Who are these idiots in the Sherlock tag who think that Sherlock faked his death
mallamun:
Take heed, because this is the only time I will push aside the fandom ethic that everyone should be given an undisturbed space for their opinion to flourish, and that everyone should feel free to post without being exposed to cruel language. I will take my scary-face out of the box this once, lose a couple dozen followers, and then never take it out again.
In short:
Fuck you and fuck off.
Sherlock did not fake his death.
He just happened to survive.
Don’t you dare invalidate this character’s magnum opus. Don’t you dare cheapen that moment when he flings himself to his death to protect his loved ones.
"Oh, he went to Molly to plan this whole thing!"
"Oh, he saw this whole thing coming, and planned out every little detail!"
No. He didn’t.
Don’t you get it? Clever, clever Sherlock, for once in his life, was completely helpless. He’s not a god. He doesn’t know everything. He’s not an unbreakable hero. He’s human. The most human human that John has ever known.
And he was defeated.
Our hero lost.
He was never even a hero, which he tried to tell us.
Not until today.
Not until he lept off that building.
That blood he spilled on the pavement? That was real. That was for John.
So shut. the fuck. up. because you are idiots.
—-
Edit: No, I’m not saying that he made zero plans, or had zero contingencies. Obviously, he knew that Moriarty’s master stroke would be to end his life in some disgraceful way, and he tried to make preparations for that. Faking his death was probably one of the things he discussed with Molly. But he also really, truly feared that he might be defeated, and he was. He did not anticipate the situation that he found himself on, there on the St. Bart rooftop. It was an utter shock to him. And it forced him to end his life. The fact that he happened to survive against all odds gave him the unexpected opportunity to utilize some of the contingencies he had set up, but that was not because he was clever, it was because he was lucky.
makokitten:
All right, this is a pretty inflammatory post, and I can see why you’d get a bit worked up about this, but I think Sherlock’s sacrifice is being looked at through the wrong lens. Yes, Sherlock Holmes sacrificed something valuable to him when he fell off of the roof of Barts. But no, it wasn’t his life.
It was his reputation, which has always meant more to him.
Sherlock’s behavior has always bordered on self-destructive. Not suicidal (there is a difference), but everything from his old drug habits to his willingness to take the pill from the cabbie in “A Study in Pink” (and, please, when he says “Knew you’d turn up” to John that was the thinnest of excuses) demonstrates that he’s happy to risk his life for the thrill of the game. So, Sherlock Holmes has played a living/dying game with himself before—if he jumped off the roof and survived, it would just be along the same lines, honestly. That doesn’t add much character depth.
What does is that Sherlock can’t stand people thinking that he’s a fake. John says it to him earlier in the episode—“You’d care if people thought you were stupid or wrong.” And he would care, does care. Cares so much.
Which is why that’s the angle that Moriarty goes for. ”Kill you? No, I will burn you. I will burn the heart out of you.” Sherlock’s death isn’t the important bit: it’s that he dies in disgrace. Moriarty knows that Sherlock leaping off the roof will be taken as “the truth came out and he couldn’t handle everyone knowing about it.” Sherlock knows that, too. He’ll be seen as a fraud. And he can’t stand being seen as a fraud.
And you know what? Every single friendship he had will be ruined, too. Everyone thinking he’s fake—he’d be cut off. And he pushes for that, even though it hurts—it’s the only way to protect them. With his last words, he tries to discredit himself to John. John doesn’t buy it, of course, but that’s just how John is.
And then Sherlock falls anyway.
So, in the end, faked or un-faked, Sherlock dying wasn’t the important part. It was the fact that he sacrificed his reputation for the sake of his friends. He’s willing to be thought of as stupid to protect John, Mrs. Hudson, and Lestrade. That tells you more about his growth than anything else ever could.
h3rring:
All of this. Just all of this. And given everything that happened in the episode, especially Moriarty telling Sherlock that “it’s going to start soon,” Sherlock had to know shit was going to hit the fan. If he realized that only when Moriarty visited him, that still gave him two months to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Plenty of time. There’s your explanation behind why Molly says Sherlock looks so sad when he thinks John can’t see him. Sherlock knows his time is running out. Molly is the final component and of course she is willing to help him. Sherlock doesn’t want to have to jump, but Moriarty forces him into it.
Personally, I think Sherlock has known he could die literally or metaphorically (or both) for a lot longer than that. Just my gut feeling. He does tend to play with his life, in general, and Moriarty threatened him initially at the pool. It just doesn’t hit him until the very end that death is RIGHT THERE.
As for how Sherlock faked his death, theories abound. I’ve personally settled on this theory, for now, until I see something more compelling: Sherlock did jump, he did use physics to make himself move horizontally, he landed in a truck of garbage, he rolled out and lied down on the pavement, the homeless network ran interference on John while dumping out blood, Sherlock used the rubber ball to hide his pulse, etc. etc. etc. He could have died on the fall, regardless of his preparation, but he didn’t.
And yes, Sherlock was terrified of falling, of dying. Particularly in disgrace. He was very scared. You can hear that in his breathing—he starts to panic. My headcanon involves a fear of falling from heights, even. (Speaking of fears, he’s also terrified of failing. ”Falling” is only one letter off.) But he was still going through with it, all of it, falling from a roof and falling from grace, to protect his friends.
Ivy Blossom:
Well this is all very interesting.
Sherlock does give up something very valuable when he jumps off that building. But it isn’t his life, and it isn’t his reputation. He doesn’t care what other people think of him. It’s John who cares about what other people think. It’s John who writes up what Sherlock deduces and the crimes he solves, because John is proud of Sherlock’s amazing brain and wants the world to know about him. But Sherlock doesn’t care about that.
The only thing of value to Sherlock that he gives up when he jumps off the building is John. John, and the life they have together. I presume this is really why the rest of the series, and the rest of this episode, shows so much of their domesticity, and the way that John takes care of Sherlock and helps him manage in the world in ways he couldn’t before. That’s what Sherlock is giving up; loving someone, and being loved in return.
And it’s that that makes him cry, for real this time.
No comments:
Post a Comment