(This is about Sherlock BBC)
So we were rewatching Sherlock (BBC), season 2 episode 2 (Hounds of Baskerville) because why not
And I caught something we’ve never caught before,
Or I guess we did & didn’t completely process it.
So this is a scene in the episode we’re referencing, & this is a summary of what happens:
((using “---" to indicate beginning & ending of scene/quoting))
---
John is talking to Greg (Lestrade) about Sherlock.
John: “You know he’s actually pleased you’re here? Secretly pleased.”
Greg: “Is he? That’s nice.”
Greg: “I suppose he likes having all the same faces back together. Appeals to his…his…”
John: “Asperger’s?”
---
So…
I guess it went over our head because of the fact that
we don’t really associate Asperger’s with anything (because it’s outdated)?
But I just realised—
Asperger’s is an outdated term for what was classified as “high functioning autistic”.
//John Watson (essentially) called Sherlock Holmes autistic.//
Sherlock calls himself a sociopath. Why?
Because he’s traumatized.
Because he struggles to understand & convey emotion.
“I don’t understand sentiment.”
Sherlock struggles with cognitive empathy.
So he calls himself a sociopath, because it sounds more intimidating to clients than “I’m autistic.”
And it hit me why we relate so much to Sherlock.
Sherlock is neurodivergent.
Sherlock is legitimately just a traumatized neurodivergent person who masked for too long
and now he can’t mask anymore/stopped masking so people think he’s “weird”/odd.
It’s probably also why he’s an addict; neurodivergent people tend to be more impulsive,
& we suspect he may also be/have ADHD (he could be both ADHD & autistic - it would explain a lot).
And it could also explain the apology scene
Where Sherlock knows what he means by “I don’t have friends; I just have one.”
But John (likely neurotypical/just ADHD) thinks Sherlock means /Sherlock/ is his own (& only) friend
and then Sherlock is like “wait” & tries to apologise by turning John’s compliments back on him.
“You’re amazing, you’re fantastic”, compliments that made him feel good,
so he tried to empathize with John by reflecting them back.
We’ve done it too; take the other person’s compliments or apology and reflect it back
Because sometimes you just can’t understand how other people feel,
but you know they don’t feel well, and you want to help.
Sherlock is compassionate, and tries to console John the only way he knows how.
Sherlock takes a moment to recognise he messed up/that John didn’t understand what he meant (shown by John’s response),
but once he does he immediately tries to apologise & fix it.
(It’s also a sign he’s comforted by John & John’s acceptance of him,
because (for some of us) when you don’t understand how to comfort people as a neurodivergent person,
sometimes your only option is to bounce back what comforted you.
We empathize & comfort others the same way;
take a compliment or apology that made us feel good and bounce it back.)
So basically Sherlock showed, in a neurodivergent way, that he really does like & appreciate John.
It takes a lot of effort to communicate with people who aren’t neurodivergent the same way you are.
Sherlock made the effort to communicate with John,
even after he scoffed at how “simple” John was for expecting Sherlock to apologise to Mrs. Hudson when he upset her earlier (in the same episode).
Also, John proved he understands Sherlock better than anyone thinks he does
Because he recognised when Sherlock appreciated that Greg was there,
even though Sherlock couldn’t properly express it.
((This may also be useful for Johnlock shippers because understanding neurodivergencies may help you write Sherlock & how he shows affection differently in a way that feels canon &/or genuine))
Also it shows Sherlock is used to ableism—
Because everyone thinks he’s weird, a ‘bloody psychopath’,
And when John is like “wow that’s amazing”
Sherlock is like ‘woah you’re nice’ & stares blankly, like “that’s not what they usually say”
and John is like “what do people usually say?”
Sherlock responds that they tell him to “‘Piss off’.”
AKA Sherlock is used to people smashing his conversations, tangents, etc.
He’s used to his main special interest (detective work) being crushed.
He’s used to being told to fuck off or that he’s showing off
When he genuinely just enjoys what he does.
I have nowhere else to put this so have this random knowledge?
~Aiden
