The Natural Conclusion of Things
Now, I wasn’t exactly looking for a blatant confirmation of a romantic relationship between Sherlock and John, but it seemed logical for it to appear, particularly after The Lying Detective.
If you put a rifle on the wall in scene 1, it has to get fired before the end of the story. Announcing that John and Sherlock both need a romantic connection in The Lying Detective is one such rifle.
I wasn’t expecting it to be obvious, and it’s not, not entirely, but yeah, it’s there.
This episode isn’t about Sherlock and John and a change in their relationship, to be clear. It’s about why Sherlock is what he is. But slid in there is the assumption that Sherlock and John are back together, the way they haven’t been since The Reichenbach Fall, but this time with eyes wide open. They’re together and talking this time, that’s where we left them with The Lying Detective. They are finally, finally talking to each other about their feelings in a way they never did before. This story doesn’t address those steps directly, it certainly addresses them obliquely.
First: Mycroft wants to talk about their sister alone because “It’s family.” John stays in the conversation because Sherlock wants him there for the same reason. Sherlock considers John family. John considers himself family as well; they are in agreement about it, and John doesn’t offer to go, or move to step away. On its own, that’s a lovely sentiment shared between them, but what it suggests is that John is not only his friend. That’s nice, but only the first part of why I think they’ve moved their relationship to a new place.
Second: Eurus hears Sherlock play one note on his violin and knows that he’s had sex. That’s news! Who’s Sherlock having sex with? Eurus assumes it’s a woman. That’s the same kind of mistake Sherlock made in A Study in Pink. But who else would it be? It’s John.
Third: when John finds another DVD left by Mary, he doesn’t watch it alone. Sherlock needs come over to watch it with him. Sherlock is fully engaged in John’s emotional life at this point, just as John is fully engaged in Sherlock’s, family and all.
Most of this story is game face time, so other than a shot of them co-parenting, and them physically putting their lives back together at the end, there isn’t time for them to show much more. Except that’s sort of the point: they are working as a unit through this whole story, a truly complete unit. They are at peace with each other, they trust each other, they know each other. There is not a flicker of doubt left about each other.
Nothing will ever come between them again.
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