R.V wrote:

I keep seeing photos from the show of Sherlock with around twenty or so cigarettes in his mouth. He's wearing his blue dressing gown. Which episode is that from? I can find it anywhere.

Definitely "The Sign of the Three". 


 

It's either exactly the same or very similar.  I remember the sweater, but I hadn't given it much thought.  I wonder whether there's something we're supposed to make of that.  Could be because it's the first time Sherlock's actually shared something with him, just like how John at the beginning of series 1 is first learning things from Sherlock.  I remember noticing that Sherlock also called him "Philip" in that scene, instead of "Anderson," just like how he refers to John by his first name and insisted John call him "Sherlock" and not "Mr. Holmes." 
Could he trust Anderson more, Anderson having proved himself in some way for believing he was alive despite it all?

Well, I took the drug consumption as a nod to Canon: 

“The division seems rather unfair," I remarked. "You have done
all the work in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jones gets
the credit, pray what remains for you?"
"For me," said Sherlock Holmes, "there still remains the
cocaine-bottle." And he stretched his long white hand up for
it.” 

(The Sign of Four)

Vhanja wrote:

Yeah, I've always seen the drug relapse as a mix of a proper cover in the Anderson case and a way to cope (or not cope) with John being away and Sherlock having to learn to live alone. Or to put it differently: The case cover was a very good excuse.

So why did Magnussen see right through it? 

Schmiezi wrote:

RavenMorganLeigh wrote:

Vhanja wrote:

Yeah, I've always seen the drug relapse as a mix of a proper cover in the Anderson case and a way to cope (or not cope) with John being away and Sherlock having to learn to live alone. Or to put it differently: The case cover was a very good excuse.

So why did Magnussen see right through it? 

Because he is clever.

That's true-- but what I'm asking is this: a lot of the fandom assumes that Sherlock is "relapsing" and turning into a bona-fide Drug Fiend-- in HLV. For Magnussen to see through that, and know that Sherlock was faking it (and one can do drugs without becoming a Drug Fiend) means that the fandom assumption is...err.. wonky. The idea that Sherlock does the drugs purely to deal with missing John suddenly no longer has legs. Hell, the idea that Sherlock must be watched at all times lest he go back into being a Drug Fiend doesn't hold much water. So, the answer is-- he really was just doing it (however stupidly) for a case. And that makes John's and Molly's treatment of him (in particular) high-handed and rather cruel. 

RavenMorganLeigh wrote:

The idea that Sherlock does the drugs purely to deal with missing John suddenly no longer has legs. Hell, the idea that Sherlock must be watched at all times lest he go back into being a Drug Fiend doesn't hold much water. So, the answer is-- he really was just doing it (however stupidly) for a case. And that makes John's and Molly's treatment of him (in particular) high-handed and rather cruel. 

At least in my opinion he doesn't do it purely to deal with missing John. And I haven't read anyone else who view it like that either (although there probarly are someone somewhere who does that).

I think it's more of a convenient coincidence. Not to mention that this could only be possible for Sherlock to do at all with John not living in 221B anymore (he would never have allowed Sherlock to do it if he knew about it beforehand).

I have a feeling that Sherlock wanted to get away, to do something a bit more drastic. I don't think for a second that without the case, he would be in that drug den. But with John gone, Sherlock is now free to take more drastic actions on cases. This cover makes him both able to spend a lot of time away from 221B (a place that holds too many memories of John), makes him able to go after Magnussen, something he really wants to, AND makes him able to forget him missing John for a little while (while being high).

I don't think their reaction was cruel at all, even if Sherlock had done it purely for the case and nothing else. He is an addict, and this is playing with fire. It's like a recovering alcoholic having one beer a night because "I got this under control!". 

I think that althrough they really were patronising and their behaviour was a mistake that was not really helping them to get to Sherlock, I find their mistake to be very human and understandable in that scene.

They knew that Sherlock has history with drugs, that he has possibly some leanings into self-harm (at least John can think that after witnessing Sherlock nearly swallowing a poisonous pill) and so their reaction, even if hysterical, is strong exactly because they care for him and do not want to see him succumbing to addiction. Of course, they are not reasonable, but people tend not to be when strong emotions seize them.

Also, the creators of this show probably didn´t want to sound like an advertisement for this kind of lifestyle, so they portayed the drug-abuse and the reaction of people to it in a more dramatic manner than it would be in RL. Simply to give a signal that such thing is unacceptable (and so John and Molly signal it to Sherlock in strong terms that they would not tolerate it).

Of course, in Molly´s case, the writers probably acted under the mistaken belief that violence perpetrated by female character equalls strenght, which is wrong. But still, I do not percieve this mistake to be that serious, really.

JP wrote:

And I never had an impression that Sherlock is missing John to the point of taking drugs.
Of course it would be helpful having some facts about Sherlock's drug use from the past. We can only speculate, and make assumptions based on our interpretation of the character. Not enough data...

That´s right. From Mycroft´s reaction in ASiB and HLV, you would think that this drug issue was huge in Sherlock´s past and that Sherlock just barely holds himself from slipping into it again. But Mycroft is overbearing in this. And Sherlock doesn´t give an impression that he did drugs beyond the point of his control. Hmmm...

As to that strange "drug bust" in Sherlock´s flat, I believe it to be solely Mycroft´s idea. I can´t imagine John suggesting it on his own.
 

Yes, and I think people do misunderstand Sherlock's attraction to drugs. He does use when he's bored, yet Mycroft gets overbearing in ASIB because he thinks Sherlock will resort to drugs due to heartbreak - and in my eyes Sherlock is kind of weirded out by this (he goes 'why??' when Mycroft offers him a cigarette, because he doesn't understand why Mycroft would encourage him into a habit he's trying to get out of - while Mycroft is doing that thinking offering him the lesser of two evils will help)

In HLV John and Molly think he's just fallen back into the habit, even though he did it for the case.

And I do also agree that part of the reason John gets angry at Sherlock is because he's got a short temper, and because he feels useless and not important since Sherlock didn't call him.

There's an important part to this sequence-- it highlights *John's* addiction. And John doesn't like that.

And, you could also view it this way-- Molly, with her long-term addiction to Sherlock, who goes an finds a Sherlock-Substitute to date and them treats him badly because he's not as smart as Sherlock-- takes that oout on Sherlock by slapping the beans out of him. John, frustrated, with a hair-trigger temper, who had to sprain someone and break into a drugs den after shouting at his wife, is in withdrawal-- and *that's* where that over-zealousness comes from. If he'd been that worried, he would have made the effort to contact Sherlock, instead of waiting for Sherlock to make the first move. Sherlock has been told over and over again, that "Marriage changes things".

So, I'm sure he's been told not to incessantly bug John-- to let the new couple settle in-- and that's why he keeps his distance. He's waiting for John to make the first move-- and when he doesn't-- Sherlock throws himself into Lady Smallwood's case. We have to remember that Lady Smallwood sought Sherlock out-- not the other way around. 

Last edited by RavenMorganLeigh (October 1, 2015 4:07 pm)