Have you heard the word is love?#I want to point out one small thing from this scene #did anyone else notice #that john looked at irene for like #two seconds #and instead of stammering over his words #asking how #or even why #what the hell is going on? #john just closes his mouth #and the first thing he says is an order #tell him you’re alive #because john knows how sherlock is #how sherlock thinks #and while sherlock may not be in love #john knows he was heartbroken #so when he said this to irene #my heart skipped a beat #because it’s exactly what people say #a study in pink is the story of how sherlock fell in love with john #and a scandal in belgravia is the story of john falling in love with sherlock #and the rest of this scene only proves it #we’re not a couple #yes you are
What I thought was interesting about this isn’t so much that John has his fingers on the pulse of Sherlock’s inner workings, because actually it demonstrates the opposite. He has no idea what Sherlock’s feeling right now, and it’s completely unclear throughout what Sherlock is actually feeling. I think that’s the point.
What’s sweet, though, is that John doesn’t say “what the–” or “OMG” or anything else when he first sees Irene alive. He goes straight to “Sherlock is hurting, we need to fix this now, because I can’t stand to see him suffer.” Because that’s honestly the only thing on his mind, and it rules over even shock.
John is obsessively worried about Sherlock’s heart throughout this episode, though he doesn’t actually know anything about Sherlock’s feelings on this. And admits as much. Like he’s been playing an elaborate guessing game about this for ages, and it could go either way. He asks Mrs Hudson about Sherlock’s romantic history with some urgency, and gets no answers. We don’t see any scenes of him asking Sherlock directly whether he’s had any love affairs in the past, which I think is interesting. These scenes makes it feel like he might never have asked. So John just has quiet obsession with Sherlock’s emotional (and, apparently, sexual) life, which, if Sherlock didn’t already know, he knows now (since he followed John and heard this conversation).
Which suggests Sherlock’s a bit obsessed with John as well, because, well. He tails him.
This episode shows off this giant wedge of questions between John and Sherlock that they never address with each other, and all of them are intimate.
That’s partly why I loved Hounds so much. We went from a sort of gap between them in the form of these questions and unknowns to a very intimate story where they share a room (and seem perfectly willing to share a bed), John stops correcting people’s assumptions about their relationship, they have a “domestic” over Sherlock suggesting he and John aren’t as close as John thinks they are, and we have all the longing looks from Sherlock at John. Because those questions were actual questions in Scandal and appear to be answered in Hounds.
At the end of this scene in Scandal, Irene doesn’t think either of them should go after Sherlock, which is also kind of interesting. Because two things came out of it: Irene isn’t dead, but managed to fool Sherlock into thinking that she was (which he would have deduced instantly, obviously, the moment John started talking to her, maybe even before that), and that John is completely obsessed with the workings of Sherlock’s heart, and will do anything to heal it for him, including launch a (wo)manhunt or pairing Sherlock off with Irene, if that’s what he wants. Irene actively suggests not only that John is in love with Sherlock, but also that Sherlock is in love with John. (That is the flip side of the “couple” comment, really, isn’t it. If it’s a one-way thing, couple would be the wrong word.) And Irene didn’t think either of them should go after Sherlock afterwards.
Why shouldn’t John go after him? The suggestion is that they both revealed more than they meant to to Sherlock, their secret audience. We know what Irene revealed. John only revealed that he has been obsessively tracking Sherlock’s actions and reactions, trying to see if he’s in love, without ever actually asking about it. I think everyone’s said it, and I concur: this is the scene where John’s love for Sherlock is most obvious. So Irene reveals her deception, and John reveals his.
Added emphasis above are mine, just because the words are particularly striking.
And I also wanted to add my own meandering thoughts to the brilliant passages above on three points that have been cleverly outlined:
1) John will always put Sherlock above all, first and foremost, regardless of how it might affect him… and to a certain extent, how it might affect other people. The way he went straight to the point (“Tell him you’re alive.”) with an order, no questions asked, is a demonstration of just how John has powerful restraint, one that is terrifying precisely because of his quiet control. There is an element of a very real threat in his simple words, because he is holding on to the only fact that he knows, and the only fact that matters: Sherlock is hurting. Everything else is irrelevant. He doesn’t need to know anything else. The only thing he needs to know is how to heal Sherlock’s pain.
And what is notable to point out here is that, for John, it doesn’t matter how it will affect himself, in the grand scale of things. Yes, he is angry. Yes, he is frustrated. And yes, he feels damn helpless, unsure of the right thing to do. But all of his own emotions are irrelevant, in the face of Sherlock’s pain. He doesn’t need anything for himself. His orders to Irene are on behalf of Sherlock, and not for himself. Because even though, on some level, Irene’s sudden intrusion in his and Sherlock’s lives is hurting him as well, the only thing that forced John into action is when it suddenly becomes clear that Sherlock is now hurting.
2) Both Sherlock and John have a deep respect for one another’s privacy. As has been stated, they both clearly have this obsession for one another’s holistic well-being (mind, body and heart), but they do not dare intrude on each other’s personal space, personal world, and personal heart when it is uncalled for. And it is ironic how, even though they must equally be the only people who know each other most intimately, they still do not use that fact as an excuse to intrude on each other’s world.
They will never ask questions that they know the other might be unwilling to answer. But that doesn’t make their obsession about each other any less intense. Instead, they will go through other means to learn about each other and care for each other, without ever intruding on each other’s privacy and personal space.
3) If he isn’t sure what exactly the right thing to do should be, John will always defer to Sherlock’s wishes. It can be seen in Hounds that John has a certain control over Sherlock, especially when it comes to matters of his health (“John, I need some, get me some”; “Sorry, can’t help.”), and John is strictly unfazed when he knows for sure that he’s doing the right thing for Sherlock. Add to that the fact that his very profession as a doctor dictates that he should care for Sherlock’s health, safety and security. It is in John’s very nature to look out for Sherlock, even if it means telling him “No.”
However… when it comes to matters in which he already has no right to intrude (such as matters of Sherlock’s heart), it is notable to point out that John doesn’t make use of his control over Sherlock, even though he can, even if he is vehemently opposed to Sherlock’s decisions and choices. So even if he might not approve of Sherlock’s pseudo-relationship with Irene, he doesn’t actively impede or intrude upon it. Instead, he waits and observes, with a watchful eye, diligently guarding over Sherlock’s heart and well-being, but without trying to control the situation. He purposefully and willingly relinquishes control to Sherlock. And he simply becomes the watchful guardian. Ever loyal, ever brave, ever respectful… and ever loving.
(Source: hiddlesbatches, via thewestmezzanine)
