me: the canon of sherlock holmes is the greatest love story ever told and bbc sherlock is the first show ever to illuminate the prologue to that story which has been obscured by years upon years of homophobia and heteronormativity. not only was holmes and watson’s relationship made invisible by the prejudices the original acd canon evolved within, but bbc sherlock shows us that the society we live in now is also incapable of understanding queer romance beyond the realms of heterosexual convention while simultaneously maintaining a double standard when it comes to queer vs. straight romance. it demonstrates how if creators don’t explicitly state the sexuality of characters queer relationships will inevitably be read as platonic, no matter how obviously in love two people are. it also demonstrates how within a heteronormative society being queer without adequate representation and support from those around you can easily lead to paths of self-destruction, many of us stumbling around in the dark unable to acknowledge or even understand our own feelings — mislabelling them, repressing them, being consumed with guilt/self-loathing for failed heterosexual relationships, or otherwise living unfulfilled lives without ever quite understanding why. moffat and gatiss reflect these struggles and the way society fails queer people, but also suggest that the power of true love is enough to be able to overcome even the deepest of traumas if we allow ourselves to finally acknowledge and communicate our feelings to each other.
psychic: what the fuck
Oh my fucking god… It is the whole show in a paragraph. I’ve never seen it so well put in such a short text.
I never imagined an old TV programme about 2018′s trends in take away food would leave me thunderstruck, but I learned that dim sum literally translates as touching heart and I can only think of this
Wow - didn’t have the slightest idea! Seems like not a single line in this show is without subtext. :)
Whoa
That alone is “WOAAHHH” already. But it gets better…
When I checked if this was valid information (as I tend to do, absolutely no offence OP!!), which it is btw, I also discovered this:
I think Sherlockians should take a new tack. No more demanding the Johnlock we’re still due. I need to know more about the REAL sister.
WHAT ABOUT HARRY?!
I demand answers.
In the Canon Harry is a brother. The mirror par excellence. Died alcoholic and full of debt, Watson also has similar tendencies, certainly when it comes to betting. Harry is what could have happened to Watson if he hadn’t met Holmes. Harry “sister” works the same way (x). Shortly married, alcoholic. We see John drinking after his marriage ends. But the difference here is that Harry is homosexual. It would seem to tell us the story of John’s sexuality, and it is linked into the doctor / soldier dichotomy. It has already been pointed out that the doctor appears to conform to the heterosexual side while the soldier to the homosexual side. We know John as a doctor, but we know that he has just ended his life as a soldier. It will not be over a marriage, but a relationship? possible (Sholto I see you). Harry is not suggested as a happy and resolved character. John’s sexuality is still blocked, the homosexual part of him is still blocked, in fact we never see it/her. One thing is certain, we certainly don’t see it/her at Mary’s wedding.
First of all: YES! @helloliriels I wholeheartedly agree! Give us Harry, we want to understand John Watson!
And second: @raggedyblue Very interesting what you said about the dichotomy of John’s doctor/soldier persona. Most of all his doctor part being linked to his heterosexuality. It made me think of a post by @gosherlocked (from quite a long time ago) about John’s character in S4, “John is not a doctor anymore”(x) . As the name already says, it’s about John behaving not very doctor-like throughout the entirety of series 4. On the contrary, it’s as if he has forgotten all about his profession.
If we combine both of those observations it would lead to the conclusion: John in S4=not a doctor=not heterosexual.
