All pix click back to where I found them.
This has been in my head a long time about the whole Johnlock thing. It's very distracting that we're always seeing John's POV about he's not gay, they're not in a relationship, etc. Let's look at Sherlock for a sec.
Sherlock is the Emperor of factual information, and often leaves out details that others don't catch. He doesn't stop and explain. I love this kind of writing. I couldn't help noticing that Sherlock never corrected Angelo bringing the candle for his date. Angelo knows Sherlock. He assumes Sherlock is on a date. This alone implies mountains of stuff about Sherlock, both in his mind and in other people's minds.
When Sherlock introduced John as 'my friend' to Sebastian at the bank, it's quickly revealed that Sebastian knows Sherlock from their college days. It is significant that Sherlock would introduce a 'friend' (as opposed to colleague, like John insisted) to someone who probably made remarks about Sherlock being too weird to ever have a significant relationship (point blank, boyfriend). Sherlock knew this.
Sherlock never questioned John and Irene meeting up. He heard the entire conversation. "You jealous?" "I don't know, probably." He didn't question two people 'fighting' over him. It felt very much like a current bumping into an ex. Even though we see John feeling rather left in the dark, even he can feel this is a triangle.
Because I'm asexual pangender and talk about being sapiosexual in brain sex, robot style (although I didn't know there was a term for it when I wrote that), I know that people don't have to have orientations or even be sexually active to be in love with other people and it still feel very sexual. They don't have to consummate relationships to feel deeply bonded with them, to feel ownership, to say 'mine'. "My friend." Sherlock is very careful with his words, and he always means them. He took possession of John immediately, perhaps like someone does a pet at first, but nonetheless, the world around him knew he owned John, and that John accepted and liked being owned as this "my friend".
In fact, this turned into John saying "My friend" over and over when he thought he'd lost Sherlock. Not just any friend, not just a friend- "My. Friend." And as I've pointed out (links below), if you really look at John, Sherlock is his only real friend up to this point, because in this context, acquaintances don't count as friends. He loves Sherlock.
Sherlock was so sure of this relationship that when he showed back up, he didn't take into account that John would be so upset. Sherlock erroneously assumed John would fall right back into step with him, because they were each others', and time passing would never change how they felt for each other. And it didn't, but there was definitely a readjustment period.
Mary replacing Irene in the triangle is a neat way to show Sherlock growing emotionally, in several scenes him identifying with Mary as one of John's emotional consorts. Mary and Sherlock easily share John, something Irene hadn't done.
Some of us are wondering if Irene will come back and upset the balance. Season 4 is rumored to get ugly and much more upsetting than previous, and we all know the previous seasons were upsetting enough. I would be in heaven if Irene and Moriarty both came back and had a bunch of kids and started a gangster baseball team, but we know that can't happen. I'm terrified something will happen to Molly, because she stepped into the 'sister' role so well, working alongside Sherlock at the morgue. I can't help wondering if Sherlock will finally be forced into that last 'I love you' scene with a dying brother or something, and I don't even want to think about what's going to tear John up if/when something happens to Mary and/or the baby. As much as a large part of the fandom wants a good scene about how close they really are, I really don't want to be destroyed seeing John having a meltdown in Sherlock's arms after something happens to Mary.
Keep in mind this entire show is about Sherlock and John. I questioned what started this story in my post John Carl Powers Watson and discussed what's in Sherlock's mind regarding John in the post f(x) where x = "reflection John". I like thinking about John, as we've seen in blogger on blogger on blogger. John is kind of slow to pick up on a few things, but the only one who can keep up with Sherlock, and I find myself identifying with him as much as I do Sherlock, between PTSD and autism spectrum.
I'm sorry this is difficult to read |
I personally don't have a preference for whether Sherlock and John ever go the next step on TV and what is or isn't canon, but shows like this do have a big impact on both straight and LGBT communities. I don't think we need to demand a pro or con statement either way to have a great story, and the story is about Sherlock and John getting through all this stuff together, ups and downs and still there for each other. I think the writers would be crazy to pick one community to represent since that would create havoc, and I think they're geniuses keeping the question up in the air because it helps sales. Having said that, I personally feel like some of the LGBT community being so demanding is just as insensitive and bigoted as the straight community not recognizing it, and I'm standing up for some of us on the side applauding that it's just very well done all the way around anyway, and we'll take it because we are sapiosexual.
"Brainy is the new sexy."