MahnSherlolly03 wrote:

I had a lot of shouting Mary's and Sherlock's names and gasping and crying and looking away from the scene, along with some insane laughter. When Moriarty appeared, I jumped up, knocking something off of the couch, and then fell on the floor.

Try not to move.  Paramedics are on the way.  Also, I have the number of that therapist I said I couldn't afford.

Hey, I like that.  It explains why he didn't tell John, even though he told others who were not close to him (although I still think the "hoax crew" that did the work on the ground was comprised of Mycroft's agents rather then homeless people).  But yes, it makes perfect sense that the three people Sherlock was trying to save from the snipers needed to believe he was dead until Sherlock had effectively broken up Moriarty's network.

As for whether we'll ever learn that Sherlock told John all this and convinced him that the deception was necessary, I think we eventually will.  It's such a juicy source of drama and conflict that Moffat and Gatiss won't waste it.


As for whether we'll ever learn that Sherlock told John all this and convinced him that the deception was necessary, I think we eventually will.  It's such a juicy soure of drama and conflict, Moffat and Gatiss won't waste it.

I was mistaken, of course, when I said Irene didn't trade her sensitive info for money.  But it occurred to me there's a subtle difference between extorting money from someone in exchange for not revealing damaging personal information (like a typical blackmailer) and Irene's offer to cell the phone to Mycroft (and thus the British government) because it contained embarrassing secrets related to highly placed individuals.

Sherlock had the phone for six months, and he X-rayed it to determine what security measures it incorporated to protect the data.  He learned that it had devices that would destroy the hard drive (and thus the info) if it was opened.  While negotiating with Irene, Mycroft threatened to simply destroy the phone -- but Irene countered with "Fine, good idea  . . . unless the lives of millions of British criticizes depend on the information you're about to burn."

She didn't go into greater detail, but Mycroft understood that she was referring to things like the terrorist threat that involved the 747 filled with dead bodies the government had planned to use to trick the terrorist.  In fact, the conversation between Mycroft, Sherlock, and Irene actually started inside the 747 before cutting back to 221B where negotiations for the sale of the phone continued.

I think that was done as a subtle hint that Irene's phone contained more than just dirty little secrets about the royal family.  In other words, there was intelligence information on the phone of vital importance to Britain -- not just embarrassing personal habits or shifty deals that the government wanted to cover up.

Irene was perfectly free to do whatever she wished with the information -- both the secrets and the valuable intelligence data.  She could withhold it or she could give it freely to the government or she could sell it to foreign powers who would use it against England.

What she chose to do was sell it to the British government for money and other consideration

I hate to complain, but the moving images tend to suck my eyeballs out, so I have to scroll up or down until the images don't show.  Then my brain can focus on the text of the posts.

I realize that's not the problem your request pertained to, but I just thought I'd whine about it a little and see if somebody would take pity on a poor easily distracted guy! 

Folks, please accept my apologies.  I stepped over the line, and I'm sorry.  I didn't even know what Johnlock meant until it was explained in the post above.  Color me red in the face.

I must confess that I'm impressed by how politely I was corrected.  The dressing down was firm, but not harsh and insulting.  Nobody told me to get my intolerant ass off the board if I didn't like what was going on.  I'm thankful for that.

And just so I won't seem like a hypocrite -- yes, two lovely ladies sharing their pleasure is very nice indeed.  So, I guess I do understand (a little) what the Johnlock thing is all about.

I promise to stop being a bore, a snob, and a prude.

Now, somebody please give me a hug and tell me I'm forgiven.  Preferably one of the ladies.

SherlocklivesinOH wrote:

I confess I wasn't absolutely sure what to make of the "not the first" line, given that we're supposed to believe John was never having sex with Sherlock. So, in his case, first what?

God a'mighty damn, folks -- are we still not clear yet on the sexual orientation of John H. Watson and Sherlock Holmes?

They've beat this dead horse for three damn years and we still have people on this board who want to make the "love" between these two good old boys mean they curl up in bed together and do things to each other that straight guys do with their girl friends!

Sorry, folks, but they DON'T!  They never have, and they never will!

Why am I so sure?  Because John Watson has repeatedly told everybody in London that "I am not gay!"

I believe him.  After all, John met Mary, he dated Mary, he fell in love with Mary, he had sex with Mary, he got Mary pregnant, and then he married her.  If that doesn't prove John is straight, I don't know what does.

Prior to that, Sherlock gazed upon Irene Adler dressed in nothing but high heels and went google-eyed at the sight, demonstrating a strong sexual attraction to this sexy lady.  He ogled her with such devotion that he memorized her measurements!  I knew just what he was feeling . . . because I go gewgaw over sexy ladies just like he did -- especially if they're wearing high hells.

Later Sherlock risked his life to save her in the Middle East, partly because his cell phone made sexy sounds whenever she called him. And later still he visualized her during his mind palace in The Sign of Three -- while she smiled at him seductively before he order her erotic image to leave him alone.

Trust me, ladies and gentlemen, gay men don't have problems like this.  But straight men have them all the time. I should know, because I'm one of them.

So, please stop assuming that these two good friends have any interest in getting inside each other's personal space.  They're friends.  That's it.

I rest my c

haseoke39 wrote:

The corpse wasn't just to fool John for half a second. It was to be used in all future deceptions (death records, etc.) Molly had to manipulate some records to get the dead guy out of the way, but surely she couldn't have faked records enough to convince the nation that Sherlock was dead without a body that looked like his.

Hmmm.  That's a puzzling assertion. I'm pretty sure John F. Kennedy is dead, but Wikipedia states that "Jacqueline Kennedy declared that the casket would be kept closed for the duration of the viewing and funeral."

Therefore, I contend that the next-of-kin (Mycroft and his parents) could simply order the coffin which supposedly contained Sherlock's body be kept closed.  I'm sure none of us thinks the funeral was held with an open casket which displayed a dead look-alike, right?  Of course not. So, a few hundred pounds of rocks would give the coffin the right weight.  It's as simple as that.
 
Remember, Mycroft arranged for a 747 to be filled with dead bodies to thwart a terrorist plan to blow up the aircraft in flight.  If Mycroft can have a plane filled with dead bodies, he wouldn't break a sweat arranging to have a rock-filled coffin buried in his brother's grave.

As for the alleged Sherlock look-alike -- he never existed.  That was just part of the BS which Sherlock told Anderson -- along with a big blue airbag, a good sniper to shoot the bad sniper (in a stairwell, with a scope), a make-up artist to create a fake facial wound (on a face smeared with blood), and a reclusive brother who managed to put together a skilled team of expert homeless people who could keep a secret for two years.
 
Sherlock practically told us he was making up the fake-twin body when he casually described him as " . . . that man, whoever he was . . . " when he told Anderson that whopper he passed off as an explanation.

Be realistic, folks.  Would Sherlock actually NOT know the identity of this convenient twin-brother-from-another-mo

The term "trick cyclist" is indeed slang for a psychiatrist. And the close caption wording for Sholto's comment does say trick cyclist as well.  John replies with,  "I go in now and then.  Sort of a top-up.  Therapy can be very helpful."

But I couldn't find out anything about the origin of the term.  If sounds just a tad derogatory, doesn't it?

Actually I always watch Sherlock with the close captioning turned on because the dialogThe term "trick cyclist" is indeed slang for a psychiatrist. And the close caption wording for Sholto's comment does say trick cyclist as well.  John replies with,  "I go in now and then.  Sort of a top-up.  Therapy can be very helpful."

But I couldn't find out anything about the origin of the term.  If sounds just a tad derogatory, doesn't it?
 
Actually, I always watch Sherlock with the close caption turned on, because the dialog goes flying by fast and furious, and those British phrases sometimes require a quick background check so I can figure out what the heck somebody just said -- and what it meant.

Here's the answer to that burning question we've all been asking since we saw The Sign of Three:

Can fancy napkin folding really be learned from YouTube?

Hell yeah it can!  Here's a video to prove it -- one of many.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGPUh3LzDx0

I would imagine the body was needed for some of the other planned falls. For example if Moriarty had lived and Sherlock had jumped when he asked Moriarty for some time. Gatiss explained that one of the solutions was for Sherlock to land on a platform and a body would have been thrown from the platform. This was referred to in the newspaper headline from ASiB.
In addition when Sherlock talks about finding the body or any of the other mechanics of the operation I assumed Mycroft got the security services to supply all the backup required.

Land on a plateform?  Assuming the plateform was sufficiently padded, where did this plateform come from in the brief time they had between the approach of John's cab from the left end of the brick building (from Sherlock's point of view) to the time it was needed to catch Sherlock.

How was it taken away quickly enough to prevent John from seeing it in time between the moment he saw Sherlock laying on the sidewalk and the moment he arrived at his side after recovering from the being knocked down.  It's 30 seconds exactly. I timed it.





The story Sherlock told Anderson claims that the body was placed on the ground immediately after Sherlock landed in the airbag and the airbag had been taken away.  But the time between Sherlock jumping and John first seeing him on the ground is only 17 seconds!

Are we really supposed to believe that Sherlock landed on the airbag, the bag was moved, the body was thrown from the window after the bag was out of the way, and the blood was placed on the ground around the head -- in just 17 seconds?



Sorry, I don't buy it.  I'm sticking my fireman's net theory and no body thrown from a window.  Seventeen seconds is enough time for Sherl