just a word about John’s violence towards Sherlock
In reply to a few people asking how a johnlocker can still be on board for johnlock after the scene where John attacks Sherlock, I just want to give my 10cents worth. I debated whether or not to comment, as it’s difficult in this medium to really debate. But others are posting on this issue and not all sides of the spectrum are being covered. So here goes. Not in anyway dismissing John’s violent and OTT reaction in the morgue. It was horrific, sickening and unnessasary. I do know that the writers and actors know enough about the psychology of their characters to have considered this scene in great depth. So why did they include it? I believe that they want to deliver a full picture of John as a broken man, who struggles daily with his choices, his own nature and his desires. Showing John loose it as they did in TLD, points to John being far from mentally fully healed. Not just from recent events but from a lifetime of issues.
John found someone, way back in that lab at Barts, he found his soul mate. THE ONE. For a man who had little family support, no close friends and who was not in a relationship with a significant other, finding Sherlock must have been like Nirvana. This mercurial, brilliant, beautiful sprite of a man who immediately accepted John, knew John and wanted John. Connection established like a lightening bolt. So losing that connection with Sherlock to a faked death robbed John of his sense of security. When this occurs people experience a primal feeling of panic. It triggers an alarm in the brain’s amygdala, our fear center, where we become attuned to threats of all kinds. Once the amygdala sends out an alarm, we don’t think—we act. The threat can come from the outside world or from our own inner demons, it’s our perception that counts, not the reality. The Fall was a severance of his primary connection due to outside forces but the second time this occurs it’s John’s inner demons that are the culprit. He channels all his anger, his regrets, his guilt, towards a ‘safe’ target; the person that loves him most in the world. In turn John severed his own sense of security and thus his amygdala sent out the panic alarm and Sherlock becomes a threat. A threat to his safety, his emotional stability and his sanity. John is terrified.
The moment he has to wrestle the scalpel from Sherlock, he acted on his core emotions, and then he could not control himself. He was in a primal violent crisis. He was beating up himself as much as Sherlock.
The solution to healing this side of damaged John? It’s touch. Primal connection with a person he trusts, eye contact and being held. Yes, and sex if it’s fuelled by emotion. The connection needs to be restored and nurtured. Sherlock knows. The writers know. They did research on this. Being held, as we were held as children, is the primary start to rebuilding that connection. Sherlock knew to stop speaking, and just hold John. Sherlock now has to establish the stability and safety for John in their emotional relationship. By hitting rock bottom [and Martin or Ben commented on this in the behind the scenes video] they can now build a new, better, relationship. [I think Benedict even said, they will never sink to this depth again]
What we saw in TLD was a very real reaction from John, shocking, disturbing and extreme. In real life we would be advising the victim to file a restraining order and the perpetrator to seek anger management during incarceration. In a drama I believe that the writers intention is to show all aspects humanity and the various ramifications. In this case they showed John’s broken psyche, the horrific way he vented his guilt and shame, and finally how healing can and should take place if the relationship is to survive.
Drama represents life, humanity in all it’s diverse forms, it does not always present a lesson to be learned, nor a comment on social issues, but allows the reader/viewer to reflect and reach conclusions. Violence occurs in many relationships across the globe, and for many different reasons. Good people have times when they can be violent, just as bad people have times of empathy and kindness. I deal with violent behaviour in my practice, everyday. If I were to condemn and be punitive to those people, then they would never heal. If I did not see their fractures, their humanity, then I could not do my job. The very core of our psyche, the lizard brain, is love or fear, plus fight or flight. It’s in every one of us given the right circumstances. So to deny John and Sherlock their chance to heal and love based on a crisis point John experienced would be inhumane.
[And before anyone mentions it, the Molly slapping Sherlock issue was completely different. She was not in crisis]
dededos
prguitarman
kianamaiart
izzy806
tangentwithtanner
