A Love-Friendship: Why I Don’t Ship Johnlock

 (Sherlock Meta by sherlockcharacteranalysis, sherliholmes, 

thecutteralicia and thenorwoodbuilder)

sherlockcharacteranalysis:

(This is not an attempt to bash anyone that does; it’s just some thoughts I’ve been thinking about lately that I’m trying to work out.)

I recently got around to reading The Quiet Man and The Progress of Sherlock Holmes by ivyblossom. I am not a Johnlock shipper by any means, but I found both of these really wonderfully written, especially "Progress". (Sherlock’s voice in that piece is just perfect.) They are the only two (non-AU) Johnlock fictions that I’ve ever seen that give due justice to the two characters and the bond between them. (In fact, they’re definitely among the best Sherlock fanfictions I’ve read in general.)

(EDIT: My views on this have changed a bit since I wrote this. I think I do ship them in an emotional sense, and I have definitely read lots of wonderful Sherlock fanfiction, Johnlock or otherwise, other than Progress and The Quiet Man. That being said, I still stand by the main points I wrote out below.)

I have to say I’m still not entirely convinced though.

"Progress" as a story worked for me because it’s almost an AU. It was written before series 2 when more liberties could be taken with the characters, and it assumes from the start that both Sherlock and John have romantic feelings for each other. With that assumption, the events which unfold between the two of them in the story were true to character and emotionally genuine.

However, I never see a trace of romantic feeling in either of them on the actual show. There just isn’t that kind of tension between the two of them.  They’re in love, but it’s purely emotional.

Which is why I found “Quiet Man,” as beautifully structured as it is, less convincing, because this one tries to follow the show more closely, and like the show it assumes that their love is purely emotional at the beginning. Then, throughout the story, it turns romantic, but I find the assumption that emotional love will just naturally turn romantic (and then physical) just completely problematic. Why should the fact that the two of them love each other with all their hearts, more than anyone else, imply that they want to be sexually involved with each other? The attraction between them is not in anyway physical, so it always seems like a huge leap (if not a mistake) when they do become physically involved. I just don’t buy it. I also don’t think either Sherlock or John would just naturally make that assumption either.

Just once I would love to find a Sherlock fanfic that explores this emotional relationship that they have (and their possible complications). I find that the friendship fics treat their relationship too much like a regular (if close) friendship and ignore the obvious infatuation between them, whereas the romantic ones assume a physical attraction that isn’t there. What they actually have doesn’t fit in either box.

For it’s this, this emotional love that they share, which makes their friendship so fascinating. Which makes the show so fascinating (at least to me). It’s not something we see represented at all in our culture these days, being in-love with a friend as a friend, platonically, even though it’s a completely real phenomenon. While there are representations of friends who love each other in our culture, friends-in-love are always in-love romantically and end up a romantic couple.

Except here between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. So while I can understand and even appreciate interpretations of Sherlock and John being involved romantically, I also can’t help but feel like such an interpretation takes something away from what they already have. Their relationship is perfect as it is, why turn it into something that it’s not?

sherli-holmes:

Reblogging because there’s some really interesting points up there and also in your other post here. No I agree with you, love comes in all forms and they’re both absolutely in love with each other, but that doesn’t necessarily mean sexually. Let me just pre-face this by saying that we don’t really have a word for what these two are to each other: it’s a bit of a failure on society’s part that such a relationship defies labeling unless there’s sex involved.

Unlike you, I DO ‘ship Johnlock’ though and the reason is basically just that, the way I read the original books, I wonder if the relationship between them was just a platonic/emotional or something more: I guess it should be noted that Doyle was known to at least be sympathetic/friends with two men who were vilified for being homosexual and that a few of the dates and comments in his stories are suggestive, if nothing else.

While reading Sherlock Holmes on the surface in this day and age suggests a definite asexuality (whether self-imposed or not), you have to remember that a closeted homosexual in the Victorian era might have some of the same characteristics. Not, of course, that he’d necessarily be in love with Watson even if he was gay, but, again, that’s something to worked out in context.  Hmm, that’s actually a post I want to do at some point: delving into canon and finding out hints to the exact nature of his and Watson’s relationship: it just seems like it could be an interesting project! There’s a good bit of literature that goes both ways on the subject and a quick google search would draw out some of it: I’ll try making a masterpost of the better pieces at some point, on both sides.

The BBCverse is different: we can no longer make the leap that a closeted man who shows little interest in sex might be homosexual, especially not when there are openly gay relationships on the show. (Side note: I thought it was interesting Moffat made a bit of a fuss when someone suggest Sherlock was asexual: I would have thought that the BBC version was absolutely leaning in that direction)

 I also think it’s interesting that the BBC never has Holmes deny that he’s homosexual or that they’re in a relationship: even Moffat doesn’t deny it! I love that point in TBB where he asks John about his dates and follows it up with “Isn’t that what we do?” I think, personally, that Sherlock has had so little experience with relationships that he considers John to be his partner (and by partner, I mean whatever the hell that actually means to him) and reacts accordingly. I see Sherlock as finding sexuality to be merely an inconvenient/irrelevant point to that discussion, whereas John, as you’ve mentioned, is fairly conventional and it means a lot more to him: he clearly thinks it’s a salient point on whether or not a relationship exists. I guess we also have to question whether or not we agree with him: if sex is the only thing that John’s NOT getting out of this relationship, then isn’t Johnlock canon? Depending on how you define Johnlock: I personally think it’s been canon since ASiB.

As for fan fic: yes, I agree, I think it’s slightly problematic to assume that just because they’re in love, they’re going to end up turning it into physical love: but I also just don’t think that the vast majority of human beings can separate physical and emotional love so completely, at least not outside a strict tv screen (which, of course, is exactly what this is). However, a sexual human being would likely take an emotional attachment of this nature (and by this nature, i mean that they clearly don’t act like siblings and, yes, there is a certain degree of sexual tension that has been either written in or portrayed by the actors) and possibly turn it into something sexual.

If we take that as also true for our fictional characters (which I’ve already noted is problematic, but bear with me), then Holmes becomes the question mark in to a physical relationship. He’s really not sexual at all, at least in his portrayal so far and so that would be an obstacle. On the other hand, I could see Watson, if he got over his latent homophobia (likely a combination of associating the word with failure, thanks to his sister, and, of course, his military life), tending in the direction.

*Throws up hands* Just me! I know at this point I’m getting into psychoanalysis of fictional characters, which is a terrible idea and so I’m going to back off slowly. I’m just pointing out that while black/white is easy to conceive of/portray on the screen, it’s not so viable in a realistic solution. Also that Sherlock doesn’t try for black and white: there’s a definite grey area, as suggested not just by the people around them, but by themselves and the actors (‘Do you have a boyfriend?’ ‘Are you wearing pants? ’ ‘Is that the boring teacher?’ ‘You and those cheekbones.’ ‘The gayest story in the history of television’, among others.)

It would be harder to write a fan fic without giving the reader that emotional satisfaction of having them beholden to each other in a way that goes beyond the purely emotional (that sentence sounds like a contradiction, but I swear it isn’t!) Doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be attempted. Another side note: I have my own opinions on The Quiet Man, some favourable, others less so and probably for different reasons, but, like you, I truly enjoyed The Progress of Sherlock Holmes.

Anyways, that all being said: I’m actually with you and Moffat on one point: does it really matter whether or not they’re sleeping together? Of course it doesn’t. They love, defend- hey, let’s just put it this way— they love, honour and obey each other. And while I’m sure comparing their relationship to a marriage is not going to sit well with some people, it quite honestly is. They are the most important person in each other’s life. Sex is, as has been mentioned, irrelevant.

One day, I’m going to get around to posting a massive meta on why I ship Johnlock, but this will have to do for now!

thecutteralicia:

This is a fascinating discussion on a fascinating issue. I’d like to add just a few very quick points that probably don’t contribute anything, but are interesting bits of backstory that kept coming to my mind while reading:

* In addition to Moffat and Gatiss declining to label Sherlock’s sexuality when specifically asked, they’ve also written it so that John, in the series universe, doesn’t even know Sherlock’s sexuality either.

* Moffat and Gatiss are hugely influenced by Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (calling it “the template” for the series), which is probably the only major Holmes adaptation where (taking into account Wilder’s stated intent) Sherlock is gay. Mark certainly takes that interpretation, and has described it as a film where we watch Sherlock Holmes fall in love with John Watson.

* Moffat has said that he makes a distinction between sex scenes and love stories, and finds the latter much more satisfying to explore. He’s specified that John is straight, “whatever Sherlock is,” but further explained that that has little to do with John being completely “infatuated and fascinated” by Sherlock. And that, similarly, Sherlock adores and is devoted to John while at the same time being indifferent to sex. That’s what fascinating about their relationship to me, and indeed about the series’ approach to sexuality in general. In contrast to many American shows, where sex is considered hugely important (many shows are nothing but jokes, fears and angst over sex) and the ultimate goal and pinnacle of a love relationship, in the world of Sherlock sex appears to be an adaptable bodily function; a footnote that may or may not accompany love. The love - the all encompassing emotional bonding, dependency and fascination - is the end goal.

* There’s no question that John and Sherlock love each other and are emotionally involved. That’s spelled out in the scene where Jeanette dumps John: we presume that Jeanette and John are sexually involved, yet he is so emotionally intimate with Sherlock that it takes complete precedence over anyone or anything else. John literally appears to feel nothing at the prospect of losing his sexual partner, but is completely the opposite when it comes to losing Sherlock. As you mention above, if it’s canon that the only thing John gets from his girlfriends is sex and everything else (including love, intellectual stimulation, emotional intimacy, etc.) is received from Sherlock, what does that mean? If John were gay and Sherlock was still himself and uninterested in sex, would they continue as is and John just continue to have boyfriends on the side? And according to Moffat, for Sherlock thinking is sex, so does that mean that Sherlock does receive everything he could wish for in a partner in John?

thenorwoodbuilder:

This debate is very interesting, even if I’m not a shipper (except, perhaps, of Lestrade and Molly…) of anyone on the show, and particularly of Johnlock, basically because I stick to the Canon, on this respect - given also the fact that BBC series has not given any real hint that the writers want to take any different road.

But there is a point of all this very interesting exchange I feel I MUST contest: when sherli-holmes (b.t.w.: welcome, dear!) says: “we don’t really have a word for what these two are to each other”.

No, folks, we DO HAVE a word - one of the most beautiful words, for one of the most beautiful and wonderful sentiments - for this: and this word is FRIENDSHIP.

If there is a thing that Sherlock (Holmes) and John (Watson) are, both in Canon and in BBC adaptation, is the perfect, exemplar representation of what a true, spontaneous, unbreakable friendship IS.

And this also Gatiss and Moffat have aknowledged.

This is what has always most moved me, in the Canon: this incredibly strong bond of friendship which these two very different men share, this totally free and selfless bond of unadulterated love born of adventures and dangers faced together, as well as of a unexpressed (but clearly perceived on both parts) and shared affinity. The miracle of two lonely human beings finding each other in a vast universe and discovering in each other a kindred spirit, without any claim, any obbligation, any tension - sexual or otherwise - just love in its purest (by which I mean: most free and selfless) manifestation.

This is the miracle of friendship, this is what true friendship (and not all that bunch of superficial human interaction we use to call “friendship” in everyday life, out of laziness and fear of solitude…) is (as I’ve already stated before), and this is what make Holmes and Watson and their relationship something marvellous and unforgettable. Because friendship is stronger than romantic (and even more just erotic) love, stronger even than blood and family. Friendship doesn’t require anything from a friend, but friendship itself: no expectations, no desires, no tension, no jealousy, no claims, no obligations. Everything is just spontaneous and unconditioned love, which doesn’t even need to be shown through open manifestations: true friends know they are friends, they don’t need to talk about it. And when they happen to voice out loud this friendship, it’s always something which is at the same time sweet and awkward, because friendship is so much more strong of what any word could say…

And this is exactly what the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson is. The miracle of true friedship, that Conan Doyle suceeded to immortalize like few other writers. This is his greatness, and will always be.

(Forgive my quite heated tone, but I am lucky enough to personally know this kind of true friendship, and I strongly feel the need to do it justice…)