Sherlock and The Social Dots

 (Sherlock meta by bassfanimation)

I keep seeing people continue to fight over Sherlock and the meaning of Eurus’ tests so I wanted to write a little thing on it. I’m doing this with a wrist brace on and heinous fibro-turd pain, so forgive any misspellings.

The way I have personally absorbed Sherlock and the meaning of Eurus’s tests is that it’s about Sherlock as an empty person. He is an incomplete picture until he begins connecting the dots that are his social connections and even more importantly, his emotions. Let’s look at his relationships one by one and I’ll explain.

Dot 1: Greg Lestrade 

Lestrade represents respect for authority. In fact, he is the only real authority figure in the series. He’s Sherlock’s ‘boss’ in a way. Bosses need people they employ to be reliable, respectful, and trustworthy. Sherlock treating his boss/mentor like crap, making fun of his intelligence and skirting around him at every chance he gets is terribly disrespectful. Sherlock is childish and arrogant and disregards Lestrade in most cases, even refusing to acknowledge his name. We’ve all had those bosses when we were young that we didn’t respect, so we act like spoiled brats about it even though those people probably have way more experience than we do. They have earned their position via the rout of hard work and being reliable and respectful. By the end of the series, however, Sherlock shows us he has resolved the issue of his respect for Lestrade by politely asking him, by name, a first for the entire series, to please take care of his brother. Sherlock is no longer a bratty child and he has connected the social dot of respect.

Dot 2: John Watson 

John represents friendship, pure and simple. John is literally the “replacement” for Victor, Sherlock’s best friend who was killed when he was very, very little. That left Sherlock as the empty shell that we see at the start of the series. The loss of his friend at such a young age meant that he essentially shut down the part of him that he felt could even have friends. He rejected the idea of personal connections with other people entirely, so that he wouldn’t suffer loss again. John, through all their trials and tragedies, has now healed that wound for Sherlock. Even more, John as Sherlock’s friend, has helped him connect all the other dots. He walked with him step by step to do it. Without John’s companionship, Sherlock would still be empty. John’s maturity helped Sherlock grow up and be the man he was supposed to be, had he not suffered such a terribly traumatic event in his youth.

One other thing John represents is family, brotherhood to be specific. Mycroft was very cold to Sherlock in their youth, even though it’s obvious it wasn’t always that way. In the family videos we are shown, Sherlock absolutely loves his brother. It isn’t until later, after Victor, that he feels so alone. It’s obvious Sherlock loved Victor just like a brother, like the brother he really needed but was taken from him. Sherlock says John is “family” in The Final Problem, and he means it. It also shows just how much emotion Sherlock has. His love is that strong. His friend was his brother, a part of his own blood, even if they wren’t born as brothers.

Dot 3: Mrs. Hudson 

Mrs Hudson represents a parent’s love. It’s clear that Sherlock has a very strained relationship with his parents. He doesn’t hate them, but he doesn’t appear to believe that they care for him. They’re not around when he is still basically a child in a grown man’s body. He has cut them off in his mind. Maybe they weren’t there for him in the past so he continues to believe they’re not there for him now. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hudson dotes on Sherlock, brings him tea and food and generally ‘takes care’ of him. She’s kind but not a pushover. She’s also led a life that is about as tumultuous as you can get, which I think appeals to Sherlock. He always surrounds himself with people who aren’t “regular” people. Mrs. Hudson holds enough action and adventure in her life that she appeals to Sherlock, and she is also loving and sweet to boot. Mrs. Hudson is the connected parental dot for Sherlock.

Dot 4: Irene Adler 

Irene Adler represents sexuality. What’s even better is that Irene represents fluid sexuality, and more importantly, the rejection of labels. Regardless of how everyone has interpreted this, when you get down to the simplicity of it, it is simply about rejection of boxing one’s self in. Sherlock’s box was his own making, his image as the “higher power” that Irene pointed out. Irene’s own box was her sexuality. Both of these people had discovered during the episode that their boxes weren’t taped shut all the way. There was wiggle room. Back to the sexuality part, Irene awakened Sherlock sexually. The entirety of A Scandal in Belgravia was loaded with sexuality, from Sherlock being naked and looking extraordinarily dashing, to the very naked Irene appearing to completely disrupt his logical thinking power. It’s as close to canon as one can get that Sherlock did sleep with Irene after Karachi (judging by Eurus’s reaction to his violin song for her). Sex and intimacy was something Sherlock had very much refrained from in his life and Irene connected that dot for him.

Dot 5: Molly Hooper 

Molly represents authentic love, or “romantic entanglement” as Sherlock puts it. Everything about Molly and Sherlock’s interaction falls in line with how everyday romantic relationships blossom. They began just like kids, with Molly having a crush and Sherlock being a jerk to her, ignoring her, or thwarting her attempts to date other men. As they grow together, they begin to close the gap between them. Molly earns Sherlock’s complete trust, which was monumentally difficult for her to do considering Sherlock’s fear of connecting with people too closely. Molly loves Sherlock through his best times and his worst times, unconditionally, even though he doesn’t appear to return her feelings. From small things we’re shown, however, it feels as if Sherlock does feel something for Molly, but he has compartmentalized it and buried it as deep as he can underground out of fear. Eurus’s test is what forced Sherlock to dig up that box, that box he’d put his heart in and covered it underneath the earth. Eurus forces that box open, and connects the dot of romantic love for Sherlock.

Dot 6: Mary Watson 

Mary represents, I think, coming to terms with one’s self, and the different shades of the self. She represents acceptance. Mary connected with and accepted Sherlock instantly because they were the same. They both came from dangerous lives, they are both morally gray, and they both have a need to be accepted for who they are, the good and the bad. Mary was in many ways, a reflection of Sherlock’s own duality. I think Mary made him question things about himself (no not sexually), and I think she also taught him how much he is worth as a person. She showed him that even though you are this person you’ve constructed out of your own pain, you don’t have to live just as that person. You can have anything you desire and still be you. You can live with shades of yourself, and those around you who truly love you will accept you as that. They will love you for the good that you are, and forgive you for the bad that you are. Mary connected the dots of acceptance for Sherlock.

Dot 7: Jim Moriarty 

Jim represented fear. He represented who Sherlock would have been, had he not had some form of love and connection in his life. He was a madman, a true sociopath. He showed Sherlock what it really would be like if he was who he said he was. We learn very quickly, however, what Moriarty already knew. Sherlock can never be like him because he does have a huge capacity for love. He’s hidden it, denied it, but it is there. Anywhere Moriarty appeared, it caused great fear in Sherlock. Even after his death, Moriarty was in Sherlock’s mind, chained up in a padded room like a some kind of caged monster. As much as Sherlock tried to be like him, he really feared becoming that. He also feared that Moriarty would be the undoing of his friends and family, forever a threat to their lives. Moriarty was an endless threat to Sherlock, an endless fear of madness and murder. Jim connected the dot of fear, true fear, for Sherlock.

Dot 8: Mycroft Holmes 

I admit this one’s tough. I feel Mycroft represents weakness. For all the power Mycroft wields in the government, he’s very fearful of being out in the world. He keeps people as distant as he can manage and still be a part of functioning society. He also did a terrible thing and locked up his little sister and lied to his family about it because he feared confronting it. All along in the series, we see Mycroft chastise Sherlock for things like having friends, being close to people, tangling with psychopaths, etc. Mycroft is a very soft, fearful person, which makes his nickname The Ice Man sort of ironic. Its not that he doesn’t care, he’s just far too soft to care. We see his softness demonstrated with Sherlock, time and time again. He cares so much for his little brother and fears so much for him that he constantly keeps watch on him. Mycroft also tried to help Sherlock by proxy, using John as a means to help Sherlock heal his wounds. In the end, Sherlock comes to realize his brother isn’t a bad person, and that he loves him deeply. In fact, he loves his little brother enough to die for him so that he won’t be left like he was as a child, without his best friend. I think Mycroft regrets being as weak as he is, because he didn’t do more to help his siblings. It just required too much care, and he wasn’t able to fulfill that. In the end, it is Sherlock who is the stronger of them, and he is stronger because of his connected dots. The last dot is connect by Mycroft, and that is Sherlock understanding that he is capable of protecting the weak, that he is stronger thanks to his mind, heart, and soul now being complete.

_____________

That’s about all. I only included the major characters here, the ones we see almost every episode. I’ve already talked a bit about how Eurus forces Sherlock to confront trauma, so she represents that last little bit which Sherlock needs to connect everything together. She wasn’t a dot, so much as the one who helped him see the entire picture he’d made. Also, Rosie helps Sherlock in her own way, as Sherlock now has this capacity to care for the smallest of people: children. Rosie is a teeny, tiny, adorable dot.

I mostly wrote this because I had wanted to for a while, but also because some people are still arguing about the 'I Love You' scene. They’re missing the forest in favor of the leaves. The bigger picture is pretty clear on what everyone’s purposes were in the show, and how they affected Sherlock as a man. To become a great man, he needed to be a complete man. All these connected dots make him that man.

Sherlock and Irene and one night in Karachi

 (Sherlock meta by mae-jones)

Q: Hi I just saw a post here which said that Sherlock slept with Irene in Karachi and it's canon but was it actually stated in the show? I'm kinda confused here coz from what I saw in TFP when Eurus asks if he's had sex ( isn't there an inflection in her tone) he retorts with "why do you ask?" instead of a 'yes' and also isn't Adler's theme a sappy sad song, so from where is this sex part coming from? I kinda got the vibe that he still hasn't crossed that line. Your thoughts? If you don't mind.

A: [...] Sherlock and Irene getting it on was not canonized on the show. However, the ‘one night in Karachi’ was a direct answer to a question about whether Irene and Sherlock had sex during an interview with that Ben guy. He was adamant it happened. Now, if you ask me, I would say that Ben’s comments are a confirmation of them having had sex. You have to remember, he played the character with this in mind. It’s as close to canon as one can get without Sherlock admitting it or us seeing a hot and heavy montage on the show.

But, if you want to envision Sherlock as not having jumped in the sack with Irene (or anyone else), I suppose there’s a wee bit of wiggle room for it. In fact, I am quite certain that the writers wrote conflicting indicators into this show just to preserve some mystique about Sherlock and to make us question what we think we know about him. You are free to believe what you like, just don’t tell others they’re wrong, okay? No one has the definitive answer on this. It is all a matter of interpretation. Unfortunately, people are too hasty assign motivations to interpretations and that’s where these things get testy.

If you want my opinion on it, I have never really envisioned the Sherlock I saw on screen as a virgin. Nor does it bother me to imagine that he and Irene got it on because even though they’re not my otp, I don’t see why him having sex with her would diminish any other relationship. It’s here nor there for me. In the end, Sherlock told my Molly - my fave, fave character - that he loved her and she has the only claim that really matters to my shipper heart, the one on his affections.

You Clearly Don’t Understand. Play You. 

(Or: Things That Everybody Thinks Make Sherlock Canonically Straight But They Really Really Don’t...)

 (Sherlock meta by moffat-rocks)

[...] I. Loved. Series. Four!!! In particular, I loved The Final Problem. I loved Sherlock calling John family, I loved the smashing of the casket, the touching of non-existent glass, the air plane metaphor, Mycroft outside his comfort zone, etcetera etcetera etcetera. I loved the whole bloody thing.

But my favourite, favourite moment was the one when Eurus asks Sherlock to “play you”. And he plays the theme of The Woman. 

Because it is the bravest thing Sherlock has ever done. And it makes this moment incredibly powerful. 

MIND OVER MATTER 

Irene Adler - “The Woman” - is, mildly put, a disputed character of the modern adaptation. Among other things, she is thought to be Moffat’s attempt to make Sherlock “ungay”.

But it really is quite the opposite. The Woman is not a love interest for Sherlock - she is a psychological interest, because she is everything that Sherlock is not. Or more precisely, she is everything Sherlock does not allow himself to be.

Sherlock is a man who suppresses his emotional and physical desires - not the sociopath he would like everyone to believe, but still someone who views emotional and physical desire as a distraction from the true power that is his mind.

Irene fundamentally challenges this belief by being all about desire and being extremely powerful because of it. If Sherlock cannot beat her, it would be an existential defeat to him, as it would question the very foundation of his self-imposed refrain and celibacy.

And so it is no coincidence that Irene is wearing Sherlock’s coat and that her dark hair and blue eyes mimic those of Sherlock. Irene Adler, in a way, is Sherlock. She is the human version of his desires. And A Scandal In Belgravia is entirely about Sherlock’s internal battle between his heart and his head. 

Let me make it very clear at this point that I she is not the human version of Sherlock’s wet dreams. This is an easy confusion to make, but Sherlock does not at any moment show any sign of sexual attraction towards her. (He really doesn’t. Go back and watch it again.)

He is mesmerised by her, yes, and flustered when she calls him sexy, yes, but when she flirts with him, he doesn’t flirt back, when she wants to have dinner, he is not hungry, when they spend a would-be intimate moment in the living room, Sherlock asks for John. Because that is who he really wants to see, as we can tell - not least by the fact that the human version of Sherlock’s desires is, very specifically: gay. 

But what is really interesting about A Scandal In Belgravia is, again, how incredibly powerful Irene is and how much Sherlock underestimates her. Because it shows us just how strong Sherlock’s emotions are and how hard he has to work to contain them. And now that we have seen The Final Problem, we can understand just how tragic Sherlock’s story really is. 

WHAT MIGHT WE DEDUCE ABOUT HIS HEART?

The moment when Mycroft tells the story of Redbeard, we finally learn really why Sherlock chooses to suppress his emotions:

Mycroft: “Sherlock was traumatised. Natural, I suppose. He was, in the early days, an emotional child. But after that he was different.” (The Final Problem) 

Sherlock, the child that is taunted for his lack of cleverness, is traumatised and blames himself for not solving the riddle that could have saved his friend. Sherlock blames himself for being too emotional. 

And from that moment on, he puts his entire existence into getting it right, into becoming a calculated, unattached, high-functioning sociopath, who is above all physical needs and the very best at solving crimes. Sherlock is a consulting detective - not out of vanity, but out of guilt. 

But his emotions, his desires, his yearning for affection - they have never left him. They distract him, they slow him down, they burst out of him. I think even Sherlock’s constant state of withdrawal is a conscious choice made by the writers to symbolise just how bad his mental state really is. Sherlock is forcing himself not to give in to any emotion or physical desire. And it is tormenting him. (Trust Moffat to make me tear up over a nicotine patch…)

In the form of Irene Adler, Sherlock’s emotions tease him, flirt with him, and frequently try to get his attention. But he never ever allows himself to act on it. He never texts back. Or almost never. Because sometimes, he can’t help it. Deep down, Sherlock wants to let his emotional side win.

PLAY YOU 

And then comes the moment when Sherlock finally faces the demons of his past; when he meets his long forgotten torturer, the sister who has forced him to incarcerate himself inside his own mind, the person who, according to Mycroft, has influenced Sherlock’s every choice ever made and every path ever taken. And she asks him to “play you”. 

And at first, Sherlock does put up a front and plays Bach. Look at me, sis, I play highly complex, mathematically structured pieces. Even the name, “Bach”, fits beautifully here: Water from the past creating Sherlock’s rational façade.

But Eurus interrupts him. No, you clearly don’t understand. Play you. 

And at that moment, Sherlock decides to play the theme of Irene Adler. 

The mastermind, the high-functioning sociopath, the consulting detective is told to “play you”. And his answer is: I am emotion. I am desire. I am love. 

He doesn’t know it at that moment, but Sherlock is standing in front of the person who has caused him the greatest damage of his entire life. But instead of hiding himself away as he has done all his life, Sherlock finally shows his true self. The man he wants to be. The man he really is.

Sherlock is coming out as a human being. And it is the bravest and most beautiful thing he has ever done.

John is seeing but not observing 

 (Sherlock meta by writingwife-83)

Q: I was watching John's Irene speech in TLD and I know many of us know that a huge part of it applies to Molly. When John said, "Trust you [Sherlock] to fall for a sociopath [Irene]," I remembered this bit Moffat said at the Comic Con back in 2013, "I don't think they're [Sherlock & Molly] gonna end up dating. Two sociopaths in one relationship would not be a good idea." Well, what do you know? Sherlock has long fell for a sociopath. She just happened to be wearing a lab coat instead of nothing!

Yeah, there’s another one of those “Moffat, why??” moments lol. There’s no logic to it at all. Fist of all, Molly is the least like a sociopath on the show. And second, the writers have stated that Sherlock clearly isn’t a sociopath and that’s simply what he calls himself. It literally sounds like one of those things he says just to get a reaction from people. I know you were just making a cute/funny wording observation but I couldn’t help picking on Moffat’s statement a bit. ;)

And now you’re gonna get me on another tangent…although I do believe that the meaning of John’s words apply well to Molly, sadly I don’t think that would have occurred to him. I think here we have an instance of John seeing but not observing (at least, up to The Final Problem, where perhaps he got some facts straightened out).

I feel like John is just making the overly obvious assumption. I mean, the fist time he sees Irene, she’s literally naked and on top of Sherlock. And then he watches her flirt with him, exchange lusty glances, and set her mobile alert on his phone to an *ahem* enthusiastic sound clip. What guy isn’t going to assume his bestie is interested in that when he finds out she still sends him texts like 3-4 yrs later?

But when it comes to Molly, even in s4e2, John refers to Molly as “the last person you’d think of” when bringing her up to Sherlock. Say what now, John?? And here is where I’ll put some perspective on this and stop just talking about John like he’s an idiot. (tho, ok he has been a little) Most of what happened between Sherlock and Irene happened in front of John and/or he knew all about it. We can say absolutely that the very opposite is true with Sherlock and Molly. The most emotionally charged scenes for sherlolly have taken place alone. No one else was present, and that includes John. (again, up to The Final Problem) Even stuff that’s not on screen, much of it was obviously not observed by John. Sherlock staying at Molly’s flat, working at the lab with her without John at times, calling her for help with random things…all of that. Most of what John has observed of them has been less than warm and fuzzy, except for the apology and cheek kiss at the [Christmas] party.

I think I’ve said it before, but I will repeat that if John knew half of the stuff that has gone down between Sherlock and Molly, he would have been giving that “get yourself a piece of that” speech to Sherlock a long time ago. And it would have been about Molly Hooper.

I’d like to have a discussion... (about Sherlock's sex life)

 (Sherlock meta by sherlollymouse, emmyjeanb, justanotherfangirls, poetattemptsfiction and 

waitingforthemaninthebluebox)

sherlollymouse:

See, I wouldn’t be surprised either way if found out for sure some way that Sherlock and Irene definitely had sex, but, I always lean towards ‘no’ because I think trust is incredibly important to Sherlock and I’m not convinced he trusted Irene.

She played the same types of games with him people all his life did, before John… Remember Sebastian in The Blind Banker? The letter was very friendly, but he even said they hated Sherlock at uni (“Put the wind up everyone, we hated him.”)… but Sherlock still tried to be friendly (calling him Seb) and felt obviously slighted by John when Sherlock went to great lengths to introduce him as his friend and he corrected him….

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that you don’t have to trust someone to sleep with them. Thats not my point, I just am not sure Sherlock is the type of man that would…

Also, there’s the is he or isn’t a virgin debate.

Heres where I stand:

- If he has had sex, it probably wasn’t the best experience or he regretted it later. (perhaps it was someone he mistakenly thought he could trust or couldn’t)

-He may not have been sober… perhaps he exchanged sex for drugs at some point when he needed a fix and couldn’t pickpocket enough money

-He finds it a distraction and the more he has, the more it’ll distract so, having as little as possible and fulfilling these urges with masterbation instead of involving another person is always preferable.

But, yes, it is bothering me a bit. It feels so silly, not being able to sleep because of the thoughts I’m having about a fictional characters sex life, but it is really bothering me.

Moffat has said something along the lines of not being able to ask Sherlock whether or not he was a virgin and Benedict seems to think he probably had sex with Irene… well, then why not Janine as well?

Again, I think it all comes down to trust with Sherlock when dealing with interpersonal relationships, so, I’m very curious to talk to others about this.The upside is IF he did have sex with Irene, than he definitely had sex with Molly (unless she turned him down) because he’s told us he trusts her and needed her for something pertaining to faking his death.

Does anyone out there agree with me on my thoughts or have more to add?

emmyjeanb:

I enjoyed reading your analysis. BUT, I’m going to have to go against the curve. Here’s my analysis, for what it’s worth:

I think that if he’d never had sex, then it would be indicative that he has some sort of hangup about sex itself. Based on things show people have said about Sherlock’s sexuality and why he is the way he is, I’m more inclined to think that celibacy is a personal choice that he didn’t always make. Part of the whole ‘the body is transport’ thing. He has eaten rich meals, had good nights sleep and had sex before…he’s just mostly cut them out as 'bad for brainwork’. My impression is that this started post-drugs and before that, he didn’t impose these strict rules on himself. Not to say it’s a religious conviction either…every once in awhile, he partakes in each, or at least thinks of doing so. Of the three, sex is the one that’s the most troublesome to come by, so it’s definitely a 'once in a blue moon’ thing.

I think that Irene was one of those times, the first woman in a long while to attract him to the point that he decided to press pause on his monk-like existence. I don’t see Irene and Sherlock’s relationship as love, more like a strong mutual attraction/admiration (their interactions were very sexually charged). They dueled, flirted, he saved her life and it culminated in consummating their attraction, at which point they both went on their merry way. I doubt either of them regrets it at all, in fact I think it’s probably a source of some very fond, tingly memories (hence Irene’s cameo in Sherlock’s mind in The Sign of Three) but not something either of them pine after in an emotional sense.

He didn’t sleep with Janine, per say. Even if he were inclined to deny it out of some sort of shame or pride, it was Janine herself who said she wished she’d gotten at least one shot at it. I’ve heard people come up with ways to read what she said in a different way that changes the meaning, but I personally think any other reading is a stretch. Although I do think it’s obvious there was some stuff going on - she slept in his bed and had no problem getting in the bathtub with him. Maybe even some non-penetrative stuff, which I guess could be called sex, depending on your classification. Janine seemed to think she was ripped off in that sense, though, so there’s that.

As for Molly - that relationship is the most complicated, in my opinion. Basically, I don’t think Molly and Sherlock’s relationship is sexual. I think you’re right in that trust is huge for Sherlock, which puts Molly on a different level than either of the other two because he doesn’t/didn’t trust Janine or Irene. Molly isn’t someone he could have 'fun’ with without lasting emotional impact/consequences, and he would never use her in that way at this point. The tone of their most recent interactions is tinged with a kind of fondness, gravity and a respectful deference that is unique to Sherlock’s interactions on the show, IMO. Something’s simmering there that hints very vaguely (tantalizingly, to me) of romantic yearnings on both sides, but it’s not exactly sexual. Yet. Of all three, Molly is the least likely person to have had sex with him, because it would never be 'just’ sex. She’s the one with whom he shares the deepest emotional connection by far.

[...]

sherlollymouse:

I don’t think you went against the curve at all… in fact I agree with you about having sex with Molly being more than sex.

I’m just trying to make sense of the obvious reactions he has when sex is brought up.

I’m inclined to think he doesn’t have the fondest memories because Janine was right, it wasn’t just discomfort, there was a bit of fear… as if those comments made her seem predatory to him.

Irene just boggles my mind… because I genuinely do think they were attracted to each other, but I still think trust is paramount to him BECAUSE he doesn’t have sex that often.

I dunno…like I said, it wouldn’t surprise me either way, I just wouldn’t get it because of the things I mentioned.

justanotherfangirls:

I do think that Benedict and Moffat heavily implied that Sherlock and Irene had sex in Karachi, so I had found it a bit inconsistent that the Irene in his mind palace had the hairstyle she had when he saw her naked the first time they met. I would have expected her with her hair down like what we saw of her in Karachi, because surely that memory would be fonder than when he met her for the first time. Unless she fixed her hair like that after Sherlock saved her life, I am inclined to believe that’s the only time they confirmed that he saw her naked. And he had memorized how she looked because he is attracted to her. I mean, I’m a straight girl but I’m attracted to her. Also his porn preference is basically “normal” in canon, whatever that means it is not the dominatrix wild kinky thing I would associate with sex with Irene. They left it open like that so viewers would think what they want, I mean you could believe that they did, but you could also believe that they didn’t. Much like what they implied with him having sex with Molly as I have previously written in another post. You could believe that they did, or you could believe that they did not.

poetattemptsfiction:

Interesting. I don’t think that he slept with Irene or Molly. I don’t think he’s a virgin, but I think he likely stopped having sex once he became a detective and was off drugs (I’m assuming here the two coincided as he alluded to the fact that he solves crimes to stay clean in His Last Vow). I think he’s stubborn, and he’s convinced that sexual intimacy would interfere with his work, so he’s celibate. Dunno, though. He could be a total slut and has had sex with the lot of them.

waitingforthemaninthebluebox:

I think it’s highly unlikely (even if his asshole does clench up at the mention of it) that at 35 or whatever age Sherlock is supposed to be that he is a virgin. I think your theory about bad experiences/trust issues is pretty solid. I know people that HAVE had sex but still don’t like to talk about or have other people talk about it. As for not having sex with Janine some girls like Janine (confident, successful and sexually confident as well) would probably get frustrated being in a relationship for a month and not having had sex or discussion about it.

[...]

If it does turn out to be revealed that he’s a virgin I dunno it makes me feel a little weird. Like I was a late bloomer but damn in your 30's? He must have had sex.

On Irene, Molly, And Mary...

 (Sherlock meta by throughtheparadox)

 Ah, these women! What more can I say? I love them and it’s the very reason why I feel like I needed to talk about them, especially in light of “recent events.”

[...]

Molly Hooper 

For someone who was intended to be a side character (since she was not a part of the ACD canon), Molly stood out because even before anyone else (even Lestrade who thought that Sherlock was a great, but not good, man in S1) saw the detective’s capacity for good, she was already there, admiring him. I honestly don’t think it was just his brilliance or his amazing cheekbones that captivated her, but it was the belief that Sherlock is something more than he what he leads on. He had his eccentricities, but she was able to look past that.

And if there’s one thing that I found compelling about her, it’s her character development. She didn’t dwell on her unrequited love, she wasn’t a martyr, she dated other people (shoutout to Jim from IT), she called out Sherlock for being an arse during that Christmas (ASiB), and by season 3 and 4, she became an all around BAMF.

So I don’t understand why I’ve seen people calling her weak. Because I personally believe that loving someone does not prevent you from being a strong and independent person. Molly never changed her ways for Sherlock. Sure, she swiped lipstick that one time, or she dressed up that Christmas, but it was to boost her own confidence. She knows that Sherlock doesn’t notice these things in a ‘I want to impress him’ kind of level, so I personally believe she was doing those things because she wants to – not for him, but for herself.

And seeing her in The Final Problem hurt me like hell. She looked like she was having a rough day, and then Sherlock just pops in a request like that – it was disheartening to watch. But Molly Hooper handled it like a boss. Even if it hurts, she was in control of herself. She was angry, she didn’t want to be treated like a toy – she wanted him to know that saying those words are not and should not be easy. Even in pain and distress, she was able to teach Sherlock Holmes a lesson.

So if that makes her weak, then they should change the definition of the word in the dictionary, because there’s a huge amount of courage in there.

P.S. To be fair, Sherlock did say ‘I love you’ twice. Now, I’m an Adlock shipper, but so far, Sherlolly shippers had that dramatic Anderson-imagination kiss and two ‘I love you’s so cheers to y’all!

Irene Adler 

[Queen!] I just love this woman.

Personally, I fell in love with the idea of Adlock ever since I first read A Scandal In Bohemia. I never liked my ships to be ‘canon’ in a way that they’ll run off into the sunset and be all cheesy, and that’s why Sherlock and Irene’s dynamic resonated with me so much. I do blame them for developing my now logical and complicated approach on the subject of love, but I digress.

There has been a lot of criticism about the modern adaptations of Irene Adler, but I will simply focus on the BBC one for this post. Irene was, and still is, being reprimanded for being a dominatrix, but to me, it just made sense. Her initial role was to distract Sherlock and to lure him into unfamiliar territory, but sex isn’t the element that became the foundation of their relationship – it was their instant intellectual connection.

And this is also the very reason why we’re not dismissing Irene or Sherlock’s sexuality in shipping them, contrary to the common criticisms of these pairing. Even if Irene is a dominatrix, sex isn’t really what they are about. I know I’ve stressed this many times, but Sherlock admitted that he is captivated by Irene (”Craving the distraction of the game, I sympathise entirely…” his words, not mine) and Irene was also very much smitten with Sherlock, so it may not be romance (or whatever it is that normal people do), but they are indeed attracted to each other in a very complex level that I think even they don’t understand. To add to this, we already have an entire discourse regarding Irene being “gay” etc. etc. which I think makes her even more amazing because she’s like f*ck all your stereotypes, I’m going to swing all ways possible and be badass at it and I can’t… I just can’t deal with that point even anymore… She is more than that frickin’ label, for God’s sake.

Anyway, another commentary about Irene that pisses me off the most is the one about her being weak – again, similar to Molly’s. She didn’t ask for Sherlock to rescue her, and he absolutely didn’t beat her. In fact, he broke almost every single one of his personal rules when it came to her: flew thousands of miles to get to her, kept her Vertu (”If she’d left him, he would keep it. People do. Sentiment.”), thinks about her out of the blue, the TEXTING, and I could go on and on and on…. And she did make Sherlock “I haven’t begged in my life” Holmes beg twice in the most mundane, interesting, and sentimental way possible: “But I will have the camera phone.” “Please.”

This is a woman who can get by on her own, who has managed to stay alive despite the circumstance that she’s constantly on the run, and she is her own person, whether or not she has crossed paths with Sherlock Holmes.

So to put this in full-circle, I’ll just say it again: QUEEN!

Mary Watson 

I never really appreciated Mary’s character in the ACD canon because she was barely even there. It wasn’t even explicit if she died or not, but there was a line that expressed Watson’s bereavement, leading to that conclusion in the books.

Frankly, just like Irene, I’ve been waiting for her character to make an appearance, and was almost settled by the idea that she might have been replaced with Sarah (John’s girlfriend in S1), but I still had my hopes up. So when she arrived in Season 3, imagine my excitement.

But it wasn’t until that scene in The Empty Hearse where she was obviously amused by Sherlock that made me love her. Now, just a quick segue, I’ve always hated Sally Donovan because she was cruel to Sherlock and she didn’t really seem to have a redemption arc unlike Anderson. She was a representation of the world that treats Sherlock Holmes as an outsider. And Mary wasn’t like that at all. She was accepting and understanding, and unlike the common cause of hatred towards her, she wasn’t keeping Sherlock and John apart. In fact, she was trying so hard to assure them that things are not going to change – that they would still be Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Then we discover that she’s not as she seems, that she has secrets, and it explained why she cared for Sherlock– it’s because broken people try to fix other broken people through each other’s company. She was willing to compromise anything, she was greedy to not let John know, she was desperate which led to her shooting Sherlock – overall, her character has dimension. She’s not a bad or good, she has her own demons that she’s trying to overcome. When Sherlock told John that “you chose her”, it felt haunting because it resonates to our own horrors – we attract what we seek. And to me, it’s what made Mary – BBC’s Mary – a brilliant character.

These are just a few reasons why I can’t accept any hate towards these characters, their roles in relation to Sherlock and John, or even hate addressed to the people who adore them.

Overall, these three women were introduced to us in a sequence that also relates to Sherlock’s own development: Molly signified the value of trust, respect, and regard for his life; Irene embodied incredible wit, surrendering to the whims of sentiment, and finding a remarkable connection; and Mary provided the feeling of warmth, acceptance, and the balance between danger and redemption.

And again, dear haters, this is why they matter.

It’s interesting to note that… (Regarding Sherlock's type)

 (Sherlock meta by justaminion, mychakk and theleftpill)

justaminion:

When Eurus wanted John’s attention, she impersonated a vivacious, confident woman who found him attractive.

When Eurus wanted Sherlock’s attention, she impersonated a slightly awkward, pretty, but vulnerable woman who needed him to save her.

What, therefore, might we deduce about Sherlock’s “type?”

mychakk:

Wow, that’s a pretty interesting observation. Meta bunnies attack, sorry, they make my hijack this post….

Notice that the description of the woman Eurus impersonated for John fits Mary exactly to the bone. She was John’s type through and through. Warstan <3

Also, which other woman on the show fits that description? A certain Dominatrix. But instead of John, she finds Sherlock being attractive. And since John wants Sherlock to be happy, what does he do? He shoves Sherlock toward her. In John’s mind it’s a perfect match, but in reality, it’s him himself who subconsciously finds her attractive. He’s projecting his own type onto Sherlock when he thinks of his best friend in a relationship with a woman. That’s why John’s first thought is Irene when he makes his speech in TLD, why he thinks of her first when they deduce the coffin. She’s [...] John’s type. It’s also why, Molly never crosses John’s mind.

For all his consideration, John has never found Molly attractive, she’s too stammering and stuttering, too eager to please, too shy for his liking. He’s always dismissing her importance, because subconsciously she’s not the type of woman worth his noticing. It may sound harsh, but it’s simple rules of attractions I suppose. And, like I said, John has never been attracted to Molly that way. Well, except that one Christmas, when Molly dolled herself up projecting false confidence. Both John and Lestrade drolled over her while it was the only time Sherlock openly disliked what he saw regarding Molly. Because the thing is, that’s not what Sherlock actually finds attractive.

I’m probably in the very minority of our fandom, but I’ve never seen any attraction toward Irene on Sherlock’s part. That’s was my very first impression when I watched ASiB, then I went online and was bombarded with all the Adl0ck stuff, even in the Sherlolly stories/posts and it made me start doubting myself. Must have missed something, I thought. It took me a while to rewatch ASiB, as I needed to brace myself for all the supposed Adl0ck there, and surprise, surprise, my first impression was only confirmed on my second and third viewing.

I will never deny that Sherlock was very intrigued by Irene and fascinated by her intelligence, brainy is the new sexy indeed, but she was intriguing only as a case. She’s not his type, so while it stroked his ego, her obvious attraction to him, he wasn’t moved that much by it. I do think that by the end of the episode, he was seriously entertaining the thought of giving it a go with her, but then she showed him her cards when they met in the plane - she had ruthlessly played him in order to get to Mycroft for Moriarty.

I think in this moment Irene herself destroyed any future possibilities for Adl0ck. Her betrayal was like a bucket of cold water that allowed Sherlock to crack her pass code. She was a worthy and capable, not-to-be-underestimated adversary and having her in his corner owing him her life was too much an opportunity to pass up, so he saved her in Pakistan. Plus, no matter what, he’s a caring man, and she was vulnerable and in need of being saved.

Do I think they did the deed in Karachi? No. He denied her once again. She betrayed his trust, and trust is something he values very much. Was it hard for him to turn her down? Definitely. Like I said, she was vulnerable and in need of being saved, and that IS his type.

Now what is really Sherlock’s type? A slightly awkward, pretty, vulnerable woman who needs him to save her. But that’s only the surface. Notice, that Eurus impersonated a woman with morals stronger than family bonds, a woman strong enough to do what’s right no matter the cost and consequences for her (she was supposedly betraying her own father). That takes courage, inner strength, and determination. And that’s even more attractive to Sherlock than the initial description.

We all know who fits that bill. Molly. Time and time again she has proved to him her strength, resilience, her determination. She has stood by him, catered to him, but has never been afraid to stand up to him, even back in season 1 she called him on his behaviour when Jim was introduced. Even back then she was quite determined in asking him out. And courageous. On top of that she’s awkward and pretty. And yes, Sherlock has always found Molly pretty – you do not notice lipsticks, pounds gaining, breasts, etc, just because. And even if you do, you do not point it out loud. Sherlock finds Molly physically attractive, her character traits are also ones he values much (those can also be applied to John, Lestrade, Mrs. H), and she’s the most trustworthy person he knows. And this is the final seal on the deal.

I mentioned above that trust is something Sherlock values very much if not even the highest. Irene destroyed any possibilities for any future Adl0ck by betraying Sherlock’s trust. And I think Sherlock is incapable of being intimate with someone he cannot trust. Molly on the other hand is someone who saved him, his friends, and maybe even England. Molly took all in stride and for two years harboured his secret. Molly welcomes him at Barts trusting him with her work place, welcomes him at her own home, trusting him with her private life. And Sherlock trusts her in return, with his life, with his plans, with his vulnerability. It’s canon he trust her more than he does even John.

Molly’s always been his type, Molly's always been the one.

theleftpill:

I disagree with your take on Adl0ck - while I do agree that the attraction isn’t an emotional one, I do think Sherlock is physically and definitely intellectually attracted to her. My pov is that Irene opens the door to the possibility of connection and attachment for him; she’s a safe person to experiment with, to indulge with, because there are no stakes attached. I agree that she’s destroyed any trust he could have in her, but that wouldn’t preclude him from exploring the involvement. (And I don’t feel Irene has a problem with this.) She definitely echoes for him - appearing in his mind palace, the picture in the Victorian watch, still texting after all these years. There is something there that can’t be dismissed.

But your observation about John is a revelation - yes, [...] I completely see Mary in Elizabeth. But wow, John - It makes perfect sense that John would encourage Sherlock to go after a woman he felt was attractive. And why he doesn’t see Molly.

But Sherlock does. You’ve nailed that completely.

mychakk:

It’s fine to disagree, I know I’m in minority on this Also formulating reply clarifies my own views. I definitely see your point, especially if your take on Sherlock is that he can be intimate without a shared trust. I can’t. And I just realized it ties up with my view of him being unable to find himself worthy of love in any form. I explained this in one of my earlier posts, just don’t know how to link it here yet… But I definitely agree with you about Irene opening Sherlock to a possibility - I also wrote that in the post I cannot link here. But to me Irene opened Sherlock to the possibility of being attractive to someone the way he is (brilliant, passionate, driven etc, not just for his looks), she finally managed to convince him, and then she betrayed him. (Also Molly does exactly the same thing in her quiet unassuming way - she shows her attraction to him, except she doesn’t betray him, and later on in The Reichenbach Fall she proves to be trustworthy like no one else). I think that Irene is a double edged sword in Sherlock’s Mind Palace - on one hand she represents a captivating woman being attracted to him, his indulgence in being attractive to someone (The Sign of Three) on the other hand she’s a harsh reminder of sentiment being a disadvantage that can kill you (the locket in The Abominable Bride). But that’s me. The best part in fandom is we can have different opinions.

justaminion:

I’m so glad my little post helped start this insightful discussion! (and that people can disagree so politely, Sherlollians are the best).

I like the Steven Moffat quote about Sherlock and Irene’s idea of a night of passion being to meet up every so often to rescue the other one and then run off again.

Regarding intimacy and trust, I agree with you. I think it’s interesting that the “I don’t count scene” with Molly demonstrates that Sherlock already lets Molly see his vulnerabilities, which he hides even from John. He doesn’t make the conscious decision to trust her, he just does.

The definition of "begging for mercy"

 (Sherlock meta by eugeniebatch)

["Am I the only person in this fandom who knows what it means to beg for mercy? I don't want to crap on anyone's pretty gifset, but merely saying 'please' is not begging for mercy. A person who begs for mercy is admitting that he is utterly powerless, usually in the face of authority threatening torture or death. You beg for mercy when you have no other option but to accept your fate. A dominatrix could be such an authority in a playful sense. If you want an example of begging for mercy, Irene does it after Sherlock guesses her password, when she says 'are you expecting me to beg?' He has the power then, she has none. She is begging for mercy, which he refuses."]

So, I found myself reading [this] from a blogger I used to follow and [...] this really annoyed me because I don’t think this person is right, so I need to express what I think.

First of all, does this person really think Sherlock is “merely” saying please? I mean, I’m quite sure he’s not saying it insignificantly, having into account the situation in which Molly is in.

Secondly, doesn’t this person think Sherlock is, in fact:

• “utterly powerless” (he has no decision power here!) ?? 
• “in the face of an authority” (does Eurus mean something to you?) ??? 
• “threatening torture or death” (“her flat is rigged to explode”) ???? 

Lastly, doesn’t this person also think that, besides Eurus, Molly also has “all the power”? (although she didn’t even know it!). Sherlock is begging for mercy because she refuses to say “I love you”, and as this person wrote in the tags, “you beg for mercy when you have no other option but to accept your fate” (and in this case, he has no other option than accepting Molly’s fate because, by not saying those words, she’s certainly going to die!)

I believe this scene demonstrated us that a person doesn’t only “beg for mercy” when he/she is (actually) in front of an enemy or authority, but also when another person (who he/she cares about) is in grave danger.

Don’t you think so?

Irene has been completely discounted

 (Sherlock meta by elenarider)

It’s not that people dislike her, and they’re certainly not upset with her for breaking up their ship — if anything, most people are like, “AAAAH I LOVE HER, SHE SHIPS JOHNLOCK YAY!” — but it’s like she’s been completely discounted. Because practically everyone ships Sherlock and John. And it’s not that I don’t ship Johnlock. Because I do. I don’t think that they ever have or ever will have sex or get married to each other (not that it doesn’t make me grin madly when they do in fic), but they are, as I’ve said before, soulmates, and the love between them, platonic though it may be, is undeniably strong. But there’s no room in almost anybody’s head to think that Sherlock could possibly ever be attracted to anyone else. Like it or not, there is attraction between Sherlock and Irene, for their minds if not for their bodies.

It’s rather obvious that Irene loved Sherlock, since that was the entire point toward the end. I hate it that some people say that she’s weak and that her portrayal is sexist because of it though. Firstly, they say that she’s sexualized, but that’s part of modernizing the scandal. It’s hardly enough these days for her to just have one photograph of her standing with a male monarch. And yes, she showed up naked and she uses sex to get what she wants, but I don’t see how either of those are sexist. If anything, they’re empowering to women, especially since she’s not the typical ideal of beauty but is still so comfortable with herself. And there are male characters in the media that sleep around to get what they want, and they’re not called sluts for it, but that’s another story entirely. To get back on track, people also say that because she feels more deeply than Sherlock, it’s reinforcing the stereotype that women are more emotional than men. I don’t think that’s true at all. After all, Sherlock felt something too. It’s less defined, but it was definitely there. He was a little heartbroken when he thought she was dead. He definitely wasn’t getting over her death very quickly anyway. Even Mycroft could tell: “the promise of love, the pain of loss, etc.” He knew that Sherlock had developed feelings for Irene and that she used them. However, in the end, she ends up losing because of her own feelings. But is that really such a bad thing, to be able to feel sentiment? Moffat says in the commentary that the intention was for the viewer to start that scene hating Irene, but end it hating Sherlock because he really was cruel to her there. Obviously, she’d started it, but his revenge was still absolutely brutal. And it’s extremely hypocritical to say that Irene is weaker than Sherlock for loving him, but then say that Sherlock is stronger than Moriarty despite, or because of, his love for John. Plus, a recurring theme for Sherlock throughout all the episodes is for him to become almost mechanical and lash out when he’s at a low point, like a man cornered. When he was afraid at Baskerville, we got him telling John that he doesn’t have friends. When he was about to fake his death at Bart’s, he said that alone protects him. And here, he cuts down Irene. Sherlock’s “power” or “strength” in this situation is not that he doesn’t feel, but that he can act like he doesn’t feel, that he can turn it off when he chooses. Because, once again, he does feel something for Irene. Even after the excitement of the game, there was still that feeling between them. She texted him her last goodbyes before she thought she was going to die, and he went all the way to Karachi to save her life and help her escape for good. And then he asks, he pleads, for her camera phone from John to keep as a reminder of her. And I like to think that, tucked away with it in some drawer, is a hand-written violin piece titled, “The Woman”. Because Mycroft was right in the end: Irene is, to Sherlock, one of a kind, the one woman who matters. That’s not a discredit to Molly Hooper because Molly is a very, very good friend that Sherlock recognized in the end, but only Irene did he ever see as a woman.

People in Sherlock's life and what they taught him

 (Sherlock meta by o0katiekins0o)

I think about his draw to Irene and later Mary, how they are both people like him. They show him that people like them can make their way in the world. That there are places in life for them and, by extension, him.

Irene taught him romantic love was possible for him. Mary taught him family was possible for him. And Euros taught him that, not only were those things POSSIBLE, but they were things he actually had and was at risk of losing completely.

It almost felt like envy “Like always, you have everything and I have nothing.” She taught him what it truly meant to be alone. And no, it did not protect her.

Does Sherlock love Irene? 

(Sherlock meta by mollymatterrs)

Q: [...] Do you honestly believe that [Sherlock] felt love for Irene Adler? Moffat himself said that the episode was about "Sherlock /and/ love, not Sherlock /in/ love". Do you equate the sexual implications and mental manipulations (complete lack of trust) between Sherlock and Irene to "love"? Lust, I can understand. But I'd like to know why you think he felt love, and in a "large dose" too. Is being attracted equal to feeling love?


A: [...] First off, I’ll answer this plainly: I don’t ship Sherlock/Irene. I do not think Sherlock loved Irene, and I don’t think Irene loved Sherlock. They found one another intriguing, and they were both attracted to one another, but it wasn’t anything deeper than that.

So, with that in mind, do I equate the sexual implications and mental manipulations between Sherlock and Irene as “love”?

Evidently not.

[...] Sherlock—up until ASiB—had gone through much of his adult life in a very machine-like way. Indeed, [...] You cannot deny that Irene had a major effect on Sherlock. To be honest though, that was the whole point wasn’t it? Irene’s sexual confidence was a vehicle for Sherlock to realize that he isn’t the robot he has tried to be. [...]

Take the first time we meet Sherlock in ASiP. He is oblivious to everything except the case he’s currently working on and his experiment. Molly distracts him with her invitation to coffee, but he doesn’t register the subtext behind it, and as such, he continues on his merry way.

In my opinion, Sherlock meeting Irene in Series 2 was a catalyst. Irene, whilst being similar to him in terms of intellect and the way in which they both use emotions for their own gain, is vastly different in other ways. The most prominent is that she is sexually confident and isn’t afraid to show emotion; unlike Sherlock who prefers to lock it all away, deeming it distracting. (Example: His “don’t make people into heroes” speech from The Great Game.)

As such, it’s always struck me as quite odd that Sherlock only wanted Irene’s phone at the end of the case. That phone—whilst being a callback to the canon of Doyle’s books—is also the symbol of who Irene is; that’s a fact that is made plain throughout the episode. Sherlock even says, “This is your heart”. So why, when he’s of the belief that she is dead, does he request the phone? It is, as he said, her heart. Does that mean that Sherlock wants Irene’s heart?

My thoughts? Not really. It’s like I said [before]. Sherlock recognizes that meeting Irene has had a great effect on him: in a way, it changed his outlook on love, sex and relationships. But you’re right. How can Irene’s encounters with Sherlock possibly be considered as “large doses”?

I guess what I [mean] by “large doses” is the fact that Sherlock’s—for want of a better term—‘awakening’ comes at the hands of a woman who is overly sexual and doesn’t apologize for it. Just look at the sequence where Sherlock and Irene ‘prepare’ themselves for battle. When the camera focuses on Sherlock, it’s logical. But when the camera focuses on Irene, the focus is on her femininity. One could make an argument that this is over-sexualising a female character on television yet again, but the way I see it is that we are actually being shown just how out of his depth Sherlock is. He is wading into a territory he doesn’t fully understand (yet). This is emphasized with Irene’s nude scene, where Sherlock fails to deduce her because she is so upfront (“There. Now we’ve both been defrocked”). Sherlock’s deductive skills rely on seeking out hidden information. By putting everything out there—literally and figuratively—Irene gains the advantage. She continues this throughout until the very end where her explicit nature becomes her undoing (“I am SHERlocked”). Unlike the game played between Sherlock and Moriarty, the games and the mental manipulations played by Irene aren’t to do with the mind—they’re to do with the physical. (“He did know where to look.”)

As such, and for a man like Sherlock who was previously ignorant about such things, I’m pretty sure that his attraction to Irene could be considered a “large dose” of previously unknown emotion.

The experience he has with Irene continues to be built on in another “large dose” of emotion with HoB; this time though, it’s fear. Now Sherlock—within what I can only assume is a matter of months—has experienced the pain and europhia that comes with experiencing such large doses of two potent emotions such as attraction and fear. For a man who has basically been a walking computer for much of his life, that’s a lot to take in. So he of course reverts to type to prove that he is… working properly, let’s say.

But that still doesn’t answer the question of why he asked for the phone—could it be that he doesn’t want it as a souvenir his triumph over Irene? Could it perhaps be that he wants it a way to remind him that emotions aren’t as restrictive as he previously believed?

And by realizing that, he is able to open up to people he might not have before. People like… Molly Hooper. When we first meet Molly, she’s the archetypal girl-with-a-crush type, but throughout the events of Series 2, that changes and she eventually becomes the woman who can deduce the great Sherlock Holmes. (“You look sad… when you think he can’t see you.”)

Now, I’ll say this [...]: I ship Sherlolly. [...]

That’s why I appreciate the character of Irene Adler and the effect she had on Sherlock. His encounters with her were a stepping stone for his humanity to come through. Couple that with the events of HoB, and the result is a man who, in a moment of emotional turmoil, went to a woman he trusted: Molly. He bared himself to her, and told her that he was afraid, that he doubted himself. (“Molly, I think I’m going to die. […] If I wasn’t everything that you think I am—everything that I think I am…”) In that scene, Sherlock shows real fear and worry. But what does Molly do? She still wants to help him, no questions asked. Some people might call her a doormat for doing so, some might call her naive. I personally believe it shows an almighty amount of strength.

[...] Although Sherlock didn’t love Irene, he was attracted to her, and because of that, she did (inadvertently) start him on the journey to becoming human enough to love others—both platonically and/or romantically.

Is Irene Adler the only woman Sherlock will ever have romantic feelings for?

 (Sherlock meta by mollymatterrs)

Q:  [...] It is kind of obvious from season 2 that there may never be any romantic interest for Sherlock other than Irene Adler. In [ASiB] Sherlock ends the episode by saying ’ The Woman’ and then ‘THE Woman’ stressing on the ‘THE’ the second time. Do you think he is suggesting that she is the only woman he will ever have romantic feelings for?

A: Good question. [...] I think the end scene in ASiB can be interpreted in two ways. The first is that Sherlock has decided that he has experienced enough of love and relationships and has now filed the information away in his mind palace. (The brief reappearance of Irene in Sherlock’s mind palace during TSoT supports this theory.) The second however, is the interpretation I hold. When Sherlock refers to Irene as “The Woman”, I don’t believe he’s saying “this is the only woman I will ever have feelings for.” I actually think that’s his way of compartmentalizing her. Irene, with all of her feminine wiles and mystique and flirtatious nature, showed him that you can be clever and brilliant without sacrificing your capacity for either love or sexuality. I know he uses her tendency for sentiment to win one over on her in the end, but he did infiltrate a terrorist group to spare her from execution. What is that if not sentiment?

In my mind, Irene is “The Woman” in that she woke Sherlock up to the fact that you can indeed have the best of both worlds. (Which is a complete antithesis to Mycroft’s attitude which–as we were shown in series 3–he drove into Sherlock from a relatively young age.) Irene was, in essence, Sherlock’s first love. And you never forget your first love.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll always be your last too.

Explaining Irenes text in TLD

 (Sherlock meta by strawberrypatty)

I also don’t feel like we’ve learned anything from this scene that we didn’t already have an inkling of? Like… He texts Irene. John was able to deduce it was Sherlock’s birthday because it was done on a random day. Meaning he figured they only texted each other on “events”, but since it was a random day, John guessed it was Sherlock’s birthday.

Sherlock also talks about the texts as not a big deal as a way to make John feel better. It’s all right that John texted E, because he texts the Woman some times and it’s just texts (I don’t AGREE with Sherlock, but whatever… This was how he was interpreting things).

Is the scene important? Yes it is. It does possibly set up a future for Sherlock and Irene, but that’s not primarily what it’s about. It’s about John and Mary. John is talking about how she’s alive and how Sherlock is wasting time. But it’s that John is grieving the fact that he lost time with the woman he loved. He’s actually got no clue what sort of relationship Sherlock and Irene want. Maybe they HAVE the relationship they want. Sherlock and Irene are certainly not people who fit into traditional relationship roles.

I just really don’t feel like we should be rending garments and saying that everything is over. We already knew Irene was important to Sherlock and we had a hint they were still in contact when we were told that Irene sent a rose to Sherlock. Sherlock also wanks off over Irene sometimes because she hangs out in his Mind Palace all naked.

So, you know… Calm down. This is all stuff we knew. Don’t try to make things about another ship. That’s not cool. But there are ways to look at things without twisting the scene into something it’s not. A ship got some wind in its sails. But that’s all.

Sherlock and Sex and Eurus’ deduction

 (Sherlock meta by mae-jones, penelope1730 and strawberrypatty)

mae-jones:

Did anyone else interpret Eurus’ question to Sherlock after he started playing the violin in TFP as - have you EVEN had sex? Then she follows up with (paraphrasing) “I have, it wasn’t that great.” To me that moment was kind of her way of saying, “Meh, you’re not missing out on anything, bub.”

So, maybe he still hasn’t had sex at all? Doesn’t it kinda make sense? There is only one other person who can read Sherlock the same and it’s Molly Hooper. When she teases him in Series 3, I think she was kinda poking at him like, “Sex is awesome. Sex with me is even awesome-r. You coulda had me and I would have rocked your world.”

Anyhow, did anyone else read it as Sherlock still hasn’t made that leap?

penelope1730:

Now that you ask…I actually had to go watch that scene again. On the first viewing, I took for granted the answer is ‘yes’ - he’s had sex. But, now that I have my detective goggles on, Eurus is clearly puzzled as to whether or not that he has. She immediately knows the music is about longing, especially sexual longing, but can’t figure him out. But, that’s about her.

I’m gonna stick with, Yes, he’s had sex. Maybe with Irene (if you go with BC’s comments) or maybe not. But, I definitely believe he and Molly have had sex. Just mho, tho. :)

strawberrypatty:

I think the comment can be taken a couple of different ways. This is actually something that can be taken as a complaint about the episode. Moffat and Gatiss played it incredibly safe by trying to be as ambiguous as possible in terms of Sherlock and relationships.

While Sherlock has never been about relationships, it has been an element present throughout the show, especially as it progressed. However, the fandom has been so vicious in terms of shipping, when they did make reference to Sherlock and relationships, they made the comments ambiguous in order to leave it up to the audience.

When Eurus asks if Sherlock has had sex, there is the question as to whether or not he has and with whom. When Sherlock says “I love you” to Molly there is question as to whether or not he meant it and what way he meant it.

But considering the relationship between Irene and Sherlock in A Scandal in Belgravia, Moffat and Cumberbatch’s comments and the callback to Irene in The Lying Detective, the fact that Eurus asks this question after Sherlock plays Irene’s Theme implies that Sherlock has had sex and it was with Irene.

But I’ve seen it debated, so it was left open to interpretation.

How did Euros know Sherlock had sex?

 (Sherlock meta by ivyblossom)

Q: Hi Ivy, that scene when Sherlock starts to play Irene's theme and Eurus concludes he's had sex.. How did she know? It really hurt me because it implied he had sex with Irene, in which I will never believe, but they made it look like he did

A: Hi, I really want to help you with this, but I don’t think my words do much good. I’ve been talking about this since series 2, but I still hear this question every 10 minutes, so I’m not sure going over this one more time is going to help.

You are welcome to read the events of the story in any way that resonates with you. You are welcome to take whatever cues you like that exist in the story to construct your answer for yourself.

This is my answer.

I do not see any evidence in the story that suggests that Sherlock has feelings for Irene. The only evidence there is is that John is worried that he does, which says more about where John is emotionally than where Sherlock is. John has no idea how Sherlock’s emotional life works at that point in the story. He thought Sherlock doesn’t feel things that way, which we now definitively know isn’t so. Even when John tells us Sherlock moping and sad about Irene’s death because he loved her, his only evidence for that is that Sherlock’s behaviour is exactly the same as it always is. John doubts his own observations about this, and so should we.

Irene means something to Sherlock, most definitely. She is a pivotal figure for him. He sees himself in her. He sees himself in some ways gone very wrong; unguided, unable to resist temptation from the wrong sides. Pushing the envelope too far. She is a sort of warning, but also a promise: Irene is a version of himself with a sexual appetite.

When Sherlock confronts Irene, he is alarmed and ignorant about sexuality, especially his own. The story goes out of its way to show us that and tell us that. The introduction of Irene is the point where he has to face that anxiety, face his own sexuality, and accept that it’s there and something worth knowing about. That’s what Irene does, it’s literally her job: to point out what it is people want. Sherlock didn’t know he wanted that. But he does now, and he can’t unknow it, it’s part of him now. She forces him to face a fundamental complication about himself.

Irene is the most blatant Sherlock mirror in the entire series. They have their actions literally mirror each other repeatedly. They even style her hair so that it looks like his. I don’t know how this could have been more blatant. Any time Irene appears or is referred to, the topic of conversation is Sherlock’s romantic status, not because he wants to sleep with Irene (he tells us himself that he doesn’t, and that it would be a bad idea, which is obviously, obviously true), but because she raises the spectre of his neglected and denied sexual and romantic needs.

With Irene they take form; they exist, and he can dismiss them, but he still has to admit that they’re there. She knows what he wants, and now so does he.

My reading of Irene is, I think, confirmed by the fact that Eurus recognizes the song he plays as an indicator of his sexuality. Not “you’re in love,” just “sex”. That’s what the song is, this part of himself. And it’s changed in The Final Problem in a way Eurus recognizes.

If you think it’s possible that Sherlock jetted out and hooked up with Irene for a night, you’re welcome to think that. She’s missing from the final montage, so it doesn’t appear that she’s a big part of his life if that’s the case. Just a one time thing? Sherlock is such a deeply emotional and romantic soul, which Eurus goes out of her way to tell us on her jaunt around London with him. Is he the casual hook-up sort of guy? I think there’s far more evidence that something happened between him and John.

Since the start of this story I’ve been saying I didn’t want them to hook up fast, because once they do, the story will be over. The tension between Sherlock and John drives a lot of what we love about this story. Once they resolve that tension, something important drops out of the story.

As far as I can tell, that tension is gone in this episode. Honestly I think that’s what people are most upset about. With that tension gone, the view is that the relationship isn’t being given any attention. But in truth, the relationship on screen is so certain and confident and unquestionable that it feels invisible. It’s not the relationship that’s gone, it’s the tension.

Sherlock and John shared a really important emotional moment at the end of The Lying Detective. They were honest in a way they have never been before. They were emotionally stripped and didn’t turn away from each other. They have turned a corner. The tension that has been driving their relationship is gone, and they are completely certain of each other and their place in each other’s lives. John is not running around concerned what people will think anymore. He knows where Sherlock’s head is at at any given moment. They trust each other, and thus are no longer looking inward. They are looking out, together, as a cohesive unit.

This corner they have taken doesn’t have to be a sexual corner, but they allude to Sherlock no longer being a virgin without giving us much else to go on. So to me this is the most obvious conclusion, because the whole episode is evidence of an important change between Sherlock and John. Why not that?

Irene Adler is Not a Loser - Part 1

 (Sherlock Meta by wellingtongoose)

I really love Irene Adler in BBC Sherlock, but even more I love the complex plot of A Scandal In Belgravia. This meta is dedicated to discussing the intrigues and deceptions that are only hinted at on screen and play out behind the scenes. I aim to show everyone why Irene is not a loser but an incredibly intelligent and ambitious woman. On the way I explore:

* Why dominatrix is not her only line of business
* Why Irene actually phoned Jim Moriarty – and what deal they came too
* Why Sherlock was just a pawn in a much bigger game

A Disclaimer before we start… 

This piece isn’t about sexism or the portrayal of women in the media. It’s much more focused on the plot of ASiB and analysis of Irene’s motives as if she was a real person, not an artificial construct presenting a particular literary troupe. Certainly, there are things that I would have changed about Irene if I had been one of the writers but then there are many things I want to change about myself and can’t. In this case I am going to think of Irene as person – not a representation of the female gender – and just accept that she has flaws but they do not make her any less brilliant.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles…



We can assume that before she made this phone call she had already obtained sensitive material on her phone. I had always assumed the sensitive information she had was the MOD email but there is no evidence at that time, Irene realised its importance or that she even possessed it. We do not know the timeframe over which she was being pursued by the Americans – it might have started just recently before Sherlock and John turned up (remember there is quite a long period of time between the pool scene and Sherlock meeting Irene).

At the time of the pool scene the MOD email could not have been the bait that Irene used to hook Moriarty because even if she had it she didn’t know why the email was important even or that it was important. The MOD man might just have been talking nonsense in an attempt to impress her and the code itself was a load of jumble even to a cryptographer. Moriarty certainly couldn’t figure out the information either because Irene had to manipulate Sherlock into given them both the answer when they realise it was important much later on.

So Irene couldn’t have got Jim Moriarty’s attention by saying “I have a nonsensical fragment of an MOD email that, according to the stupidly pathetic man who’s in love with me, is going to save the world.”

She must have had much more than just that email on her phone. As she suggests to Mycroft – she has all sorts of things on there and I certainly believe that she does.

The Americans were after her for one single email but it doesn’t mean that Mycroft and the British Government weren’t after her for much, much more.

The Economics of Being a Dominatrix 



From the clients she chooses to engage with (high ranking police officer, best cryptographer in the country, an official from the MOD), I think her line of business is more than just being a dominatrix. I think the most lucrative part of her business is actually the information she gets out of her clients. I’m sure the thrill of having power over powerful people was also very enjoyable but Irene is a very pragmatic, cunning person and she likes money. (I think people over look the fact that the entire point of her plot was to extort billions from the British Government)

If you think about it, all the clients she has picked are exactly the kind of people that actual spies want to get close to - people with access to classified and/or sensitive information. Irene has basically set up the ultimate honey trap and she makes Anna Chapman (professional Russian spy) look like a complete looser. ¨

Of course she’s not a professional spy –she doesn’t report what she finds back to some sinister foreign organisation. Irene is a freelance, independent stock broker in sensitive information and I think this definitely suites her personality.

However being a freelance information broker has its disadvantages

1. you don’t always have the right customers
2. you are dealing with some very dangerous, very ruthless people at both ends and there is no tag team of CIA agents to watch your back.

Customers for sensitive information do not appear like punters rolling up at the curb. Their reasons for wanting classified/sensitive information are definitely shady and as people they are probably even shadier. Her customers might work for a multitude of foreign intelligence services or be unofficial/commercial/terror organisations but these people are hard to find. This is why she needs Jim Moriarty. Not just to find these customers but also to make sure the deal is sealed without any of these people harming her. 

I think initially Irene did manage to build a small network of contacts to pass information onto. However like any shrewd businessman when there is more supply than demand, Irene wanted to expand her business. This is the second reason she comes to Moriarty – she must have hooked him with an immediately financially lucrative set of documents. Imagine what other classified documents the MOD man might have leaked to her before the Bond Air email? As Irene say she usually likes to visit her clients more than once.

Let us not forget that Moriarty is still a businessman despite being obsessed with Sherlock. He might have thrown £30 million away to get Sherlock to come out and play but it doesn’t mean he isn’t looking to recuperate that money elsewhere. What Irene proposes is simple: she’s provides the data, Moriarty is the middle man and gets his cut of the profit which can be substantial.

Irene also needs to find her own protection and that is where her celebrity clients and her camera phone come in. Firstly, celebrity clients get one some exposure/publicity within their circles – yes she is extremely controversial but she’s not anonymous anymore. You cannot just make her disappear overnight and not have people ask questions. Secondly, there is no reason to believe that all of her clients hate her guts, she doesn’t openly screw over everyone she meets – it’s not good for business. Some of her clients might actually think they are in love with her. Irene has the great power of making people “feel special”. She can make people love her and love is much more vicious motivator – perhaps enough for a motivator for them to protect her against enemies foreign and domestic?

When all else failed she had the material on her camera phone to fall back on. When clients became threatening or violent – she can always pull out that smart little device. However I doubt this happened very often because Irene is perfectly capable of keeping her clients sweet.

Before the Americans started turning up with their armed hit squads, I think Irene’s protection was perfectly adequate. She had Jim Moriarty for the information customers and her own resourcefulness for her clients. Irene is a small-timer compared to the huge network of spies and informers that nation states employ. MI6 might have been aware of her before she threatened the Royal family but just as likely, she managed to fly under the radar. She’s very intelligent and Irene would have known how important discretion is. As long as her clients never linked security leaks to their own blathering, there is no reason why anyone would suspect a lowly sex worker and even if they did – she had enough on her phone to ruin them.

It was only when she realised that there were trained killers out hunting her that she started to fear.

The Anatomy of a Royal Scandal 



 - -

Whether or not Irene actually demanded something from the Royal family, we don’t know. Mycroft claims she didn’t because Sherlock doesn’t do blackmail - he simply tells them to pay her off. Telling the Royal family that she has the photographs does sounds like a prelude to making some kind of request or demand in the future as well as a power play. I personally don’t subscribe to the idea that the Royal Family “have people whacked” – they are not that unrestricted or even that shady. They could easily provide her with enough money to get out of the country and change her identity but that’s not what Irene is aiming for. -

Irene is aiming to extort billions from the treasury before she leaves the country (and yes she was plotting this before she knew about Bond Air as explained in Part 2). -

Now that’s what I call ambition. -

However the Royal Family can provide a good second avenue of escape if her plot goes to pot but this is only one of the reasons she informed them about the pictures. -

There is no evidence at the beginning of ASiB that Mycroft sees Irene (and Moriarty) as anything more than mere insects – little conveniences compared to the broad power plays of entire nations. However both Irene and Moriarty desperately want his attention for very different reasons.

For Irene Mycroft is literally the key to the treasury. Her plot was never about Sherlock at all, he was at best a vital pawn and amusing distraction. Mycroft is probably the only man who has the power to authorise the transfer of such vast sums she’s demanding in one night. He has control over the spineless brainless government ministers and he can pull their strings like a master puppeteer. First she needs to get him to the negotiation table and there is no evidence that Mycroft took her at all seriously. He certainly doesn’t take her threat to national security seriously given he has real, highly trained operatives who could retrieve that cameraphone but he doesn’t use them. Instead he opts for his little brother, a civilian detective.

Moriarty obviously wants information on Sherlock but he’s perfectly willing to play along with Irene when they have the same goal in common.

When the Americans started chasing her – Irene must have realised she stumbled onto something really big this time – something utterly out of her league. It might have taken some time but she did eventually realise it was the MOD email. I think the first thing she did was use her own contacts and resources to try and crack it but when that failed she showed it to Moriarty. 

Obviously Moriarty couldn’t make heads or tails of it either but he suggests a solution that will kill two birds with one stone - getting Mycroft’s attention and cracking the code: GET SHERLOCK. The best way to get Sherlock was through his brother Mycroft who just happens to be very old acquaintance of the Queen.

Sherlock doesn’t get Irene’s camera phone and Irene learns to be careful what she wishes for because she really has attracted the attention of Mycroft Holmes with this shenanigan. I mean how forgiving is he going to be to someone who drugged his little brother? Now it’s personal.

From this point forwards the pair of them: Irene and Mycroft are locked in a ruthless game of chess Continued in Part 2

Other Parts in the Series: Hidden Heroines of Sherlock - Molly and Sally Why Molly and Sally are not just one dimensional characters but prime examples from strong, independent, professional women

For a List of Other Metas regarding Irene, Mycroft, Jim etc: Heroes and Villains series.