Why John doesn't think Molly is important to Sherlock

 (Sherlock meta by justanotherfangirls)

Q: [...] I just had this thought I wanted to share with someone. Don't you find it odd that John doesn't think Molly is important to Sherlock even after The Reichenbach Fall?

A: [...] There may be a lot of reasons why he always underestimates her. For one, I don’t think he had witnessed the development of their relationship. I don’t think he was with Sherlock and Molly most of the time in the lab, and that probably composes the bulk of their interactions. He didnt see how Sherlock had asked for Molly’s help. He was not around for a long time after trf, but I’m betting Molly had been a few times at least; she was Sherlock’s only connection to his old life. And I think their established closeness in this particular time, that we were not privy to, is the reason why that scene in TEH was very loaded. He doesn’t know about Molly’s bedroom being Sherlock’s bolthole.

But I think the most important reason is John’s bias. It has been mentioned in TAB, the episode from Sherlock’s perspective, how John portrays this idealized version of Sherlock, a gentleman hero, a hero that would easily, obviously pick an idealized version of a woman as well. And Molly is not this idealized woman, she is cute but awkward, she wears her heart on her sleeve you don’t even have to deduce her, she is always available for Sherlock, it can be easy to discount her. But Sherlock did not - these traits actually endeared her to him, and not the opposite as John might have expected.

And that’s why John, yet again, saw, but did not observe.