History Characters / SherlockGovernment

* ShoutOut: A bit of an obscure one: this isn't the first show based on ''SherlockHolmes'' to feature a [[spoiler: government employee]] whose fake name is Anthea. ''Series/JonathanCreek'' originated it.

* {{Expy}}: Gatiss' portrayal is based on the Creator/ChristopherLee Mycroft from ''Film/ThePrivateLifeOfSherlockHolmes'', WaistcoatOfStyle and all.

* CampStraight: Unlike several popular interpretations of the character, Mycroft is ''not'' played as AmbiguouslyGay, and indeed is hinted as having a sexual relationship with Lady Smallwood. However, he does have some camp mannerisms — including a fondness for black-and-white romantic movies and a fondness for playing female theatrical roles. (The latter somewhat {{Justified}} in that he was quite possibly at an all-boys school, but his happy reminiscences make it clear he quite enjoyed the experience.)

* BigBrotherInstinct: In a rare tie in with BigBrotherIsWatching. Apparently, when you're a shadowy government official, keeping tabs on your little brother involves kidnapping and bribery.
-->''I worry about him. Constantly.''

* BigBrotherIsWatching: Quite literally, in fact. Mycroft's command of seemingly every surveillance camera in London under the vague name of the "government".

** And "The Abominable Bride"'s version is grotesquely fat - we're talking [[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife Mr Creosote]] levels of fat, here. Not only that, he's determined to eat himself to death.

* IceQueen: A true male example - Moriarty's code name for him is "The Iceman". Mycroft's feelings only extend to Sherlock's well-being; everyone else is expendable.

* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Unlike Sherlock who has John, Molly, Greg, and Mrs. Hudson as his friends, Mycroft has nobody except his brother, and that's rocky most of the time.

* KickTheDog: Sherlock doesn't like it when people insult Mrs. Hudson, remember? Mycroft telling her to "shut up" wasn't the wisest idea. Also mentioning Redbeard to Sherlock.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Subverted: it turns out he and Sherlock planned [[spoiler: the fall and he deliberately leaked info about Sherlock to Moriarty.]]

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Magnussen has sensitive personal information on ''every'' important person in the Western World (and probably beyond that). He's seen blackmailing an MP and it's implied he's even blackmailing the '''Prime Minister'''. You'd think he'd want Magnussen out of the picture since he's a threat to British Security. But he does '''not''' want Sherlock to go after him in anyway at all, telling Sherlock "you go against Magnussen and you go against me."

* AlmightyJanitor: He claims his position in the British government is "minor"; we know he works for MI6 but it's not clear if he's the man in charge, or if he's just a high ranking operative.

* BreakTheHaughty: Not as often as Sherlock but it does happen since even though he may be smarter than Sherlock he's also more arrogant as well. And since he's a high ranking MI6 official, there tends to be big consequences:

* UngratefulBastard: In "His Last Vow". Sherlock has killed [[spoiler: Magnussen.]] Instead of pardoning Sherlock, or hushing the whole thing up, he sends him on [[spoiler: a suicide mission for MI6. The MP who hired Sherlock to bring down Magnussen, Lady Smallwood, is the one who signs the order.]] They only change their minds when Moriarty comes back and they realize how much they need Sherlock.

* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler: Signs an order for Sherlock to be sent on suicide mission for MI6, after he kills Magnussen, on Mycroft's behest. Although she notes it is "hardly merciful".]]

* SecretIntelligenceService: It's implied one of her duties is to oversee British Intelligence, meaning she is technically Mycroft's superior.

** There was also his reaction when Anderson and his colleague overheard John mention Magnusson's name.

* ManChild: Not as much as Sherlock. But it's still there; being around his parents brings it out in him.

* NotSoStoic: Confronted with [[spoiler:The Governer's death]] in The Final Problem, Mycroft is reduced to whimpering and retching in the corner, his icy composure falling apart.

* ProperlyParanoid: [[spoiler: Considering what Eurus did to Sherlock while they were kids it explains why he's so protective of his little brother.]]
* RedHerring: In "A Study in Pink", you'd be forgiven for thinking Mycroft as Moriarty, particularly when he mentions that Sherlock refers to him as his ArchEnemy

* UngratefulBastard: In "His Last Vow". Sherlock has killed [[spoiler: Magnussen.]] Instead of pardoning Sherlock, or hushing the whole thing up, he sends him on [[spoiler: a suicide mission for MI6. The MP who hired Sherlock to bring down Magnussen, Lady Smallwood is the one who signs the order.]] They only change their minds when Moriarty comes back, and realize how much they need Sherlock.

Sherlock's older brother, who claims to be a minor government functionary. Sherlock, on the other hand, claims that "he practically ''is'' the British government", and considering the number of pies Mycroft has his fingers in, he seems to be right.

** In Series 4, [[spoiler: His sister Eurus launches a brutal revenge plan on him and Sherlock. And she's able to pull it all off because five years ago, Mycroft let her talk with Jim Moriarty for five minutes, '''unsupervised''' as a "Christmas present" which was the genesis for Moriary's revenge beyond the grave. When the warden of Sherrinford confronts him about this Mycroft, he brushes it off by saying he took a "calculated risk".]]

** Though in both cases, Sherlock succeeds less based on intellect and intelligence and more on either understanding (Irene) or giving in to (Magnussen) violent emotion and abandoning intellect. Mycroft may be smarter, but Shelock is more human.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Not as obvious as Sherlock, but there's something off with Mycroft with his borderline sociopathic tendencies and he's way more anti-social than his brother, and that's saying something. In fact he complains about having to be around people when he rescued Sherlock from the Serbian prison in "The Empty Hearse":

Sherlock's older brother, who claims to be a minor government functionary. Sherlock, on the other hand, claims that he ''is'' the British government, and considering the number of pies Mycroft has his fingers in, he seems to be right.

** In "The Lying Detective", [[spoiler:Faith - well, Eurus, outright says this when she notices the helicopter following her and Sherlock.]]

%%* DeadpanSnarker / GentlemanSnarker: Very much.

* FatalFlaw: For someone who claims he's not big on sentiment and doesn't think he has basic human decency, almost every major mistake Mycroft makes onscreen is because he loves of his sibling. Correction, [[spoiler:siblings.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Subverted: it turns out he and Sherlock planned the fall and he deliberately leaked info about Sherlock to Moriarty.]]

* UngratefulBastard: In "His Last Vow". [[spoiler: Sherlock has killed Magnussen. Instead of pardoning Sherlock, or hushing the whole thing up, he sends him on suicide mission for MI6. The MP who hired Sherlock to bring down Magnussen, Lady Smallwood is the one who signs the order. They only change their minds when Moriarty comes back, and realize how much they need Sherlock.]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: He gave Sherlock's life story to Moriarty (who he knows is dangerously obsessed with his brother) in exchange for something that, it turns out, never existed in the first place. Whoops.]]
** Subverted. [[spoiler: If Sherlock is to be believed, it was Moriarty and not Mycroft or Sherlock who was the UnwittingPawn all along.]]

* BeleagueredBureaucrat: [[spoiler: She's not particularly thrilled to sign the order for Sherlock's exile, but sees herself obliged to do so anyway.]]

* TheChainsOfCommanding: [[spoiler: She's not particularly thrilled to sign the order for Sherlock's exile, but does so anyway in the interests of "justice".]]

* ShoutOut: A bit of an obscure one: this isn't the first show based on ''SherlockHolmes'' to feature a [[spoiler: government employee]] whose fake name is Anthea. ''JonathanCreek'' originated it.

* JustTheFirstCitizen: According to the world he "Occupies a minor position in the British Goverment" but is actually (according to Magnussen) the most powerful man in Great Britain.

* NotSoStoic: Confronted with [[spoiler:The Governer's death]] in The Final Problem, Mycroft is reduced to whimpering and wretching in the corner, his icy composure falling apart.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/holmes_mycroft_6528.jpg]]

* NoNameGiven: Her name is never given; she introduces herself to John in "A Study in Pink" as "Anthea", but cheerfully admits that it isn't her real name.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Not as obvious as Sherlock, but there's something off with Mycroft with his borderline sociopathic tendencies and he's way more anti-social than his brother, and that's saying something. In fact he complains about having to be around people when he rescued Sherlock from the Serbian prison in "The Empty Hearse":
--> '''Mycroft:''' Do you have any idea what it was like, Sherlock, going "under cover", smuggling my way into their ranks like that? The ''noise''; the '''people'''!

* BadassBureaucrat: He ''is'' the British government.

* FatalFlaw: For someone who claims he's not big on sentiment and doesn't think he has basic human decency, almost every major mistake Mycroft makes onscreen is because he loves of his sibling. Correction, [[spoiler:siblings.]]

%% * KnowledgeBroker

* ParasolOfPain: His umbrella also features a sword and a gun. [[spoiler: Handy for when one's little brother invades government offices with clowns.]]

* ParasolOfPain: his umbrella also features a sword and a gun. [[spoiler: Handy for when one's little brother invades government offices with clowns.]]

* BreakTheHaughty: Not as often as Sherlock but it does happen since even though he may be smarter than Sherlock he's also more arrogant as well:

** In "His Last Vow" he refuses to deal with Magnussen. Also he rather carelessly leaves his laptop out in the open at his parents home, which Sherlock takes in an attempt to bargain with Magnussen. When the deal goes sour, Sherlock ends up killing Magnussen.]]
** In Series 4, [[spoiler: His sister Eurus launches a brutal revenge plan on him and Sherlock. And she's able to pull it all off because five years ago, Mycroft let her talk with Jim Moriarty for five minutes, '''unsupervised''' as a "Christmas present" which was the genesis for Moriary's revenge beyond the grave. When the warden of Sherrinford confronts him about this Mycroft, says he took a "calculated risk".]]

* NotSoStoic: Confronted with [[The Governer's death]] in The Final Problem, Mycroft is reduced to whimpering and wretching in the corner, his icy composure falling apart.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Magnussen has sensitive personal information on ''every'' important person in the Western World (and proably beyond that). He's seen blackmailing an MP and it's implied he's even blackmailing the '''Prime Minister'''. You'd think he'd want Magnussen out of the picture since he's a threat to British Security. But he does '''not''' want Sherlock to go after him in anyway at all, telling Sherlock "you go against Magnussen and you go against me."

* BreakTheHaughty: Gets this twice throughout the series, due to his arrogance: [[spoiler: Driving Sherlock towards Irene results in an anti-terrorist plot being compromised in "A Scandal in Belgravia". In "His Last Vow" he refuses to deal with Magnussen. Also he rather carelessly leaves his laptop out in the open at his parents home, which Sherlock takes in an attempt to bargain with Magnussen. When the deal goes sour, Sherlock ends up killing Magnussen.]]

** And "The Abominable Bride"'s version is grotesquely fat - we're talking [[Film/MontyPythonsMeaningOfLife Mr Creosote]] levels of fat, here. Not only that, he's determined to eat himself to death.

** "The Final Vow" and "The Final Problem" show us his childhood, confirming he used to be rather rountound.

** [[spoiler: Eurus is a completed matter. He's her brother, but he's more interested in keeping everyone else safe from her than vice versa for [[AxCrazy obvious reasons.]]]]