How John reacted to the ILY Scene

 (Sherlock meta by celticmoonbeam and waytoomanyhobbies)

celticmoonbeam:

Today I’m wondering about how John reacted to the ILY scene… Who has head canons about that that they’d like to share? Last night I had fun talking through the ILY scene with a friend who interprets it totally differently. She thinks Sherlock just loves Molly platonically, and I see him loving her romantically. (And we are still friends and we enjoy talking about it and seeing the other person’s POV! As fandom stuff should go.) While I was explaining my perspective, I was surprised how much I was describing things that happened in past episodes, rather than clues about his feelings in that particular scene.

My friend was surprised too. She loves Molly Hooper, but she got it firmly in her head in season 1 that Sherlock would never be interested in Molly, and so the little Sherlolly-esque details I fixated on slipped past her completely. She viewed all their scenes in light of Sherlock having no interest in Molly. (Again, total valid reading–this post isn’t to say that she’s wrong and I am right!).

Anyway… I found myself reshaping my headcanons about John’s reaction to the ILY scene. Now I’m wondering if he would respond a lot like my friend, automatically assuming that Sherlock isn’t interested and he said “I love you” just to save her life. After all, John wasn’t around for the vast majority of their scenes together. I don’t know that he ever picked up on Sherlock’s feelings. In TLD, he calls Molly the last person Sherlock would ever think of. So what exactly does he think is going on with the phone call? And how long does it take him to realize what’s really going on with Sherlock and Molly? After all the craziness of Eurus, I doubt that would be the first thing on his mind…

waytoomanyhobbies:

When the test first ended, John and Mycroft were ready to crack on like soldiers. Realizing that Sherlock wasn’t right behind them raises alarm bells. John turns back to find his best friend ritualistically placing the lid on the coffin, staring at the “I love you”, caressing the wood, and then repeating the word “no” before destroying Molly’s coffin with his bare hands. John is visibly struck by it.

John would have seen the entirety of Sherlock’s violent outburst until Sherlock finally spent all that emotion and slumped against the wall. He saw even more than we did of Sherlock screaming and breaking everything he could until he was exhausted. John has seen Sherlock remain calm in the face of innocents murdered before. Sherlock didn’t even have a outburst like this after identifying the supposed body of Irene, despite all Sherlock’s later melancholy. The incident would have to have raised some questions, especially thinking back to Eurus’s taunts.

John has been questioning Sherlock for years about his love life and hoping for Sherlock to find a relationship. John hadn’t picked up on it before then, but John has a history of wanting Sherlock to find romance, which could lead him to wanting to meddle. When John thought Sherlock may have found a woman in the two previous instances (Irene and Janine) John was pleased and very curious. He was very recently trying again to get Sherlock to find a woman who makes him the man he wants to be. John is quite invested in helping Sherlock find that romantic entanglement that he feels would do Sherlock good.

Not to mention that John has still only recently lost Mary, so how much of Sherlock’s outburst might have struck John as familiar from what he, himself, has recently gone through? It would be very odd for him to not start thinking back and reexamining what he’d seen between them.

It’s an interesting talking point. From my point of view, if John doesn’t know he should at least suspect. He’d be raising that subject soon enough if Sherlock didn’t take initiative with Molly first. John tried to play matchmaker for Sherlock only weeks before this, and he would probably be watching them like a hawk after this.

About how Sherlock treats Molly 

 (Sherlock meta by cassbel5)

I wanted to have a look at the trope of Sherlock treating Molly badly, as I think it is one of the most unfounded yet resilient tropes in fandom and among other viewers. It is often stated or implied that he is unkind to her, manipulates her, uses her, is mean to her, thinks she is weak etc, The persistence of this trope is surprising to me because after the Christmas party scene and his astonishing apology, my deep impression was that their dynamic changes and he actually comes to treat her perhaps even with more care than he treats most people. So I wanted to take a look, once and for all, scene by scene, and investigate this impression. This is a very long post as I have listed all their scenes together by episode (after the Christmas ASiB scene), as well as references to their relationship. Also, I couldn’t help the occasional ironic comment, so forgive me for that.

So, here we go.

*

A Scandal in Belgravia 

Mortuary scene (after the party). He gently tells her that she didn’t have to come in. Irene Adler is presumably lying dead on a slab before him, so he must have been experiencing considerable emotional upheaval, even if he wasn’t showing it. And yet, he takes the time and energy to say something kind to Molly, with a look of tenderness and compassion.

Lab scene. “We all do silly things”. He’s obsessing over Irene’s phone. He thinks she was killed and has left him with a puzzle. He’s not paying Molly much attention, because he is completely focused on the phone. He talks to her the way he usually talks to people when he’s focused on his work. It’s because Molly is so lovely here that we might think “Oh why doesn’t he see, the dickhead!? I agree. But context is relevant.

The Reichenbach Fall 

“You’re having lunch with me” scene. He is in a great mood and enthusiastically tells her to cancel her lunch date, jokingly (?) offering to compensate with lunch with him in the form of microscope work and crisps. OK, he’s trying to find two kidnapped kids AND Moriarty. He’s thrilled and in full “the game is on mode” and it wouldn’t surprise me if he actually thinks it must be thrilling for her too. He also amicably teases her about her ex-boyfriend criminal mastermind.

Lab scene. This is one of my all-time favourite scenes, so I am biased. But let’s see. Yes, Sherlock calls her John at one point early on. But we shouldn’t forget that while he is deep in his thoughts on a case, Sherlock, for example, habitually doesn’t notice John’s absence for days. This, however, doesn’t make us question his love and respect for John. When Sherlock calls Molly John he is in his working mode, oblivious to humans around him except as much as they pertain to the task at hand, as he sometimes is with everyone, including John. The focus of TRF is also the growing and strengthening bond between Sherlock and John, and Sherlock’s heart-breaking plan to save his friends that involves keeping John in the dark. That is why we see him watching John come into the lab but John not watching him, just unknowingly going about his business.

His curt remarks to Molly later in the conversation, after her “You’re a bit like my dad”, also have to be seen in context. He is troubled, the Reichenbach drama has already started to unfold for him and he is very much in his task-oriented “alone protects me” mode. And Molly here is crossing a very firm boundary. Now, I LOVE that she did that, this was actually the moment she definitely captured my heart. But Sherlock warning her to stop and saying that “making conversation” is really not her area, in THIS situation, doesn’t qualify as “treating her badly”. She is the strong one here, she is stepping into his walled off space, gently but with great determination, she is lovingly uncovering something, a secret he is willing to guard with his life – his own vulnerability and human frailty, his heart. She knows this, but she proceeds nevertheless. He is on the defensive and his initial curt responses are part of the toolkit he normally uses to guard this space and protect himself. It was, of course, a feeble attempt and he gives in, which brings us to.the

“You do count” scene or “Man comes to woman and reveals his utter vulnerability, as he has never revealed it to anyone before. Tells her that she has always counted to him and that he has always trusted her (and this guy’s got SERIOUS trust issues). Tells her that she was in fact right about his emotional state and that he needs her.” Right.

The Empty Hearse 

Locker room scene. Although he’s clearly got a kinky thing about hiding in her place of work to scare her a bit (I think he just loves hearing her gasp), it’s hard to see anything that is not lovely about this scene. He goes to her straight after seeing John, positions himself so that she would see him in her mirror (ah, his flair for drama) and his little smile as their eyes meet is just magic.

Baker St. “Molly, would you like to…”? A lot has been said about this scene so I’ll keep it bare and simple: Man, somewhat nervously, asks woman to go out and do fun stuff together.

Crime solving in Baker St. All the cases have to do with couples and love. I won’t go into why he has made this particular choice of clients, because that is an interesting topic in itself, but it is clearly NOT evidence of treating her badly, rather the opposite. He has made some kind of special effort for her – these are NOT the kinds of cases he normally takes.

Crime solving – dungeon scene.

Things we find out in this scene:

1. Sherlock misses John very much. He is used to adventuring and solving crimes with John, this is probably his most favourite thing in the world. (And how poignant this is now that we know about Victor). He has come back after two very tough and lonely years and John completely cuts him off. It must be devastating. He misses him so much that he hears John’s voice in his head and at one point says “indeed John” in reply to Molly. Again, like in TRF - he is in work mode, the game is on etc. and John should be there with him in reality, but he is not, so Sherlock’s mind conjures him to make it a bit easier. It reinforces the fact that in this world of adventures, it is John and Sherlock who are a natural unit, one that Sherlock really needs. It does not mean that he does not see Molly, appreciate her or that he treats her badly. He just really misses his friend. 
2. Molly is very smart and capable. To the extent that Sherlock’s mind (as John) suggests that Sherlock is jealous. Quite amazingly, he still lets her encroach on his territory and deduce the skeleton. Once again, quite an effort to please her and behave nicely. 
3. Sherlock’s “Welcome to my world!” or ”You see Molly, this is further evidence of just how amazing I am.” 
4. Sherlock and Molly finish each other’s sentences. 

Things we do NOT find out in this scene:

1. Sherlock manipulates, uses and treats Molly badly. 

Shilcott’s flat. Well, this is just embarrassing. With all the flirting going on in this scene and that smug little smile of his, I don’t need to get into how he VERY MUCH doesn’t treat her badly. Also, she makes him apologise with a look.

Hallway scene. Ok, should we just skip this? Or should we put it briefly: Man invites woman for a meal after spending the day with her. He is clearly enjoying himself and wants to continue (again, that smug little “I am so funny, I will make her laugh again” smirk as he’s going down the stairs is priceless). Woman goes: “Ah, dude, sorry, I can’t, I’m engaged”, to which he stops and says in almost a whisper: “I hope you’ll be very happy, you deserve it” and after the SADDEST. FUCKING. LOOK., plants a gentle kiss nanometres away from her mouth. Yeah, terrible treatment. Oh wait, he actually is treating her badly because he just fucked up her engagement, right there.

Party at Baker St. He gives her a lovely smile and doesn’t say a word to or about Tom although he is evidently dismayed at Tom’s resemblance to him.

The Sign of Three 

Lab scene. He comes to ask her for help. She is clearly taking the piss throughout the scene, he is completely on the back foot. She finishes his sentence again.

Wedding – deductions. He is unusually restrained with Tom after his astounding meat dagger deduction. Sherlock is irritated beyond belief but he refrains from any scathing comments, unlike with Lestrade moments ago. He is making a big effort not to smash Molly’s fiancé and embarrass her.

His Last Vow 

Lab scene. Molly slaps Sherlock hard three times and scolds him. He just stands there and lets her hit him. Finally, he attempts to deflect by bringing up the end of her engagement. It’s quite an interesting choice of topic in that moment, but the point is she has just hit him three times and scolded him in front of three other people. And this remark is all he does.

Mind palace or “I have only three seconds left of consciousness so I’ll imagine this woman being there for me, standing between me and death and telling me how to survive; I will imagine her referring to “US” and to what “WE” have to do in order for me to survive and then I will make a decision that will determine whether I live or die based on the words I imagine her saying to me because… well, that’s just what you do with people you treat badly because they are weak and mean nothing to you.”

References to their relationship. Molly tells us, and only us, that he uses her flat as a bolt hole - a fact Sherlock keeps VERY secret, as nobody, not even Mycroft, knows about this. We also find out that he likes to sleep in her bed. And that she lets him. Now, ok, you could argue that technically this qualifies as “bad”, but it’s just such a weird thing. We aren’t told that he, for instance, makes a mess of her beautiful kitchen or scratches her coffee table or watches loud TV or some other erotically uncharged but discourteous or disrespectful thing. No. We learn that HE LIKES TO SLEEP IN HER BED. AND SHE LETS HIM. With the new information on what the original script said about Tom moving OUT because they agreed he needed the space while Sherlock moves INTO HER BED because they agreed he needed the space, this just tells me that those two had some kind of weird unspoken slightly twisted kinky thing going. Bad? Yeah, ok.

The Six Thatchers 

Christening scene. He is definitely treating someone badly in this scene - his two best friends John and Mary and their daughter Rosie, as he is on the phone while Rosie is being christened. Molly whispers “Phone!” and he immediately puts it away (well, at least out of sight). He does not respond to the priest until Molly nudges him. (We could also infer that he never deletes Molly’s texts as it’s news to her that he does so at all, to John for instance). If anything, this scene, the way they are positioned, their interaction, the way she teases him about PEOPLE THINKING (with the implication that she knows better) he’s incapable of human emotion, the fact that they were talking and had to be silenced by Mrs Hudson like a couple of kids, the way she nudges him – all of this shows us that there is an intimacy between them that we may just wonder about a bit.

At the door with Rosie. Her heart is breaking for him but she can’t do anything. He is very hurt by the message she gives him, but he accepts it gracefully.

The Lying Detective 

Therapist’s house and ambulance scene. This is kind of an extended version of the HLV scene with her scolding him and him trying to deflect, but there is also something more going on here and it’s kind of weird. I’m convinced they cut something out from this scene and/or episode that would shed some more light on their interaction here but we’ll never know, so… Does asking her to come with an ambulance qualify as treating her badly/using her? Perhaps. But he does worse things to John, Lestrade, Mycroft and Mrs Hudson when he needs something for a case. I think the ambulance thing just feeds on the memory of how years and years ago he used her to get access in the mortuary and similar stuff. But the situation has changed, they are both different and they have a completely different relationship now. So if she helps him and does things for him (like Lestrade does, for instance) it does not necessarily mean he is using /manipulating her. And let’s not forget, they ALL indulge him at least a bit because he’s, well, Sherlock Holmes.

OK, the “tell me when to cough” thing was crass, but, Sherlock is very very high and a bit out of control, so…. OK. Bad.

Then there is their interaction outside the ambulance. He is being flippant, yes, but that whole interaction sounds more like a couple bickering than him being mean to her. Look at her facial expression of “Oh, you are so not fooling me with your crap” and his facial expressions seem to me like “I am going to give you my best crap…but shit, it’s not really working is it, but can’t blame me for trying’”. And that very very mysterious look he gives her as he leaves (yes, it’s for her, the camera cuts to HER face for a response) could, I suppose, qualify, as treating her badly because if it were me I would die right there.

References to their relationship in TLD:

1. John singles Molly out as the one person who sees through Sherlock’s bullshit. Sherlock’s tone and expression as he says “Who’s that then, I’m sure I would’ve noticed”, reveals that he is unsettled by the fact that there is actually someone who fits that description. And he knows it’s true. 
2. John also believes, much like the audience who hang onto the “Sherlock treats her badly” trope, that she is the last person Sherlock would think of in this regard. It turns out he was wrong, of course. 
3. Molly and John are the only ones Sherlock celebrates his birthday with. In every festive occasion on the show so far, the rest of the gang (Lestrade, Mrs Hudson and Mary while she was alive) were there as well and now they are clearly not. It makes sense – Sherlock is still in a very vulnerable state, he is trying to stay clean and has been through a crushing, life-threatening and heart-breaking ordeal so it makes sense that he will celebrate his birthday with only his very closest friend who he has finally just made amends with and…and with…oh, yeah…with the woman he treats really badly because he doesn’t really care. 

The Final Problem 

“I love you” scene. Ah, let’s just not go there.

*

I have tried to think of all their scenes together and scenes that deal with or mention their relationship. If I have forgotten anything it wasn’t intentional. But the point is, after the Christmas scene in ASiB, which truly was awful before his apology, you could say that the worst he does specifically to her is: call her John on two occasions when he is working and/or absent-minded and misses John; suggest she cancel a lunch date in order to help him find 2 kidnapped children; defend himself against her anger with silly flippant comebacks; ask her help with the ambulance car. Oh, yes, and sleep in her bed. (And make lewd remarks when he is high and out of control.) On the other hand, he shares his secrets with her, he lets her see his vulnerability, is compassionate and kind after hurting her, trusts her with his life more than once, seeks out her company, tries to impress her and make her laugh, tells her how much she means to him, thanks her for everything she did for him, immediately obeys instructions she gives him with her eyes or a single word, invites her for chips and eats cake with her unshaven and with a blood-clotted eye. And the hat.

(And probably quite a bit more that we don’t see if we are to judge by the intimacy we see between them.)

As the list above shows, the vast majority of their scenes together are really rather lovely. And the way BC plays it, Sherlock is always just a touch softer, just a touch more vulnerable in his scenes alone with Molly. I would really love it if people could just think back on their actual scenes together before they bring up the “he treats her badly” thing, which more or less ended half way through the fourth of thirteen episodes.

Explaining Molly as a “Mirror”

 (Sherlock meta by o0katiekins0o)

Since I’ve been asked about this specifically a number of times I thought it would be helpful to just make a post.

So “Molly is John’s mirror” is not some clever subtext that someone in the tinfoil hat brigade discovered. It is, in fact, a very old trope of the “Ms. Male” or “Distaff counterpart” that certain fans are applying here.

Basically it means taking a male character, slapping a female signifier on him, and voila! Same shit, new character.

One of the most recognizable examples is Ms. Pac Man. In order to appeal to the female market. Media Execs simply slap a lipstick and bow on whatever they happen to be making at that moment and hey! look! inclusivity! Buy our stuff, dumb ladies!

Here are some reasons why this is problematic:

1. It diminishes the female character’s role to her relationship with a male.

2. It does not leave room for dimension as this character is not her own person. She is merely a “girl version” of someone else.

3. It reduces female identity to shitty gendered signifiers (pink, frills, sparkles etc…)

Usually this goes hand in hand with the “Smurfette principle”. Where women are tokenized as the “girl” in an all-male cast. She may be a character that has other qualities but the one given highest import is that she is female in a way that remains very rigidly within the scope of the social gender binary.

This is not how Molly Hooper was written. She’s being read that way by fans who have a lot of internalized misogyny that they are projecting onto her character.

So far the only overlap I have seen is that Molly likes ugly jumpers and she’s nice.

But Molly wears ugly jumpers far more often than John, yet it’s a characteristic that belongs to him by default?

And let’s be honest, John is really not that nice. I mean sometimes kinda, but only if there’s something in it for him. (eg: getting to be the “hero”, flirting with women, looking superior to Sherlock) but apart from that, he’s just kind of a jerk who treats his non-neurotypical friend like some lovable “idiot savant”. Any one of us who met him in person would probably instantly label him as a “fuckboy” because well… the shoe fits.

Molly has a level of kindness that is completely unprecedented. Her kindness and loyalty are her trademark characteristics and I, personally think, that it’s very not good to hand that off to John just to make him seem better or to apply more validation to a fan-made narrative that actively works to erase female characters.

It’s definitely something to unpack and examine.

Molly Hooper meta

 (Sherlock meta by alltheroadsleadtotjlc)

Disclaimer: I’m not trying to disregard Molly Hooper’s character in this series. If you are a fan of Molly/Sher!0!!y, however, this meta isn’t for you as the conclusions I reach by the end of this meta may be interpreted as diminishing. I’m a TJLCer, but I tried to be as objective as possible. All operations within the meta are accurate but I chose not to include MHR and other short scenes where Molly doesn’t interact or is just in the background and her presence is not crucial (the “Sher!o!!y Kiss” and other short scenes where she’s the main focus were included). I haven’t seen any meta like this around but, if there is, I’m sorry. 

I’ll be analyzing Molly’s importance in BBC Sherlock based on every interaction she has throughout the series. For that reason, I’ve watched every single scene where Molly appears and what purpose her interactions have. I have measured each one and given a description so by the end of each season I’ll make a final remark on her relevance. Enjoy!

.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

SEASON 1 

This is the season where we’re first introduced to Molly Hooper and, alternatively, the season which features her the less. Her relevance, though, is unaffected. I’ll explain why.

ASIP: {8:31-9:19} Introduction to Molly Hooper. She asks Sherlock out but he “rejects” her. This will reflect the enormously different way Sherlock behaves towards Molly and towards John. 0:48 minutes.

TBB: {52:47- 54:23}. Sherlock flirts with Molly in order to examine Lukis and Van Coon’s bodies. 1:33 minutes (thanks @beejohnlocked )

TGG: {18:02-19:45} Molly introduces her boyfriend Jim to Sherlock and John, who will be revealed as Moriarty later. In the lab, Sherlock outs Jim as gay and Molly leaves angry. This is one of the few scenes where she talks during the total time she’s on screen. 1:43 minutes

Overall scenes: 3 

Scenes where Molly talks for most of the scene: 2 

Scenes longer than 5 minutes: 0 

Real scenes (not MP or things someone else thinks happened): 3 

Scenes where Molly talks to Sherlock for most of the time she’s there: 2 

● Of those, real ones: 2 

Total amount of time she’s on the season: 5:04 minutes 

Percentage of appearance in this season: 1.86% 

This was obviously the easiest season to analyze and I want to make clear why I believe she’s important in both scenes. First, her introduction scene reinforces the idea of Sherlock being gay and socially awkward right at the beginning of the show. Her second one introduces Moriarty, a major arc for s2 and s3. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough footage to properly describe Molly Hooper’s character in this season. Reading her blog we can deduce she’s a shy, sensible, hopeless romantic person with a big crush on Sherlock.

SEASON 2 

In this season, Molly Hooper’s character will reach a turning point in her growth and will be properly established as a John mirror.

ASIB: {41:39- 44:22} Christmas party on Baker St. This is one of the longest scenes where Molly’s in. It’s made clear the nature of Molly’s feelings for Sherlock and he apologizes for being rude making deductions about her. 2:43 minutes.

{45:30- 46:10} Very short interaction with Sherlock and Mycroft on the morgue to see Irene Adler’s body. She’s puzzled when Sherlock is able to identify her by looking at her naked body, as everyone else except John. 1:20 minutes.

{1:02:23- 1:03:09} Molly briefly inquires about the owner of the mobile phone Sherlock is scanning. She assumes it’s Sherlock’s girlfriend’s phone, which Sherlock is quick to remark in its absurdity. 1:26 minutes.

THOB: NO INTERACTION WHATSOEVER.

TRF: {35:58- 39:04} This is the famous “you look sad when you think he can’t see you” conversation Molly and Sherlock have. One of the major scenes Molly has throughout the entirety of these series. Oddly enough, she talks about John and Sherlock’s relationship and her words have a deeper meaning than we’re to believe. I think this is a turning point for Sherlock and Molly’s relationship because he trusts her more now (we have more proof of this fact later on). 3:46 minutes

{1:02:11- 1:03:09} Here Sherlock asks for Molly’s help to fake his death. Her blind trust in Sherlock can be compared to John’s when they are about to arrest Sherlock at 221b. This task solidifies their relationship. Honestly, if the previous scene never happened, this conversation wouldn’t have either. 0:58 minutes.

In this season, she experiments an evolution around TRF mainly, which brings her more strength as a character and makes her more likable. By this point I believe the writers realised they could (and did) use Molly Hooper specifically as a plot device. Her character was literally meant to be rejected by Sherlock at the beginning of ASIP and that’s it (no offense) [1], and right now her biggest scenes suggest Moftiss is trying to tell us something. It’s worth considering. Aside from that, she’s still more of a background character.

Overall scenes: 5 

Scenes where Molly talks for most of the scene: 3 

Scenes longer than 5 minutes: 0 

Real scenes: 5 

Scenes where Molly talks to Sherlock for most of the time she’s there: 3 

● Of those, real ones: 3 

Total amount of time she’s on this season: 9:33 minutes 

Percentage: 3.45% 

SEASON 3 

This season, by far, is the one where Molly Hooper’s character is more featured; in fact, 73% of the scenes she has on the show are within this season alone (mainly in TEH).

TEH: {1:29- 2:04} The infamous Sher!0!!y kiss. It’s product of Anderson’s imagination but I can’t be biased so here it is. 0:35 minutes.

{27:06- 27:24} Molly doesn’t talk: Sherlock goes to Bart’s in order to let her know he has come back to London. 0:18 minutes.

{37:54- 38:06} Sherlock asks Molly to accompany him on his cases while she misinterprets the situation and thinks he’s going to ask her out, establishing the cases=dates parallel. 0:12 minutes.

{38:14- 38:40} Sherlock solves cases at 221b while Molly takes notes. She doesn’t talk much, and is usually quiet when clients explain their cases, contrary to John. 0:26 minutes.

{38:51- 39:16} Same as before. 0:25 minutes.

{40:34- 41:46} Lestrade, Sherlock and Molly go together to solve a case. Molly helps Sherlock by examining the body and taking notes. 1:12 minutes.

{42:02- 46:10} Sherlock deduces everything about the skeleton while having auditory hallucinations and leaves. Molly is not of much importance here, although this is the longest scene in the whole series where Molly’s in. 4:08 minutes.

{47:17- 49:15} A very relevant scene for Molly; Sherlock explains to her why he has brought her, congratulates her on her engagement and leaves but Molly is not over him, much like John. 2:38 minutes.

{49:28- 49:34} Small appearance of Molly watching Sherlock leave, same as John at the end of TEH. 0:06 minutes.

{1:22:08- 1:22:51} Molly goes to 221b and introduces Tom to Lestrade, Sherlock, John, Mary and Mrs. Hudson. Everyone quickly notices Tom looks exactly like Sherlock. 0:43 minutes.

TSOT: {17:58- 18:37} She talks to Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson about Sherlock’s speech in the wedding, worried about how he will handle it. 0:39 minutes.

{42:00-42:27} She doesn’t talk but stabs Tom’s hand with a fork. 0:27 minutes

{43:33- 44:33} Sherlock asks Molly to help him with the stag night. 1:00 minute.

HVL: {11:58- 14:17} Molly slaps Sherlock thrice when she discovers Sherlock has used drugs again, her anger mirroring John’s but her actions suggesting otherwise. 2:19 minutes.

{34:43- 35:40} MP!Molly helps Sherlock after Mary shoots him. 0:57 minutes.

{36:20- 36:38} “ “ “ “. 0:18 minutes.

{36:58- 37:03} “ “ “ “. 0:05 minutes.

{45:54- 46:05} “ “ “ “. 0:11 minutes.

{45:54- 46:01} Molly talks about some arrangement she has with Sherlock. 0:07 minutes.

Overall scenes: 19 

Scenes longer than 5 minutes: 0 

Real scenes: 14 

Scenes where Molly talks to Sherlock for most of the time she’s there: 8 

● Of those, real ones: 4 

Amount of time she appears on this season: 14:06 minutes 

Percentage: 5.20% 

Amount of real time she appears on this season: 13:20 minutes 

Percentage: 4.88% 

Molly’s presence on this season cannot be overlooked. As John is not with Sherlock all the time, Molly is our window into Sherlock’s world for a while. However, this doesn’t last for long. She has earned Sherlock’s respect and that’s something.

SEASON 4 

As [this was written before] season 4 [...] aired, I can’t make a proper approach of Molly throughout the season, so I will only talk of [TAB] in terms of time on-screen.

TAB: {17:55- 19:14} Hooper, disguised as a man, explains the details of Emilia Ricolletti’s case in a professional fashion. She and Holmes don’t get on, apparently (as the last real interaction with Molly is the one where she slaps him, it’s not a big leap to assume Sherlock imagines her angry with him, as in the fake scene on the plane, this time with John). 1:19 minutes.

{19:48- 21:36} Molly finishes explaining the case to Holmes. When he leaves later, Molly sasses Watson and he subtly outs her as what she really is: a woman. 1:48 minutes.

{1:12:36- 1:13:14} She starts explaining the Emilia Ricolletti’s case to Holmes in the crypt, already been revealed as a part of the conspiracy. 0:38 minutes.

Overall scenes: 3 

Scenes where Molly talks for most of the time: 3 

● Of those, real ones: 0 

Total amount of time she’s on the episode: 3.05 minutes 

Percentage: 3.39% 

She doesn’t have much on-screen time (same as s1) but it’s pretty obvious Sherlock deeply respects her abilities as a pathologist, so much that she even makes it to his drug-induced dream (or MP, whatever you think TAB was). He also thinks he has treated her badly in the past and regrets it.

And, with this episode, the final data.

MOLLY HOOPER

Amount of total time she’s on the show: 28:49 minutes 

Percentage: 3.16% 

Overall scenes: 30 

● Real scenes: 22 

● Where Molly talks at least half the time she’s there: 10 

○ Of those, scenes where she didn’t mirror John in some way| talked about John: 3 

■ Jim introduction (TGG) 

■ Christmas party 221b (ASIB) 

■ Flashback of Molly talking about Sherlock’s speech (TSOT) 

In conclusion, Molly Hooper’s character is clearly a plot device in every sense and, judging by the on-screen time she has had over 6 years, should be considered as a secondary character [...]. Studying her in depth has been very fun to do and I realised how interesting she is from this perspective. I’d say this is the most flattering way to depict her. Not seeing this part of her character is a great mistake.

[...]

Sherlolly in The Sign of Three

 (Sherlock meta by ladylillianrose)

Okay let’s discuss the various Sherlolly things in The Sign of Three shall we? [...]

Firstly, Archie. Yes, yes I know not technically Sherlolly, but come on. You can’t tell me he’s similar to what a child of Molly and Sherlock would be like. Stubborn, curly haired, interested in murder, totally could be their child. And he causes Sherlock to sort of look at children differently, his little “hmm” when Archie comments on the maggots in the eyes being cool. Almost as though he’s thinking, you know kids aren’t that terrible when they’re not screaming or misbehaving. AND he technically solved the murder!

Then there’s the weird photograph moment with Tom and Molly. Molly is clearly attempting to give him a proper kiss, he is her fiance and they are at a wedding. But Tom seems reluctant and more focused on the photographer taking their picture. Wedding photographers (even the murderous ones) like to take a variety of photos, so an engaged couple who are friends with the bride and groom, kissing would be a sweet photograph. It just bothers me that Tom seems to almost be pushing her away.

And then of course there’s Sherlock in the background keeping an eye on his pathologist. Thought we didn’t see you there did you?

The Speech/Telegrams. Molly seems to be the only one genuinely concerned about Sherlock having to give the speech to a roomful of people. She knows that it’s completely different from when he deduces people, deals with the press, etc. This speech requires sentiment and emotions, which while he’s gotten better about them over the years, are still not terribly easy for him to express. And certainly not to a large group of people about his best friend. Both Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson believe he’ll be fine because they’re assuming it will be just like when he’s explaining about a case. He’ll ramble on, but have no issue delivering it to a room full of people because he’s a show off. But this is far more personal, and Molly understands that. Which is of course why she’s so concerned. And of course the telegrams will be full of sentimental messages, which she knows he’ll have trouble dealing with the wording of them (full of sentiment and nicknames, etc.).

And on the subject of her phoning Mrs. Hudson, she’s calling from work, her goggles specked with blood, in the middle of something (she still has one glove on and a tool in her hand) to discuss Sherlock and his role in the wedding. And then we of course see John talking to Sherlock about his role in the wedding, and what’s Sherlock doing? Experimenting with a blowtorch and a human eyeball. Please try and tell me they aren’t beyond fucking perfect for each other.

Then there’s the looks she keeps giving him throughout his speech. She’s smiling, biting her lips and fiddling with her engagement ring, all while looking at Sherlock and sitting a decent distance from Tom. She’s sitting closer to Lestrade than she is to Tom, which is incredibly unusual to be doing at a wedding when sitting with one’s significant other (unless you’ve had an argument or something, and this position is prior to Tom being a complete and utter idiot!).

Her face when he asks Lestrade about the murder, is priceless. She’s just trying to keep from laughing out loud because she knows Sherlock is teasing him and that Lestrade has given a ridiculous answer. And then Tom opens his mouth. The look on Sherlock’s face is one of polite behavior, almost as though he’s telling himself internally, “Be nice for Molly’s sake.” The minute he says anything Molly looks like she’s about to kill him. Firstly if Lestrade couldn’t come up with a decent answer she knows Tom’s answer is just going to be worse. And then he stands up awkwardly, so of course everyone sees and hears him, and gives his “meat dagger” theory. Which again has Sherlock refraining from making any comment apart from repeating “meat dagger” in a questioning tone and no. And poor Molly looks like if he weren’t standing she’d be giving him a swift kick to the leg. Her “sit down!” is totally in the tone of, “you’ve completely embarrassed yourself and me, so shut up and sit down.” Because we all know she’s an intelligent woman, so one would hope that she would find an equally intelligent significant other, which Tom is clearly not.

Then he goes to see her about the stag night. She thinks the murder scenes theme is odd, but then when she see’s what he means with the personal touch, she genuinely says “delightful.” She speaks/understands Sherlockease, so she gets that it’s meant to be a sentimental gesture. Hell if it weren’t a stag night Molly would probably be up for a pub crawl along the same theme. His coming to her about the “practical experience” is of course rubbish. She points out that he’s a graduate chemist, and we know he’s had a history with drugs (so of course he knows how substances and body chemistry work), so there’s no reason for him to come to a Pathologist for this data. And then when he fumbles about with Molly’s teasing (which I love that she’s able to do that with him) and then realizes that she’s teasing him he gets flustered. “You look….well,” was of course not what he was going to say. In the past he’d have complimented her in order to get his way, but he won’t do that to her anymore because she counts. And then there’s him actually making an effort to remember Tom’s correct name!!!! The man can’t remember Lestrade’s first name, and though it takes him a minute he remembers Molly’s fiance’s name because it’s Molly and it’s important to her. The not a sociopath comment is of course great, and I think people are misconstruing Molly’s comment of, “and we’re having quite a lot of sex.” It perplexes Sherlock, but it’s a connecting thought to the "not a sociopath", because Jim was a GAY sociopath. So she’s merely running with that theme. It’s just my theory, to be fair, but that was my first thought, Tom’s still not a sociopath, and she’s established that he’s heterosexual.

Then there’s when Sherlock realizes the Mayfly man is there. He says he’s come up with ways to kill friends and colleagues, and while he doesn’t mention Mrs. Hudson (because she’s like a second mom to him) he also doesn’t mention Molly either. Probably because he knows from first hand experience how Molly is capable of helping him fake his suicide so hiding a body or making a murder look like an accident would be simple for her. I see it as a compliment to her abilities and how highly he esteems them.

And Tom of course has to go and open his big mouth again, assuming Sherlock’s drunk. But apart from John, Mary (whom John told), and Lestrade (who had to be told by text), Molly is the only other one who gets that something related to the murderer is happening. Which of course is why she stabs Tom with her dessert fork, not even looking at him in regret (she doesn’t take her eyes off of Sherlock).

And finally there’s the reception. Molly doesn’t take her eyes from him the entire time he’s playing his violin, she’s in a spot close to the stage specifically for the best view of course. Then after he finishes his piece he tosses his boutonniere to Jeannine with Molly standing right next to her. She pulls a face, not the face of a woman who has a wonderful fiance (who she is standing far away from).

When Sherlock leaves, looking sad, as we’ve all of course pointed out the comparisons. Molly is of course the only one who sees. And you can see her struggling with whether or not to follow him outside (and oh how I wish she had!) but I think she reminds herself that she’s engaged, and continues dancing with Tom, almost sort of settling. She’d rather run after Sherlock and throw her arms around him, but she’s a good person and doesn’t want to hurt Tom and has decided to settle for less than what she deserves (not saying she doesn’t deserve to be happy, but come on we all know she is obviously not happy with Tom).

[...]

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.

"If I wasn't everything that you think I am"

 (Sherlock meta by notagarroter and vulgarweed)

notagarroter:

This is a favorite sherlolly moment for me, because of the contrast with John.

The key to John is that John never doubts Sherlock. Sherlock asks him in The Reichenbach Fall if he is 100%, if he has any doubts at all, but even when Sherlock is on the roof, John never questions for a second that Sherlock is the genius he always claimed he was.

But Molly… Molly doesn’t care. Molly will take care of him, will protect him, even if he *is* a fraud. No questions asked. I think for John, it is at least important that Sherlock be one of the Good Guys. He couldn’t tolerate it if his hero, his idol had actually kidnapped and poisoned children. But Molly… Her loyalty extends even beyond morality.

And that’s why she’s the one who matters.

It’s also why I hate to see this ship dismissed as cute fangirl fluff, as nothing more than the “heterosexual option”.

There is something dark and tragic and a little twisted going on between these two. And I like it.

vulgarweed:

Molly kept Sherlock’s secret. She knew how John was grieving, and probably Mrs. Hudson too. She knew that Lestrade blamed himself and Anderson descended into madness to the point of losing his job. She knew all sorts of fallouts and repercussions of Sherlock’s “death,” including ones that deeply hurt people she knew and liked.

And she kept the secret anyway. No doubt she too played the grieving friend, probably put on a little extra devastation-performance for those in the inner circle who knew how she really felt about Sherlock.

She faked his death certificate. She prepared the lookalike corpse. Whatever witchcraft had to be done with DNA and whatnot to make Sherlock Holmes as “dead” as a living man can be, she did it. She broke so many laws and risked her own career, stone cold, and got away with it even after the truth came out.

She played them all. With her sad little sniffles.

Molly is that ‘best friend’ who REALLY WILL help you hide the body - or the lack of one if the death is your own. Girl is STONE COLD SCARY and it’s all the more effective because she looks mousy and normal and cute. She will be the last one to break at the end of the world.

Shipping aside, how do people not see what a great compelling character she is? I would watch BBC Molly so hard.

Romantic Entanglement

 (Sherlock meta by celticmoonbeam)

SHERLOCK: As I think I have explained to you many times before, romantic entanglement, while fulfilling for other people … 
JOHN: … would complete you as a human being. 

This line in The Lying Detective hit me so hard. Because, it’s true! Over 4 seasons, we’ve seen Sherlock learn to let friends into his life. We’ve seen him improve his family relationships, particularly with Mycroft.

But, he’s never really opened himself up to romance. He seemed to have some feelings for the Woman, but as he says, he hardly texts her back. His relationship with Janine was a lie to get access to Magnussen.

To complete his character development arc, to become complete as a human being, this is the last hurdle Sherlock has to cross. He has to open himself up to romance. This line resonates because of its truth. And why plant that idea and then do nothing with it in the narrative?

In my mind, this line helps set up Sherlock’s character arc–and it’s evidence that Sherlock meant it when he admitted his love for Molly Hooper. It takes that idea to a conclusion. We see Sherlock become more complete as a human being. When he finally says, “I love you,” he’s opening himself up to romantic entanglement. He’s admitting he can have those feelings, and he DOES have those feelings. Eurus’s vivisection rips him open and shows his heart… and this new side of him can fill that last gap and complete his character development arc.

Yes, he admits it under duress… but that’s part of the beauty of the scene! At times in the past, he’s taken Molly for granted (although I would argue that changed in season 2). But now he’s faced with the possibility of her death–of losing her forever. He’s absolutely frantic and panicked. I think facing her impending demise, imagining what life would be like without her, makes him realize more than ever how much he cares. You can see in his eyes that her loss would destroy him.

For me, this scene fits best into the narrative if Sherlock does love Molly. He’s cleared that last hurdle and he’s about to become more complete as a human being.

An in-depth analysis of the Mind Palace sequence in HLV and what it means for Sherlock and Molly

 (Sherlock meta by creamocrop)

I got carried away in analyzing Sherlock’s mind palace and Molly’s presence in it.

Yes, it has been pointed out again and again that Sherlock envisioned Molly, a pathologist who works with the dead, as his saviour when he could have imagined John who is actually an army doctor and who, I imagine, has more practical experience with bullet wounds, because of you know…being from Afghanistan! 

So going by the fact that his mind resorted to an image of Molly rather than someone who is an expert in dealing with life and death situations, he clearly feels something for her. Right? right? Because you know…he associates her with safety and survival. -

[...]

But I don’t think that’s just it - although to be honest, associating someone with safety is actually kind of a big deal, but let me just backtrack a little.

I might just be over-analyzing things but I have always been fascinated with the concept of mind palaces so I am just going to go ahead and give a little analysis.

The first thing I noticed when she entered was that she wasn’t immediately all sciencey, which is what I expected at first because it was after all, Sherlock’s analysis of his own wound and he is merely projecting people in his mind - basically he is just speaking to himself. If he was as ramrod-straight-purely-logical human being, as he always claims, Molly would have immediately launched an explanation and formulated a course of action, but instead, she opened with stating how it’s not like the movies. Notice how she was moving in true Molly fashion - wriggly, quirky and lively. This, I think, is a wonderful way of introducing her as part of Sherlock’s mind palace, because I can see this scene as a parcel of Sherlock’s memory wherein they had discussed a bullet wound while they were in the morgue. In short, he wasn’t just projecting a Molly-the-pathologist-who-has-seen-a-lot-of-bullet-wound-and-knows-how-it-causes-death, he was remembering Molly.

He was dying and the first thing he sees is a memory of Molly.

What was that they say about seeing your life flash before you when your dying? Yeah, I think this is a form of it. I once read that this flashes are all usually happy memories because it is the brain’s way of comforting the body as it goes through a traumatic experience. This is the first sign that confirms how Sherlock’s consciousness associates Molly with safety.

The next scene was more Sherlock. 

(Before we move on, let’s just appreciate the fact that Sherlock’s mind palace includes a morgue.) 

Anyways, as I said, the next scene in the-too-bright morgue has more Sherlock element in it. Now this, is Sherlock analyzing his body. Molly was talking faster, was more serious and is delving into more sciencey stuff, talking about the physics of the bullet and how it could affect his body. She concludes by saying that he’s almost certainly going to die. Notice how she became fuzzy all of a sudden before she said this? It was his body showing him that death is near but he needed Molly to say that to him in the face. Her stating it, allowed him to move past the first stage: denial.

So, if your body is already saying bye bye using the face of someone you know deals with death, what happens next?

You panic.

And so he does, which is why Molly told him to focus. Que the slapping. Twice. By now, I bet slapping is already the rig of our little ship-that-could, and so it should be, because it clearly made an impact with Sherlock. He retained the memory of Molly slapping him and he associated it with maintaining focus. In real life, Molly slapped him three times because she wants him to remain focused with all the beautiful things he has - his born gifts and his friends. Although he had been a bit of a douche afterwards - not really saying sorry in the way she wants him to - and being seemingly unaffected by the slap by making a joke about how he’s glad that she did it without a ring, his mind palace clearly showed us that the slapping had made its mark - can I say pun intended in this part?. Anyway, I bet from now on, when he needs to focus, he’ll just see Molly slapping him, instead of having to slap himself like the way he did in The Sign of Three. 

Speaking of The Sign of Three, remember how Mycroft was there in Sherlock’s mind palace to talk him through solving the case? Oh look, Molly was talking him through staying alive! Parallels, anyone? See, the importance of this is that if Sherlock sees Mycroft as his equal (or greater than, based on how he is on a pedestal and Sherlock has to look up to him) when it comes to thinking logically, enough that he seeks him out when trying to solve a case, then clearly he also sees Molly as an equal when it comes to medical and science knowledge, enough for him to discuss with her how he is dying. Take that, people who thought she was just a lab tech/assistant - which she really isn’t for she’s a Specialist Registrar, and from what I’ve read so far, we should probably kowtow to her for being that. 

Going back, the following scenes however, highlights the contrast between how Sherlock sees Molly and Mycroft. If we put his interaction with them side by side, we’d see a lot of differences. His subconsciousness always put Mycroft on a pedestal. First, in The Sign of Three where Mycroft was in the judge’s table, high above where Sherlock was. Now in His Last Vow, Sherlock reverted into his younger self and the camera angle shows him looking up to Mycroft. With Molly however, they were always equal - except maybe for that time when he was lying on the slab and she was looking down at him, which I think does not connote any feelings of inequality because as said earlier, that was the time when he was panicking and his consciousness acknowledging the fact that when it comes to death, Molly has the authority.

Another difference, is that If Sherlock associates Molly with the too-bright morgue, he places Mycroft in a dark, shady office where his intelligence was belittled. Molly’s presence was comforting, and although they were both analyzing what he should do, there was no restrictive atmosphere. She allows Sherlock to come to his own conclusion and there were no insults involved. With Mycroft however, even though Sherlock’s also consulting with him, our dying consulting detective reverted into being that kid who thought he was an idiot. 

Really, the whole mind palace sequence was a gold-mine! I’m quite glad they added this because it allows us a peak in the complex mind of Sherlock.

I’m just going to fast-forward to their next interaction -which is also one of my favorite in the whole sequence - wherein Sherlock now has to decide which way to fall. Oh hi, Anderson!. You see, I love how they added Anderson in the whole element simply because his presence and actions highlighted something important - probably the most important thing and the one I really want to emphasize in this post: Sherlock’s trust with Molly.

Before, when they were discussing how he should fall, Anderson was behind Sherlock while Molly was in front of him, but when it was time to fall *ahem The Reichenbach Fall ahem* , they switched places! It was almost as if Sherlock was about to perform a trust fall with Molly (again) - which in essence is actually what he was about to do. He was putting all his trust in his and Molly’s analysis that falling on his back will save him.

Oh The Reichenback Fall, it was almost as if it was just yesterday… 

So he falls…and goes into shock.

But he did not recognize it at first. You know, for a genius like him, one would think that he would know what happens next, but he didn’t! He had to ask Molly what was happening! This is another significant development because Sherlock, in real life, doesn’t always ask the opinion of others. He just assumes that he knows and that he is correct. In his mind palace, at the moment when his mind is having a hard time focusing and getting the answers right (as was demonstrated by his and Mycroft’s talk about the gun and the exit wound), he finds the right answer with Molly! This shows the reason why Molly is Sherlock’s pathologist.

He believes in her analysis - and he doesn’t question it.

(While we’re at this, let us take a moment to remember how he - a chemistry graduate- asked her help to develop algorithms to ensure that he and John would have a nice stag night, when he could clearly do it by himself.) 

Okay, fast-forward a little bit and we see Molly telling him to control the pain. Again, Molly sets him straight. In fact, for the entire episode, this is what Molly does - showing him what he really needs to see and telling him what he really needs to do.

You know what that makes Molly?

His ego.

She is the perfect balance between logic and sentiment and no matter what he had said and done to her before, I think that Sherlock knows this too. It is why in the moment when his body (sentiment) and his mind (logic) were both vying for control over him, it was Molly that he saw.

It was Molly that he needed.

On Mycroft, Molly and Sherlock 

and the Christmas scene at Bart's

 (Sherlock meta by penelope1730 and theleftpill)

penelope1730:

How do Mycroft and Molly know one another? I understand this is Mycroft, who has greater vision than the All Seeing Eye of Sauron, but he seems rather comfortable – all things considered – in thanking Molly for her help. [...]

The Christmas scene from ASiB is the awkward gift that keeps on giving. Mycroft tells Sherlock he had Irene’s body brought to Bart’s, Sherlock’s “home away from home.” Molly is there to present the body for identification, with Sherlock telling her she didn’t have to come in.

Sherlock’s comment has always bothered me, though, beyond the lingering weirdness shared between he and Molly. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought it was a bit pretentious to tell Molly she didn’t have to come to work and, like, do her job. Although he’s self-employed, it’s doubtful Sherlock doesn’t understand that people actually have to show up for their employment when expected, even if he somehow feels entitled to tell them they don’t. Nice of him to want to spare her his presence, tho.

Molly’s reply also doesn’t make sense — “It’s okay, everyone else was busy with…Christmas” — if it’s actually her job to be there. Something along the lines of —- “Ummm, Sherlock, I’m not simply showing up for your convenience, especially as you were rude as fuck to me. This is my job and while it sucks to have to work on Christmas, it’s double-time with holiday bonus pay — cha ching! Let the other schmucks enjoy their turkey or goose – I’ll still be able to fit into my skinny jeans tomorrow.” would seem more appropriate.

Okay, so Molly probably wouldn’t say that – she hasn’t quite got her righteous snark down yet – but you get the drift.

Unless, of course, she wasn’t scheduled to work or on-call, which Sherlock might know, and someone (ahem, Mycroft) called her personally. Then Sherlock’s comment “You didn’t have to come in, Molly” makes sense, along with Molly’s “I don’t mind, everyone else is busy with…Christmas.”

So, if that’s what happened (and not saying it did), why would Mycroft call Molly, or have her on speed dial? Why not let the morgue attendant deal with the body, especially when one is always working? What difference would it make? It’s not like the morgue attendant would care. Was it about convenience? Mycroft circumventing normal channels? Moffat and Gatiss just wanted to give us one more angsty / awkward scene between Sherlock and Molly?

Or, did Molly decide, having just experienced the *worst Christmas party* in history, that going to work was like the best thing ever?

I gotta give Molly props for wanting to know who the dead, naked women was – and actually asked, without hesitation. She asked Mycroft, Mister Warm and Fuzzy, and people don’t think this chick has got a spine, or that she only grew one post Reichenbach. HA! And, then, later on – when she pumped Sherlock for info about whose phone he was x-raying. Seriously – how many people actually pump Sherlock for information, where he actually answers? This girl is far from spineless.

Any thoughts anyone???

theleftpill:

I think it’s clear from the context of this scene and the one before it that Molly’s presence in this scene is out of the ordinary - she’s not just “doing her job.” Since she was just at the party it’s clear that she had the night off, so simply fulfilling her duty isn’t at play here.

On a superficial, basic-viewer level, Molly’s there for subtle comic relief. She’s just been humiliated by her crush, (presumably) leaves the party when it breaks up with Sherlock’s departure, and takes a “hey can you come in to work, we’ve got a situation” call to get her mind off things. And is immediately confronted by same crush who identifies a woman by “not her face.” On the surface it’s another sucker-punch. But as I’ve asked before - Why Molly? Why is it Molly attending the viewing? Why not the on-duty attendant, or, given the political sensitivity of the matter, a government official? You’ve hit another key moment showing Molly’s importance, which I think goes deeper than quick comic relief.

I think you can safely draw the conclusion that Mycroft had Molly called in (I doubt he would have called her himself.) He’s working very hard to control the situation; he has control over the location and therefore would also have control of personnel. This is not just his brother’s conflict; it’s also a security risk. Mycroft trusts her with this rather delicate security situation - in a small way, she’s in the inner circle. He trusts her to be discreet and professional.

But the biggest reason, if you’re digging deep, is clear from Mycroft’s establishing line: “We had her brought here, your home [away] from home.” Mycroft understands that this moment is going to throw Sherlock. He’s trying to soften the blow as much as possible - putting him in a comfortable environment, surrounding him with people he trusts. Mycroft knows that Molly will handle the situation with delicacy and care. She can be trusted not only with the security risk but more importantly with Sherlock’s psyche. He must be aware of some emotional connection Sherlock has to Molly; in this delicate moment, if he’s controlling the environment, he’s not going to bring in someone who would upset Sherlock. He’s going to bring in someone who represents grounding and comfort: Molly.

And note who’s already present in the scene when Mycroft says “home (away] from home.” Home is not just a location, a structure. Home is where those you love reside. Home is where the heart is. Molly is the one who lives in that “home.”

And I love your points about Molly confronting both Mycroft and Sherlock in the following moments/scenes. I never gave much thought to this scene between Molly and Mycroft, but it goes so much further to prove Molly’s importance to Sherlock. Beautiful catch.

From a Joke to the End Game - 

The Evolution of Molly Hooper: 

 Molly the Tool: A Study in Pink 

 (Sherlock meta by mychakk)

Hello Everyone!

Thanks so much to all who had read the introduction to this meta posted a week ago. Today, I’d like to start on Season One and the first episode of it: A Study in Pink. I’ve already addressed the importance of Molly being introduced alongside Sherlock in the previous part of this huge meta, so today I’ll focus only on the scenes in ASiP themselves.

[...]

Please remember that I write this with the view, that the aired episodes we’ve been given are a sum of Moftiss’ initial ideas, their screenplay, the director’s interpretation, the actors’ portrayal, music composers’ creations AND the editing crew’s choices. All of that created the show as we know. And it got Moftiss’ final approval to be aired as something they want to share with us.

Season 1: Molly Hooper the (writing) Tool: A Study in Pink. 

Being a writing tool is Molly’s initial role in s1. That’s her purpose and the reason behind her reappearances in the following episodes. In A Study in Pink Molly’s role was to introduce Sherlock, in The Blind Banker she’s used to show more of his characteristics and tactics, while in The Great Game she serves as a means to introduce Jim Moriarty. That’s her initial reason for existence: The Tool. And yet, each scene she’s in is enriched by the actors’ interpretation and portrayal, which in turn creates so much more nuances regarding her character and her relationship with the protagonist, Sherlock Holmes.

Let’s have a look at the scenes in the first episode and see what we can learn about her:

In the first camera shot of Molly and Sherlock we see Sherlock peering at the corpse in the body bag. He and Molly share a short dialogue:

S: How fresh?
M (cheerful): Just in. Sixty-seven, natural causes. He used to work here. I knew him. He was nice.
S (smiling): Fine. We’ll start with the riding crop. 

In that short exchange we already can learn a lot about Molly and her relationship with Sherlock. First of all, we learn about Molly herself. She’s nice. And cheery. And she’s totally unaffected by death, corpses and all things morbid. We can also see she’s pleasant during her dealings with Sherlock.

The way the two of them are with each other in this scene clearly suggests this is not a new situation for them both. She’s not nervous at all about him needing a body, she doesn’t ask him what he plans on doing with it, why he demanded this from her. She pleasantly answers his questions providing additional information. She’s used to this.

And Sherlock?

He just accepts her finding (the corpse) and tells her how the experiment will start. And he smiles at her. I think this smile is more on the giddy-at-doing-an-experiment side than on it being a fake; and he aims this smile at Molly, sharing said giddiness with her. They are both clearly comfortable with the, quite frankly unusual, situation of flagging down a corpse. They are comfortable with each other in the working/experimenting environment of st. Bart’s.

Notice also the use of “we” in Sherlock’s final comment:

“We’ll start with the riding crop.“ (emphasis mine) 

The pronoun clearly indicates Sherlock includes Molly in the making of his experiment, they are both going to work on it. Does it mean the experimenting is actually from the beginning theirs instead of being just his? Did he plan from the beginning to do it with her? We do not know explicitly but the possibility is there.

The next camera shot shows us Molly observing Sherlock while he beats the corpse with the riding crop.

 Is she there out of her own decision or does she need to supervise him? We do not know that either. What we do know is that Molly is both slightly disturbed and yet turned on by the sight. Kudos to Loo for portraying it as such (but who can blame her, really? XD Ben beating a corpse with a riding crop? Hot! Period. :P). Sherlock is unaffected by her presence, and definitely doesn’t mind it. (I bet he was proud as a cock for having her admire him while he did it.) 

After the beating is done Molly comes down to Sherlock.

She makes a joke as an opening to start a talk with him, but Sherlock just instructs her:

“I need to know what bruises form in the next twenty minutes. A man’s alibi depends on it. Text me.” 

This innocent sentence gives us tons of information partaking to Molly and Sherlock’s relationship (whatever it is exactly at the time). He trusts her to continue his experiment and providing him later with accurate notes, maybe as good or even better than his own would have been? This indicates he trusts her as a scientist, trusts her working ethics and precision in conducting lab work. Sherlock values Molly as a reliable working lab partner to the point of leaving her with completing his experiment on her own. If we tie up this trust in Molly the Scientist with Sherlock’s first instruction:

"We'll start with the riding crop.” (emphasis mine) 

It may actually mean that this experiment was supposed to be theirs from the very beginning. He had factored her help while devising it. This would also explain why was Molly observing him while he conducted the beating.

Finally, there is also that little titbit at the end of Sherlock’s instruction:

“[…] Text me.” 

This clearly means that they have each other’s phone numbers and that texting each other is not something new to them, but a regular occurrence. Even being Sherlock Holmes you won’t say “text me” to a new acquaintance you’ve just convinced to let you beat a corpse. You’ll at least explain what you’d like her to text you exactly. Here, this instruction is short and to the point. “text me”. Molly already knows what he would like to receive in her text and how he prefers she write it. As I wrote above, they have to have known each other for a while and are quite accustomed to each other quirks in the working environment that is st. Bart’s. This is their usual interaction. And they clearly have fun together. (Molly is enjoying herself for sure, but Sherlock is also giddy at the beginning of the whole sequence and quite enthusiastic in his greetings her later on in the lab when she brings him coffee. Clearly he enjoys working with her, too).

Now, we come to the most interesting part of their interaction in this episode:

M: Listen, I was wondering: maybe later, when you’re finished-
S (a double take): Are you wearing lipstick? You weren’t wearing lipstick before.
M: I, er, I refreshed it a bit.
S (oblivious): Sorry, you were saying?
M (intent): I was wondering if you’d like to have coffee. 

Notice Loo’s facial expressions as she walks up to Ben and start this exchange.

 She portrays Molly as still being affected by Sherlock, her Molly’s still slightly turned on, and yet there is this determination on her face. This focus as he gazes at him heading toward him. It’s clear Molly’s already decided she’s going to ask Sherlock out. And she isn’t discouraged at all by his initial instruction to complete the experiment. She’s determined, and confident, she’s not stuttering when she starts her first question. She isn’t even that much thrown off by his lipstick comment.

 She’s quite quick with her reply, and she’s positively intense in her determination when she finally asks him out:

M (intent): I was wondering if you’d like to have coffee.

It’s all there in Loo’s body language. As a viewer you don’t think much about it, but subconsciously you pick it all up. And since the show is aired (and available to be viewed over and over again), you can consciously pick on it, notice all the details, and like me - analyse. :)

In that very first scene, when we were supposed to learn about Sherlock’s obliviousness to social indications, we learn so much more about Molly, the Tool, who is actually already being fleshed out as a real and quite strong character. In this exchange with Sherlock, when she asks him out, Molly is shown as a confident, independent, and determined woman. She is completely undeterred in her pursue of what she wants. And here it’s asking Sherlock Holmes out.

Molly’s aplomb attitude fades only after Sherlock’s reply of:

“Black, two sugars, please. I’ll be upstairs.” 

 And I don’t blame her, because it takes you aback when someone can be this oblivious. And Sherlock is oblivious, but I’ll address his character in the later part of this meta. Let’s stay with Molly for now.

We don’t see what Molly does after Sherlock leaves her in the morgue, stumped and kind of stupefied. We see her later on while she’s bringing the said coffee to Sherlock in the upstairs lab. Notice, that Sherlock didn’t explain where exactly upstairs he’ll be, just that he’ll be “upstairs”. This also points to a familiarity with the place and with each other and each other’s usual habits. Sherlock doesn’t need to add more for her to know what he means, and where he intends to be. She’ll just know from that small titbit of information he gave her.

In the final scene with Molly, she enters the lab with a smile as she brings Sherlock the coffee.

This itself is quite interesting. If she were embarrassed by Sherlock’s initial rebuttal and dismissal of her asking him out, she’d probably stay away and definitely not carter to his coffee needs. But she brings it to him as if nothing happened. She even smiles. This tells me, she’s not that much affected by his rebuttal. She finds him attractive so she has decided to give it a go but it didn’t work out. Oh, well, will find someone else then. Molly is quite chilled out about this whole situation. (I can see her going to the loo, looking at the mirror, wiping off the lipstick, then shrugging her shoulders, and leaving to make Sherlock the coffee.) She might be attracted to him and even having a slight crush on him, but she isn’t defined by it. Even in this very first scene we see her, she’s already so much more.

What a marvellous and strong character Molly is! She’s already shrugged her shoulders, whipped the lipstick off and decided to move on. That’s why I think she’s a little taken aback when Sherlock again brings the lack of said lipstick up.

 I think that she assumed – like some, (most?) viewers – that the question about the lipstick earlier in the morgue was supposed to distract her from asking him out in the first place. As it didn’t work out, Sherlock had found a different tactic to indirectly let her down (Black, two sugars). If that was the case, why would he bring it up again, right? But he does and it throws Molly for the loop, yet once again she takes all Sherlock-ness in stride and gives a sardonic kind of self-depreciating comment of:

 “It wasn’t working for me.” 

This quip is also aimed at his expense, at his obliviousness, but like before Sherlock doesn’t catch her meaning. Also, there is the coffee. Why is Sherlock grimacing? Maybe she’s a little vindictive and didn’t doctored it to his liking? Alas, the answer of the latest questions is of course to be found only in our imagination. Nevertheless, Molly is passively sassy during this exchange. She matches his inquires and shots comebacks without any trouble. That doesn’t scream to me: here is a dejected little wisp of a woman to be broken at a moments’ notice. Here is a woman who - if given the chance - will be come your match, your equal.

Molly’s screen time in A Study in Pink last for about 1 minute and 20 seconds. In this short time we’ve learned that she’s acquainted with Sherlock enough to feel comfortable with his experimenting; she finds him attractive; she’s determined and intense in her pursuit of something she wants; she’s not easily deterred when she’s on her way to her goal; she’s confident, self-assured, sassy in a passive way; and she doesn’t let minor failings affect her. Of course, she’s also cheery, happy, pleasant and nice.That’s quite a list for a one-time character indeed.

In those 80 seconds of her screen time we have learned Molly is AWESOME. Duh :)

Now let’s take a look at what we have learned about Sherlock thanks to Molly’s interactions with him.

Sherlock the One Who Observes But Doesn’t See 

First of all, thanks to the scenes with Molly we’ve learned that Sherlock is oblivious in the social cues. And that he has completely no clue what Molly was about in the morgue. He totally missed the point of Molly’s actions and her questions. Let’s take a look at him and we’ll see why this is the most probable if not the only interpretation of his actions here in this scene.

In the morgue Sherlock is immersed in the experiment, he has just finished applying the beating and starts taking his notes.

 Then comes in Molly bantering as she usually does in her pleasant manner. He doesn’t really tunes her out, but he’s not really focused on her either. Then she says, “listen” which finally catches his attention enough to give her a look.

And he does a double take.

Why? Because this is the reason for this whole scene in the first place: to show the audience that he notices all the details, even such as an applied lipstick, and yet he’s completely missing the social cue.

So Sherlock sees the lipstick and so he just need to ask Molly about it and he does it in his self-absorbed manner. Or maybe it was a distraction that needed to be addressed immediately? [Why had she changed her looks? I must know right away or it won’t stop bugging me! And wow, but doesn’t her lips looks nicer now! Silly boy]. He asks, and she provides an answer, which isn’t exactly what he excepted but it’s enough to satisfy his immediate curiosity for him to return to his original task: notes taking while listening to Molly:

“Right. You were saying."

He’s just finishing them when Molly talks about coffee. Coffee sounds good – so bring it to me at the lab where I’m about to be off to. Bye!

Now, we can argue that Sherlock’s done it this way on purpose, to avoid openly turning down Molly’s invitation. Let’s examine this scene with 3 different scenarios:

1) Sherlock immediately realizes why Molly has put the lipstick on. In this case, he calls her on it in order to throw her off, to deter her from her plan: asking him out. This is actually quite a cruel way to do as it purposefully brings the attention to her efforts and consequently purposefully embarrasses Molly. And if there is one thing we can say about Sherlock is that he’s not intentionally cruel (without any good reasons). Also we’ve already established he enjoy his time with Molly, why would he jeopardize it and his time at st. Bart’s? If it’s not this: him asking with full knowledge of the reason behind the lipstick, than he must have asked her about it because he’s got no clue why she put it on. Scenario no. 1 - busted.

2) Sherlock has no clue and is puzzled by the lipstick appearance so he asks Molly about it. When she replies, he catches on on the purpose of it (as in her preparing herself to ask him out) and allows her to continue while quickly coming up with a way to gently and indirectly let her down. This is actually quite a sound possibility if we had had got only the morgue scene between Sherlock and Molly. But we’ve got another short exchange between them in the lab. And this is the defining factor here. Scenario no. 2 - plausible without the lab follow-up.

3) Sherlock is oblivious to the lipstick’s purpose and doesn’t catch up at all during the morgue exchange. In this case, when Molly brings him his coffee upstairs in the lab, Sherlock once again – puzzled – asks her about the lipstick. If he had realized what Molly had been trying to do earlier in the morgue (as in asking him out) and as a result had successfully let her down in an indirect way, then bringing the lipstick up again in the lab is not only counter productive, but once again a cruel (in its embarrassment to Molly) thing to do. I’ll point out once more: why bringing it up if he’s just masterfully avoided the issue in the first place? Therefore, in the lab he is genuinely puzzled by the another change in her looks in such a short period of time, which of course means he still has no clue of the lipstick’s purpose.

Sherlock doesn’t even catch on Molly’s sardonic reply:

“It wasn’t working for me.”. 

He’s totally oblivious here. He had accepted her poor explanation and quickly justified in his mind why she had put it on: refreshing it a bit, ‘cause it makes her look better. It makes sense in his mind, because he likes the lipstick on her lips. Why? Because of the backhanded compliment:

"Really? It thought it was a big improvement." 

He’s of course totally clumsy in his verbal diarrhoea, just saying what comes to his mind without any thought how he phrases it. But that actually means he’s genuine in the thought behind his poorly worded comment. The lipstick makes her look better. (Nicer.)

Then of course he tries to find the reason why it’s feels off with the lipstick being gone. Look how he tries to puzzle it out. Why does it feels off?

 "Your mouth is- too small now." 

Notice also the small pause in his comment. He’s searching for the way to verbalise his unease. And of course the clueless boy does it in a poorly fashion. Still so much to learn for that genius. XD

Sherlock notices the lipstick on Molly’s lips and cannot resists commenting on it. He notices the lack of it and once more cannot resists throwing his two cents. It bothers him. It bothers him much. Molly’s lipstick in general is quite the focal point of his focus. He even does it again in A Scandal in Belgravia during the Christmas scene. This is the very first scene in many to come when he pays attention to Molly’s look. And this is one of the clear indications of his attraction to her on a physical level. Why else would he pay so much attention to the changes in her look if he wasn’t looking in the first place (even if its on a subconscious way at this point in time)? She’s one who matters the most, indeed. Form the very beginning in fact.

Of course, Sherlock did embarrass Molly and probably hurt her a bit with the poorly worded and casually spoken comment in that very scene, but we have to keep in mind everything points out of it being not intentional on his part. He doesn’t want to hurt her. He comments things as he sees them and doesn’t care how he says what he thinks. At the same time I think he’s doesn’t realize Molly’s interested in him.

We don’t know the origin of Molly and Sherlock relationship (however it’s defined at the beginning of A Study in Pink) but I think her crush on him might have grown slowly and quite more subtly for Sherlock to notice. That’s why he hasn’t got a clue about Molly’s feelings for him at that point in time. He always misses something.

Here, also, lies the difference between Sherlock’s reactions to John openly asking him about girlfriends/boyfriends, Irene openly hitting on him and yet never really directly letting Molly down when she’s asking him out. Both John and Irene are new acquaintances of his. And they ask him/hit on him without beating around the bush. While I just don’t see Molly doing it like that at the beginning of their acquaintance. By the time Molly asks him out in A Study in Pink Sherlock, hm, categorized Molly as an acquaintance/friend. What’s more I think that Molly’s a part of the net of his safe places: Mrs H at Baker Street, Lestrade at Scotland Yard, and Molly at Bart’s. Those are people he trusts. His close ones. His friends. I think Molly is kind of unintentionally friendzoned at this time of their interactions. He just doesn’t see her as anything potentially more than a friend, because, at this time in his life, it is something that just doesn’t enter his brilliant mind, that someone who knows him for who he is, who deals with him on daily basis, might actually find him worth being interested in. (I think it’s tied up with his deeply rooted low self-esteem and lack of belief in being lovable, but that’s a topic for a different meta.) In this case it’s actually a compliment to her, as Sherlock doesn’t look for love, he actually quickly and efficiently shots down any openly romantic overtures toward himself (John and Irene), and he’s reluctant in his friendships, yet she is an integral part of his daily comforts.

Sherlock just doesn’t think about Molly in a romantic sense toward himself at at this point in time and that’s why he’s oblivious to her advances.

But he does see her as a friend. And an important one as that. He’s happy to see her. Look at Ben’s portrayal of Sherlock when Molly enters the lab. John speaks out, but Sherlock totally shifts his focus onto Molly the moment she enters the lab.

 “Ah, Molly, coffee. Thank you.” 

“Thank you”? When has Sherlock thanked anyone? Apparently Molly in one of his very first dealings with her in the show. She’s something else and it’s obvious from the very beginning ;)

But let’s focus on Ben’s portrayal: Sherlock is quite happy to see Molly. But then again, it could have just been the coffee ;) His tone of voice is pleasant. He thanks for the coffee, he even makes an inquiry about her looks – by which I mean is him asking about the lipsticks. ;) He shares his opinion with her, backwardly complimenting her that she looks better with the lipstick. (And let’s stop here for a moment: if Molly’s mouth looks smaller without the lipstick, it must have looked bigger with it. Didn’t I mention that said lipstick might have been a distraction for our silly boy and that’s why he noticed it in the first place in the morgue? – he liked what he saw but instead of telling her he likes it, he just asked her why she put it on. Si-lly Boy, I tell ya. Now, she’s without it and he’s actually not happy with it. XD) 

And there is the grimacing after taking a sip of the coffee.

Why doesn’t he say anything? Sherlock is quite opinionated and he doesn’t sugar coat anything. Especially this early in the series. And yet here he’s silent. Hadn’t he earlier told her how he takes his coffee? So something must be wrong with it if he’s grimacing. Yet no comment from him. I wonder if it’s because Molly has brought it to him. And like we’ve already established, he doesn’t want to intentionally hurt her, so he keeps quiet even though he clearly dislikes what he tastes.

To sum up, Sherlock’s interactions with Molly showed us that he’s oblivious to people (who had known him for a while) having a crush on him, that he’s unable to see himself as someone worth having crush on. It also showed us Sherlock trusts Molly as his lab partner, he considers her a person able to continue his experiments, and one he likes working with. We learned he probably subconsciously finds her physically attractive, and that he definitely doesn’t want to hurt her intentionally. Even in this very first scene you can see the trust between them. “I have always trusted you”, indeed.

Molly the writing Tool served its purpose in A Study in Pink: she helped introducing Sherlock Holmes. In the process she became her own character, interesting enough to be explored in the upcoming episodes. We’ll see how exactly, in the following part of this meta partaking to The Blind Banker. I should publish it within a week time.

Thank you for reading and see you next week!