John in series 4

 (Sherlock Meta by sussexbound)

Anonymous asked: I'm afraid for John in the new series. Especially since it seems like what happens in TST will be his fault and Martin said his moral compass will "go off pole a bit" and that he's going to be dealing with temptation and guilt, whatever that means-I'm afraid they'll ruin John Watson and he doesn't deserve that. I want them to do him justice-he's been done wrong in so many adaptations. This is vague for a prompt, it's more of just a message, but yeah, I'm afraid they'll ruin John.

sussexbound answered: Yeah, I totally get this fear. I think it depends on how you see John as a character, and people seem really divided on their interpretations there, and everyone seems equally emotionally invested. There are a lot of people out there still who hate Season 3 John because they see him as wildly out of character. I don’t. But I know a lot of people do. So I think that if people are married to the idea of a John who it primarily (or only) a kind-hearted, loyal carer, they are going to be in for a big shock and/or disappointment.

I see John as very human, and very flawed. A man with a warm heart, and a desperate need to love and be loved, but who also battles with anger, with fear, with co-dependence. He has all the characteristics of someone who grew up being abused, and who hasn’t dealt with the fallout of that much, except to try and run from it or stick his head in the sand.

He’s a good man who tries to do what he thinks he is expected to do, but you know what? That isn’t sustainable. Sherlock knows this. He’s told John that John is not, at his core, the man he is trying to desperately to be. And no matter how much he fights his true self, it will always push through.

So I think that we are going to see the ramifications of that this season. Sherlock isn’t the only one for whom ghosts come home to roost. John has been running from his true self for a very long time, too, and he is going to have to face the natural consequences of his choices in Season 3.

For me there is very little they could do that would ruin John for me. It would have to be something wildly out of character. If they made him a bumbling idiot, for instance. That would bug me, because they have often stated that they are trying to make a point of not having their John be that old stereotype. This is sort of why I don’t like the theory that John will suspect that Sherlock is the father of his baby. I just don’t see John as being that stupid. Not after TSoT, HLV and TAB, at any rate. Or if they made him evil on the level of Moriarty (which I guarantee you they won’t do).

John cheating on his wife, or being involved in secrets behind Sherlock’s back, or even having dark secrets from back in his war days are all things that would seem in-character to me. He’s human. He’s morally flawed, mostly because he’s not dealing with his own shit, but there is definitely a struggle there. So, I’m not going to panic. I’m going to give this season a chance.

We know from promo and setlock that whatever happens between Sherlock and John gets resolved in some way, because they are talking to one another right away in the next episode, even if things may be strained. So, I don’t think it’s irrevocable damage done, though the changes it causes to their relationship may be irrevocable. But, at this point, that might be a good thing. They weren’t at the best place at the end of Season 3.