The Final Problem: 

The Forced 'I Love You' And The Missing Sherlolly Scene

 (Sherlock meta by thedenimofrose)

Many have discussed to what extent Sherlock meant the “I love you,” and others also question why the writers would leave out the scene where Sherlock and Molly reunite. A sincere “I love you” can easily feel like a leap because it’s Sherlock, but the Sherlock first seen in series one was an illusion, and Eurus was digging deep trying to unearth the real him. Like classeyspanks said, the entire scene was vivisection. Euros was peeling back Sherlock like an onion, and though some have called the missing scene an oversight, there is a strong possibility that it was intentionally left out, and if so, it is not a sign of Molly’s insignificance, but could arguably be proof of canon.

“Say It Like You Mean It”.

1. Why the Fake “I Love You” Theory Doesn’t Hold Up

For Sherlock to become truly vulnerable, Eurus needed Sherlock to become wholly invested in that game. She couldn’t afford for him to be detached - to be in such control of his own emotions that his mask remained in place. The scene conveys that it was not forcing Molly to utter “I love you” that made Sherlock emotional. Of course, it pained him to see her in pain, and it pained him to be the source of her agony. Yet, through the beginning of the conversation, he remained in control of his emotions. He had been confident that he could get her to say it. When he ordered her to “Say it anyway,” his insistent expression revealed that he truly expected the next words out of her mouth to be compliance. She was going to say “I love you,” and he was going to save her. He still remained in control.

Then, Molly ordered him to say “I love you.” Though unexpected, it shouldn’t have thrown him. If three words were the only condition to saving her life, most people would have said it. John would have, even Mycroft was in the back making incoherent noises, trying to stay silent, but also trying to say “HURRY UP.” So why did Sherlock start to unravel when Molly asked him to say it back?

There was a very important parallel in that scene. While Molly struggled to say “I love you” to Sherlock because she meant it, Sherlock also wrestled with his own “I love you.” Had he not said just minutes earlier that the words were “very easy” to say? Now, they sat stuck in his throat, and he, the man who never begs for mercy, would rather look at his sister with his eyes pleading, “Please don’t make me do this.”

The theme of that scene was not “I love you” as one would say to a friend. Mycroft deduced that immediately. He said, “I’m assuming the list is short.” This part of the game was about Sherlock and romantic sentiment, his greatest fear and most hidden vulnerability. If he didn’t feel anything for Molly, but platonic sentiment, he should have been able to “keep it together,” like John and Mycroft. Yet, when Molly tells Sherlock to say it back, he freezes. It was not going to hurt Molly to hear him say it. She even smiled. So who was he protecting? The only other person he could have been protecting was himself.

Many people are dubious to believe he could truthfully say those words to Molly because she “doesn’t count.” That is a major reason why some people are so reluctant. Even though he stated in series two, “You do count.” People still struggle to believe he meant it. Yet, his behavior towards her over the series confirms that he did. The tenderness in his gaze when he kissed on the cheek in The Empty Hearse, the lingering look when she had already turned away, his respect for her, his burgeoning trust… Their relationship has grown series after series. Moreover, also, it’s important to remember that the writers have been drawing attention over the past four episodes to Sherlock’s romantic life and to the possibility that he may soon find himself in a romantic relationship.

This theme has been reoccurring since The Abominable Bride. In that episode, it was revealed tha
t Sherlock though discomforted by it, is capable of romantic attachment. John said in The Abominable Bride, “Surely, you have urges.” In other words, surely, you desire to be with someone, and I remember someone pointing out that this was all in Sherlock’s mind and Sherlock was telling himself that a part of him craves more.

Later in that scene, the audience sees Sherlock tell John to stop talking. Sherlock silences that voice in his head, suppressing that desire, saying (and I am paraphrasing), “This is who I choose to be.” Yet, then, the writers had John bring up the topic again in The Lying Detective, saying Sherlock needs to be with someone to keep him grounded. John contradicted Sherlock when he said (and I am paraphrasing) “Romantic entanglements aren’t for me,” and if John knew Sherlock was hiding from the truth, so did Eurus. She had been pushing an emotional context on Sherlock the entire episode. She knew the man who suppresses all emotion, who can’t love, doesn’t want to love - that was a lie. She wanted her Sherlock, the one she grew up with, so she twisted the knife, targeting where he was most vulnerable to get the facade to collapse.

Significantly, the theme was emotional context. Eurus focused on Sherlock’s emotional investments. John was the best friend, and Mycroft was the beloved big brother, so what was Molly? Eurus had friendship covered with John, family covered with Mycroft, the only other form of love is the romantic. As Amanda Abbington said, Molly had become Sherlock’s rock, and when Eurus threatened her, she threatened to strip Sherlock of the very thing that kept him grounded.

2. Why It Had To Be Forced

This game was not about Sherlock the Detective or Sherlock the Brain. It was about Sherlock the Man. Whether one sees this as an intentional act by Eurus or just by the writers, the entire scene was about getting Sherlock to confess he loved Molly Hooper, and he was never going to let himself go there unless he was pushed to a point of desperation, and he was. The “I Love You” scene tore down the carefully constructed framework of their relationship. While Molly pretends she doesn’t love him as more than a friend, he pretends that he doesn’t know her true feelings - even though Molly knows he knows. But it’s safe. The lie is safe to them. Sherlock can’t let himself feel, and Molly can’t let herself hurt, so they just stayed in their little dance until Eurus…

That scene didn’t shatter them. It shattered their false dynamic. It shattered their ability to go on in a lie, so to get to that point to the one in the end where she walks in grinning at Sherlock*, there was a scene (if not quite a few) we never got to see. Their closure scene. The scene that forever shifted the dynamic of their relationship and - many, including me, believe - made them really become canon.

3. The Doctor Who Tradition of Missing “I Love You” Scenes 

For those unaware, allow me to provide some background context - the writers [Steven Moffat] are from Doctor Who. They are accustomed to writing in the Doctor Who style, and in that show, the audience never gets verbal confirmation from the male protagonist that he loves the person we all know he loves. It’s Doctor Who (2005) tradition to never make it verbally explicit, which is why I believe we never got the scene where Sherlock apologized and told Molly what was going on.

4. The Oversight as Further Proof of Canon 

The oversight, in terms of canon, is actually necessary. The missing scene strongly suggests that he confessed AGAIN to her in some format. This time with no "Say it like you mean its” to make it dubious for those who are not fans. Like Doctor Who, BBC's Sherlock likes to leave things unanswered, but just because they don’t give an answer that doesn’t mean an answer wasn’t there.

Side Note: Can we take a moment to appreciate the parallel between Eurus killing the Governor’s wife and threatening to kill Molly? Because when she chose Molly as a pressure point, Eurus put Molly in perfect parallel with the governor’s wife. In an episode like this where people are purposefully left to wonder whether Sherlock is in love with Molly, this parallel is both massive and highly informative.

*Screen Time’s discussion of Molly’s smile in the last scene and the canonization of Sherlolly can be found here at 6:06.