So if tfp was in Johns head (and this was planned by moftiss) why wouldn't they seem more sure about more seasons? I mean they can't really have that plan and then leave s4 like this. When they Come in with s5 wouldn't it bring even more backlash to reveal that? If it opens with them revealing that it was all in Johns head and that we waited all that time seems almost worse than where they left off with s4. What do you think?
No no, I totally get you on this (here too) (and here too) (AND here too). I can’t find the post, but some people think that their waffling is a way to generate interest in a fifth season, trying to “recreate” the outrage of Doyle’s time by “killing Holmes” (or in our case, literally KILLING ‘SHERLOCK’ the show) so that people will demand he come back. There’s also the theory regarding the copyright issue: because of copyrights, the stories they wanted to tell can’t be told yet and BBC wanted another series immediately after the success of TAB rather than wait another 2 years. AND there’s also the current theory going around that “Dracula” is a front for S5 of Sherlock. So people think that their reluctance to confirm nor deny an S5 is essentially a confirmation. That and the reports that BBC had already commissioned S5 of Sherlock before S4 even filmed, so *shrugs*. I guess time will tell on that.
ANYWAY, Tinhat aside, I think, honestly, revealing that TFP was fake will generate less backlash than trying to believe that it all actually happened; the “plotlines are beyond credibility” and seriously the only thing that will save them is either a soft reboot OR a hardcore reveal that one of the main characters is dying under their noses, mainly the one that the audience is SUPPOSED to relate to: John. I personally think a rug-pull reveal that John is dying could essentially make the audience forget the shit show that was his character in S4 and RE-sympathize with him and want Sherlock to save his life. Because then we’re back to the show we used to know – the John and Sherlock show – and a new arc could be started while completing the Johnlock one built up since S1.
Anyway, I think it’s the lesser of the two evils. Audiences love the “will he or won’t he survive” stuff, rather than “okay, suspension of disbelief only goes so far here”. That’s not to say that a lot of the ones who were hurt by Mofftiss’ actions here still won’t be upset – they have every right to be after Gatiss essentially admitted to queerbaiting – but the general audience, unfortunately, is the larger of the two, and Mofftiss seem to care more about them than their dedicated fanbase (which I’m sure they care a lot about but are just... REALLY going about interacting with them in a bad way by blocking them on Twitter and ridiculing them at cons...).
