Even in Sherlock's mind, Moriarty always underestimates Molly

 (Sherlock meta by creamocrop)

Q: Loved your analysis of the Mind Palace! What's also interesting is that when his "Moriarty" (extreme crazy id?) tells him who will be crying for him, he never mentions Molly: even in Sherlock's mind, Moriarty always underestimates Molly: the one who always counts.

A: Thank you very much! Now, you hit this one on the spot! Moriarty in strait-jacket, wrapped in chains and locked in a padded room is arguably one of the scariest scenes in Sherlock so far. Props to Andrew Scott! 

Now on to the fact that Moriarty missed Molly again! When he was actually listing the possible reactions of the people who cared for Sherlock if he dies, I was actually crossing my fingers and was hoping that he would forget Molly again - and boy was I glad that he did.

Because, you see for me, mind-palace-Jim remaining clueless about how vital Molly is in Sherlock’s life, is very important! The mere fact that this Jim still has no idea about what Molly did for Sherlock, means that even though our dear consulting detective is scared of him (why else would he place Jim in such a secluded and heavily secured place, if he wasn’t), his ability to compartmentalize and keep his mind palace objective and organized remains top-notch. He did not let his fear of Moriarty rule him and leak a very vital information.

Even in his mind palace, Sherlock knows that he is safe from Moriarty as long as the consulting criminal remains in the dark about the woman who mattered the most. See, this again shows how Sherlock associates Molly with safety and survival.

She is the barrier between Sherlock and Moriarty.

She is the barrier between Sherlock and his fear.