History Characters / SherlockJohnWatson

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!!Dr. John Hamish Watson
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/johnseries4.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"'''How—''' oh, never mind."'']]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/MartinFreeman

The deuteragonist of this story. An army doctor who was injured in the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror war in Afghanistan]], the series starts with him going to therapy and looking for a flatmate. He becomes one of the first people to appreciate Sherlock's incredible analytical skills, and Sherlock in turn realizes that John's therapist is wrong--he's not having trouble being back from the war because of post-traumatic stress, but because he misses the excitement. John becomes an invaluable aid to Sherlock, especially as his conscience.
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A-F]]
* AdaptationalBadass: Conan Doyle's Watson was quite the man of action, but this John Watson isn't just Dr. John Watson he's ''Captain'' John Watson.[[note]] We don't know what rank Doyle's Watson held during his brief stint in the army, but he was most likely a Lieutenant or at the very least received a Lieutenant's pay grade.[[/note]] Compared to most adaptations (including the originals), Watson is a formidable combatant who can and will kick Sherlock's ass in a straight fight. Occasionally, he's able to observe details that nominally more intelligent persons will miss (even if he doesn't always make the right connections).
* AllergicToRoutine: As much as he complains about Sherlock's behavior, there's nothing in theory to stop him simply walking away -- except, as Mycroft points out, he's nearly as big a danger-junkie himself.
* AloofBigBrother: Harry is very supportive of John, but he's distant because he doesn't like her drinking.
* AngerBornOfWorry: [[spoiler:He reacts to Sherlock being alive by hitting him multiple times.]]
* BadassAdorable: Whether it's shooting a guy dead under improbable odds, sassing back criminal masterminds who've kidnapped him or ordering around CIA agents who have a gun to the back of his head, chances are he'll be doing it in a cardigan. Also is strongly implied to be one of those people who start celebrating Christmas in October.
* BadassBoast: John gives a particularly good one in "The Abominable Bride" when he's getting really tired of Sherlock's drug habits.
-->'''John:''' We'll see which of us is a soldier, and which is a drug addict!\\
'''Sherlock:''' You're a doctor.\\
'''John:''' I'm an [[CombatMedic Army doctor]]. I'll break every bone in your body while naming them.
* BadassBookworm: He's an ex-army doctor.
* BerserkButton: Actually punches out the superintendent of Scotland Yard because he called Sherlock a "weirdo," probably partly so he'll be arrested as well and can stay with Sherlock, but the fact that he chose ''that way'' to do it says something.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Though a friendly and laid back man, John is still an ex-soldier. He has no compunction about killing someone if they're putting the people he cares about in immediate danger. Lampshaded in "A Scandal in Belgravia":
-->'''John:''' Remember, Sherlock, I was a soldier! I killed people!\\
'''Sherlock:''' You were a doctor!\\
'''John:''' ''I had bad days!''
* BloodKnight: John isn't traumatized by combat so much as he misses it. It's rather downplayed, though, since it's not something John is really proud of.
** Sherlock himself comments on these tendencies after [[spoiler:Mary is discovered as a rogue intelligence agent and John asks whether or not everyone in his life is a 'psychopath'.]]
--->'''Sherlock:''' You were a doctor who went to war. You're a man who couldn't stay in the suburbs for more than a month without storming a crack den and beating up a junkie. [...] John, you are addicted to a certain lifestyle. You're abnormally attracted... to dangerous situations and people.
* BoringYetPractical: Prefers to use diaries and cameras to record data instead of bizarre memory techniques. Also prefers to call the police using a phone instead of a gun, and would like Mycroft to call him instead of kidnap him.
-->"You know ... I've ''got'' a phone. I mean, very clever and all that. But you could just ''phone'' me. On m' ''phone''."
* BrainsAndBrawn: The [[PintsizedPowerhouse Brawn]], to Sherlock's [[InsufferableGenius Brain]].
* TheCaretaker: To Sherlock, going so far as to ditch his girlfriend on New Year's Eve just to make sure that Sherlock doesn’t relapse.
* CloudCuckoolandersMinder: To the point where he can't hold down a regular job at a hospital or clinic since looking after Sherlock ''is'' his full-time job.
* CombatMedic: He is a military doctor, after all.
* TheConscience: To Sherlock, reminding him what is good or at least how to behave in public.
* CurseCutShort: Almost every episode. Most memorably in "The Great Game", when he [[spoiler:opens the fridge in 221B and finds himself staring at a severed head inside]].
** As Series 2 goes on, more of John's curses are left in-episode, mostly to demonstrate that the tone has gotten noticeably darker. He has two particularly PG-13 words in Episode 3.
* DeadpanSnarker: Oh so very, very much. He gets the majority of the most delicious lines of snark in the show. From the very first episode:
-->'''[[spoiler:Mycroft]]:''' ''[about Sherlock, after kidnapping John and bringing him to an abandoned warehouse to simply talk to him]'' He does ''so'' love to be dramatic.\\
'''John:''' Well, thank God ''you're'' above all that.
* DistressedDude: Despite his supposed badassery and [[BloodKnight Blood Knight]] tendencies, actually requires rescuing from kidnapping and imminent danger way more than Sherlock. Lampshaded by Magnussen.
-->'''Magnussen:''' Look how you care about John Watson. Your damsel in distress.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Frequently. At Buckingham Palace, he gets so carried away imagining that he nearly drops the fine china.
* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Hamish. He dislikes it so much that Sherlock couldn't goad him into divulging it and only found out by looking at his birth certificate. His middle name becomes a plot point in "The Sign of Three".
* {{Foil}}: To Sherlock. An obligatory aspect of his character.
* FriendlySniper: Once shot a guy through ''two'' windows, in ''another building''. With a ''pistol''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:G-L]]
* GenreBlind: To an extent, In ''The Great Game'', Sherlock implies that Moriarty is one of the people who reads Watson's blog. This revelation does not stop Watson from maintaining his blog or putting fairly personal information about him and Sherlock on it.
* GiverOfLameNames: Sherlock is consistently unimpressed with the case titles John comes up with.
* GoodIsNotSoft: One of the sweetest people in the series, but dauntless in the face of intimidation, capture or imminent death. And not above shooting a sufficiently bad man.
* {{Handgun}}: He somehow managed to keep his service pistol, a Sig-Sauer P226, and is scarily proficient with it.
* HandicappedBadass: Even when [[spoiler:being affected by the fear drug]] in "The Hounds of Baskerville", he's still the one to kill [[spoiler:the hound]].
* HeroicBSOD: After Sherlock's apparent "death" at the end of Series 2, and later, after [[spoiler:Mary's ''actual'' death in Series 4]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Sherlock.
* HospitalHottie: Although he's hardly ever in scrubs.
* HypocriticalHumor: He accuses Sherlock of being a DramaQueen at a critical hour and tells him to just finish solving the case without the theatrics and gloating. Sherlock eventually does so but says John's just as guilty himself, which Mary agrees with.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: When he tells Irene he's straight, she implies this about him and Sherlock.
* InHarmsWay: When your best friend is a crime solving sociopath, [[spoiler:and your wife is a retired professional killer,]] you really have no excuse.
** Lampshaded in "His Last Vow":
-->'''Wiggins:''' Somebody hit me.\\
'''Mary:''' Huh?\\
'''Wiggins:''' Just some guy. ''(stares at Watson)''\\
'''John:''' Probably just an addict in need of a fix.\\
'''Sherlock:''' Yes, I think in a way, it was.
* JumpedAtTheCall:
-->'''Sherlock:''' You've seen a bit of trouble too, I bet.\\
'''John:''' Of course, yes. Enough for a lifetime, far too much.\\
'''Sherlock:''' ...Want to see some more?\\
'''John:''' Oh, ''God'', yes.
* TheLancer: The title character's best friend, who is (somewhat) more down to earth, prepared to tell him off, and fills several gaps in his skillset.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Given that many people they know or meet assume John and Sherlock to be a couple and when Mrs. Hudson walks in on them arguing asking if they had “a little domestic,” I feel this fits.
* LoggingOnToTheFourthWall: His blog documenting his and Sherlock's adventures, which is widely read in-universe, can be found [[http://www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/ here]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:M-R]]
* MagneticHero: For someone who doesn’t go out of their way to make friends, people seem to quickly take a liking to him. At any rate, he’s a far more likable hero than Sherlock.
* MarriedToTheJob: He started to catch this from being around Sherlock; none of his girlfriends were able to put up with their adventuring for long. Fortunately, Mary adores Sherlock possibly even more than John does -- but it's still unlikely they would have got to the point of marriage had Sherlock not been off the scene for a couple of years.
-->'''Jeanette:''' My friends were wrong, you know. You're a great boyfriend -- and Sherlock Holmes is a very lucky man.
* TheMcCoy: The emotional {{Foil}} to [[TheSpock Sherlock]].
* MinoredInAsskicking: He's generally known for his equanimity, but if you make him angry, you'll know about it.
* MistakenForGay: By Mrs Hudson, Irene Adler, and several of his short-lived girlfriends. At least until he meets Mary.
* MoralityPet: For Sherlock, letting him know whenever he's said or done something "not good". Lampshaded by Moriarty.
-->"Oh, [John]'s sweet. I can see why you like having him around. But then, people do get so sentimental about their pets".
* MysteriousMiddleInitial:
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia", John H. Watson finally reveals his much-speculated upon middle name: [[spoiler:Hamish.]]
** Which of course lines up with Conan Doyle's canon. For even more speculation, see the pre-season-two debate on DI Lestrade's first name. Conan Doyle only gave an initial (G) which BBC expanded to [[spoiler:Greg.]]
* NervesOfSteel: You'd be amazed by how much he goes through completely terrified and yet keeps his calm no matter what. It's telling that the only time we really see him panic is when [[spoiler:Sherlock drugs him with a chemical specifically designed to cause irrational levels of fear]], and even then he keeps his head enough to get to the safest place possible and continually report what's going on.
** There's a FreezeFrameBonus in The Blind Banker where you can see his resume, which says he's a trauma surgeon. That makes him ''combat'' trauma surgeon and people don't get that job without NervesOfSteel on several levels.
* NiceGuy: John Watson is a decent, friendly and moral human being. Just ''don't'' piss him off.
* NoBisexuals: Part of the RunningGag with people questioning his and Sherlock's relationship has him claim how he's "not gay", with neither him or any of the people accusing him taking bisexuality into consideration.
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: A variant; John says "Nothing ever happens to me" to his psychologist's suggestion that he blogs everything that happens to him. And then a couple of scenes later, he meets Sherlock...
* TheNotLoveInterest: To Sherlock.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Sherlock's BrutalHonesty has rubbed off on him by the time of Series 3.
* OddFriendship: With Sherlock. He's a military veteran and NiceGuy, while Sherlock is a high-functioning sociopath (moreso initially).
* OnlyFriend: To Sherlock, at least for a ''very'' long time — and everyone who knows Sherlock is amazed that he's even managed that much. And as Sherlock almost affectionately points out in "The Hounds of Baskerville":
-->'''Sherlock:''' I don’t have friends. I've just got one.
* OnlySaneMan: Frequently. Especially when Mycroft and Sherlock are yelling at each other and playing tug-of-war with a bedsheet protecting Sherlock's modesty. In the middle of Buckingham Palace.
** Lampshaded dramatically in "His Last Vow" when Sherlock points out John is attracted to unstable, dangerous people, pointing out himself, Mrs Hudson [[spoiler:(who formerly worked for a drug cartel and was an exotic dancer)]] and [[spoiler:his own wife, who was a CIA assassin.]]
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Sherlock's uncanny abilities and intelligence lead people to forget that John is both tough enough to be a soldier and smart enough to be a doctor.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: He is a 5'7"(1.70m), mild-mannered, jumper-wearing killing machine. Once punched Sherlock (6'0 [1.82m] and a badass fighter in his own right), splitting his cheek, then knocked him to the ground and put him in a choke-hold, all the while explaining that it wasn't a good idea for Sherlock to antagonise an Afghan war veteran who killed people when he had "bad days." He is also a very, very good marksman, since he killed Jefferson Hope, and, while tied to a chair at the time, killed the Chinese gangster. Oh, and threatened death on a professional killer when said professional killer grabs Sherlock in a headlock in an attempt to strangle him or snap his neck, which proves that, if you get this gentle soul pissed by threatening his friend's life-he WILL calmly, cooly kill you. The last episode of the second season has him breaking a guy's nose with a single punch, which results in a bloody nose.
* ReactionShot: John's very good at these.
* RedOniBlueOni: John Watson's more emotional Red Oni to Sherlock that is a cold and intelligent Blue Oni.
* RetiredBadass: John occasionally reminds people that he was also a '''soldier''' in the army.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:S-Y]]
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: In the first episode, a mysterious unidentified man offers him a generous stipend just to report Sherlock's movements. He scorns the notion.
** All the more striking because he has recurring money troubles and is far more interested than Sherlock in any ''honestly'' earned money that comes their way.
* ShellShockedVeteran: John [[spoiler:subverts and inverts this trope. You'd expect him to be traumatized given his situation, but he actually [[InHarmsWay misses the danger]]. His hand shakes when he's ''not'' thinking about the war! Hence his enthusiasm to help Sherlock. Even an exploding mine barely fazes him.]]
* SickeninglySweethearts: With Mary. It's implied by Sherlock in [[http://www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/blog/11august this post]] on John's blog.
-->They're both perfectly acceptable friends in their own way but then they start talking and I wish I really had died.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: Does this often, either to be refuted by Mycroft or Sherlock or to demonstrate how [[ComplexityAddiction averse to common sense the latter can be]].
* StraightMan: More down to earth than Sherlock is.
* ThrowingOffTheDisability: His limp is psychosomatic, meaning that he can lose it when he forgets about it. In fact, he was actually shot in the ''shoulder'', meaning that his leg is completely fine.
** This is a subtle joke at the expense of Conan Doyle, who absentmindedly changed the location of Watson's war wound from the shoulder to the leg between books.
* {{Tsundere}}: Towards Sherlock and their odd partnership. He constantly acts like he's being dragged into things by Sherlock when he could be doing something better with himself and says virtually everything that comes out of Sherlock's mouth includes the subtext of "punch me in the face", yet he stays because everything it entails is what he thrives on.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Sherlock, shown on several occasions.
* UnfazedEveryman: From who else but himself? He adjusts remarkably quickly to the weirdness that comes with being Sherlock Holmes's sidekick.
-->'''John:''' We've only just met.\\
'''[[spoiler:Mycroft]]:''' And since yesterday you've moved in with him and now you're solving crimes together. Might we expect a happy announcement by the end of the week?
* VitriolicBestBuds: Him and Sherlock. Hardly a moment passes when they aren’t snarking at each other.
* TheWatson: Well, duh. Occasionally PlayedForLaughs.
-->"''How--'' oh, never mind".
** Also lampshaded by Magnussen in "His Last Vow":
--->'''John:''' I don't understand.\\
'''Magnussen:''' You should have that on a t-shirt.
* WeirdnessMagnet: [[spoiler:Sherlock implies he's naturally attracted to this, although only unconsciously. Mary agrees]].
* WhatTheHellHero: If Sherlock's getting one of these, chances are good that John will be the one lecturing him, and chances are that he'll be the only one Sherlock will even try to listen to. Turned around on himself in Series 4 when John's own upstanding character takes a nosedive; having a text-based affair after his wife has recently given birth and beating his best friend to a bleeding pulp. Rather sweetly Subverted in that Sherlock doesn't give him a chastising speech but is warmly accepting of John's flaws.
-->'''Sherlock:''' It's not a pleasant thought, John, but I think from time to time we might all just be human.\\
'''John:''' Even you?\\
'''Sherlock:''' No. Even ''you''.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: With Sherlock and cranked up in "The Hounds of Baskerville" when [[spoiler:Sherlock drugs John and then locks him up in a lab to conduct an experiment that involved scaring the crap out of John, a war veteran who still suffers from nightmares and flashbacks related to the battlefield]]. It's surprising that John didn’t at least take a swing at him afterwards.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Violence against women seems to bother John. He's notably guilty about [[spoiler:Soo Lin's]] death in "The Blind Banker", becomes noticeably distressed at the crying woman in "The Great Game", and while he had no problem punching the Superintendent of Scotland Yard for calling Sherlock a "weirdo", he ignores Sally Donovan rubbing it in that Sherlock was not to be trusted.
[[/folder]]
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The deuteragonist of this story. An army doctor who was injured in the war, the series starts with him going to therapy and looking for a flatmate. He becomes one of the first people to appreciate Sherlock's incredible analytical skills, and Sherlock in turn realizes that John's therapist is wrong--he's not having trouble being back from the war because of post-traumatic stress, but because he misses the excitement. John becomes an invaluable aid to Sherlock, especially as his conscience.

* {{Handgun}}: He somehow managed to keep his service pistol, a [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Sig-Sauer P226]], and is scarily proficient with it.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: With Sherlock and cranked UpToEleven in "The Hounds of Baskerville" when [[spoiler:Sherlock drugs John and then locks him up in a lab to conduct an experiment that involved scaring the crap out of John, a war veteran who still suffers from nightmares and flashbacks related to the battlefield]]. It's surprising that John didn’t at least take a swing at him afterwards.

* AdaptationalBadass: Conan Doyle's Watson was quite the man of action, but this John Watson isn't just Dr. John Watson he's ''Captain'' John Watson.[[note]] We don't know what rank Doyle's Watson held during his brief stint in the army, but he was most likely a Lieutenant or at the very least received a Lieutenant's pay grade.[[/note]] Compared to most adaptations (including the originals), Watson is a formidable combatant who can and will kick Sherlock's ass in a straight fight. Occasionally, he's able to observe details that Sherlock will miss (even if he doesn't always make the right connections) and even pick up on his thoughts.

* AdaptationalBadass: Conan Doyle's Watson was quite the man of action, but this John Watson isn't just Dr. John Watson he's ''Captain'' John Watson.[[note]] We don't know what rank Doyle's Watson held during his brief stint in the army, but he was most likely a Lieutenant or at the very least received a Lieutenant's pay grade.[[/note]]

* {{Adorkable}}: Doctor Watson. Martin Freeman's support of Woolly Hat Day.

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Subverted. In "The Six Thatchers" he begins to grow bored with domestic life with Mary and Baby Rosie, and he can't solve cases with Sherlock on a regular basis anymore. So when a random woman on the bus gives him her number he keeps it rather than throw it away, all just to have a bit of excitement. They text a lot, but that's it. He eventually realizes it's wrong and breaks it off. It's still amazingly sweet for a disturbing reason; the woman wasn't random, she was Sherlock's ''long-lost sister'', who is every bit as smart as both her siblings. It took a female Sherlock to make him consider cheating]].

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Subverted. In "The Six Thatchers" he begins to grow bored with domestic life with Mary and Baby Rosie, and he can't solve cases with Sherlock on a regular basis anymore. So when a random woman on the bus gives him her number he keeps it rather than throw it away, all just to have a bit of excitement. They text a lot, but that's it. He eventually realizes it's wrong and break it off. It's still amazingly sweet for a disturbing reason; the woman wasn't random, she was Sherlock's ''long-lost sister'', who is every bit as smart as both her siblings. It took a female Sherlock to make him consider cheating]].

* PintsizedPowerhouse: He is a 5'7", mild-mannered, jumper-wearing killing machine. Once punched Sherlock (6'0 and a badass fighter in his own right), splitting his cheek, then knocked him to the ground and put him in a choke-hold, all the while explaining that it wasn't a good idea for Sherlock to antagonise an Afghan war veteran who killed people when he had "bad days." He is also a very, very good marksman, since he killed Jefferson Hope, and, while tied to a chair at the time, killed the Chinese gangster. Oh, and threatened death on a professional killer when said professional killer grabs Sherlock in a headlock in an attempt to strangle him or snap his neck, which proves that, if you get this gentle soul pissed by threatening his friend's life-he WILL calmly, cooly kill you. The last episode of the second season has him breaking a guy's nose with a single punch, which results in a bloody nose.

* TheSouthpaw: Played with. Sherlock identifies him as left-handed in "A Study in Pink", but he consistently shoots and throws punches with his right hand. Possibly cross-dominant.
** It's revealed that he took a bullet in the left shoulder, and probably developed his right hand while his left was unavailable.

* {{Hypocrite}}: PlayedForLaughs. He accuses Sherlock of being a DramaQueen at a critical hour and tells him to just finish solving the case without the theatrics and gloating. Sherlock eventually does so but says John's just as guilty himself, which Mary agrees with.

* JumpedAtTheCall

* AmbiguouslyBisexual:

* ShipperOnDeck: For Sherlock and Irene. When he hears that Sherlock keeps in contact with her, he encourages that he pursue her because they both like each other and they're alive [[spoiler:unlike Mary. Likewise, at the end of season 4, when him, Sherlock, and Mycroft are debating who, "I Love You" is for, he initially proposes Irene.]]

* SubmissiveBadass: May have a higher kill count than Sherlock, but still defers to his intelligence and for the most part, does what Sherlock tells him to.

An army doctor who was injured in the war, the series starts with him going to therapy and looking for a flatmate. He becomes one of the first people to appreciate Sherlock's incredible analytical skills, and Sherlock in turn realizes that John's therapist is wrong--he's not having trouble being back from the war because of post-traumatic stress, but because he misses the excitement. John becomes an invaluable aid to Sherlock, especially as his conscience.

* AllergicToRoutine: As much as he complains about Sherlock's behavior, there's nothing in theory to stop him simply walking away - except, as Mycroft points out, he's nearly as big a danger-junkie himself.

--> '''John:''' We'll see which of us is a soldier, and which is a drug addict!\\

--->'''John:''' Remember, Sherlock, I was a soldier! I killed people!\\

** Sherlock himself comments on these tendencies after [[spoiler: Mary is discovered as a rogue intelligence agent and John asks whether or not everyone in his life is a 'psychopath'.]]

-->'''[[spoiler: Mycroft]]''': ''(About Sherlock, after kidnapping John and bringing him to an abandoned warehouse to simply talk to him)'' He does ''so'' love to be dramatic.\\
'''John''': Well, thank God ''you're'' above all that.

-->'''Magnussen''': Look how you care about John Watson. Your damsel in distress.

* InHarmsWay: When your best friend is a crime solving sociopath, [[spoiler: and your wife is a retired professional killer,]] you really have no excuse.

* MarriedToTheJob: He started to catch this from being around Sherlock; none of his girlfriends were able to put up with their adventuring for long. Fortunately, Mary adores Sherlock possibly even more than John does - but it's still unlikely they would have got to the point of marriage had Sherlock not been off the scene for a couple of years.
-->'''Jeanette:''' My friends were wrong, you know. You're a great boyfriend - and Sherlock Holmes is a very lucky man.

** Which of course lines up with Conan Doyle's canon. For even more speculation, see the pre-season-two debate on DI Lestrade's first name. Conan Doyle only gave an initial (G) which BBC expanded to [[spoiler: Greg.]]

--> "''How—'' oh, never mind".

-->'''John''': I don't understand.\\
'''Magnussen''': You should have that on a t-shirt.
* WeirdnessMagnet: [[spoiler: Sherlock implies he's naturally attracted to this, although only unconsciously. Mary agrees]].

-->'''Sherlock:''' It's not a pleasant thought, John, but I think from time to time we might all just be human.
-->'''John:''' Even you?
-->'''Sherlock:''' No. Even ''you''.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: With Sherlock and cranked UpToEleven in "The Hounds of Baskerville" when [[spoiler: Sherlock drugs John and then locks him up in a lab to conduct an experiment that involved scaring the crap out of John, a war veteran who still suffers from nightmares and flashbacks related to the battlefield]]. It's surprising that John didn’t at least take a swing at him afterwards.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Violence against women seems to bother John. He's notably guilty about [[spoiler: Soo Lin's]] death in "The Blind Banker", becomes noticeably distressed at the crying woman in "The Great Game", and while he had no problem punching the Superintendent of Scotland Yard for calling Sherlock a "weirdo", he ignores Sally Donovan rubbing it in that Sherlock was not to be trusted.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Subverted. In "The Six Thatchers" he begins to grow bored with domestic life with Mary and Baby Rosie, and he can't solve cases with Sherlock on a regular basis anymore. So when a random woman on the bus gives him her number he keeps it rather than throw it away, all just to have a bit of excitement. They text a lot, but that's it. He eventually realizes it's wrong and break it off. It's still amazingly sweet for a disturbing reason; the woman wasn't random, she was Sherlock's ''long-lost sister'', who is every bit as smart as both her siblings. It took a female Sherlock to make him consider cheating]].

* WhatTheHellHero: If Sherlock's getting one of these, chances are good that John will be the one lecturing him, and chances are that he'll be the only one Sherlock will even try to listen to. Turned around on himself in Series 4 when John's own upstanding character takes a nosedive; having a text-based affair after his wife has recently given birth and beating his best friend to a bleeding pulp.

* WhatTheHellHero: If Sherlock's getting one of these, chances are good that John will be the one lecturing him, and chances are that he'll be the only one Sherlock will even try to listen to.

-->'''Mycroft''': ''(About Sherlock, after kidnapping John and bringing him to an abandoned warehouse to simply talk to him)'' He does ''so'' love to be dramatic.\\