Why Sherlock meant it when he said "I Love You" to Molly

 (Sherlock meta by rosamundi)

If you’re telling me that Sherlock said “I love you” to Molly and didn’t mean it, then you are ignoring years of character growth and Sherlock’s primary conflict: That is, admitting that he isn’t a machine. Just an episode ago, Sherlock was the guy who said he will never be interested in a romantic relationship.

As a writer, you must cut out everything that doesn’t bring forward a character’s growth. Was the scene ambiguous? Yes. But it was deliberate. It was heartbreaking and beautiful, because it would bring up all sorts of important questions about Sherlock’s character. What’s next for him? How does he deal with these emotions? Will it break him like Eurus said? Will it defeat him? Will he dismiss it as something trivial? Or will he… choose to explore this new-found territory? If shot otherwise, from the perspective of being forced, the only question left to solve would be “how to explain to Molly the situation without her getting mad”. Not very… impactful and dramatic. I would even describe it as rather stupid.

If Sherlock didn’t mean it, then there would be nothing there for his growth. No questions. No conflict. Easily solvable. You see, that’s why Eurus chose to do this, because it would hurt him that way. If he didn’t mean it, you’re actually admitting that Sherlock is still the same guy who showed Janine the fake engagement ring to get access to Magnussen’s office. A means to an end, even a gallant one. That’s how useless this scene was, if he didn’t mean it. They might as well not show that scene at all.

No, that whole scene relies on the sole fact that Sherlock meant it, because that would strip him bare and force him to deal with things he had always run away from.