That scene, Mattlocked, sums up the state Sherlock has always been finding himself in.
No-one seems to understand him or is able to follow his thoughts - at least not as quickly as Sherlock would wish.
No-one can compete with his "massive intellect", as John states in TBB. And this intellect of his leads to his loneliness, especially as Sherlock doesn't refrain from calling other people idiots or making them look as such:

The police


John


But at the end of ASiP it comes to something very special.
The pattern of "Sherlock knows everything/ordinary people are idiots" is kind of broken by John:



And the astounding thing is that Sherlock doesn't seem to be irritated by John – quite the opposite.



It marks the beginning of something Sherlock has never experienced in his life before: not being told "to piss off"; there's the chance not to feel as lonesome as previously; the promising beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Jane, I watched it AND felt sad about him before reading the mkhey reports. I just remembered right now.
But you are right, reading mkhey you want to watch it all over again because you get so much more out of it then.

I so nearly said that SusiGo! 

I feel for him quite often during the episodes and I think (now you have brought it into my head) that it is due to the subtleties of the acting (please don't think I'm trying to detract from the script, I'm certainly not). One that springs to mind is 'the speckled blonde' scene where John tells Sherlock that no one is reading his blog. Sherlock sort of moves his lips slightly, swallows and then turns and walks away. You almost have to watch it in slow motion to see that. Not as moving as the example you quoted, but you can see exactly what he is feeling and it all happens almost subliminally.

I read the latest mkhey again earlier today and followed some of the links to interviews. One of my absolute favourites.

Wow, brilliant analysis guys. Can't really add much to that other than to say I love the bit when John calls him an idiot...just so perfect. That's why Sherlock likes him so much, he's not afraid to try and challenge Sherlock on an intellectual level rather than just misunderstanding him completely.

kazza474 wrote:

Lonesome?
Because the others aren't on his wavelength?
He thrives for that.
His enthusiasm stopped because it was wasted. He is very used to this situation, certainly not one to be interpreted with words like "self protection" and "lonesome'.

The tone of this scene is repeated over & over again through  the series.

The point of the scene with John calling Sherlock an idiot has, I believe been totally lost here also.
As illustrated by the pictures posted, look at the second and third ones ( first one is just co-incidence, probably quite a few times through this show that someone says someone else is an idiot). It's not used as an insult/used to hurt someone's feelings. In the one where Sherlock tells John "Because you're an idiot", he's just using a term that he has for people who do not observe what is in front of them.
In the second one again, John isn't insulting Sherlock at all. Sherlock asks why would he risk his life to prove he's cleverer? And THIS is the crucial part that you have all overlooked: he is simply using Sherlock's own words back to him to say 'I know where you are coming from; I know this isn't an insult in your speak and I know what it means".
It really shows that John understands where Sherlock is coming from & is ok with that. It has nothing to do with wanting to insult the other person. It's friendly sarcasm.
And with that I think I can see why it has been missed.
JMHO

I think you are both right Mattlocked and Kazza, just putting the emphasis on different aspects.

I don't think anyone here missed the point that John used Sherlock's words back at him, to show he knows how it was meant in the first place. It is pretty obvious.
But that does not make Mattlocked's observation untrue. It just proves the point, really. John is the only one who has no problem fighting Sherlock at his own game, and that must hugely appeal to him.

About feeling lonely vs thriving on others' stupidity, I also think that both is true in Sherlock's case.

He likes feeling superior, likes solving the puzzle before the others could even start sorting out the pieces. But even someone like Sherlock's will need someone to acknowledge and appreciate his superiority every now and then, otherwise it will simply stop being fun.
Not sure how many of you have ever lived abroad without family, but if you have I am sure you know that frustrating feeling when a situation (something that's been said, something you see, a person's behaviour) is hilariously funny, but only in a certain cultural context, so nobody around you understands.
Now, I am aware that something like that can also happen at home, say with friends who don't understand Sherlock references.But when you're abroad, it happens a lot, virtually every day, and there is not one single person who understands, who can even begin to understand. It makes you feel incredibly lonely and isolated and at least for me, I never got used to the situation.

Even Mycroft, who knows him better than anyone else describes him as 'lonely' and 'naive' in 'The Flight of The Dead' scene in SiB. I believe you don't laugh with someone like he has laughed with John over the two series without realising - or beginning to realise, that without that interaction you are (or have been) lonely.

The 'alone is what I have' comment is voiced very much at a time when he is preparing to do something that must be done alone. 'Alone protects me' follows from this. The involvement of others makes him vulnerable (and he knows that Moriarty is aware of this and will use it), hence his ploy to send John off on the wild goose chase, (Mrs Hudson dying). Also, John's presence would have made his plans unworkable I imagine.

Just want to clarify something with our German/Austrian members. Is calling someone an idiot a big insult in German? My German tutor said that it is perceived as a stronger, bigger  insult than it is when used by people in English. Is this so? I know this is a cultural difference but this seemed a sensible place to bring it up since we have been discussing its use.

Yes, being called an idiot in German is quite a big insult - on the same level we find  "Schwachkopf" which means the same.
A lighter form of idiot would be "Depp" or "Dussel".

So how was idiot translated in the Deutsch version on TV? Did they just still use the word idiot?

Ah! You see, if they did, then Sherlock is insulting people more than he really is...if you know what I mean. It will make him appear to be a bit nastier and ruder won't it.