Of all of the people we saw Magnussen lean on, she was the most defiant.

Yet, the "sentencing" scene played out like Lady Smallwood was answerable to Mycroft. I almost felt like he "had something on" most of those MPs. Because I find it hard to believe she personally wanted to punish Sherlock harshly for killing CAM.

Be wrote:

She's English with a spine, according to CAM.
How so? What did she do to deserve this compliment? She is head of the enquiry. She asks questions. It's her job. When she is told that CAM owns her she seeks out for Sherlock because Sherlock is thought to be able to stand up to CAM. Someone who dares to do that. Apparently she doesn't dare to do that herself.

She lives with a husband who is or was interested in younger women. She tries to appear younger herself because she uses Claire-de-la-lune perfume." A bit young for your age." She knows that she has to stay attractive or she will lose him. Maybe she already lost him to another woman and she has to fight a constant battle with women in the shadows.
I imagine that she is in a way tired to do that. Maybe she thinks that CAM's threat to reveal Lord Smallwood's past is not that a bad situation.
We don't exactly know what happened during the interval when Sherlock was in hospital. We know that Lord Smallwood saw the need to commit suicide. Perhaps Lady Elizabeth told him that she won't be owned by CAM and that whatever happens she will not succumb to his threats.
I imagine that this outcome is just perhaps not exactly inconvenient for Lady Elizabeth. Her own public image is intact and she got rid of her husband who was unfaithful anyway. 

Lady Smallwood tells CAM that the relationship in question happened before she met her husband and that he had no idea of exactly HOW young the girl was. But nevertheless, these are all good points. It seems entirely possible that Lord Smallwood was not so innocent of wrongdoing. 

It also struck me this was a definite case, at least for Lady Smallwood herself, of "the coverup will get you in more trouble than the crime." Because SHE has not actually been accused of doing anything sexually inappropriate herself - only if she tries to protect her husband or cover up for him, or even defend him, does she become guilty of something. And yet, that was what she APPEARED to be doing.

I thought maybe the husband killed himself so she'd be safe (thus parallelling Sherlock's actions) - but it's just as likely he DIDN'T commit suicide at all - that he was murdered - either by Lady Smallwood to protect herself, or by CAM's people. Or (knowing this series) that he faked his death.

Or both Smallwoods murdered CAM together and passed the body off as Lord S. That might create some sort of technical legal defense for Sherlock ("You can't convict me of killing CAM when he'd been dead several months already,") but Sherlock would still have shot someone. Unless he and the Smallwoods between them managed to fake the Appledore shooting.  (ok, I have officially been watching too much Sherlock )

But honestly, for someone as smart as CAM was presented to be, he was very stupid to let Sherlock Holmes into his home base, not even consider Sherlock or John being armed, and confess he really had no proof of anything. Which is what makes me think there might have been some further plan...

And a career blackmailer like CAM HAS to have anticipated the possibility of someone trying to knock him off - especially if his victims include career assassins. So I wonder what plan he had in place for that...

I also think that girl Lord S was writing to may turn out to be someone we know from the series (based on nothing, I admit. Again, I've been corrupted by the series.)

 

The age gap was big enough to make her see Sherlock and cause Lord Smallwood to commit suicide. At least he was older than her and the girl was a minor while he wasn't. If he were a minor himself there would be no big reveal and people would write it off as two kids fooling around. And the perfume seems to be usually used by younger women. Of course she can use whatever perfume she wants. And we can interpret it. I think it is implied by CAM. He said to her: "You're an old woman now."
Rubbing her age in when he perfectly knew that her age is the sore spot between her and Lord Smallwood.

Last edited by Be (April 10, 2014 7:39 am)