| 1 | * AccidentalInnuendo: Molly tells Sherlock that if he ever needs help, he can "have her", and later on, Sherlock says he "needs" Molly, although he means [[spoiler:he needs her help to fake his death]]. |
| 2 | * {{Adorkable}}: When John arrives at 221B while Sherlock's parents are there, Sherlock's attempts to get them out and his attempt at casualness afterwards are hilariously awkward. Taken up to eleven in "[[Recap/SherlockS03E02TheSignOfThree The Sign of Three,]]" both as John's best man and as the de facto wedding planner. |
| 3 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: |
| 4 | ** When Sherlock first meets Moriarty, he deduces in about two seconds that the latter is gay. Did Moriarty deliberately set this up to test Sherlock, or was it accidental? Given that he's not as smart as he thinks he is, it could be either. |
| 5 | ** Moriarity has snipers targeting John, Inspector Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson, but not Molly. Is it because he underestimates her, or out of some lingering affection for her from the time that they dated? |
| 6 | ** John [[spoiler:eventually deciding to stay with Mary after learning her secret. Does it show his dedication and love, or is he only staying with her because of the baby?]] Series 4's episode "[[Recap/SherlockS04E01TheSixThatchers The Six Thatchers]]" has believers of the latter feeling this is supported by John [[spoiler:starting to show interest in another woman, possibly implying he no longer was in love with Mary after she shot Sherlock.]] |
| 7 | ** Sherlock seems never to remember Lestrade's first name. Does he really 'delete' it every time, or is he just screwing with Lestrade by pretending to forget? "[[Recap/SherlockS04E03TheFinalProblem The Final Problem]]" seems to imply the latter. [[note]] His first name is Greg, in case you forgot.[[/note]] |
| 8 | ** Was Mycroft really happy to let Magnussen go on his way, and truly didn't want Sherlock to mess with him? Or was he just (correctly, as it turns out) worried that Magnussen would be too much for him? |
| 9 | ** Related to the above, was Mycroft genuinely worried about large-scale government secrets, despite Magnussen's apparent lack of interest in doing much Bond-villain world destroying rather than just keeping his media empire going? Or was he actually afraid Magnussen would discover Sherrinford and its prisoner, and either have absolute control over Mycroft (and Sherlock) or decide that was just too big a secret to keep even for fun? |
| 10 | ** Did Sherlock actually fall off the wagon in Series 3? Or was it a deliberate gambit to make Magnussen underestimate him? |
| 11 | * AngstWhatAngst: |
| 12 | ** John Watson seems to have PTSD in "[[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink A Study in Pink]]", to the extent he'd developed psychosomatic ''pain''... but gets over it pretty quickly. Somewhat justified as being away from the war is what's causing his issues. Getting back to adventure solves that nicely. |
| 13 | *** Although as the FridgeBrilliance page mentions, there is the implication he didn't get over it; a subtle one, but it's certainly there. |
| 14 | *** [[spoiler:And the subtlety goes out the window as of "[[Recap/SherlockS03E03HisLastVow His Last Vow]]", where it's revealed that John's [=PTSD=] has evolved into a danger addiction that has completely wrecked his ability to live a normal life.]] |
| 15 | ** Mrs. Hudson casually mentions how she found out her husband was a drug dealer and a murderer, and then rants about how their relationship was mostly physical. |
| 16 | * AssPull: |
| 17 | ** In "A Scandal in Belgravia", Sherlock is tasked via livestreaming to solve a murder case, where a body is found near river and the police is clueless about how he died. Sherlock quickly solves it, but does not provide the answer directly. Later on, when Sherlock poses this subplot to Adler as a riddle, it's revealed the victim failed to catch a returning boomerang and killed himself by accident. However, there's no foreshadowing in the earlier scenes that implied the boomerang's existance and it's never explained how Sherlock found this out just by looking through a laptop camera. It's more egregious for Adler, who wasn't provided that livestream footage yet also deduces the same way as if they were on the scene the whole time. |
| 18 | ** One of the most consistent criticisms of "[[Recap/SherlockS04E03TheFinalProblem The Final Problem]]" is that [[spoiler: the very existence of Eurus, Sherlock's secret sister,]] strains credibility to a truly ridiculous degree. [[spoiler:Not to mention that she's even smarter than Mycroft.]] |
| 19 | ** Another criticism of the finale is [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPj28N7Ot4w hinting at Moriarty's return]] in TheStinger of its BTS feature, after spending an ''entire season'' cementing the fact that he's really dead.]] Rather than an Ass Pull, some fans see it as just taking the piss. |
| 20 | * AwardSnub: |
| 21 | ** The show received four Emmy nominations for the its first season, none of which were for the top prize or the performances. The one nomination it received above-the-line was for Steven Moffat's writing. |
| 22 | ** The show had better success with Series 2, earning thirteen nominations that included Best Miniseries or Movie and acting nominations for Cumberbatch and Freeman. However, it lost every category, to the chagrin of fans. |
| 23 | * AwesomeEgo: |
| 24 | ** Sherlock has an extremely high opinion of himself, and he may well deserve it. Fans love him for it regardless. |
| 25 | ** It runs in the family, as his older brother Mycroft shows the same high opinion of himself as Sherlock. He often points out how important he is for the British government and when another character says he basically ''is'' the British government he does not contradict that. Nonetheless he's well liked by fans of the series. |
| 26 | ** Moriarty, being an EvilCounterpart to Sherlock with all of his ego on full display. Many fans are similarly enamored with him. |
| 27 | ** To a lesser extent, Charles Augustus Magnussen. He's a disgusting sociopath, but [[spoiler:if you had a mind capable of storing countless facts in your head and could easily recite them from memory, and could do a SherlockScan as well as the great man himself]], wouldn't you also find it hard to brag? [[spoiler:{{Deconstructed|Trope}} as his having no backups allows Sherlock to easily shoot him in the head]]. |
| 28 | * BaseBreakingCharacter: |
| 29 | ** Moriarty: |
| 30 | *** Initial reactions to camp Moriarty seem to range from 'obnoxious voice and looks like a twelve-year old' to 'deliciously creepy re-interpretation similar to the newer versions of [[Series/DoctorWho the Master]] and [[Film/TheDarkKnight the Joker]]'. |
| 31 | *** Interestingly enough, [[Film/TheDarkKnight the Joker]] comparisons are used by both Moriarty's fans and detractors. |
| 32 | *** Then there's the whole split of Moriarty fans who believe he is delightfully fucked up in contrast to the fans who manage to both [[DracoInLeatherPants leather-pants him]] and {{ukef|ication}}y him while saying [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation "My poor baby!"]] |
| 33 | ** The fan reactions to Irene Adler are contrasting at best. Either she's a clever, competent woman who managed to best the great Sherlock Holmes, or her character was oversexualised and reduced to a DamselInDistress at the end, not to mention how the hate for her can reach ''well'' into RonTheDeathEater territory. |
| 34 | ** Mary [[spoiler:after the reveal that she's actually a secret super spy. Some fans found her new backstory interesting, and liked that Mary was a genuine badass rather than just John's love interest. Others found her backstory over-the-top and unnecessary, and disliked the fact that she was able to outperform both John ''and'' Sherlock, with Sherlock outright saying that she was better at helping him than John.]] |
| 35 | * BizarroEpisode: |
| 36 | ** "[[Recap/SherlockS01E02TheBlindBanker The Blind Banker]]", a horribly awkward attempt to translate 19th-century YellowPeril villains to the present day (from a story (''The Dancing Men'') with no such villains in the first place), with zero connections to the far better-received first and third episodes of Series 1. It stands out so much, in fact, that some fans suspect that Stephen Thompson was left completely in the dark by Moffat and Gatiss except for the basic concept of a modern-day Holmes and Watson. |
| 37 | ** "[[Recap/SherlockSpecialTheAbominableBride The Abominable Bride]]". Otherwise know as "the back in time ChristmasSpecial that turned out to be AllADream." |
| 38 | * BrokenBase: |
| 39 | ** Although fans of the show had their minor disagreements over various aspects of the show during its course, nothing caused more controversy than Season 4. Aside from (possibly) "[[Recap/SherlockS04E02TheLyingDetective The Lying Detective]]", the first and final episodes of the season were ''polarizing'' at best, with critics and fans crying out how the series became less about of a detective series and more action packed and obsessed with the mentality of DarkerAndEdgier. "[[Recap/SherlockS04E03TheFinalProblem The Final Problem]]" became the biggest polarizing episode however, with '''more''' fans and critics debating on whether the series ended on a good note or if it ended in a cop out, especially with the revelations involving [[spoiler: Eurus]]. It also lead to some fans holding Steven Moffat responsible for [[RunningGag ruining the show]], similar to the [[Series/DoctorWho other show]] he ran. |
| 40 | ** Some fans outright detested "[[Recap/SherlockS04E01TheSixThatchers The Six Thatchers]]" for [[spoiler: focusing on drama rather than an actual case and for focusing too heavily on Mary. It goes without saying that a lot of fans disliked the fact that John, of all people, was unfaithful, and that he was ultimately pushed to the background by both Sherlock ''and'' Mary; the former stating that Mary was far better at helping him. Some viewers also did not like changes to Sherlock’s characterization.]] On the other hand, some fans thought it was a refreshing episode with a much-needed change of pace. [[spoiler: They liked that Mary got some more backstory, and enjoyed that she was made into a badass super spy, rather than just sitting in the background with the baby. They liked that there was more action, as opposed to detective work, and liked seeing the dynamic of Sherlock and Mary working together. Fans also liked the implication that John isn't perfect, and did cheat on his wife, and they also liked seeing the more human side of Sherlock saying it is a good case of CharacterDevelopment.]] |
| 41 | ** The finale "The Final Problem" ''somehow manages to be even more polarizing'', with [[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38635953 the episode's ratings hitting an all-time low]] for the series: |
| 42 | *** [[spoiler:Some believe that it was an intense, emotional roller-coaster of an episode and served its role as an exhilarating conclusion for the darkest and most tragic season of ''Sherlock''. [[EarnYourHappyEnding The ending of the episode]] is considered to be both a satisfying uplifting wrap up of the series, in case it is indeed the end, and a positive affirmation of [[AndTheAdventureContinues the immortal status of Sherlock Holmes’ legend]]]]. |
| 43 | *** [[spoiler:Some believe that it is by far the ''worst'' episode of the whole series. Why? The series makes a drastic {{genre shift}} to what may be considered an out of place ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' rip-off with newly arrived Holmes sibling [[DarkMagicalGirl Eurus]] serving as an improbable antagonist. She shatters viewers' [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief suspension of disbelief]] regarding what is humanly possible, even by the show’s already borderline-superhuman standards, with her superpowers including ''instant brainwashing of anyone she meets and predicting terror attacks in an hour based on Twitter patterns''. Like most antagonists of the series, she is obsessed with Sherlock and uses her [[InformedAbility alleged]] intellect to construct a clichéd slasher maze full of {{sadistic choice}}s. This whole incredibly {{complex|ityAddiction}} and [[CrazyPrepared well-prepared]] long-range plan, based on numerous [[GambitRoulette unpredictable]] variables, was forged by her and Jim Moriarty in '''''five minutes''''', breaking the suspension of disbelief even further. Unsurprisingly, both Sherlock and Mycroft look severely [[TheWorfEffect underpowered and helpless]] in this episode, for no reason playing by the villain's rules for quite some time. [[PlotInducedStupidity Mycroft specifically turns out to be an imbecile]] by letting a dangerously-psychotic genius mastermind have an unsupervised conversation with another dangerously-psychotic genius mastermind, who both openly obsessed over and directly threatened his little brother. Ultimately, Sherlock defeats his sister through equally magical abilities and empathy, revealing the horrible truth about what happened to Redbeard in the process and learning about the undercooked [[DrivenByEnvy motivation]] of Eurus. Unsurprisingly, lots and lots of blatant {{plot hole}}s appear. Perhaps it is also not surprising that some people saw it as a bad fanfiction rather than a genuine episode.]] |
| 44 | *** [[spoiler:Not to mention how emotionally oppressive and uncomfortable to watch "The Final Problem" was. Witnessing [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Molly Hooper]] being humiliated again by being forced to confess her love to Sherlock ''by'' an equally-humiliated and unwilling Sherlock was an especially gruelling experience for quite a lot of fans.]] |
| 45 | *** [[spoiler:Mary's narration at the end is seen as either a touching way to cover the ending montage, while others found it {{Narm}} and out of place. A fan edit was made removing the narration, which had many people feeling it made the ending a lot better.]] |
| 46 | *** [[spoiler:Some fans think that despite the episode’s plot being a mess, its emotional moments, especially the ending, as well as completed character arcs for Sherlock and John were more than enough to make up for its other shortcomings.]] |
| 47 | *** [[spoiler:Yet another group liked the episode fine despite its flaws, but disliked the GrandFinale-like ending, feeling it came out of ''nowhere'' after the whole Eurus story, thus ruining an episode that could have been fine on its own if not for it being treated as the very last.]] |
| 48 | *** [[spoiler:Other than the argument of whether or not it was a good finale, the fact that John and Sherlock are not explicitly in a relationship did not go over silently. One half of the fandom is enraged that the creators queerbaited them for the entire series only to not go through with it at the end. The other half point out that the creators never said the relationship would happen, and that a few people looked too deeply into John and Sherlock's relationship. The argument of whether the Johnlock ship is more appreciated than the show itself is a ''whole new war entirely''.]] |
| 49 | * CompleteMonster: |
| 50 | ** [[spoiler:[[ArchEnemy Jim Moriarty]] is a "consulting criminal" who lends his [[DiabolicalMastermind genius]] to [[PsychoForHire help other crooks commit crimes]], in the name of alleviating his own boredom and obsessively trying to capture the attention of Sherlock Holmes, not caring who he hurts while doing so. [[TheManBehindTheMan Behind the villains]] of the first two episodes, Moriarty takes center stage in "[[Recap/SherlockS01E03TheGreatGame The Great Game]]", selling out his own clients and challenging Sherlock to solve his puzzles lest bombs he has strapped to innocents--one of whom is a child--detonate, considering the whole spectacle a demented game for himself. When an old woman begins describing the sound of his voice to Sherlock, Moriarty immediately detonates her bomb, killing her and eleven others. [[Recap/SherlockS02E03TheReichenbachFall Later]], threatening the family members of a jury to force them to declare him innocent when arrested, Moriarty goes on to poison two children; murders his own accomplice; frames Sherlock for his own crimes; and tries to force Sherlock to commit suicide, threatening to have his loved ones killed if he does not. When Sherlock attempts to force Moriarty into calling off his killers, Moriarty happily [[SpitefulSuicide shoots himself dead to "win" his game with Sherlock]]. Even after his death, Moriarty arranges a plan with Sherlock's sister to continue forcing him through {{Sadistic Choice}}s, resulting in the death of more innocents, unwilling to let go of his obsessive chase with Sherlock even with his own passing.]] |
| 51 | ** "[[Recap/SherlockS02E02TheHoundsOfBaskerville The Hounds of Baskerville]]": [[AdaptationalVillainy Dr. Bob Frankland]] was once one of the lead scientists in Project H.O.U.N.D., working with the group in testing an awful new hallucinogen on unwitting innocents who were subsequently [[DrivenToMadness driven into homicidal or suicidal mania]], resulting in countless deaths attributed to the project. Going into hiding after the project was shut down, [[MadScientist Frankland]] continues the experiments in the hopes of creating a new method of chemical warfare [[ArmsDealer he can sell]]. When one of his co-workers tries to expose Frankland's heinous machinations, Frankland infects the man and his young son Henry with the chemical and beats Henry's father to death, spending years after trying to [[DrivenToSuicide drive Henry to suicide]] with the hallucinogen to cement the cover-up. |
| 52 | ** Series 3: [[spoiler:[[ImmoralJournalist Charles Augustus Magnussen]] is the "[[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte Napoleon]] of {{blackmail}}", regarded by Sherlock Holmes as one of the few people who can disgust him. A vile predator who uses gathered information on everyone around him to blackmail them, Magnussen abides by his creed of "knowing is owning" to then dominate, bully, and sexually prey on whoever is under his thumb, using them to satisfy his sadistic ego. Molesting and threatening worse to Lady Smallwood while blackmailing her husband, Magnussen showcases what happens to those who don't cow to his whims by using his media network to demonize and [[DrivenToSuicide drive Lord Smallwood to suicide]] with his blackmail material, the Smallwoods both serving as just one example of his many victims. When Sherlock and John Watson interfere in his affairs, Magnussen threatens to expose Mary Watson's past as a gun-for-hire to get her and her loved ones slain, and forces John to withstand his eyeball being flicked repeatedly by Magnussen, who brags all the while that he torments his secretary and entire countries in whatever ways he likes [[EvilIsPetty for his own petty enjoyment]].]] |
| 53 | ** "[[Recap/SherlockS04E02TheLyingDetective The Lying Detective]]": [[spoiler:[[FauxAffablyEvil Culverton Smith]] is a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity seemingly charitable philanthropist]] who uses his public persona to hide the truth that he is a sadistic SerialKiller whose greatest desire is to kill anyone he can. Having taken part in the construction of a hospital, Culverton secretly outfitted it with a variety of secret passageways and doors, which he uses to enter the rooms of patients and murder them, framing their deaths as accidents or natural causes so as to enable his murder spree to go on for years and claim countless lives. Spending his free time playing with corpses in the hospital's mortuary and drugging people so as to confess his crimes and enjoy their horrified reactions before the drugs wipe their memory of the confession, Culverton taunts Sherlock and Watson with his crimes when they begin investigating him, before ultimately trying to kill Sherlock with obvious sexual glee. Boasting the [[ForTheEvulz simple motivation]] that he just loves to watch people die and make them into "things" for him to toy with, Culverton cheerfully confesses to his immense amount of murders when caught, musing about how famous he's going to be for the killings.]] |
| 54 | * ConsolationAward: A more cynical interpretation for ''Sherlock'''s surprise 2014 Emmy sweep. |
| 55 | * CrazyIsCool: |
| 56 | ** He's ''Sherlock Holmes'', and crazier than most portrayals. He keeps eyeballs in the microwave and a severed head in the fridge, and gets rid of his boredom by spray-painting a smiley face on the wall and shooting at it. And the thumbs in the refrigerator. Poor Mrs. Hudson. Bonus points for shooting the wall ''being canon'' to the source material - in "The Musgrave Ritual", he is mentioned to have shot the Queen's initials into his wall as target practice. |
| 57 | ** Also Mycroft in his own way. His use of phones and CCTV cameras is quite impressive, and just being so [[TheStoic stoic]] makes it better. |
| 58 | ** Moriarty, although he definitely goes into CreepyAwesome. |
| 59 | * CrossesTheLineTwice: Mrs. Hudson being attacked and visibly bruised by the American? Horrifying. Sherlock avenging her by tying the man up and throwing him out the window right on her bins, all the while reporting it to the police? Heartwarmingly badass and funny. The SmashCut to Lestrade showing up and asking Sherlock ''how many times'' did the man fall out the window? ''Absolutely'' hilarious. |
| 60 | * CreepyAwesome: |
| 61 | ** Sherlock does this too many times to count, but particularly this interaction in "A Study in Pink", immediately after [[{{Crosses the Line Twice}}another foot-in-mouth moment]]: |
| 62 | --->'''Sherlock:''' If you were dying, if you'd been murdered, in your very last seconds, what would you say?\ |
| 63 | '''John:''' Please, God, let me live.\ |
| 64 | '''Sherlock:''' Oh, use your imagination!\ |
| 65 | '''John:''' I don't have to. |
| 66 | ** Magnussen, owing to his cunning moments coupled with him being an absolute creep. |
| 67 | ** Considering the big surprises of Series 4, [[spoiler: Eurus]]. This fits considering [[spoiler: she's Sherlock's sister]]. |
| 68 | * DelusionConclusion: In the wake of the highly-contentious fourth season, some fans became convinced that the events of "The Final Problem" were simply too ridiculous to have actually happened, and theorized that everything after Watson [[spoiler: got shot in the head]] was just a massive dream sequence experienced over the course of his coma. Where this [[EpilepticTrees theory went a little bit weird]] was the point when these fans began insisting there ''had'' to be a hidden fourth episode in which Watson would wake up and get a happy ending with Sherlock, and for some reason came to believe that it was actually disguised as the first episode of the BBC thriller ''Series/AppleTreeYard.'' |
| 69 | * DieForOurShip: Many fans were annoyed that Mary would show up and hoped for her eventual demise. After ''His Last Vow'' many fans lost their sympathy towards her, but mostly because of things other than shipping. Although a lot of them forgave her in ''The Six Thatchers'' [[spoiler: and were devastated when she DID die at the end of it.]] |
| 70 | * DracoInLeatherPants: |
| 71 | ** Moriarty. Despite being [[CompleteMonster irredeemable]] in the show, he gets this treatment in fandom for being attractive and funny. His Irish accent is enough to give non-fangirls of him ''instant nosebleeds'' (but only if they're listening on earphones or headphones). |
| 72 | ** [[spoiler: Eurus gets a mix of this or downright BaseBreakingCharacter due to her '''big''' MoralEventHorizon moments but with her tragic backstory]]. |
| 73 | * EnsembleDarkhorse: |
| 74 | ** Mycroft. That's what you get when you utilize the character's full potential and cast [[spoiler:Mark Gatiss]] in the role. |
| 75 | ** Not to mention his assistant, "[[SexySecretary Anthea]]". Five lines, two scenes, one episode, and ''no'' real name revealed for her... and the fandom absolutely ''adores'' her. Needless to say, her return, however brief, in ''The Empty Hearse'', was met with [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing much rejoicing.]] |
| 76 | ** Molly Hooper was originally intended to be a one-off character, but she quickly became a favourite among the creators and the fans. |
| 77 | ** Anderson, after being RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in the mini-episode "[[Recap/SherlockS03E00ManyHappyReturns Many Happy Returns]]", became even more popular in Season 3, where he's a stand-in for the show's fandom. |
| 78 | ** Archie from "[[Recap/SherlockS03E02TheSignOfThree The Sign of Three]]". |
| 79 | ** Donovan was close to becoming one after the first episode because of her no-nonsense attitude towards Sherlock; however, she instead became a downright {{Jerkass}} towards him in subsequent episodes, and after "The Reichenbach Fall", she instead became TheScrappy who is near-universally hated by the fanbase. |
| 80 | ** DI Stella Hopkins from "[[Recap/SherlockS04E01TheSixThatchers The Six Thatchers]]" mainly for being the first Conan Doyle inspector besides Lestrade to show up, plus being a GenderFlip of her book counterpart. |
| 81 | * EpilepticTrees: [[https://screenrant.com/sherlock-holmes-watson-johnlock-ship-conspiracy-theory-explained/ The Johnlock Conspiracy]] [[https://www.vox.com/2016/8/7/11950648/fandom-shipping-social-justice-ideological-warfare alleges]] that, contrary to the usual interpretation of the HoYay between Sherlock and Watson as no more than BaitAndSwitchLesbians, in spite of statements from the creators that Johnlock would not happen, that they were just {{Lying Creator}}s and that there were various hints sprinkled throughout the show indicating that Johnlock would become an OfficialCouple in earnest. After Season 4 released and concluded on a hugely controversial final episode without making the pairing official, The Johnlock Conspiracy fans alleged that it was a coverup for an unaired "lost episode" in which the couple ''did'' become canon, although no concrete evidence of the supposed lost episode has surfaced. |
| 82 | * EvilIsCool: Jim Moriarty easily falls into this being TheChessmaster and having a charming portrayal by Creator/AndrewScott. |
| 83 | * FandomRivalry: |
| 84 | ** For one, there's the [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 2009]] and [[Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows 2011]] Guy Ritchie films. |
| 85 | ** Brief kerfuffles occurred in early 2012 with the fandom of the KPop band Music/SHINee, for overtaking the #Sherlock tag on Tumblr for the band's new album. |
| 86 | ** Fights with ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' fandom have naturally gotten ''ugly'', mainly for Watson's GenderFlip and RaceLift. And, ironically, ''Sherlock'' fans flooding the Elementary tag on Tumblr. The big irony here is that Cumberbatch and ''Elementary'' Sherlock Creator/JonnyLeeMiller have been good friends since before either took the role. |
| 87 | ** More generally, there are fights with fans of other versions of Franchise/SherlockHolmes, including the original Conan Doyle stories, who are upset that the show's Sherlock is such an extreme InsufferableGenius and that PopCulturalOsmosis causes some people to believe that all versions of Holmes are that unpleasant. |
| 88 | ** The 2013 National Television Awards have made enemies of ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' fans for winning over Sherlock. Cue more tag-flooding on Tumblr... of the wrong tag. |
| 89 | ** Fights got nasty with ''Series/TeenWolf'' fandom on Tumblr, in March 2013. ''Series/TeenWolf'''s Season 3 airdate was posted by a fan, but only mentioned the show in the tags. Fandom outrage, once again, as confused Sherlockians thought they were being deliberately misled. |
| 90 | * FanficFuel: The two years Sherlock spent between seasons two and three dismantling Moriarty's criminal empire while everyone assumes he's dead. |
| 91 | * {{Fanon}}: |
| 92 | ** As of this writing, it hasn't even been officially confirmed that Sebastian Moran will appear in this show at all, though browsing the insane amounts of [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=sebastian+moran modern Moran fan art]] on Website/DeviantArt might give you a different impression. |
| 93 | *** A Lord Moran appears in "[[Recap/SherlockS03E01TheEmptyHearse The Empty Hearse]]", though that seems to be where the similarities end. [[spoiler: The true Sebastian Moran is seemingly ''Mary Morstan'' of all people, who is something of a CompositeCharacter.]] |
| 94 | ** When Sherrinford was mentioned in Series 4, fans assumed he would make an appearance, being the fandom equivalent to a smarter Holmes brother. This was thrown out the window when [[spoiler: not only was Sherrinford a ''location'', but the Holmes sibling was a demented psychotic woman named Eurus]]. |
| 95 | * FanNickname: |
| 96 | ** [[spoiler: "Mocklock" has been used in a few comment threads for those that believe that the ambassador's children were kidnapped by someone disguised as Sherlock Holmes, which caused the little girl to freak out when she saw the real Sherlock. Also used to refer to the theory that the dead Sherlock at the end of the episode was a body double, possibly the same body that kidnapped the children.]] |
| 97 | ** Since the two producers work so closely together on this, their names have slowly condensed from "Creator/StevenMoffat and Creator/MarkGatiss" to "Moffat and Gatiss" to "Moffat-Gatiss" to finally colliding into "Mofftiss." When speaking only of Mark Gatiss, fans usually switch his surname to [[WordOfGod God-tiss]]. |
| 98 | ** In the [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Chinese fandom]], Sherlock and John are nicknamed "Curly Fu" and "Peanut". "Curly" refers to Sherlock's hair and "Fu" is short for ''Fuermosi'' (福尔摩斯), the Chinese rendering of "Holmes". "Peanut" refers to the Chinese rendering of "Watson", ''Huasheng'' (华生), being a homophone of the word for peanut, ''huasheng'' (花生). |
| 99 | ** "Jawn", for John. |
| 100 | * FanPreferredCouple: |
| 101 | ** Holmes/Watson, also known as Johnlock. Although Watson's love interest in Mary Morstan and Sherlock has some sexual tension with Irene Adler, who is attracted to him, Johnlock is by far the most popular pairing for the show, and the second most popular pairing on all of [=AO3=]. |
| 102 | ** Although Mycroft Holmes is implied to be having an affair with Lady Smallwood, his most popular pairing is with Lestrade. |
| 103 | * FourthWallMyopia: Donovan suffers from the effects of this. ''We'' know that Sherlock isn't going to turn evil, but she doesn't. Her suspicion of Sherlock makes her TheScrappy. |
| 104 | * FriendlyFandoms: |
| 105 | ** With ''Series/DoctorWho''. Both shows share showrunner Creator/StevenMoffat (Moffat took over as showrunner for ''Doctor Who'' in 2010, the same year ''Sherlock'' premiered), comparisons between the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes stretch back to the Classic Series' heyday (to the point where [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"]] in 1977 was an extended SherlockHomage), and there are a decent amount of crossover fanworks between the two, most notably [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3bGYljQ5Uw this very well made special effects mash up of the Eleventh Doctor inviting Sherlock to be his next companion]]. Fans of both shows have even come up with the crossover name "Wholock." |
| 106 | *** These fandoms are also friendly with that of the American television series ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', to the point that the combined fandoms have been dubbed "Superwholock". |
| 107 | *** Also commonly added to this mix is the ''Series/Merlin2008'' fandom, which was another British family adventure series that was airing around the same time as ''Sherlock'', making it "[=SuperWhoMerLock=]". |
| 108 | ** Fans are also on good terms with fans of the ''Film/TheHobbit'' films, where both Creator/MartinFreeman ''and'' Creator/BenedictCumberbatch play starring roles. |
| 109 | ** There's also the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fandom (namely the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] [[Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness series]]) due to Cumberbatch's involvement with the franchise. Hell, his character even dresses like Holmes at certain points in the second film as well. |
| 110 | * GeniusBonus: The StandardSnippet to which [[spoiler:Moriarty]] commits the heist of the century in "[[Recap/SherlockS02E03TheReichenbachFall The Reichenbach Fall]]"? The Overture to Rossini's ''La Gazza Ladra'', or '' The Thieving Magpie''. Doubles as a ShoutOut to ''Film/AClockworkOrange''. |
| 111 | * GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The show is popular in many countries across the globe from America to India but none of them are as obsessed with it as China is. There is even a ''Sherlock''-themed cafe in Shanghai, ''and'' the nickname of the ''entire'' UK is affected by ''this single series'' (see Memetic Mutation below) |
| 112 | ** Johnlock fanfiction is becoming increasingly popular in China, and even non-shippers agree that they have a epic bromance. Tie-in editions also tend to sell out faster than other editions of the canon there, and many fans also enjoy the Casebook. |
| 113 | * HarsherInHindsight: |
| 114 | ** From "[[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink A Study in Pink]]": |
| 115 | --->'''John:''' Do people usually assume you're the murderer?\ |
| 116 | '''Sherlock:''' Now and then, yes. |
| 117 | *** There are actually dozens of these if you actually look close enough, [[spoiler: especially references to "The Reichenbach Fall"]]. It seriously adds to the rewatch value. |
| 118 | ** This line from John's blog, regarding an incident between Sherlock and himself in "[[Recap/SherlockS02E02TheHoundsOfBaskerville The Hounds of Baskerville]]" -- [[spoiler: He'd used me as an experiment. One day I will kill him.]] |
| 119 | ** When John wanders past a [[spoiler:dummy hanging by the neck from the ceiling of 221B,]] he jokes, "So... did you just talk to him for a very long time?" [[spoiler:Incredibly harsh when you consider that, after Jim Moriarty talked to him for a very long time, Sherlock apparently committed suicide before the end of the episode. Ouch.]] |
| 120 | ** Again with RealitySubtext: During "[[Recap/SherlockS04E01TheSixThatchers The Six Thatchers]]", [[spoiler: John jokingly tells Mary "Can I divorce you?" after she jokingly compares him to a dog that Sherlock got to help with a case. This becomes painful when before said episode airing, Martin Freeman and his partner Amanda Abbington (who ''plays'' Mary) separated, although on amicable terms]]. |
| 121 | ** In "[[Recap/SherlockS04E02TheLyingDetective The Lying Detective]]", Mrs. Hudson abducting Sherlock and stuffing him in the trunk of her car is hilarious. However, the scene can be harder to watch knowing that in 2005, Benedict Cumberbatch and some friends were abducted in real life and put in the cars of criminals in South Africa, to which Cumberbatch at one point was put in the trunk. One can only wonder if filming that part gave him flashbacks. |
| 122 | ** "[[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink A Study in Pink]]". Sgt. Sally Donovan says: [[spoiler:"One day we'll be standing around a body and Sherlock Holmes will be the one who put it there."]] Fast forward to "The Reichenbach Fall" and ''ouch''.[[note]]Sherlock "committed suicide" as part of a ThanatosGambit by Moriarty, so technically there is a body the police will be standing around, and Sherlock will have put it there… because it's his body. Although he may not be quite dead.[[/note]] |
| 123 | *** [[spoiler: And then there's the climax of "[[Recap/SherlockS03E03HisLastVow His Last Vow]]", where Sherlock shoots Magnussen in front of three police helicopters and Mycroft.]] |
| 124 | ** In "[[Recap/SherlockS01E03TheGreatGame The Great Game]]" Sherlock sarcastically compares Jim Moriarty's gig as a consulting criminal to the famous British TV show "Jim'll Fix It", where children around the UK wrote to the host Jimmy Saville with a wish they had and Saville arranging it to be fulfilled. Just over a year later, Jimmy Saville would die...and then be posthumously ousted as perhaps the most prolific pedophile and sexual predator in British history. |
| 125 | ** [[spoiler: One of John's last lines to Sherlock in "[[Recap/SherlockS02E03TheReichenbachFall The Reichenbach Fall]]" becomes this when you puzzle out who, exactly, is protecting whom.]] |
| 126 | --->'''Sherlock:''' Alone protects me.\ |
| 127 | '''John:''' No. Friends protect people. |
| 128 | ** Also, Mrs. Hudson's comment in "[[Recap/SherlockS02E01AScandalInBelgravia A Scandal in Belgravia]]", considering how [[spoiler:Moriarty finds out Sherlock's life story]]: |
| 129 | --->'''Mrs. Hudson:''' Family is all we have in the end, Mycroft Holmes. |
| 130 | ** John's quote "The press will turn, Sherlock. They always turn, and they'll turn on you" from "The Reichenbach Fall" echoed eerily in the minds of some fans when they read [[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/4486222/Ben-Ill-posh-off.html some]] [[http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s183/downton-abbey/news/a399632/benedict-cumberbatch-series-two-of-downton-was-fking-atrocious.html articles]] written about Benedict Cumberbatch, which used quotes that were no doubt taken completely out of context and twisted around. They media is definitely taking advantage of this self-proclaimed [[http://tvline.com/2012/06/14/sherlock-season-3-benedict-cumberbatch/ "PR disaster"]]. |
| 131 | ** The [[spoiler: cab driver's]] words to Sherlock: "I'm not gonna kill you, Mr. Holmes. I'm gonna talk to you, and then you're gonna kill yourself." |
| 132 | ** The allusion to Creator/JimmySavile when discussing Moriarty's ''modus operandi'' as a criminal ''Jim'll Fix It'', in light of the 2012 [[PaedoHunt allegations]] about the late entertainer. [[spoiler: It doesn't help when we learn in "The Reichenbach Fall" that Moriarty moonlights as an award-winning children's storyteller]]. |
| 133 | ** The words "love is a far more vicious motivator" from "A Study in Pink" hurt much more since Sherlock [[spoiler:commited suicide to save the people he loves, his only friends]]. |
| 134 | ** All of these lines from "A Scandal in Belgravia" sound like wicked foreshadowing after watching "The Reichenbach Fall": |
| 135 | --->Sentiment is a chemical defect found [[spoiler:in the losing side]].\ |
| 136 | I've often thought that love was a [[spoiler:dangerous disadvantage]]. Thank you for the final proof.\ |
| 137 | This is your heart, and you should never let it rule your head. |
| 138 | *** They're just as painful in relation to "His Last Vow", knowing that Sherlock [[spoiler: kills Magnussen to protect John, and is almost sent on a suicide mission to Eastern Europe as punishment.]] |
| 139 | ** Doubling as RealitySubtext, in "[[Recap/SherlockS03E02TheSignOfThree The Sign of Three]]", Major Reed's suspicion of John's motives for investigating the case, coupled with Sherlock breaking into the barracks and the (attempted) murder of Pvt. Bainbridge shortly after, leads him to immediately assume that they were responsible. After the 2013 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Lee_Rigby murder of Pvt. Lee Rigby]], his paranoia about security come across as ''very'' justified. |
| 140 | ** Regarding "The Six Thatchers", Sherlock tells Mary that he will protect her (which is a reference to "The Sign of Three") and even vows to do so. [[spoiler: The episode ends with Mary '''dying''' and John becoming a broken man who berates Sherlock for not keeping his promise]]. |
| 141 | ** Mycroft told Sherlock that their parents attempts to encourage them to play with other children did not go very well. It takes on a whole new horrifying meaning in "The Final Problem" when we learn the truth about [[spoiler: Victor and Redbeard]]. |
| 142 | ** [[spoiler:The whole reveal in "[[Recap/SherlockS02E02TheHoundsOfBaskerville The Hounds of Baskerville]]" that the hound was not a dog but a man is incredibly similar to the situation regarding Victor and Redbeard in "The Final Problem". Henry couldn't cope with the trauma, so he rationalised it into a dog killing his father, in the same way as Sherlock imagining it was his beloved dog that had died, not his best friend, as he had always wanted a dog but due to his father being allergic to them, was never allowed one.]] |
| 143 | * HeartwarmingInHindsight: A lot of Sherlock's behavior towards John in "[[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink A Study in Pink]]" seems like just common courtesy (thanking him for the phone, trying to turn him down gently when he thinks John is into him, waiting for him at the top of the stairs) until we reach later episodes, and we realize that Sherlock normally couldn't care less about common courtesy. The whole of Season 3 also doubles as TearJerker in Hindsight. |
| 144 | * HesJustHiding: |
| 145 | ** Sherlock was this in-universe, although in this case the speculators were correct. |
| 146 | ** Moriarty for some, who expected JokerImmunity to be in play. [[spoiler: The apparent confirmation of this is a major plot point in Season 4, which while revealed ''is'' dead, his presence pretty much continues.]] |
| 147 | * HilariousInHindsight: |
| 148 | ** Sherlock is being investigated by a reporter from ''The Sun'' and [[spoiler: finds a recording device planted in 221B]] at a point in the show's timeline (June 2012) that is four months after five ''Sun'' reporters and editors were arrested on hacking and bribery charges. Considering that particular episode was written and filmed several months before the ''News of the World'' scandal broke, it becomes either HarsherInHindsight and/or doubly hilarious. |
| 149 | ** There's also the fact that ''The Sun'' was giving Creator/BenedictCumberbatch A LOT of attention around the time Series 2 aired in America. According to [[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4302036/Sherlock-star-Benedict-Cumberbatch-is-voted-The-Suns-sexiest-man-beating-David-Beckham.html the polls]], brainy has indeed become the new sexy! |
| 150 | ** The scandal regarding [[http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/08/22/prince-harry-naked-photos-surface-online/ Prince Harry's strip-poker shenanigans with female entertainers]] just practically screams the premise of "A Scandal in Belgravia". Seeing a similar situation befall [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine,_Duchess_of_Cambridge#Violations_of_privacy the Duchess of Cambridge]] after a few months makes it either [[HarsherInHindsight worse]]… or this. |
| 151 | *** Magnussen being an {{expy}} of Rupert Murdoch either makes this HarsherInHindsight or hilarious. |
| 152 | ** Sherlock's line "Oh I may be on the side of angels, but don't think for one second that I'm one of them." Benedict Cumberbatch went on to play the Angel Islington on the BBC radio drama of Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}''. |
| 153 | ** In the 2012 episode "The Hounds of Baskerville", after Sherlock complains about experiencing emotions, Watson sarcastically calls him "Spock". In the 2013 film ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', Benedict Cumberbatch plays [[spoiler: Khan Noonien Singh]], who has several showdowns with Spock. |
| 154 | ** John's "Holy Mary!" reaction to Molly's dress in "A Scandal in Belgravia", when his wife as of series 3 is named "Mary". |
| 155 | ** In "The Great Game" Sherlock goes "I am on fire!". A couple of years later, he [[Film/TheHobbit becomes fire]]. |
| 156 | ** In "A Scandal in Belgravia", [[Creator/BenedictCumberbatch Sherlock]] expresses distaste for [[Film/TheHobbit burglars]]. |
| 157 | ** The whole "Moriarty is an actor" scheme in "The Reichenbach Fall", since the release of ''Film/IronMan3'' and the backlash over Creator/BenKingsley's Mandarin being an actor. Note the title role in the ''Iron Man'' series is Creator/RobertDowneyJr, who also played Holmes in [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 another]] [[Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows adaptation]]. |
| 158 | ** In "The Geek Interpreter", Melas mentions that he's talking to some of his mates in the comic book industry to set up a graphic novel series of their cases. [[http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2012/09/bbcs-hit-sherlock-getting-a-manga-adaptation/ Guess what happened]] later? |
| 159 | ** In "A Scandal in Belgravia", Sherlock mentions the Allies breaking the German code but not wanting to let the Germans know that they broke it. Benedict Cumberbatch would later play the man who made that decision, Alan Turing, in ''Film/TheImitationGame''. |
| 160 | ** Oona Chaplin, who plays John's girlfriend in "A Scandal in Belgravia", would go on to play Talisa Stark in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. In "His Last Vow", Tom Brooke joins ''Sherlock'' as Bill Wiggins. Brooke played a Frey in ''Game of Thrones'', specifically the Frey [[spoiler:who stabs Talisa repeatedly in the Red Wedding]]. This puts John attacking Wiggins in "His Last Vow" in a different light. |
| 161 | ** With this series, both the character of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have been portrayed by actors called "Britain's Sexiest Man" at different times (Benedict Cumberbatch and Creator/JudeLaw from the [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 Guy Ritchie films]].) |
| 162 | ** Moriarty's scheme in "The Reichenbach Fall" involves stealing the crown jewels of England and posing with them for the police, and he later mockingly calls himself a King in a conversation with Sherlock (''"In a world of locked rooms, a man with a key is King. And honey, you should see me in a crown…"''). Creator/AndrewScott and Benedict Cumberbatch are now ''both'' set to play historical Kings in Season 2 of ''Series/TheHollowCrown'': Louis XI of France and Richard III of England, respectively. |
| 163 | ** The FandomRivalry between fans of this show and [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 the Robert Downey, Jr. films]] got a lot funnier when it was announced that Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey, Jr. would ''both'' be playing superheroes in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: ComicBook/DoctorStrange and ComicBook/IronMan, respectively. Making it funnier is the fact that both characters are complete opposites in every way (one is a hedonistic, wise-cracking ScienceHero, the other a stoic, ascetic sorcerer), and they end up sharing the screen in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. |
| 164 | ** The last time Creator/SianBrooke, who plays [[spoiler: Eurus, the third Holmes sibling]], worked alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, she was his love interest in a production of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. |
| 165 | ** Creator/LarsMikkelsen's role as an opponent of Sherlock Holmes becomes this after his casting as [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Grand Admiral Thrawn]], considered by many ''Star Wars'' fans to be that franchise's equivalent of Holmes (albeit evil, and an alien). The same year Thrawn debuted on that show, Creator/MadsMikkelsen appeared in both ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' and ''Film/RogueOne'', so now both brothers have battled Benedict Cumberbatch, and both have appeared in ''Star Wars''. |
| 166 | ** The courtroom drama movie ''Film/{{Denial}}'' is about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_v_Penguin_Books_Ltd a real-life trial]] and features both Andrew Scott and Mark Gatiss... on the same side (respectively as a lawyer and an expert called to testify). Seems Holocaust Denial is serious business enough to make Mycroft team up with Moriarty! |
| 167 | ** Andrew Scott and Benedict Cumberbatch both appear in ''Film/NineteenSeventeen'', on the same side (they both play a British officer). Sadly, they have no scenes together. The same movie also includes Creator/MarkStrong as another British officer (Strong played the BigBad of ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009''). |
| 168 | * HoYay: Has its own [[HoYay/{{Sherlock}} page]]. |
| 169 | * HypeBacklash: The show's massive popularity eventually created this with those finding it way overrated, derailing most of the characters from their original book counterparts, creating "sexist" and/or "racist" character arcs and plotlines, the disappointing final season and relying far too much on "Tell" rather than "Show" (i.e. mysteries often being served with little to no clues to the viewers with Sherlock coming up with the solution off-screen or out of thin air in order to "tell" you how smart he is rather than "showing" it) - possibly the biggest criticism of the show. |
| 170 | ** The show itself even became a huge victim of criticism in recent years with Youtube "essay-ers" when they (most infamously WebVideo/SarahZ and WebVideo/HBomberguy) pointed out many flaws of the show and even at times being problematic for them (notably with Sarah Z's retrospective of the series over the alleged "queer baiting" the series had). |
| 171 | * IKnewIt: On this very wiki's WildMassGuessing page, tropers correctly deduced that "Jim" was Moriarty. |
| 172 | ** It probably helps that ads for ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' had Watson listing off the man's full name: ''Professor James Moriarty''. |
| 173 | ** Also, any fans of ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' already knew that thanks to their character "Count [[spoiler: Jim]] Knees [Amusing Noise]... Moriarty... |
| 174 | ** [[spoiler:The way Sherlock faked his death incorporated his homeless network, the man on the bike, Mocklock, the truck, a giant cushion, and a ball under the armpit. All were components of fan theories, and it's likely someone out there got everything right.]] |
| 175 | * ItWasHisSled: Creator/AndrewScott's character is Moriarty. The first episode tried to imply Creator/MarkGatiss' character was Moriarty until he was [[FirstEpisodeTwist revealed at the end]] to be Mycroft, who would then be [[LateArrivalSpoiler promoted to part of the main cast]] from the second season onwards. Adding to the intention of Moriarty's identity being a big twist was that Scott's character first appeared as a minor character known simply as Jim before disappearing then returning at the end of the same episode upon revealing his true identity as Jim Moriarty. It doesn't help that Moriarty's first name has traditionally been ''James''. |
| 176 | * JerkassWoobie: |
| 177 | ** Sherlock, occasionally. He is a self-proclaimed "[[SociopathicHero high functioning sociopath]]" who generally acts like a dick and solves crime for fun, not justice. [[ManipulativeBastard He is also very manipulative]]. But Sherlock is redeemed by his PetTheDog moments, as well as his lapses into vulnerability, so it's hard not to feel sympathy for him. He slides slightly further towards the Woobie end of things in Series 3, owing to having TookALevelInKindness. |
| 178 | ** Bizarrely enough, [[spoiler: Eurus. It's obvious there was ''a lot'' wrong with her, but it's pretty obvious from her VillainousBreakdown ''and'' even reaching the DespairEventHorizon that within her sick and twisted mind, [[IJustWantToBeLoved she just wanted to be loved by Sherlock]]]]. |
| 179 | * JustHereForGodzilla: Several fans of the series bought the tie-in editions of ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'' and ''Literature/TheSignOfTheFour'' for Benedict Cumberbatch/Martin Freeman's introduction. |
| 180 | * LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: [[spoiler:Sherlock is quickly revealed at the end of the second season to not have died, but to have somehow faked his suicide.]] |
| 181 | * LoveToHate: Moriarty, whose '''''deliciously''''' evil personality has him competing with [[Film/TheDarkKnight The Joker]] and [[Manga/{{Monster}} Johan]] for the title of: "Most Magnificent of all [[CompleteMonster Monsters]]" |
| 182 | * MagnificentBastard: |
| 183 | ** [[RetiredBadass Mary Morstan]], later Watson--real name Rosamund Mary--is introduced as John Watson's clever, witty LoveInterest, but is soon revealed to be far more than she appears. In truth a former [[ProfessionalKiller hired gun]] for the team A.G.R.A., Mary pulled off countless assassinations and other forms of illegal work for the highest bidders, but was forced to go into hiding when her team was compromised. The only A.G.R.A. member skilled enough to escape capture and [[DeadPersonImpersonation create an entirely new identity]], Mary plays her new role as a regular bystander so well that even Sherlock fails to see through her lies, and when Charles Augustus Magnussen attempts to blackmail her with her past, Mary effortlessly ingratiates herself into his inner circle and puts Magnussen at her mercy. Eventually becoming a proper, accepted partner by John and Sherlock, Mary faces down enemies from her past before [[TakingTheBullet sacrificing her own life]] to save Sherlock's, making John promise her as she dies that he'll look after their daughter, all while assuring John that her life with him was the best she ever had. |
| 184 | ** "[[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink A Study In Pink]]": [[SerialKiller Jeff Hope]] is an [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse unassuming cabbie]] who uses his genius mind for manipulation to trick people into playing a lethal "game" with him. Jeff's game involves making his victim choose one of two identical pills, one which is lethal poison, the other safe to consume, and whichever his victim picks, Jeff takes the other pill. Having claimed four victims with this method--using his talent for reading people to ensure he manipulates them into choosing the lethal pill--Jeff further coerces Sherlock himself into playing Jeff's game by appealing to the consulting detective's ego. "[[PsychoForHire Sponsored]]" by James Moriarty with money for every person he murders that Jeff hopes to [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes leave to his kids]] once a brain aneurysm kills him, Jeff nearly finishes his game with Sherlock until Watson interferes, leaving it ambiguous as to whether the cabbie was gracefully accepting his death by taking the poison, or had actually outwitted Sherlock into taking it himself. |
| 185 | * MemeticBadass: |
| 186 | ** Both Mycroft and his Umbrella. |
| 187 | ** Molly Hooper dated the most dangerous man in Britain. Then dumped his ass. |
| 188 | *** After turning him into a [[{{Series/Glee}} Gleek]]. |
| 189 | ** According to the Internet, John "Three Continents" Watson is a tiny assassin in a cuddly jumper. |
| 190 | * MemeticMutation: |
| 191 | ** In "The Reichenbach Fall", there is a short scene in which Donovan rushes into Lestrade's office to tell him that there's been a break-in. Lestrade, who has his feet up on the desk and is eating a doughnut, simply replies "Not our division." The fandom went nuts with the line. |
| 192 | ** According to Website/LiveJournal, John's mustache has more important things to do than be on John's face, like [[MemeticBadass taking down terrorist cells and winning the Olympics.]] |
| 193 | ** After the series 2 finale, [[spoiler:"[[Film/TheDarkKnight I believe in Sherlock Holmes]]" and "[[http://earlfoolish.tumblr.com/post/15969467726 Moriarty was real]]".]] |
| 194 | ** Characters being compared to various kinds of animals for whatever reason. [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1oz1lprMg1qm3wmuo1_500.jpg Moriarty is a lizard,]] and [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1mq11LABj1roowpfo6_r1_500.png Mycroft is an owl.]] Doyle himself described Lestrade as [[http://freemanisahedgehog.tumblr.com/post/22858462417/tealbluestatic-thenakedsociopath-my-god ferret-like,]] so we really only need Irene, Mrs. Hudson, and Molly to round out the set. |
| 195 | ** [[http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/pressed+sherlock+fandom Pressed Sherlock Fandom]] is gaining popularity among Sherlock fans who support Elementary. [[http://onlyforthepressed.tumblr.com/ It even inspired an entire blog.]] |
| 196 | ** Referring to a fanon AlternateUniverse of the show as (NAME)-lock. The most popular being: Kidlock [[SpinOffBabies (Sherlock and John as children)]], Parentlock [[KidFic (Sherlock and John raising a child)]], and [[{{Rule63}} Femlock]]. |
| 197 | ** [[http://grace-and-dignity.tumblr.com/post/67931283522/things-that-happened-before-sherlock-series-3 "Even X came back before Sherlock]]", a reference to how other fandoms get a ton of new material during the show's extremely long hiatuses. |
| 198 | *** The real world as well. ''Britain got its [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Murray first male Wimbledon champion in seventy-seven years]]'' before we got more ''Sherlock''. |
| 199 | ** United Kingdom is the {{Yaoi}} Kingdom. The Chinese have been so much into this series, and Johnlock specifically, that it affected the nickname of the ''entire United Kingdom''. [[note]]The actual term used is ''Fuguo'', or "Rotten Country," but in this case "Fu" or "Rotten" takes the meaning of "Fu" in "[[YaoiFangirl Fujoshi]]".[[/note]] |
| 200 | ** The [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/b0e7f96453bda99c6dd6ddd5edadb230/tumblr_inline_p7gi2nRB6y1r4n4yf_250.gif weird face]] Benedict Cumberbatch makes when he delivers the "I don't have 'friends'" line. |
| 201 | * {{Moe}}: The fandom accepts Molly Hooper and John Watson as some of the cutest characters in the show, the latter for his cuddly jumper. |
| 202 | * MoralEventHorizon: |
| 203 | ** [[spoiler:Moriarty strapping one of his bombs onto a ''little boy'' and forcing him to count down to his own demise.]] Everything he did in that episode was horrifying, but that moment reveals just how sick a bastard our heroes are dealing with. |
| 204 | ** In "The Hounds Of Baskerville", [[spoiler: Bob Frankland crossed it by beating Henry's father to death, ''right in front of Henry'' (leaving him an orphan in the process), because Henry's father found Frankland testing the abandoned Project Hound drug. Henry was left emotionally and mentally traumatised and unstable and had to attend therapy as an adult.]] |
| 205 | ** In "His Last Vow", Magnussen crosses it by [[spoiler:threatening Mary Morstan with blackmail, that would doubtless be catastrophic for the Watsons]]. How bad is this? It's so bad that Sherlock [[spoiler:outright ''murders'' him, something that he didn't even come close to doing with Moriarty]]. This is assuming he didn't cross it by driving a man to suicide or trying to burn [[spoiler:John Watson]] alive. |
| 206 | ** Culverton Smith pretty much on ''everything'' he does considering [[spoiler: he wants to kill just for the sake of wanting to murder "anybody" all while using his wealth and power to avoid getting caught]]. |
| 207 | ** [[spoiler:[[PsychopathicWomanchild Eurus Holmes]]]] crosses it very early on when it's established that [[spoiler:[[EnfanteTerrible when she and Sherlock were children]], she murdered [[WouldHurtAChild his childhood friend]] Victor (AKA Redbeard) [[DisproportionateRetribution out of petty jealousy at their friendship]] by drowning him in a well, and then tried to murder Sherlock as well by burning down their house]]. And this is many, ''many'' years before the events of ''The Final Problem'', during which it's established that [[spoiler:she previously drove a psychiatrist to commit MurderSuicide and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped and killed a nurse]], forces a man to murder his own family, plays {{Deadly Game}}s with her brothers (inflicting horrific MindRape on them in the process), and [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose nonchalantly executes several hostages even when her games were followed to the letter]], all with sadistic glee and a sickening smile on her face]]. |
| 208 | * {{Narm}}: |
| 209 | ** During the climactic confrontation with the cabbie in "A Study in Pink", he uses the phrase “didn’t see that comin, didja?” twice within the same monologue. |
| 210 | ** For some, virtually every word out of Moriarty's mouth in "The Great Game" and the start of "A Scandal in Belgravia" (he seems to have graduated from Cesar Romero to Heath Ledger since.) |
| 211 | ** The case concerning the mysteriously killed man in "A Scandal in Belgravia" who turns out to have been killed by a boomerang has some calling it the most ridiculous side-mystery of the show as it presents absolutely no clues to the viewers, Sherlock sees the scene of death through his computer and then off-screen comes up with the solution that's bizarrely a boomerang. Some of the show's detractors will use this scene as the "best example" of a major critique of ''Sherlock'': its tendency to "Tell" rather than "Show". |
| 212 | ** "The Hounds Of Baskerville": |
| 213 | *** The opening scene. The way it's shot, the cheesy pounding music, and especially the young Henry's scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" |
| 214 | *** The entire "mind palace" bit, which consists of Sherlock making funny faces and waving his hands dramatically through incredibly fast-paced editing and rapid cuts while conjuring random words, images, and sounds (including a dog barking, an Music/ElvisPresley lyric, and a bit of music that most people recognize as the ''[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Monty Python]]'' theme) in an attempt to show Sherlock's train of thought. It's even funnier if you imagine what it looks like to an outside observer. Quite a number of people to stumble across it years later are baffled to discover that it's not a funny edit or a parody; that's just how the scene looks. |
| 215 | ** Two glorious examples in "His Last Vow": First is Sherlock [[spoiler:dramatically crawling up the stairs back to his mind palace complete with infinitely swelling music]], second is [[spoiler:Magnussen enjoying himself just a little too much while going through the files in his own mind palace]]. |
| 216 | ** The sounds John makes with his mouth in "The Six Thatchers" after [[spoiler:Mary dies in his arms]]. |
| 217 | ** [[spoiler: The way John and Sherlock burst out the windows of 221B Baker Street in "The Final Problem", John ''especially'' with his goofy expression]]. |
| 218 | * NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognise: Some viewers saw the identity of Moriarty coming due to this trope. |
| 219 | * NeverLiveItDown: Sherlock deducing that a man got killed by a boomerang and that the owner of a phone was an alcoholic for having scratches in his charging jack has been infamous online, having many people mock them, with the shows detractors highlighting them as examples of BatDeduction / ConvictionByCounterfactualClue. |
| 220 | * OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: Despite co-creator Mark Gatiss being gay, a faction of the fanbase is convinced that the show is homophobic, due to the constant in-universe and out-of-universe teasing and hinting about the possibility of John/Sherlock [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians never being fulfilled]] with a canon sexual relationship, Irene Adler identifying initially as a lesbian (although with interpretations of the context the truth of this statement can go different ways) but then falling for Sherlock, and major villains Jim Moriarty and [[spoiler:Eurus Holmes]] both being hinted to be {{Depraved Bisexual}}s. |
| 221 | * OlderThanTheyThink: |
| 222 | ** When the series was first announced, there was some minor purist outrage at the very idea of taking Sherlock Holmes out of his Victorian milieu and into the modern day. Both Moffat and Gatiss pointed out that the Creator/BasilRathbone movies, among others, had adapted Holmes' stories to a contemporary setting as well. |
| 223 | ** The Mind Palace wasn't an invention of the writers, but a real of aiding memory that dates back to Ancient Rome called the "Method of Loci". |
| 224 | ** Sherlock having a [[spoiler: sister]] actually first occurred in the Literature/EnolaHolmes books. |
| 225 | * ParanoiaFuel: Have ''you'' ever taken conventional wisdom as a given, because you heard it in the news or read it in a history book? |
| 226 | * RecurringFanonCharacter: After the first season aired, the fandom speculated about who Jim Moriarty's associates might be, and came up with a modernized version of Sebastian Moran, Moriarty's second-in-command in the original Sherlock Holmes stories who appeared in numerous ''Sherlock'' fanfics. A minor villain named "Moran" eventually appeared in "The Empty Hearse", but has nothing in common with the Conan Doyle character, and [[spoiler:the show's version of Mary Morstan]] ends up being a CompositeCharacter of Moran, [[spoiler:her Conan Doyle original, and the unnamed woman who killed Charles Augustus Milverton]]. |
| 227 | ** Alex Moran-Moriarty is a popular FanCreatedOffspring of Moran and Moriarty. Hamish Holmes-Watson is another example, the hypothetical child of John and Sherlock. The two are often shipped together. |
| 228 | * RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: |
| 229 | ** Anderson is now very much liked by most fans after "Many Happy Returns". |
| 230 | ** Most surprisingly, though, ''Kitty Riley'' of all people is getting this, as more fans are slowly becoming sympathetic to her after they learned how Moriarty had used her. |
| 231 | * RonTheDeathEater: Donovan and Anderson have been hit HARD by this in the aftermath of ''Reichenbach''. It frequently gets uncomfortably sexist in Donovan's case (witness the Administrivia/EditWar over her page on the fan-wiki). Though Anderson seems to have redeemed himself with his Atoner personality in Season 3. |
| 232 | * TheScrappy: Eurus Holmes is consistently disliked by every side of ''Sherlock'' viewers for accumulating criticisms people had with the series. She is an UnknownRelative who hijacks the final episode, the plot twists regarding her increasingly creep into fantastic and unbelievable territories (including that she made Sherlock remember his best friend as his childhood dog), her intelligence is another InformedAttribute (her ability is more like CompellingVoice power), and she ultimately gets away with murders as Sherlock forgives her because she just wanted to be loved. Tellingly, she's commonly cited as the reason reviewers disliked Season 4 and lambasted "The Final Problem". |
| 233 | * SeasonalRot: |
| 234 | ** Season 3 had received some complaints from fans who felt it leaned too heavily on meta humour and interpersonal drama (to the point where the mysteries almost seemed like afterthoughts). Overall, though, the third season remained popular with fans and critics, and suffered mostly from coming after the [[ToughActToFollow extremely well-received season 2.]] |
| 235 | ** Season 4 has the weakest reception of the entire show among critics and audiences alike. Some enjoyed the season for what it is, such as exploring the characters like Sherlock's vulnerable personality, but it was heavily criticized for weak plotlines and writing: the overeliance on BaitAndSwitch fakeouts, increasingly unbelievable one-upping plot twists, the absurdity of Eurus (Sherlock's previously unmentioned sister who is even smarter than him), and a controversial potential final episode made it fail to live up to its beloved predecessors, which even some supporters of the season admit. Whereas the first three seasons easily racked up scores in the 90s (with the first season getting a perfect 100) on Website/RottenTomatoes, Season 4 couldn't even clear 70, and is the only season to get a "rotten" audience score with a dismal 36%. |
| 236 | * ShipsThatPassInTheNight: |
| 237 | ** Mycroft/Lestrade is surprisingly popular considering they have almost never been in a scene together. |
| 238 | *** Although considering Mycroft ''is'' Big Brother (both literally and figuratively), since Lestrade is on the police force, and both are closely tied to Sherlock Holmes, it's not a far reach to assume they do know each other. Besides, when has something like that slowed down fans? After "Baskerville", when it's implied that ''Mycroft'' sent Lestrade to Dartmoor to check up on John and Sherlock, the ship has gained even more steam. |
| 239 | *** Barring that, they might have simply paired them together ''because'' they don't share any screen time, as a way to create something new without interfering with the show's already delicate and convoluted web of shipping. Basically a long-term FanficMagnet. |
| 240 | *** As of "The Final Problem," Mofftiss actually made an oblique reference to Mystrade. |
| 241 | ** Sherlock/Molly and Sherlock/Moriarty gained massive popularity in the fandom after the Season 3 premiere. |
| 242 | * ShipToShipCombat: Involving a straight man, a gay woman and a potentially asexual virgin MarriedToTheJob. Now ''that'' is talent. |
| 243 | ** As Sherlock/Molly has become more popular after Series Two, it has had its own run-ins with Sherlock/John fans. Surprisingly, Sherlock/Molly shippers get along fairly well with Sherlock/Irene shippers. |
| 244 | ** The Johnlock shippers have their own wars with the John/Mary and the John/Mary/Sherlock shippers after season 3. |
| 245 | ** Hell, this happens ''in-universe'': Anderson ships Sherlock/Molly, while one of the members of his 'Sherlock Lives' conspiracy groups ships Sherlock/Moriarty. Naturally, this devolves into [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall arguing]]. |
| 246 | * ShockingMoments: |
| 247 | ** The ending to "A Scandal in Belgravia." [[spoiler: Irene's dead. No, she's alive. Irene's escaped. She's in love with Sherlock. She's dead without that information. Mycroft confims she's dead… and Sherlock's saved her. HSQ indeed.]] |
| 248 | ** The ending to "[[{{Recap/SherlockS02E03TheReichenbachFall}} The Reichenbach Fall]]". Even when you know it's coming. ''Especially'' when you know it's coming. [[spoiler: John saw Sherlock fall. He touched his body. How on ''earth'' do they come back from that? Possible answer: It helps attempting to fake a death when you have a forensic pathologist who does nearly anything for you.]] |
| 249 | ** Season 3's finale is probably the greatest one yet. [[spoiler: Sherlock leaves by plane after murdering Charles Magnussen, the villain of the season. Cue a fake-out cut to the "credits". But wait! A threatening message spreads through the country! Who could it be for? Who's it from? ''It's from [[BackFromTheDead Moriarty.]]'' ]] |
| 250 | ** How does the first episode of Series 4 end? [[spoiler:Mary being killed off, with it even (possibly) leading to the end of John and Sherlock's friendship, as by the end of the episode he wants ''nothing'' to do with him]]. |
| 251 | ** And then the next episode tops it with the reveal that the BigBad in Season 4 is [[spoiler: Eurus, the previously-unmentioned sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, who reveals herself as an ingenious MasterOfDisguise and ends the episode by apparently shooting John in the head.]] |
| 252 | ** ''All'' of "The Final Problem", from [[spoiler: Eurus's MindRape of her own brothers (and John) to the reveal of Redbeard]]. |
| 253 | * SoOkayItsAverage: The unaired {{Pilot}}. Definitely a great crime drama with the same quality of acting and direction, but probably didn't have the epic, high-budget treatment the final product deserved, and might not have satisfied [[HypeBacklash the incredibly high expectations some might have for such a famous property]]. Also, no [[EnsembleDarkhorse Mycroft]]. |
| 254 | * SophomoreSlump: Applied to episodes rather than seasons. "The Blind Banker", the second episode of the series, is almost universally considered to be the weakest [[note]]at least until the fourth season[[/note]] due to its plot holes, Sherlock's less-than-clever approach to the mystery, and its stereotypical YellowPeril villains. |
| 255 | * SpecialEffectFailure: A number of examples: |
| 256 | ** In "A Study in Pink", the nail marks spelling out 'Rache' next to the body of the woman in pink are only visible in the couple of shots where they're relevant to Sherlock's deductions. |
| 257 | ** In "The Blind Banker", the villain fires a gun repeatedly in a museum. There's no sound of bullet impacts, and nothing at all gets hit, even when he's firing directly towards Sherlock while he's surrounded by glass cases. While it's not beyond the realm of possibility the bullets missed -everything- that would have broken visibly, it does strain belief and indicate they were probably running around in the real museum just after hours and couldn't move anything around to set up prop cases. |
| 258 | *** Actually, in the draft of the script, there was a line indicating that the bullets were in fact blanks. The line was removed in the final version, but the possibility remains. |
| 259 | ** In "The Reichenbach Fall", in a scene while Sherlock is in the foreground in the police station, the room around him goes dark to increase the contrast of the graphic effects playing out showing Sherlock's thought processes while dissecting a clue. When he's finished ''(twice!)'', the graphics go away and the room lights up again. But rather than having darkened the scene in post-production, they had literally turned the lights off in the room, so when they come on again, a dozen ceiling florescent bulbs flicker madly to life. |
| 260 | ** In "His Last Vow", after [[spoiler:being shot]], Sherlock falls backwards in stylistic slow motion as the room tilts along with him. While otherwise being very well done, in the background, a large flower vase begins to slide across the floor as the room tilts out from under it. |
| 261 | ** At the beginning of "The Six Thatchers", John is seen writing a new blog post, but is actually just typing while staring at a [[http://i.imgur.com/jf3JGwr.png screenshot]] of his blog, with the Windows 10 Photos app's toolbar ''fully visible''. Apparently, nobody bothered fixing it in post or just… displaying the image in fullscreen mode. |
| 262 | ** The absolutely awful CGI [[spoiler:flames]] in "The Final Problem" when [[spoiler:Sherlock and John jump out of the windows of 221B as a grenade explodes.]] |
| 263 | * SpoiledByTheFormat: The Season 4 trailers all made Culverton Smith out to be the [[{{BigBad}} Big Bad]], but as soon as adverts revealed that he was to be taking centre stage of the second episode (by tradition a self contained story with its own villain), it became apparent that that was not going to be the case. |
| 264 | * {{Squick}}: |
| 265 | ** The entire sequence between Magnussen and Elizabeth Smallwood. He touches her hand, fights her attempts to break away and describes [[spoiler: the underage girl her husband exchanged elicit letters with]] as "delicious," "yummy" and "yum yum." He even [[spoiler: ''[[LecherousLicking licks her face]].'']] |
| 266 | ** There's something uncomfortable about [[spoiler: Eurus]] asking Sherlock, [[spoiler: her brother,]] if he's had sex, before describing her own sexual escapades. |
| 267 | * StoicWoobie: Major Sholto, granted even if it was featured in "The Sign of Three" but still: [[spoiler: Living with guilt for the death of a team you lead '''and''' having burns all over your body will do that for a man]]. Sholto was ''so'' broken he [[spoiler: was '''willing to let himself die''' at John's wedding!]] |
| 268 | * TakeThatScrappy: In the faux-news report of Sherlock's return released shortly after Season 3, Kitty not only admits she was wrong, but then apologizes and [[PanderingToTheBase talks at length about how stupid she was]]. This actually [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap made many fans forgive her.]] |
| 269 | * ThemePairing: Both Martin Crieff (from ''Radio/CabinPressure'') and Molly Hooper are rather [[TheWoobie unfortunate in many aspects of their lives]] and overdue for something nice to happen to them. There's also the fact that Molly pines after Sherlock, who's played by Benedict Cumberbatch, the same guy who played Martin Crieff. |
| 270 | * TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some die-hard fans of the original novels dislike the characterizations which have been given to Sherlock, Mycroft, and/or John. |
| 271 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: More than a few viewers would have liked to see more of Sarah Sawyer, John's good-humoured and smart girlfriend from the first series. Sadly, she and John break up offscreen by the time of the second series. |
| 272 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In "The Lying Detective", we learn that [[spoiler: Eurus has been posing as John's therapist; she was also the woman he'd been having a text-based affair with, and they met face to face then at least once.]] The following episode reveals that, unless you're a supergenius like Mycroft and Sherlock, she can implant orders into your mind just by talking to you. You'd think this would be set-up for her having some control over [[spoiler: John.]] Nope! |
| 273 | * UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: The reveal that [[spoiler:Eurus Holmes just wanted to be loved by Sherlock]] falls a bit flat considering that [[spoiler: she killed his best friend when they were all children because she wanted Sherlock to play with her, has been acting like a psychopath for most of the episode, played {{Deadly Game}}s with her brothers, forced a guy to kill his family and executed numerous hostages. Her redemption basically amounts to saving Watson from a trap that she herself put him into. Not to mention the fact that one of the first things we learn about her is how she [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] and murdered a nurse - leaving the corpse utterly unrecognisable - simply ForTheEvulz.]] |
| 274 | * SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: This show uses some very creative and flashy transitions (like superimposing a character from one scene over the scene they are transitioning to, as if the character is pulling away their own scene to bring us to the next one). It also does things like place the thoughts of Sherlock or the text messages a character is reading onscreen as if they were being shown in an alternate reality display, giving the series an interesting high-tech feel. |
| 275 | * TheWoobie: |
| 276 | ** Molly. Part of the reason why Watson, Lestrade and Mrs Hudson are so kind to her because they clearly recognise that absolutely nothing ever works out for her. ''Nothing''. |
| 277 | *** Let's focus on "Scandal" in the morgue. When Sherlock tells her she didn't have to come in, she says "It's all right, everyone else was busy with Christmas." Apparently, the girl is completely alone as well, which just makes her clinging to Sherlock all the more gut-wrenching. |
| 278 | *** Plus, [[http://www.mollyhooper.co.uk/blog/01april her blog]], in which she documents her falling in love with Sherlock to falling in love with Jim to [[spoiler: finding out that Jim is Moriarty]]. Unlike the other characters' blogs, this one ranges into TearJerker territory. A fan asked Moffat if anything was going to go right in her life. All he got was a vague "Well…", implying that her Woobie status isn't going anywhere for a while. |
| 279 | *** Molly falls into this so hard that [[spoiler:even ''Sherlock'' feels bad for her, after he humiliates her over a present he deduced she meant to give to a boyfriend, only to find out that it was her present for him. She tells Sherlock, in the most heartbreaking way possible, that he only ever says nasty things to her. Sherlock just looks horrified, before apologizing and kissing her on the cheek. This is from a guy who describes himself as a "high-functioning sociopath".]] |
| 280 | *** We're reminded once more of her Woobie status in "The Final Problem" when [[spoiler:Eurus apparently has her house rigged to explode with a bomb in three minutes[[note]]She later claimed she was bluffing about this, but seeing how completely serious she was with her previous threats, Sherlock had every reason to believe it was the truth[[/note]] unless Sherlock got Molly to say "I love you" to him over the phone. Molly is reduced to tears as Sherlock forces her to admit her love for him out loud, pretty much humiliating her (and himself, as he had to say the words to her ''twice'' in order to get her to say them to him). The worst part is, Sherlock certainly didn't want to do it and clearly felt terrible, and when he found out that the threat was fake and Molly was never really in danger, he goes into a HeroicBSOD. That's right, even ''Sherlock'' recognized how much of a Woobie she was]]. |
| 281 | ** Henry. His mother died when he was very young, then ''he watched his father DIE'' [[spoiler: by the hands of Dr. Frankland, but he was manipulated into thinking it was a monsterous Hound]], becoming an orphan from the age of seven, which left HUGE mental scars on him, so much so that everybody takes him as mentally disturbed. And he apparently doesn't have much of a lovelife or any nearby relatives. And what's worse is [[spoiler: Dr. Frankland is STILL DOING IT TO HIM until Sherlock and Watson solve the case, and Henry almost commits ''suicide'' over it. No wonder, when he finally learned the truth, he tried to attack Frankland. It's amazing he even survived the episode.]] |
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