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.

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.

“I saved Molly Hooper!”

 (Sherlock meta by waytoomanyhobbies, thequietone0008 and celticmoonbeam)

celticmoonbeam:

My thoughts on the end of the ILY scene….

She said it. The timer stops. Mycroft steps forward and tries to comfort his brother. “Sherlock, however hard that was…” (Of course we’ll never know what he was going to say, but in my head it was “you did the right thing.”)

But Sherlock cuts him off. “Eurus, I won. I won. Come on, play fair. The girl on the plane. I need to talk to her.” Then, with a little more emotion, “I won. I saved Molly Hooper!”

Why does Sherlock want to move on so quickly? My take on this… With the other two challenges, he thought he’d won, only for there to be a sudden twist. The Governor was dead, but because he didn’t die by John or Mycroft’s hand, Eurus still killed his wife. Sherlock identified the Garrideb brother who was a murderer–only for Eurus to kill the two innocents.

I think he is terrified of another twist, one that results in Molly’s death after all. He wants to move Eurus on quickly and get back to the girl on the plane and make sure that Molly stays safe in her kitchen. I think his desperation shows through when he says, “I saved Molly Hooper!” He wants her to be saved–no surprises, no tricks. Because it would be very uncharacteristic of Eurus to spare Molly after all.

But then, Eurus shows her hand. There was a twist indeed–fortunately not one that will cost Molly her life. This was psychological torture. Molly was never in danger, and Sherlock just hurt her for no reason. He just damaged their relationship–maybe irrevocably–not to save her life, but just for his sister’s whim. And he’s just been forced to realize how very much Molly means to him. He loves her. He loves her and even though she’s alive, he may have lost her all the same.

He lost the game because he didn’t see through Eurus’s ploy. Molly is his blind spot.

thequietone0008:

OMG that’s exactly it . He was ensuing there were no after effects like the other two.. And look at his reaction to the countdown ending.. compare to the boy on the phone at the art gallery . Done over…next.. even gallery owner was more sickened.

waytoomanyhobbies:

So much yes! Sherlock is obviously terrifed for Molly throughout this scene. Molly is the woman who repeatedly saves him, and he both relies upon her and loves her–as he realizes during the scene. This is a Sherlock who is desperately trying to save Molly this time.

Downplaying Molly’s importance seemingly kept her off Moriarty’s radar, so it is a logical strategy for him to attempt here. As celticmoonbeam pointed out, Eurus has twisted both of her previous “tests” to hurt him. He can’t let that happen again with Molly’s safety in the balance. So trying to distract Eurus before she can turn this around is the most natural way he could respond here.

Sherlock is thinking so loudly in that moment that you can practically hear his thoughts screaming, “Get Eurus’s attention off Molly. Cajole Eurus into not cheating again. Make Eurus move along before she can go back on her word!”

And, while Sherlock knows that Molly can see through his facades and bullshit, he’s in uncharted emotional territory now. Platonic love took him time to wrap his head around, and he’s just been thrown into the deep waters of romantic love in a terrifying way. Someone previously described this scene as their feelings… their “I love you"s … as having been ripped from them, and that is such a perfect description. He never expected to be someone’s best friend even, let alone the love of someone’s life. He’s been denying for years that emotional entanglement had any meaning for his life, and now he’s forced to admit that it most certainly does have meaning to him and how human he is.

He’s going to have all the normal fears. Can he even do this whole relationship thing? Does he want to or feel ready to, knowing how painful it can be (Mary’s death devasted everyone, but Sherlock nearly killed himself trying to bring John back from it per Mary’s request) and how vulnerable it can make him? Will Molly even still want him after all the pain he’s caused her? He hasn’t had time to process any of it yet, and he’s trying to protect that fresh emotional wound that Eurus has made. (I think that is another reason he cut Mycroft off.) Instead, Eurus’s twist is to rub that emotional wound raw.

As Benedict Cumberbatch said Sherlock’s weakness is failing to see what’s right in front of him. Oh how many times that has bitten him in the butt regarding Molly! Meanwhile, Eurus doesn’t understand how to make connections with others, but she certainly can recognize them between others and exploit them.

Sherlock needs Molly to love him

 (Sherlock meta by ohmyolicity, mortifying-mischief, justanotherfangirls and celticmoonbeam)

ohmyolicity: 

Can we talk about how Sherlock was offended because Molly Hooper didn’t pick up the phone?

mortifying-mischief:

“It’s me calling!”

justanotherfangirls:

He may not be conscious of it, but her attention (and love) is clearly not unwanted. See how even before, he expected molly to cancel her lunch date so she could have crisps while solving crimes with him. Or how he was unnecessarily cruel to her when he thought she’s seeing someone she likes that is not him in A Scandal in Belgravia. In The Empty Hearse after their “date” he was trying to come to terms with not being the center of her world anymore. He’s not happy about it.

He needs her to love him and not give up on him even when he’s being what he believes to be the worst person in the world. (He had repeatedly implied it, and that level of self destruction with drugs can only be born from a considerable amount of self hatred). And in that same scene, she showed that she will always do, even when from her point of view, he was again being a cruel manipulative bastard who doesn’t care about her feelings. She could not be more wrong.

celticmoonbeam:

Yes, great thoughts!!

Molly has always been there for him, ALWAYS, no matter what. There are SO many examples of this, but a few highlights…. Even after he humiliates her at the Christmas party (although I guess he does apologize!) she comes in to the Morgue on Christmas to help with fake!Irene’s body. She’s the one he turns to when he needs help faking his death in The Reichenbach Fall. She’s the one he brings along to solve cases when John isn’t available (and no one will ever convince me the beginning of The Empty Hearse wasn’t a date!). He goes to her home as one of his bolt holes, seemingly even while she is engaged. He even turns to Molly when he needs help planning John’s stag night.

Molly told him that if he ever needs help, she is there for him–and she always has been.

And now, she’s screening his phone call. The one person he could always count on is ignoring him–and that cuts deep.