Love Live Irene Adler 

(Sherlock Meta by Ivy Blossom)

I love it when Irene comes up, because Irene is the embodiment of Sherlock’s sexuality. She’s the question that he tries very hard to ignore. She is the road not taken, but a road he could still take, possibly, if he wanted to. When Irene pops up, it’s a cue to think about Sherlock as a sexual being. It’s that for John as well, clearly.

I don’t want to be self-referential about this, but I feel compelled to be tonight: we fanfiction writers know how great it is to have Irene crop up as a conversation between Sherlock and John. It’s a crisis point conversation. It’s the best way for John to ask all the questions he wants to without actually asking them, and that’s pretty much what happened here as well. He wants to know: are you straight, are you gay, what are you, Sherlock? What do you want? Do you love her? Is it her, or is it me? 

That conversation usually ends like this: “I could go to her, but I’d rather stay with you.” (Why would he do that, John? Ohhh right, because he loves you!) We’ve all done that, haven’t we? Haven’t we all written that in one way or another? I don’t want to disparage my favourite screenwriter by saying “low hanging fruit,” but…Irene is low hanging fruit, we all grabbed it, didn’t we?

I like this idea that Sherlock sometimes responds to Irene’s texts. That’s good; that’s some ice melting off of him. To me that says he’s been thinking about the possibility that maybe a sexual relationship is something he wants. With her? Probably not. But she’s an entry point to it, she’s his libido, and yes, he has one, and he just acknowledged that. That’s great. Tonight, in this episode, Sherlock acknowledged that he sometimes considers the possibility of engaging in a sexual relationship. That’s huge.

I’m so glad Irene came back up just now.

John was about to leave. He was going to abandon Sherlock 20 minutes early, why? He’s trying to put distance between himself and Sherlock because he is not the man Mary thinks he is. Does this make sense? What does that have to do with Sherlock?

And why does he suddenly need to tell Sherlock what to do about Irene?

Because it’s not only Mary who needs him to be a good man. Sherlock needs him too, and John feels that he’s failed both of them. Why is he sending Sherlock off to Irene? He’s saying: I’m not good enough for you, Sherlock. Irene loves you too, go to here instead.

But that’s ridiculous. We all know Irene can’t keep Sherlock right. If anything, she’d send him down the worst paths, as she’s done before. John says to Mary, and to Sherlock: I can’t be the man you need to be. I cannot live up to your expectations. I am not that man.

And both of them say, yes you are. You’re human, you do the best you can, and that’s why we love you, and it’s good enough for me.

And John hears that, and he doesn’t leave.

I like it.