Don’t appal me when I’m high

 (Sherlock Meta by abidos)

I don’t know about you but, erotic fantasies aside, I was quite stunned when Sherlock attacks his brother and pushes him against the wall.



On one hand it seems to throw out of the window how Sherlock was starting to see his brother more as a human being and less as a useful annoyance. On the other hand, it seems so very out of character. We never see Sherlock resort to violence, unless he is attacked first. Whenever he has a conflict with someone, including Mycroft, it is always an argument. Even when he is drunk, it isn’t until someone throws a punch at him that he tries to fight back. Of course, different substances have different effects. But, since the moment John finds him in the crackhouse, Sherlock shows no signs of aggression, repressed or otherwise. Not when John is berating him, not when Molly slaps him, repeatedly. Sherlock only seems to be annoyed with them. He doesn’t get angry until he realises that his brother is at Baker Street.

So what did Mycroft do to deserve such an extreme response? Was it his refusal to deal with Magnussen? But their argument over him takes place within their familiar dynamics. Even when Mycroft, falsely, tells Sherlock he will personally intervene if he doesn’t drop the case, Sherlock remains calm and dismissive. Furthermore, before mentioning Magnussen, Sherlock allows his brother to believe he has drugs in his bedroom in order to avoid him seeing Janine and realising how far along his plans for Magnussen are. He wouldn’t have done that unless he expected his brother to oppose him in this. So, he isn’t happy with Mycroft’s passivity in regards to Magnussen, but it is definitely not unexpected. Therefore, I don’t see it working as a trigger.

And what else is there? Besides the argument about Magnussen, all we see is Mycroft worrying about Sherlock being back on drugs. And everybody is and has been doing that for at least an hour, why would it be any different when it’s Mycroft?

Well, because Mycroft is not everybody. Sherlock believes it when he says that it is not what Mycroft thinks, that is not like last time, that it is for a case, and that he can control it. It’s a quite common belief for people who have struggled with some form of addiction.

John, and Molly, and the rest don’t believe him. So what? They are stupid. But Mycroft isn’t, Mycroft is never wrong. Remember, Sherlock gets angry as soon as he realises Mycroft has come to Baker Street. Not a word has been spoken about Magnussen. All Sherlock knows about his brother at this moment is that he is there because of the drugs thing. We aren’t surprised about Mycroft being there. But in Sherlock’s mind he is perfectly capable of controlling it, and if he knows it, so should Mycroft, because Mycroft is never wrong. But if Mycroft thinks that there is cause for concern, that Sherlock could easily relapse, that no case is worth it, that he has been stupid/unwise again; then Sherlock has to consider that he might be mistaken, because Mycroft is never wrong, but he is stupid, at least compared to his brother.

This unwelcome revelation, combined with his distaste for Magnussen and the drugs, might be what caused him to attack his brother. To get him to stop doubting him, and causing him to doubt himself.