A very thoughtful Ben gave us his views on love this weekend. Not a rehearsed statement, no, it was spontaneous. It began by placing himself in his Sherlock characterâs view of love and then it morphed into his own view on the subject. Ben thinks Sherlock sees love as a âsecret thingâ. He reminds us that JOHN [note here that Ben changes from the formal âDr Watsonâ to the intimate âJohnâ on this subject] questions him on this, saying John reminds him that love is a good thing to be âoutâ in the world. Oh lord, the implications both of the characters and their real life are overflowing here. Note how Ben is totally focused, leaning forward, full steady gaze off into the back of the audience. Heâs in reflective mode. Words he uses: âUnabashedâ, âopenâ, ânot something to be embarrassed aboutâ all mean the same thing in this context; unashamed. He adds âdeeply privateâ [with the caveat of âobviouslyâ added] as a qualifier hinting at his need for privacy but also to illustrate that there are levels to this issue and one is to be open and unashamed, the other is to keep a layer of love deeply private. Ben has always had difficulty disassociating himself from his characters, especially where Sherlock is concerned, and here itâs apparent that his own views/experience of love is driving the answer about Sherlock.Â
In context of the preceding comments, and then the proceeding, we get a glimpse of something. Iâve discussed the preceding in an earlier post. In the proceeding Ben is asked by the interviewer about Benâs influence on his character of Sherlock. Ben laughs and says he doesnât have much influence at all, as Mofftiss have a firm control there. He touches his ear and covers the side of his face closest to the interviewer with his hand; guarding. Heâs aware he has more influence than heâs admitting, but given the laugh and the statement about the writers, heâs keeping this fact close to his chest. [Did the writers know? And if they did was it a problem?] He then jumps from saying âIâ and using first person to âWEâ and he keeps this up for the duration of the topic. He cannot separate himself and Martin when discussing the show. [He does this a lot] He says Sherlock is in Mofftissâ blood then adds âobviously itâs in our blood too now.â But he reminds himself that the show and the interpretation of the characters firmly belong to Steven and Mark, as he repeats 3 TIMES, âthemâ, âthemâ âthemâ. That is a mantra he has adopted to discipline himself, indicating an inner conflict. His power over the character IS limited and he and the writers may not agree on that character. [Similar indication to Martinâs use of the word âifâ regarding the ending montage in TFPâŠ.Martin is more subtle and succinct]Â
Ben finally ends this segment of the talk with a joke that falls a bit flat. He suggests Molly and Mrs H could hook up. A few fans gave a whoop, but he knows itâs fell flat indicated by giving a bit of a waffle then some awkward body language; he sits up straight in the chair, shakes his head then bends down saying âheâll get into trouble nowâ but he wonât, we all know that, as does he. Itâs an awkward exit to the subject. He adds the summation about the writers and the show being a mash up of a game plan, happenstance and retro-fit.Â
As a therapist I would have made notes on his words re Sherlockâs version of love, one which he plays out exquisitely, verses his verbal description of Sherlockâs inability to love. A huge dichotomy there. Plus his use of synonyms for âunashamedâ when saying what love should be. Sherlock isnât ashamed, maybe John struggles in that regard but not Sherlock. Heâs just silent on the subject verbally and emoting love non-verbally in everything he does. So I would ask why he needed to reiterate the point that love shouldnât be kept secret? What love is secret?
Ben finds it difficult to separate himself from Sherlock, and also to separate Martin/John from the equation. And due to his speaking style, over talking, he reveals things to the listener. Taken as a whole, his public statements have caused huge confusion and division in the fandom, both about Sherlock and about himself. Ben is far more John Watson in real life than Sherlock Holmes. ButâŠthey have always said that havenât they?Â
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