So I was going through HLV frame by frame, like you do, when I noticed something I hadn’t really noticed before. This is probably because John spends the entire confrontation scene furious and sarcastic, so it didn’t particularly stand out, but I think it’s important.
Remember the bit where Mary tells John not to read the flash drive in front of her, because she doesn’t want to watch him fall out of love (as if shooting Sherlock weren’t the worst thing she could possibly do)? Well, here’s John’s reaction, after snatching up the flash drive.
And in case you missed it, a slower, larger view of John’s face as he looks back at her.
If you’re still not sure, here’s the last frame of that.
That’s a smirk, I’m positive. And while I’m somewhat leery of making too much of a short clip, I think one thing is clear: John’s reaction wasn’t ‘my poor wife, I’m furious with her but I still love her’. It’s incredulity and scorn. If I had to guess what he was thinking in this moment, it’d be ‘Seriously? You think that’s going to work on me now?’
So here’s the thing. While it is technically possible that John was prepared to forgive Mary by Christmas (though I personally think it would be out of character for the man who punched the Chief Superintendent of NSY), that’s not when he got the flash drive. He was given the flash drive during a confrontation in which he showed no trace of love or affection for Mary, a confrontation in which he looked scornful and furious and murderous. And that’s before Sherlock collapsed again. And yes, Sherlock tried to convince him that Mary was trustworthy, but John was incredulous about it.
So what would you do if you were in the hospital waiting for your best friend to wake up from surgery because your wife had shot him, your wife was completely unapologetic, and you had information she didn’t want you to have burning a hole in your pocket?
John read it. Nothing else makes sense.
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