The Parental Unit
Over the years, the fandom has created several theories as to what kind of people could have possibly raised men like Sherlock and Mycroft. And, throughout the first two seasons of the show, imaginations were let to run wild.
I have seen several of these theories; from abusive and neglectful parents, to mentally ill and/or actively addicted, or the premature -and often traumatic- death of at least one parent (sometimes a third family member, like a sibling). The focus is often given to “Mummy Holmes”, whom the Holmes Brothers refer to on more than one occasion throughout the show, unlike their father, who remains unmentioned.
Now, the mentions of Mummy are rather revealing, I think. The first time she is mentioned is in A Study in Pink, for only a brief bit of dialogue (as is often the case for whatever insight we get into the backgrounds of all the characters in the show), and is -as often- one of the many “tools” Mycroft dangles in Sherlock’s face. I always thought that bit of dialogue was an attempt to “keep Sherlock in check”, so to speak. And Sherlock’s response, I always thought, is rather interesting.
Mycroft mentions how Sherlock’s rather brusque behaviour has always upset Mummy, and Sherlock retaliates insinuating it is Mycroft who often gets on her bad side. It is also during that one conversation that we know Mummy is still alive. But we hear nothing of Mr. Holmes.
Later, in A Scandal in Belgravia, Mycroft uses Mummy against Sherlock once again. It appears a simple enough jape, an “I’ll be Mummy” while Sherlock is the petulant toddler. But, again, Sherlock reveals something that, to me, has always been charged with meaning. A quick and humorous “and that’s a whole childhood in a nutshell.”
There’s nothing on Mr. Holmes yet again, by the way.
We don’t hear of the parental unit again until series three, and before we go into that mess, I do want to explore a bit more of what we previously knew. After all, those little mentions and the dynamic between the brothers could be seen to imply that their mother is something of a sore point and easy to level against Sherlock, while Mycroft seems to have a particular tension when it comes to her. Also, the relationship between Mycroft and Sherlock appears strained from episode one, even if we grow to know them better and recognize that there truly is a lot of love there. However, Mycroft always treats (and frankly sees) Sherlock as a child he is completely responsible for, parental unit or not; meanwhile, Sherlock (let’s face it) acts like a toddler with poor manners every time his older brother is near. Some could argue that is simply a common behaviour between siblings. But I don’t think so.
As an older sister myself, I know I have never been the person who teaches my younger sibling the most primordial of her life philosophy (caring isn’t an advantage), nor am I the one who struggles for her to get dressed or behave “properly” wherever I take her. That, I think, is often more the behaviour a parent has towards their child. And that little jape about Mycroft being Mummy only seems to establish that further in my mind.
In fact, before series 3, I always thought that Mycroft had been Sherlock’s primary caregiver, and that while Mrs. Holmes was very clearly alive, she wasn’t as involved in parenting her children, even if she loved them; which is where the strain she has with Mycroft comes from. And perhaps even some of Sherlock’s outrage, especially if he is truly close to Mummy (something I never got from the older Holmes brother).
And then… the last two parts of the show… alright, let’s go.
I am amongst the dying species of individuals that don’t hate the last two series (particularly series 4), but it is very true that the genre of the show changed drastically during 3 & 4, as did the character dynamics. And amongst those is the dynamic of the Holmes Clan, specifically the role of the Parental Unit in the story. Or, more accurately, the fact that they now have one.
And I don’t like it. Here’s why.
During series 1 & 2 the Parental Unit became something of a mystery, a very clear part of what had made both Sherlock and Mycroft who they were, but without any details, all of which allowed our many theories and delightful fanfics. But, in The Empty Hearse, we see both Mummy and MR. HOLMES alive and well, and painfully common. This could have been an interesting take if we had seen the effects that two common parents would have on two very uncommon children, and then come to the conclusion that that is behind Mycroft’s extra care for Sherlock. But we don’t. We get a clever and witty mother, who is also a bit brusque (believable enough) and a rather bland father who just sits there and smiles; and they both seemed rather unbothered about the fact that their youngest just spent two years on the run while he dismantled a criminal network, sure “they’re glad all that dreadful stuff is over” but nothing more. And Holmes Father doesn’t really do anything, again. I truly don’t know if Mr. Holmes was always supposed to be there or if he was just added in so that both of Benedict’s parents could cameo on the show; I’m leaning towards the latter.
And after they fuss a bit, and Sherlock panics because he obviously cares more about his tenuous relationship with John than he does Billy Elliot (or whatever musical it was), both parents walk away. EXCEPT, we do get a little something of Mummy Holmes clearly being the only person that can truly reign Sherlock in, if only a bit. And that’s really the only part of the scene that I find relevant (other than Ben’s parents, but that’s separate to the story itself). Because we see Sherlock being soft, and relatively vulnerable with someone other than John and Mrs. Hudson. We never see Mycroft do that with anyone other than with Sherlock. In the words of the Consulting Detective, how very telling.
We see them again during His Last Vow, while celebrating Christmas along with the Watsons, and it’s all rather… underwhelming. Mycroft sasses his mother and she sasses him back, Mr. Holmes is off doing something nice, and Sherlock is plotting to drug his whole family. Probably not for the first time. Other than that, the focus rapidly shifts to Magnussen and Mary, and a delightful pair of scenes between the Holmes brothers that still squish my heart. But something I do think is clearer, is that Mummy fusses over Sherlock while she lectures Mycroft about laptops. This could be interpreted as simply over protection of her youngest, especially after he was recently hospitalized. And I did interpret it like that the first time, but now I’m not so sure, though we need to reach series 4 to clarify why.
What I do want to note is that small moment where we confirm exactly how Mycroft views Sherlock: a little boy with tears running down his cheeks that he needs to protect above anything else. In other words, his responsibility. I think you probably know where I’m going with this.
Then, series 4. Specifically, The Final Problem. Not what I expected, and a bit reaching, but I can work with it. So, here we go.
Eurus Holmes, the Other One, and one hell of a criminal. Now, I don’t want to focus on Moriarty, or the experiment itself or anything. I do want to focus on her role in Sherlock’s life and, consequently, Mycrofts. Because now we know that the older Holmes sibling has lived his entire life in fear of what Eurus could do to Sherlock, be it from afar or from the depths of the younger’s memory. And we also know that he has been trained by Uncle Rudy to be The British Government and keep Eurus in line. Just like we know he was taught to lie to his parents (and everyone, really, about what had truly happened). Because let’s remember that Mycroft was a child himself during the Victor Trevor is Redbeard debacle.
I do have one question, though. Ehem, WHERE THE HELL WERE MR AND MRS HOLMES, EXACTLY?
Eurus experiments on little Sherlock, makes him “steal from Mummy”, scared the living hell out of him, “drowns Redbeard” and, and I quote “MAKES HIM SCREAM ALL NIGHT” and the parental unit did… what, exactly? Now, this is my problem with BBC’s depiction of the Holmes parents, because they seeked to give us the explanation as to why Sherlock was who he was, and why Mycroft worried constantly, but they didn’t want to do it through the parents and so… they made them useless instead of abusive.
“Alone protects me.”
No wonder that became Sherlock’s coping mechanism after being both manipulated and abused by his sister, watching his house burn down and learning his only friend had been murdered… because Eurus wanted his attention, and no-one saw what was happening. Except for Mycroft. Now, one could argue that Eurus was too smart and could have tricked everyone, after all, she was a criminal mastermind. Only she wasn’t like that at five, was she? Oh, I’m sure she was incredibly smart, but she was still a child, and if Mummy is truly as smart as they wanted us to think, I have some trouble believing she didn’t see that there was something wrong. Because teenage Mycroft sure did. And I assume Mr. Holmes was off being nice somewhere, as that is his only character trait.
But, their failure isn’t only in the Eurus debacle while it was happening, it is also after. Sherlock forgets everything, rewrites his memories, in order to survive; and no-one did anything? No-one thought that child needed help? Because we are not led to believe he got it. All we know is that he was allowed to curl into himself, become prickly and aggressive in order to protect himself, and we know he was often mistreated by his peers (read: The Blind Banker). And the only guidance a young boy who had just experienced severe trauma received came from his teenage older brother, who was at most 14 at the time. Caring isn’t an advantage indeed.
That’s where my interpretation of her fussing over Sherlock more than she does Mycroft comes into play, because I think Mummy Holmes established a pattern of behaviour that we got to look into during His Last Vow; Sherlock got hurt, and the parental unit’s inaction didn’t make anything better. So, what if they feel guilty, particularly Mummy? And so they are soft with Sherlock as a way to make up for it, while Mycroft actually parents the younger boy and has a bit of resentment towards Mrs. and Mr. Holmes for not stepping up, perhaps ever. After all, Sherlock has a list, and Mycroft has a file.
And, to top it all off, we have Mummy’s “then he is very limited”, which, I’m sorry, but she’s got some nerve. Wasn’t it Uncle Rudy that actually incarcerated Eurus and groomed Mycroft to take over? Wasn’t it her (and Mr. Holmes, I suppose) that failed to act in defense of either of their children? Wasn't it Mycroft that took care of Sherlock and lived everyday in fear that the truth would tear his little brother appart?
I am not saying that Mycroft Holmes is in any way perfect, not at all. But I do think that this rather jigsaw version of the Parental Unit is even less so. But I suppose that what I dislike the most is how they are presented. The very common, harmless and relatively sweet Mr. and Mrs. Holmes.
Now, I am not saying that the Holmes parents are bad people either, not at all. Taking in consideration what little we know of the Canon and what can be inferred when we connect the dots, I can believe that they were well intentioned and loved their children. But I cannot believe that they were in any way competent. And am convinced that, when it counted, Mycroft played Mummy.
