When we meet Sholto in TSoT we can easily extrapolate that John and him had some sort of romantic involvement in the past. The situation, their behaviour and those of others around them all go to show that they’d had (or still have) feelings for each other.
I think that in TBB we get a similar, if more subtle, version of this. When looking at the same factors as with John and Sholto, I think we can see the similarities. If we think of the idea of, ‘softy, softly’, it’s in part about a gradual reveal of the romance. By episode 2 we were not ready to see a past romantic interest of Sherlock’s in as explicit way as we see Jolto in episode 8.
Jolto allows us to look back at Seblock with a new, critical eye. What if we’ve already seen a glimpse into Sherlock’s past romantic history and we’ve missed it?
Invitations
One party sends an invitation to the other,
Both are seen in a laptop at Baker Street. Both are pondered over, tensely. In Sebastian’s e-mail we see a similar plea to one that John effectively makes of Sherlock, ‘do this, for me’. Cropping makes key aspects of Sebastian’s message ambiguous, how intimate or personal this message is remains unclear. John’s invitation reveals something about him that he’d like to remain hidden.
Meeting
They walk over, beaming, out of focus, their mouths open,
The party who sent the invitation is, “very, very”, happy to see the other party. Both still look sexually attracted via their eyebrow lifts and open mouths,
The invited looks glad also but is more guarded. Their face is carefully tender, their eyes soft,
(An ampersand [&] harks back to the theme of couplehood. Was there ever a point when it was, ‘Sherlock & Sebastian’, as this visual implies?)
Greeting
They share an especially intimate greeting. The Seblock handshake is intimate because Seb leans in close, holds Sherlock with both hands and continues to shake his hand ever after he has put his hand in his pocket. Sebastian’s eyes are noticeably closed while he shakes Sherlock’s hand. The Jolto handshake is intimate because it harks back to their shared history. It is a greeting for two insiders at this event and no one else there can share this except them,
John behind Sebastian and Sherlock, shows signs of jealousy: he steps in closer to Sherlock as he sees the intimacy between Sebastian and Sherlock during their handshake. Sherlock, in the background at the wedding, shows signs of jealousy in his body language and in the content of his conversation with Mary.
To drive the unusual nature of the Jolto greeting we even have a background actor offer his hand in greeting right as John approaches Sholto. For a split second we might think that John is offering his hand in a handshake but no there’s something more special than that about to happen between them.
Discussing the new person in their lives & Unusual reactions to things
The issue of who the one party is now, ‘with’, comes up,
In TBB, Sherlock, I think pointedly, brings it up, “This is my friend..”
‘friend?’
Sherlock looks aggressive as he says, ‘friend’, he says it in such a way that it implies that John is more than just a friend,
Sebastian looks at him with sad eyes and a fake smile. He looks at his lips, a romantic gesture. Why are his eyes sad? Why the fake smile? This to me could mean that he is sad or jealous,
Now, Sholto bring up, ‘civilian life’. Is it, ‘suiting’, him?
As he says this, looking at the head table, his scars are very visible: a reminder of their military life together. Sholto is asking about the present while harking to a mutual past.
I find it very meaningful that when John reassures him that he’s fine, that he does go to therapy but that that’s a good thing, it’s helping him, that Sholto looks sad. Why wouldn’t he look happy that his friend is doing well? I think because it means that he’s dealt with his past in a way that Sholto has not,
When Sherlock turns the advance down Sebastian looks pleased. This looks like a form of their old flirting to me,
To emphasise the idea that Sherlock defiantly turning down this money is attractive, we also see John with his trademark sign of arousal, the lip lick. This display has been a major win for Sherlock: he’s gotten to sass Sebastian back after his little diatribe back at the office and now, Sebastian is impressed and so is John.
After the introduction to John, I don't think it’s clear to Sebastian whether or not John is or isn’t Sherlock’s new love interest. However, by the time that John accepts Sherlock’s advance, it seems that it’s hitting him that John is, indeed, Sherlock’s new friend-friend,
This reaction, like Sholto’s reaction to John’s therapy comment does not make sense in the text. What’s going on in the scene doesn’t support their emotional reaction. Why would Seb look upset that Sherlock’s friend will give him his advance for him? This is a simple gesture that should hold no special meaning for him. Unless... Unless, he has seen that John and Sherlock are romantically attached and that he is no longer that person in Sherlock’s life.
In the sexual subtext I think it’s interesting that John looks overwhelmed at the size of the cheque, here. In the text, he’s surprised that Sherlock is turning down such a sizeable cheque in light of his own financial woes. But, if you think back on John almost asking Sherlock for a loan, you’ll remember that he says, ‘Will you lend me some...’, and then licks his lips, this is a very sexually suggestive situation. Not only is, ‘some’, code for sex but he is asking for it and then not saying, ‘money’, (the actual thing he’s asking for) and he’s then just licking his lips: a universal sign of sexual arousal. So, in the subtext, John is incredibly desperate for, ‘some...’, for sex and here Sherlock is being offered a huge amount of, ‘some’, by Sebastian and the former is flirtatiously, defiantly declining this offer. John, however, will accept the offer on his behalf. He is close enough to Sherlock as his... whatever he is that he can accept this huge... uhm cheque by proxy. By self-appointed proxy, no less. This confirms his status as Sherlock’s special friend and also in the subtext shows us Sebastian offering sex to Sherlock and Sherlock turning it down, while John is ready to accept it for him.
There’s a level of engagement from Seb that I think is captivating. He looks incredibly pleased to see Sherlock. He looks at him with raised eyebrows and lifts one eyebrow at times. He looks to John very warmly as someone who must clearly also be captivated by Sherlock’s charms. He looks delighted when Sherlock refuses his money and crushed when John accepts it. He looks positively irked when John accepts the final payment, as well.
Let’s look at this objectively: Sherlock has just done Sebastian a huge favour, the case is solved, we can assume that Seb is not paying for this out of pocket so why, seriously, why does he look like this when he pays John? This is as wildly out of context as Sholto’s reaction to John going to therapy: why wouldn't he be neutral/happy about this? Because it has a deeper meaning than the most textual reading of the scene,
A special name
Both Jolto and Seblock involve someone using a special name to refer to the other. In TSoT, Sholto first calls John, ‘Watson’, and then softens and calls him, ‘John’. This is a sign of their intimacy: they’re beyond formalities, they share a real emotional bond and an emotional history,
In the restaurant bathroom, Sherlock is uncharasteriscially subdued and pleads with his former friend, ‘Sebastian... Seb...’. Here, again, we see someone moving from one name to a more intimate one. This, just like in the situation with Jolto, shows their intimacy and their previous history. It is especially important in Sherlock’s case because the show has gone out of its way to show us that he forgets Lestrade’s name despite considering him one of his only friends. Sherlock only cares about/remembers the names of men who are more than just friends: John, Sebastian, men who are/were friends. A nickname is a sign of intimacy and one that coming from Sherlock is unexpected,
In both cases the second name goes beyond what’s superficially true of the relationship. In Sholto’s case, he’s an old army buddy, possibly, ‘Watson’, would suffice as a friendly moniker and yet, they both know that the soft intimacy of, ‘John’, is more accurate. With Sebastian, an old classmate, surely being on a first name basis shows a proportionate intimacy, even calling each other by their last names might have sufficed. And yet we have this soft plea from Sherlock, ‘Seb...’. If we extrapolate that Sherlock’s friendship with Sebastian was as close as calling him, ‘Seb’, would imply then exactly how close were they? This is the question that I think we are meant to ask here. Especially in light of Jolto.
Thank you to @welovethebeekeeper for helping me with body language interpretation though hers was divergent from mine. This post does not reflect any of her opinions on Sebastian’s body language.
In HLV we will see Sherlock go through many incarnations of himself. He will die and be reborn, again and again, until he finds his true self.
Sherlock #1 ~ Sick and Witless
Foil ~ Isaac Whitney
'The Baby' (shock)
The reason John goes to the crack den in the first place is to retrieve Isaac Whitney. I've always found his name really evocative. It sounds to me like a lot of things: I see, eyes see, I sick, witness, witless. Sherlock will mention tuning out, 'witless babble', on the cab ride back to Baker St so I've settled on, 'witless', as being my favourite version of Whitney. And since Isaac and Sherlock at the crackden are both very sedate and, 'witless'. They both appear drowsily happy and innocently oblivious. They are babies, here. Unfettered by any of the concerns of the outside world,
He is Sherlock as defeated and love sick, 'I-sick Witness', that's how i see his name, as well. This is how John finds Sherlock as Isaac's parallel: defeated, sick, vulnerable but also unaware, oblivious, high,
Sherlock-as-baby's reaction to seeing John is friendly and relaxed. He doesn't mind been seen by John as vulnerable as long as he's unaware of why he's vulnerable. He doesn't mind showing that he's broken but he doesn't want to show why he is broken. Baby Sherlock wouldn't know, anyway. He is in shock.
Transition between baby Sherlock and Shezza: Mary. Mary is the thing that baby Sherlock is keeping out of his mind in the crackden.
Note that Isaac is still a baby when he sees Mary. He is non-threatening, she is nice.
Isaac doesn't know where he is: he just wants to go home. He asks, nicely, for a ride home.
once we see Mary we see Shezza bursting through a door. This is Shezza's entrance,
Shezza is basically a kid old enough to realise and resent that he's not a baby anymore. His 'parents' and the cause of his trouble are here to pull him into another phase of life and he is angry.
Sherlock #2 ~ Shezza
Foil ~ Bill Wiggins
'The toddler' (anger)
Bill is intelligent and wild-eyed, he answers the door frantically and acts like a cornered animal. This is Sherlock, 'wigging out', about what's going on with him and John. This is aware Sherlock. Sherlock doesn't want to be seen as freaking out like Bill, just as Bill doesn't want John to come into the crackden. Baby Sherlock doesn't mind beeing seen by John but Shezza is highly protective of baby Sherlock. He wants to keep him hidden,
Underneath Shezza's agressiveness and bravado, he is hurt and he needs a ride home. John Watson hurt him,
Angry Shezza/hurt Shezza,
Sherlock #3 ~ The minimizer
Foil ~ Mary
'Tween Shezza.' (bargaining)
At Bart's lab, Sherlock is exposed. In a very phallic way. Something comes out of his penis that shows what's really going on, basically.
This is the big reveal: he was high, he was heartbroken, everyone knows what's join on. His reaction is, 'It's all for a case, do relax', etc.
We will also see still hurt Shezza as Bill say, 'ouch!', to Mary who is hurting him and she say, 'you moved', (it's your fault, anyway) and, 'its' just a sprain', (’it's no big deal’.)
Sherlock #4 ~ Teenage Shezza
Foil ~ John?
'Teenager' (depression)
The theme of two Sherlocks intensifies as John and Sherlock step into the foyer to confront Mycroft. We get this visual to drive the point home: he is two people, in relation to John,
And, in relation to an obstacle that keeps John and Sherlock from their flat. This shot stresses just how much Mycroft is blocking their way. Mycroft, here, represents Mary and/or John and Mary's marriage. The reference to cross-dressing could be seen as a reference to Sherlock losing John to a woman,
Having Mycroft here also represents more exposure, more people know. This means he is more aware, too. People are there to make him more aware. Teen Shezza wishes everyone would leave him alone so he could go back to being oblivious baby Sherlock but that version of himself is long gone. As John said, 'Mary is taking the boys home': Isaac and Bill went home, they're gone. Baby Sherlock and Toddler Shezza are history.
"Teenage Shezza Vs TBB Sherlock"
Next we get this brief but meaningful interaction. A man is seated at his chair who is very reminiscent of Sherlock when John comes home from his, 'row', with a chip and pin machine in TBB,
This is the first time that Sherlock flirts with John self-consciously. He flirts with him in ASiP immediately upon meeting him because he finds him attractive in general. But, it's only after the, 'shock blanket', epiphany that Sherlock begins to romantically like him.
In TBB, for the first time we see Sherlock fix himself up for John and wait for him to come home so he can flirt with him. This is hopeful Sherlock, looking his best, acting his coolest and with love written all over his face,
In HLV, Teenage Shezza sees a version of this self and aggressively comes towards him to replace him at his chair. He has had enough of that hopeful guy that put himself out there. He is feeling defeated and is done with this TBB Sherlock,
(TBB Sherlock instinctively knows when he's up against his scary future self. He has no idea why but he's trusting that he needs to gtfo asap)
Old Sherlock leaves quickly, never to be seen again. Note that though I've cropped the previous two photos of TBB Sherlock foil with Teenage Shezza that all this interaction is framed by a man and a woman. Anderson and his friend are here as stand-ins for Mary and John. This tableau occurs in relation to them being a couple. In light of their marriage: Shezza replaces hopeful TBB Sherlock,
Note the similarity of the shot, here. Except here they framed in nothing but open doors (possibility), chemicals (their chemistry) and a bull (symbol of virility). No wonder this TBB Sherlock is hopeful. Here, Sherlock is banking on the fact that John can tell when he's flirting like he could in ASiP before Angelo's. However since he told John that he was wrong, he was not interested, then John took that to mean, 'that was not me flirting'. This is how John becomes flirt-proof much to Sherlock's chagrin,
**All of the Spoilers for the movie, 'eXistenZ', (1999)**
If Tom's, 'meat dagger', is a reference to David Cronenberg's film, 'eXistenZ', (1999), with its meat gun, then we may be able to speculate on Tom's character arc if we compare it to those who wielded the meat gun.
The first person to introduce the meat gun is a man who attempts to assassinate our protagonist. He wounds her but not fatally and then is killed,
The second, and I think more important, person is Ted Pikul, our protagonist Allegra Geller's new companion on her cross-country adventure,
Ted is a bumbling, adorable, 'PR nerd', who doesn't seem to know his way around a gun, a biosynthetic video game or much of anything else. He is humourously non-threatning. He turns out to be getting close to Allegra only to attempt to assassinate her, as well. He comes very close and is then defeated by Allegra, who had seen his betrayal coming since the time he found a meat gun in his Chinese food lunch and jokingly pointed it at her,
"Sorry",
At the very end he will betray her but she will be prepared, she's suspected him since his little, 'joke', at the restaurant,
So, what could this say about Tom? Well, if he's like Pikul, he will seem bumbling and harmless, amusing, until he seems threatening but it's a fake out. Then he really will turn out to be threatening and will die at the hands of one of our protagonists.
Why is Sherlock surprised that John is leaving, here, at the end of the shooting the happy face domestic?
The most literal reading says Sherlock doesn't, 'get people'. He's rude and inconsiderate, immature.
However,
Sherlock has been reading John's blog. The blog shows that John likes him and he's happy about that. It also seems to be a bit insulting to him and he doesn't like that.
John is expressing his feelings and impressions on his blog. Greatly in part, his feelings and impression about Sherlock. I think Sherlock figures that, therefore, he would like it if he talked to him about his own feelings: open up to him.
He's been stewing at home thinking about all their mixed messages and why John is still dating Sarah. He's decided that when John comes home he will talk to him.
He lays down on the couch almost as if he were at therapy. He loves John, he thinks John wants to talk about feelings, he talks.
*Sherlock brings up John's blog*.
'Did you like it?'
"Uhm, no!"
To Sherlock it's obvious that some of John's comments on his blog were offensive and insensitive. He wants to talk about that because he's clearly very sensitive but since John already sees him as unfeeling, he doesn't understand why sherlock is offended. He chalks it up to Sherlock's ego, I think. It's not until Sally laughs at him when they talk about the blog that I think it hits him that this was hurtful and embarrassing for Sherlock,
Sherlock opens up, like he thinks John would want him to but, instead of being happy, John leaves. This is exactly why he's been sad and now that he's done what he thought John wanted John left. From Sherlock's point of view, this doesn't make sense,
This face says it all, 'I'd kiss you but you're a jerk: I'm leaving',
If we think back on all of John's kiss-related enacting, aka all his, 'kissy faces', we will see that a lot of them occur at a time when John is mad at Sherlock. John is attracted to Sherlock when Sherlock is being a jerk. Sherlock realises this and therefore acts like a jerk. Much like how the, 'enough with the cheekbones', comment only activates maximum cheekbone power from Sherlock. AKA Sherlock is always trying to be attractive to John.
Later in TGG, John will have a one-sided argument with Sherlock about caring. Sherlock, now, will be emotionally impenetrable. Hiding his feelings comes easily to him, he admits. We can gather from this that his earlier talk with John was difficult for him, it was him making an effort to connect. And it blew up in his face. For all we know, he was up all night working up the courage to talk to John. John left him, again, and his flat literally blew up,
But, when he's cold, machine-like Sherlock, John does not leave. He stays, he accepts it. They move on and go work on a case. This is how you keep John Watson around, apparently,
From this Sherlock concludes that this is actually what John likes: he likes cold, aloof Sherlock, though he thinks he would like him to open up, when he does he rejects him.
Sherlock is too inexperienced with sharing feelings to know that it wasn't his opening up that John didn't like, it was his approach. He really was too blunt and too rude to John. But, Sherlock only knows he made an effort, he made himself vulnerable, isn't that what people do?
This is like when he brigns up Sholto, John questions him on why and he says, 'chatting'. Then, gets an odd look from John and says, 'won't be doing that again'. Or when he makes a joke about Dr Mortimer and John tells him, 'funny doesn't suit you. I'd stick to ice'. No wonder he says, 'thank you', at the stag night when John calls him funny. He's probably remembered that, 'stick to ice', comment ever since.
John sends him a message to be more human and then, when he is more human, he sometimes gets the message that he shouldn't be.
When John figures out that Sherlock and Mycroft have a sibling rivalry, he says, 'nice... now we're getting somewhere'. But, this is a tidbit that John finds out for himself, from observing Sherlock being cold. John wants to see throughout the façade for himself. I think that he's drawn to the cold exterior and wants to chip away at it. But, when Sherlock exposes what's inside he often has a reaction that makes Sherlock feel like he needn't've bothered.
I think this push-and-pull has to do with John's own lack of readiness to be with Sherlock and his reluctance to get hurt. He makes himself vulnerable right off the bat at Angelo's and gets shut down, royally. After that he feels constantly vulnerable, like he's the one that put his cards on the table and Sherlock has the power of never having done that.
But, to Sherlock, he has done that, again and again. He's asked him on a date, lent him his bank card, given him cheques for his work, written a romantic cypher on their wall, opened up about his feelings, etc. In Sherlock's mind, he's put himself out there with everything he's got and he's still getting what to him is a hot-and-cold John.
By the time they argue about Sherlock having no feelings in TGG, Sherlock has decided to be unfeeling because it's WHAT JOHN LIKES. This way John doesn't leave him. John is attracted to his harsh persona, after all. And only wants to find humanity in him himself, not when Sherlock shows him. Sherlock is John's mystery and he doesn't want any clues. He wants to solve Sherlock all by himself.
This is why Sherlock continues to be, 'a machine'. It's for John. Because that's whom he has concluded John loves.
Why John wears red suspenders to his wedding: part one
The other day someone on the tumblrs asked why John wears red suspenders to his wedding.
While I think that there are a few reasons, I want to point out the one I see as the simplest and most obvious.
When John sits at his chair in Baker St, he has two red stripes from the plaid blanket that hit him right at suspenders level. The plaid, I believe stands for his bisexuality (as for that of others, as well), and it being from his chair at Baker St stands for his romantic love of Sherlock.
But, in simpler terms, he wears a piece of himself at Baker St on his wedding, under his vest, where people can't see. HIs love of Sherlock is such a part of him that he cannot leave it behind, even on this wedding day. and it is closer to his heart than anything that signifies his wedding to Mary, including his tie or his boutonniere.
Mrs Hudson bringing Sherlock his, 'wake up, you're losing John', tea. Here she sits in John's place to speak some John-truth and there's the exact placement of those stripes,
Even as John gets married to someone else, he is virtually still sitting in his chair opposite Sherlock.
