview - or him. He is being deliberately cruel. He never does try that trick with Molly, their flirting was always so gentle and innocent. Never cruel or dangerous. We also see Sherlock judge Kitty as someone who tries hard to be noticed, keeping up appearances with the posh skirt and polished nails, and a hunger for something, attention or money or fame. He emphasized two traits he found her severely lacking: being smart and being trustworthy, with the latter stressed more. It could be coincidence, but it’s as if in his mind, he was comparing Kitty to Molly. Molly who is content to stay in the background while he focuses on his work, who dresses with cherry blouses and baggy pants, and who never, ever asks or demands for anything. Who is awfully smart he elicits her help in cases. Who he had always trusted. He even treats them opposite. It looked a lot like Molly was his gold standard and he may not even realize it. The complete opposite of what repels him. (And I don’t know about Sherlock, but don’t people usually compare the person coming on to them to that one person they set apart from the rest?)

The first actual scene with Molly was when she was on her way to a lunch date. She is apparently trying to move on from Sherlock, who never does notice her. Only Sherlock then barges in, Molly says she has a lunch date, and he says easily, cancel it, you’re having lunch with me. He even spins her around and it seems familiar he might have done it several times in the past. He had technically offered that she have a lunch date with him. He didn’t say us even if John was there. And remember, his idea of a date is two people who like each other would go out and have fun, by solving a case. And he brought crisps, he doesn’t eat, and he wouldn’t carry John’s food in his pocket. He had planned this. And he was oh so very sure, he knows that Molly would always choose him, would rather be with him even if she would just have crisps in the lab, than a real meal in a restaurant with anyone else. He knows what she was trying to do - get over him, and he consciously prevents it. He wouldn’t do that if he also intends for her to do so. He would have some other clever way to make or trick her into helping him.

Sherlock knows how Molly feels about him, and he doesn’t know what to do with it. He doesn’t outright reject her, in his words to save her time. He also seems to make her feel that he doesn’t notice her. I remember his line in THoB, when he said that he had always divorced himself from feelings, therefore acknowledging that he had them. I wonder if this would be one of the cases he does that, where he pretends there’s absolutely nothing between them, only for the truth to resurface at the mention of a lunch date.

Molly’s confused what? made Sherlock show more of his cards. One of her old boyfriends, he says with such spite. Interesting that he uses the plural form. Oh he is jealous. And he even knows that Jim wasn’t her boyfriend, they went out three times, and she ended it. She looks at John when she says that last bit. Because Sherlock knows all of that already. As I said before, he just maybe liked her to correct him and to say it all again. And then he becomes unbelievable. He actually blames Jim’s crimes on her dumping him, implying that the consulting criminal psychopath was too heartbroken that he decides to terrorize London. He never believed that, Molly would never believe that. But he uses this as reason for her to avoid all future attempts at a relationship, “for the sake of law and order”. Sherlock is nothing if not logical, and even with his insults, manipulation, and lies he always manages to make sense. Except here. He wanted her to avoid relationships - all of them. But he uses a silly argument for that. And the only logical reason for that is something he cannot say aloud. Of course, although she looks so very confused at his mixed signals, Molly could not say no. But it still makes me happy watching him try to win her.

Rewatching Sherlolly: The Reichenbach Fall (part 2)

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

I loved this episode so much, but I could never find the words to fully explain myself. The Sherlolly during these next parts have evolved from more than just cute and sweet and something the story could probably survive without, to something so strong it had penetrated the core of Sherlock’s heart, and quite a few viewers’ as well.

Let’s talk about the lab scene. Sherlock is a man claiming to be married to his work, and that is why the lab is his home away from home. It is thus interesting that he regularly keeps Molly there, is perfectly comfortable with and often even requires her presence. He calls her John and was unfazed when she corrects him, because he was as comfortable to her as to John, and John is his bestfriend, roommate, who probably knows his quirks, his toilet habits, how he looks without the suits or the coat or the hat.

Molly proceeds to try speaking to him, but as he is busy with his microscope tries to shut her down. He doesn’t however, drive her away even if he was at the midst of a case. He tells her not to feel the need to make conversation as it’s not really her area. He actually found better words to say to her than to stop disturbing his work. His tone is even kind and gentle and so unlike him. A real effort, remember he is on a case. Molly pushes on, and he gives a gentle warning, saying her name. No rolling of eyes and rapid fire deductions. But Molly has something really important to tell him, something he needed to hear even more than solving the case in front of him.

Molly deducing Sherlock is definitely a direct reference to Sherlock’s initial challenge to Kitty. She surprises him so much he actually gets distracted. He stares at her like he was seeing her for the first time. And he could very well be given that he always pushes any and all emotions aside. This time he couldn’t, he was forced to really look at her, and I could just feel all these emotions come pouring in into him despite himself. His guard was definitely at its lowest with Molly, letting her hear his mental notes and uncertainty, and see him when he’s sad. He had to look strong and in control in front of everyone, even in front of his bestfriend. Molly thinks this is because she doesn’t count, but I think it’s because Sherlock is not as immune as he likes to believe, he is subconsciously aware of her unconditional love and unwavering faith, and based on his succeeding actions had accepted them. He is only now being aware of that. Explains his reaction when Molly tells him she doesn’t count, his surprise when he thanks her and he realizes how much he actually meant it, and his effort to be kind to her to accept her offer of food even with the risk of digestion slowing him down. Long after Molly was gone, he still was processing everything until John had snapped him out of his thoughts and he finally returned to the case.

I loved that Molly’s point was not to ask him why he’s sad, or how she was able to see that, or how she thinks she doesn’t count. She even pushes all these unimportant details out of their conversation. Her point was that she will always be there for him and help him with anything he needed. He can, in every sense of the word, have her. It doesn’t even matter if she or Sherlock could not figure out how she could, because she had laid out everything she had to offer for the man she loved. And Sherlock, bless him, finally sees that.

In his encounter with Kitty, Sherlock realizes something. Moriarty has been sowing doubt in people’s minds, and there’s only one thing he needs to do to complete the game. Somehow his mind goes straight to Molly. And in this moment he decides to consciously accept her help and love and caring, to tell her how much she actually meant to him, which means he had to listen to his emotions for once. It is just so beautiful and moving and the most that we have seen of Sherlock’s heart. Even the most skeptical of viewers can’t not see that he is sincere, when he gave her an out. He isn’t forcing her, blackmailing, or lying to her. He probably figured if she would not help him, at least she knew that she counted and always had. Which makes this my favorite line, if I wasn’t everything you think I am, everything that I think I am, would you still want to help me? He most probably gave her the choice whether he would win or lose, live or die. He who had lived his entire life proving he’s clever and brilliant and had equated it to his worth, and he wanted her to base her choice on whether she’d still love him, willingly help him, even if he thinks he’s now not worth anything. He put her first before himself. And if that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

Why John doesn't think Molly is important to Sherlock

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

Q: [...] I just had this thought I wanted to share with someone. Don't you find it odd that John doesn't think Molly is important to Sherlock even after The Reichenbach Fall?

A: [...] There may be a lot of reasons why he always underestimates her. For one, I don’t think he had witnessed the development of their relationship. I don’t think he was with Sherlock and Molly most of the time in the lab, and that probably composes the bulk of their interactions. He didnt see how Sherlock had asked for Molly’s help. He was not around for a long time after trf, but I’m betting Molly had been a few times at least; she was Sherlock’s only connection to his old life. And I think their established closeness in this particular time, that we were not privy to, is the reason why that scene in TEH was very loaded. He doesn’t know about Molly’s bedroom being Sherlock’s bolthole.

But I think the most important reason is John’s bias. It has been mentioned in TAB, the episode from Sherlock’s perspective, how John portrays this idealized version of Sherlock, a gentleman hero, a hero that would easily, obviously pick an idealized version of a woman as well. And Molly is not this idealized woman, she is cute but awkward, she wears her heart on her sleeve you don’t even have to deduce her, she is always available for Sherlock, it can be easy to discount her. But Sherlock did not - these traits actually endeared her to him, and not the opposite as John might have expected.

And that’s why John, yet again, saw, but did not observe.

Some thoughts on The Empty Hearse

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

 I wanted to do rewatching Sherlolly posts for season 3, but to do that I have to watch the episodes several more times and spend days on end contemplating about them. Regretfully I cannot do that anytime soon. I however rewatched TEH, specifically the Sherlolly working together scenes a couple more times and I can’t deal with all these feelings.

I will never get over the fact that Sherlock had planned this whole day for Molly, to “thank her” for her help. Yes, he absolutely did. It was terribly sentimental and he never does that for just anyone. In fact, I believe he never does that for anyone else. But consider this. He properly thanks her after two years had passed since her helping him. He had too much time alone, to reflect on his previous life and realize how valuable the people around him are. How much he is grateful (and sorry) to all of them. And he decides to do something about Molly. It was a perfect plan that took perhaps two years in the making. That is why he is all nervous and waiting for her to arrive when the whole plan was finally in motion. And what does he give her? A date. Yes, it was a date, Sherlock style. It was not a proper crime investigation, because as people pointed out, the cases involves romance and drama, perhaps what he thinks Molly would be interested in because after all she is a girl. They never involved danger or running away, unlike his cases with John which were full of adrenaline, action and death defying acts. John can handle himself, but he needed to protect Molly because she doesn’t have the training or experience for these. He chose all their cases, all the while thinking that he’s doing this with Molly. His main purpose was not to solve crimes, because he could have chosen more interesting, less emotional ones. But he liked crimes, and Molly would like these. It is a compromise for things they both liked so that they would do things that they would both enjoy. A date. He even tells her at one point, Welcome to my world. He lets her in, tries to impress her, wants her to be part of it. Wants her to stay.

More supporting evidence for this was, I think I already read somewhere, the scene before. When Sherlock was talking to Mycroft about why anyone would mind that hat person being different? Here he is acknowledging himself as someone able to have functional relationships with other people. Something that sadly does not seem to ring true in HLV anymore.

There were much, too much subtext, subtle glances, exchanges, and flirting all throughout these scenes. Yes this is most definitely a date, and a romantic one at that. Even an offer to dinner from Sherlock himself to cap it off. And a sincere confession with zero ulterior motives. You are the one person that mattered the most. And then he selflessly lets her go for her happiness, right after he tells her she is the one that mattered the most to him. Because she deserves to be happy, and he thinks he can never give her that, he is not good enough. He had prepared so well and given so much of himself away, but it was not good enough. He was too late. And it’s so sad and heartbreaking and I cannot unsee all these things now. I just knew they were setting us up for angst because they had generously given us a very sexy albeit fantasy kiss; but I do believe that plus the miles closer to canon sherlolly is (even if it’s uncertain it would reach that) would still be well worth the heartbreak.

When Sherlock said Molly mattered the most

 (Sherlock meta by bassfanimation, strawberrypatty and justanotherfangirls)

bassfanimation: I always thought when Sherlock said Molly mattered the most, he was talking about the plan (Moriarty's failing/Sherlock's succeeding). This is with shipper goggles off, though. I'd love to read it as something more, but I didn't want to read as much into it for fear of my tiny heart crackling to bits. Was it clarified at all in any interviews?

strawberrypatty: A lot of people take that meaning. But I don’t see it making sense. Molly’s part in the plan was actually very minimal. With everything Mycroft and Sherlock did— closing off an entire, busy street in London, bribing assassins— they could have easily found the body and faked the lab results without Molly’s help. But Sherlock got Molly’s help because he wanted her help. He needed to have Molly believe in him.

justanotherfangirls: When he told Molly that she’s the one he needed, I didn’t take it to mean anything else other than he had needed all of Molly, what she had offered earlier, “you can have me”. I don’t think it was ever about the body or the faked documents. He needed her to be on his side when everyone else had lost faith in him, including himself. And maybe he couldn’t believe someone would love him that much without demanding for anything in return, and that is why he was so very grateful he decided to give her her very own special date crime solving day with him, something sweet and thoughtful and sentimental, something he never did to anyone else without any ulterior motives.