Rewatching Sherlolly: The Great Game

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

The Great Game gave us mystery and action that kept us at the edge of our seats, an introduction to our resident villain that is even better at hiding in plain sight than Sherlock himself, a good perspective on how much Sherlock doesn’t care, and how much he actually does.

As season finale, this episode ties up nicely the conflict introduced at the first episode: Sherlock’s true addiction. He would do anything to stop being bored. He would bet his life to prove he’s clever. He was very turned on by this game with Moriarty. But he realizes that he has limits. He realizes he has a heart. In a moment of pure brilliance, Benedict Cumberbatch has shown the exact moment Sherlock realized that, with a blink of his eyes and tightening of his jaw. But we have seen it earlier on his face: the anger when he heard the explosion that killed the old woman, the heartbreak when he thought John betrayed him, and what looks like regret and hurt when Molly walked out on him. In his conversations with John, it seemed that this was not a man who didn’t care, rather, one who cared too much but believes with all his being that caring is not an advantage.

Looking into Sherlock’s scene with Molly, there was already an air of friendliness between them, an improvement from the earlier episodes. Perhaps a product of frequent interaction, as Molly was most probably the one from Bart’s morgue who got him that head, and if she did, there were probably other parts too; after all Sherlock is easily bored. At the lab, Sherlock was so eager to share his excitement in finding a bacteria match with her like the science nerds that they are. But then Jim enters, and the atmosphere changes in a flash.

Sherlock looks at Jim, at Molly, then back at Jim, and sees everything. He sees his eyes, eyelashes, and underwear; he sees the way Molly looked and smiled at Jim; he even sees the three pounds she gained. And looking at Sherlock, you could see clearly that he hated Jim. It is not mild irritation like he had with Sarah when she, at his point of view, was wasting John’s time when he should be assisting him, and was making sub par deductions. It does not appear to be jealousy because Sherlock knew Jim was gay and would leave Molly eventually. I see it as more than anything else, sheer protectiveness. When Jim left his number under the petri dish, he became even more annoyed. He looked appalled by the nerve of this guy who was fooling Molly, leading her on, and trying to cheat on her! With him! He said so himself, he wants her to break it off and save herself the pain. A twisted way to show care and concern, but it is care and concern nevertheless. In Sherlock talk, he means he does not want her hurt.

What is perhaps more surprising than an emotional Sherlock (anger is an emotion after all), is him trying to suppress a show of his cleverness to bring down someone he does not like. You see him trying to distract himself with his microscope, but not really looking at the slide; he started to say gay but took it back; he is trying really hard to hold himself back. Knowing him, this could not have been easy. He even tried to deflect Molly’s question on his deduction skills, by teasing her with her weight. It is a mark of John’s influence, further confirmed by him checking if what he did was kinder. Well it was not, he did it all wrong, and in the end he did show off his cleverness, but that right there is the proof that he cares enough to not want to humiliate Molly at least not in front of this creep.

As for Molly, she seems to be trying to move on because she has figured out that she had no chance with Sherlock. The side parting of her hair says she’s failing. A selfish part of her might have wanted Sherlock jealous, but it does not seem deliberate or planned. She seemed to like Jim genuinely. Perhaps she saw some sparks of brilliance that reminded her of Sherlock. So when Sherlock spoils the illusion, she becomes angry, at him for being this insensitive unattainable guy she was still in love with, at Jim for lying to her, and at herself for foolishly believing Jim and being stubbornly in love with Sherlock. She apparently did not forgive Sherlock easily, in his succeeding scenes at the hospital Molly does not help him. Maybe he remembered this when he told John later: "you’re angry with me so you won’t help me".

What Molly says, or rather, does not say to Sherlock is curious. Why do you have to spoil -? Spoil what? Everything? Why did she stop herself? I don’t think this is the first time Sherlock spoiled her plans with a relationship, and as we will see it is not the last. Now I didn’t see this Jim fiasco as a show of his jealousy, but there may have been other times that would not always have a reasonable, purely logical basis.

I have always wondered why Jim did not think to include Molly as a target. Maybe because she did not consider herself to count to Sherlock, and had given that impression so effectively that she convinced Jim Moriarty. And Jim would never think of her love as anything other than a weakness. So it seems Sherlock fails spectacularly time and again to show her he cares, Molly reads it as further proof that he does not, and Sherlock just gets confused and perhaps hurt by that. (And his face, if Jim has seen this, he might have hired a fourth assassin.)