#sherlock mirrors

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi, Steph!

One thing about this show has been bothering me and I can't find a meta on it.

Why does Sherlock keep Irene's personalised text alert on his phone? Why doesn't he change it throughout the show?

I've been trying to think of an explanation that might fit with the johnlock reading. But I don't know. Could you help?

Hey Nonny! *HUGS*

Ooof, honestly I don't think I have anything at all either other than MAYBE mentions of it in my Phones and Hearts tag? Subtextually though, I believe that it has a lot to do with the fact that Irene is a Mirror for Sherlock and his libido. She often shows up in the show to symbolize Sherlock's desire for John, and I think in S4 when it does pop off again (heh), Sherlock is vulnerable and lonely.

I recommend you check out the links in the last two posts there, because many of the meta echo my own thoughts as to why Irene even exists in the series post ASiB in the first place.

Basically: Anytime Sherlock is horny or longing for John, Irene shows up. It's no accident that her text tone is so lewd, because essentially just thinking of John gets Sherlock off, LOL.

Seriously though, if anyone has additional meta they'd like to add, please do.

[johnwatsonistrans-hiatus]

I know this is pretty surface-level but I’m yelling about it: Dr. John H. Watson cheated on his wife with one person and the one person he ended up cheating with? Yeah, William Sherlock Scott Holmes’ sister! Like what?

[mirrorslock]

Its all about saving Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock saving Irene is about Sherlock having to save himself

[fandom-is-hell]

[twocandles]

It’s fucking me up that Ajay is a Sherlock mirror. It’s like, they might not want to show Sherlock being tortured in any more detail and instead give us this character so we can infer how Sherlock might have dealt with it all. Which is NOT WELL.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello Steph! Are there any metas about all the bombs that don't go off (TGG, TEH, TFP) and their potential meaning?

Hey Nonny!

Ahhhhhhhhhh, I don't have anything where they relate to each other, though a quick search gave me these meta about each individual part:

TGG

TGG META MASTERPOST (Aug 2019)

If John Wasn’t the Fifth Pip… Sherlock and Moriarty?

“So, anytime there's been a red target on someone in the show, could we assume it may be AGRA working for Moriarty?”

Was John Blinking in Morse?

TEH: TRAIN CAR SCENE

Sherlock Cries After Mentioning Mary

Why Did Sherlock Pretend to Not Know How to Fix The Bomb?

Where is the Character Development?

TFP

Girl on the Plane

Some People Actually Believe It’s Real

Molly is John’s Mirror

Why Was Sherlock Furious?

Pre-Episode: I Love You Trailer Comparison

Why Was Molly Having a Bad Day?

Just a Little More than Pissed Off (did they know what they were doing?)

What Does TFP Even mean? (Links to meta theories)

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I know there are meta about the explosion at 221B in TFP, just can't seem to find them. If anyone has something more specific for Nonny, since my recollection is a bit fuzzy these days, please do <3

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello dear Steph, after re-watching the series again I stumbled over something I never understood: In the Battersea end sequence after Irene and John hear the moan text alert go off Irene looks at John and says 'I don't think so. Do you?'

What the fuck does she mean??? 🤔 It's been 84 years and at this point I am just afraid to ask. That's why I am on anon 😅 Please explain it to me like I am 8 years old.

Hey Nonny!

Ah, it's all good! It took me a long time to understand what was meant by it, and even then, I'm not 100, but yeah, ASiB turned out to be a very revealing episode into the psyches of John and Sherlock.

So the simple explanation: John finds out that Sherlock heard him. He's panicking, worried about how it will affect his friendship. Irene, being a Sherlock mirror, reminds John that going after Sherlock RIGHT then is not a good idea. Sherlock needs time to process his epiphany, and Irene knows John would fuck it up somehow if he chased after Sherlock. She was VERY aware of how much these idiots liked each other, and believed herself to know John better than John knew himself.

Basically, "if you go after him right now, you will only embarass yourself into fake denials and a rocky friendship. She is a Sherlock Mirror, and is essentially speaking as Sherlock in this scene. When you rewatch the scene REALIZING that she is essentially "Sherlock's Sexuality" it makes a lot more sense (throughout the rest of the series, she's ALWAYS present when Sherlock is thinking about John in a Special Way™, so with that lense in mind for THIS scene, it make a LOT more sense). The entire series (yes, even the horrid S4) is told in subtext, and when we realize characters often stand in for each other, more often for John and Sherlock (like Anderson as the John mirror in TEH, Lestrade and Molly for Sherlock and John in S3, or Molly as a John mirror in TFP), then the series itself makes a lot more sense for odd random scenes like the Battersea scene.

Meh, not the best analysis, I know, but I do believe that she does inevitably want them together, like her and Kate. She understands why John likes Sherlock, and vice versa. Check out that link above for more Irene Meta I and others wrote. She is an intriguing character, for sure.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

When people talk about S4 they tend to talk about Culverton being a John mirrror and every time I am like ???

Could you please explain? I don't see any resemblance?

Thanks in advance!

Hey Lovely!

Ah, have they? Aside from them looking similar in the episode, I haven't really seen much meta about them being narrative mirrors, really. Just meta regarding Culverton being part of John's Alibi or being drugged by Culverton.

You can check out my Culverton Smith tag here on my blog for more meta, but yeah, I'd be interested myself for some of those meta to add to my tag, if anyone's got them!