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January 11, 2015 7:33 pm  #1


Mycroft at Christmas

I wasn't sure whether to put this under Character Analysis or here, but seeing as I am interested in one particular scene, I will put it here for now. Didn't see this one discussed on the last three pages of TLV, so I dared creating this topic. Sorry if it's been discussed before.

Mycroft interest me. In just about all scenes of him, no matter the situation or the place, he is portrayed as being far more mature and with better social skills than Sherlock. It's one of the things that separates them. With one clear exception - Christmas with their parents. For once, Sherlock is the one blending in, while Mycroft - for once - behaves like a bratty and whiny teenager. I was appalled seing a grown, middle-aged man behaving so petty towards his own mother for her doing something as - oh my - horrible as arranging a family Christmas.

This seems almost out of character for him, the man who is the master of hiding his emotions and showing his blank face towards the world. Not like Sherlock, who gives in to temper tantrums and sulks whenever something doesn't suit him. But in this scene, their roles are reversed. Granted, Sherlock could be acting more calm and orderly because he was plotting, but Mycroft's teenage sulking and rudeness towards his mother is quite odd - and fascinating. Most grown up people know how to behave even if they are a bit fed up, and Mycroft surely knows how to do just that at work.

So what do you guys think is going on here? Why does big brother, always-in-control-of-himself, Mycroft change into a brat with his parents, even as a middle-aged man?


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January 11, 2015 8:16 pm  #2


Re: Mycroft at Christmas

I think that, just like the scene were they are smoking and they get caught by Mummy Holmes, they wanted to show that family is where Mycroft allows himself to drop the facade and the 'perfection' and actually says what he thinks. He does that when he's with Sherlock in other situations as well (bickering at the palace - 'I'd let you', bickering in the flat after the explosion -'Don't make me order you').
I think it does make sense as we all feel more at ease and feel like we can 'let lose' a little more when we are with close relatives who have known us all our lives, and the Christmas scene was particularly funny because it was so over the top (and OF COURSE someone like Mycroft would hate Christmas )

 

January 11, 2015 8:24 pm  #3


Re: Mycroft at Christmas

I am not surprised that he hates Christmas. But most grown-ups are mature enough to act civil, even if they are relaxed, around their own parents. While in the cottage scene he acts nothing short of a bratty teenager. THAT was what surprised me. No grown-up acts like that around his parents.


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"We'll live on starlight and crime scenes" - wordstrings


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January 12, 2015 5:52 am  #4


Re: Mycroft at Christmas

Neat comments… and agree with both!  The brothers get a little immature, sure, and agree about the 'facade' with family, but at same time, it is oddly different for him in particular.  The one place/group he feels he can be annoyed?
I don't have much else to contribute, but for some reason, you reminded me of the perfect scene (other than the cottage one), that ties into that.  When John is first introduced to Mycroft, the brothers bicker a bit right off the bat, being both humorous, and showing us that that's par for the course with them. Years down the road, it's kinda awesome in retrospect that we get a xmas family scene, because what did Mycroft quip to John?  'Imagine the Christmas dinners'.  And Sherlock retorts at his accusations of being whiny/petty that he's not the one who upset Mummy!        (Hmmm… implying Mycroft always did, being like that, or Sherlock being a little blind to his effect again and they both did) 


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January 12, 2015 10:43 am  #5


Re: Mycroft at Christmas

Yeah, the cottage scene ties nicely back to ASiP. And ironically, Mycroft was the one spoiling the Christmas dinner, not Sherlock (although I don't doubt he has done his far share of sulking at Christmas too).

I just find it a slightly weird behaviour of Mycroft. Not that he rolls his eyes and hates Christmas, but that he is so immature about it. 

Last edited by Vhanja (January 12, 2015 10:44 am)


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"We'll live on starlight and crime scenes" - wordstrings


Team Hudders!
 
     Thread Starter
 

January 12, 2015 5:15 pm  #6


Re: Mycroft at Christmas

They're both overgrown kids.


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