You can't change things, can you? Just accept it or leave it. Sorry, but there isn't any more to explain as it is already written in this thread.

Probably the feelings that you have watching this, Vhanja, are intended to make the audience wonder and find out about the meaning of it.
I don't think you are the only one who was surprised (to say the least) about that scene.
I find several explanations rather plausible, though 

Well, a lot of scenes are discussed and analyzed in detail, so I figured that would go for this as well. Not just "take it or leave it".

It's just so many other interactions between them that seem so much warmer than this one. It confuses me.

Vhanja wrote:

Well, a lot of scenes are discussed and analyzed in detail, so I figured that would go for this as well. Not just "take it or leave it".

Sorry for that. Maybe the wrong words ... but what are the last 6 pages (okay 5, because this page ...) about?
 

nakahara wrote:

I will speculate, but maybe it´s the enormity of what Sherlock has done that just fell on John and paralised him? Like, the friend John took for an careless, insensitive machine, has suddenly threw away his career, freedom and life for him, shockingly and unexpectedly... and now what? What can John do in return that would match such sacrifice? There´s really no action that he can take at that moment which would help Sherlock or match the immensity of this deed. And also, Sherlock feelings for John were plainly unmasked with his sacrifice - and that is also something John didn´t see so clearly before. All of this are things that John never confronted before and his behaviour on the tarmac just mirrors how helpless and confused he is, stuck in the midst of this impossible situation.

Yeah, I think you have a point. I do think John is slightly overwhelmed by the entire situation. He does look a bit like he is. 

I can understand that it would be hard for them to find the right words to say. And, as mentioned, I would never expect a lot of soppy stuff coming from either of them. A scene like this would always be understated, which it should be. I just feel it is TOO understated, because I find more or less nothing there.

And even though John might be slightly overwhelmed, Sherlock is the one putting out his hand first. Not initiating a hug, half-hug even. 

I actually just realised that it's only John who has initated phsyical affection - the hug during the speech, and grabbing his neck when he learned about Mary being pregnant. Sherlock hasn't done any such thing at all, as far as I can remember. And when he finally does it, for the last time (they think), it's just a hand shake.

I mean - as I mentioned one time before, J.K. Rowling vetoed having Harry and Ron hug each other at the end of the CoS movie because she said that in England, blokes would only hug each other if it was a matter of life and death. And here it is. the final hooray, never seeing each other again (they think). And it's a business hand shake.

I don't know, it's just extremely underwhelming for me. And disappointing.

Edit: Then again, considering it actually isn't the last goodbye, I guess it would be kind of odd and anti-climatic to have it be more than what it is. Perhaps that could explain it as well. It would be slightly strange to have a heart felt declaration, a warm hug of goodbye - and then five minutes later he's back. It might take a way a lot from the scene, so better to do little. 

 

Last edited by Vhanja (January 20, 2015 1:36 pm)

gently69 wrote:

Yeah, but then it would only be a piece of ... filming technics. During the farewell scene they couldn't know that Sherlock would return that quick. So, no emotions at all? Even not any "hidden" one?

Yeah, exactly.

I can't make out heads or tails of this scene.
 

Oh, there are. That is clear. I just don't understand why there are more hidden now than what they have ever been in any other scenario between them.

I'm just not sure I agree with them.

 

In a way I think the tarmac scene is a re-run of the graveyard scene at the end of TRF...John is very formal and controlled and ' stiff upper lip British' and the handshake replaces the gravestone tap.... only this time John is face to face with Sherlock which I think plays into why he doesn't have much to say because this time he again is expecting ' one more miracle '....and he knows Sherlock already heard it all last time..at the grave.

After I had finished watching HLV for the first time, I felt as if I had been hit over the head. I wasn`t sure what to think of it at all and couldn`t believe the scale of the plot. Sherlock shooting Magnussen was the least of my worries. It just felt more like James Bond to me and completely out of tune with the rest of the episodes.(I should perhaps mention that by now it is one of my favorite episodes.)
The tarmac scene was pretty much the only scene I felt was pitch perfect even after the first viewing. I guess that probably was because I felt a little bit like poor John in the situation he finds himself in.
My interpretation of the dynamic between the two in this scene: John must be confused beyond believe by all that`s been happening to him in the past months. He is probably scared aswell because he doesn`t know whether he can trust his own judgement and decisions concerning himself, Mary and Sherlock. He seems more distant from Sherlock than ever and Sherlock respects that. He himself can`t really afford to get all emotional but has to get his game together, if he wants to stand the slightest chance on his undercover mission. I never saw the joke about Sherlock being a girls name as a cop out after failing to say something more important. More as Sherlock`s slightly selfish need to see John laugh once more and remind them of all the good times.
As for the handshake , that seems to me to be a really Sherlock-y thing to do. After all he is rather old fashioned in a lot of ways and this must appear to him to be the proper way to tell your best friend and partner that it has been an honour to know him. And he doesn`t let go immediately which shows that the whole thing is really heartfelt, I think.