Mycroft told Sherlock himself, didn't he? 'Your loss would break my heart.'

Also in TAB Mycroft and Greg are the ones who stay, John lets himself be taken away by his wife. So even in his MP Sherlock acknowledges Mycroft will stay at his side, no matter what.

Hmm...This seems to me like he might have spoke/interacted with Magnussen before, since he has spoken to Moriarty and Moriarty used an expression that Mycroft did two out of those three instances that the post mentions.

Yes, I have been thinking about the "you inventend Moriarty" thing from TRF and that it might be true after all. The difference being that not Sherlock but Mycroft invented him. The Magnussen connection has bugged me from the beginning as well.

But - and this is a big But - what about Mycroft's love for his brother? If Sherlock's loss would truly broke his heart and if he truly cares as much as he does in TAB, why put his brother through all this? I think we can agree that the Moriarty thing sort of ruined Sherlock's life. He came back years later, wanting to pick up his old life (most of all John) and found himself empty-handed. And then a similar thing happened again in HLV. 

All this points to Mycroft either being a terrible villain or being under someone's thumb. But there is also evidence for Mycroft being the one drawing the strings in the background. 

I am convinced this will become a big thing in series 4. 

Last edited by SusiGo (April 2, 2016 12:20 pm)

Is Mycroft abusive towards Sherlock? This meta questioning him brings interesting thoughts on that:

http://antivertigo.tumblr.com/post/142132959866/okay-so-i-think-something-we-need-to-talk-about

It rings quite true, especially this part:

Like the interaction that stood out the most to me, in TEH after Mycroft has ‘rescued’ Sherlock from captivity and starts going on about how difficult and stressful it was for him, and how Sherlock should be grateful he rescued him at all, and that look on Sherlock’s face - I immediately connected with that look because I know exactly what it means and I have been in that situation before. He shuts up and doesn’t say anything more to Mycroft about it because Mycroft is always like this, has always been like this, it’s always about his struggle, his pain, his discomfort, and nothing he says is going to change it, so he says nothing.

I'm finding that post difficult to read - I'll come back to later (maybe a copy and paste will help!).   I don't think I would say that Mycroft is abusive (although I can understand why people see that).  I do think he tends to infantilise Sherlock and take on an unwarranted parenting role.   This seems to have the effect of goading Sherlock to act more like a rebellious child.   It would be interesting to see the difference in their relationship if Mycroft treated him as an adult and an equal.   They are extremely powerful together.     But I do wonder if the way Mycroft treats Sherlock and his superior age and intellect sometimes actually motivates Sherlock?  There did seem to be hints in TAB that rivalry with Mycroft pushed Sherlock to be more competitive and therefore more effective (but not a better person).  I think Sherlock is better at using the heart that Mycroft claims to lack (or at least Sherlock is less good at trying to hide it, but that works out the same way!). 

If he did invent Moriarty (I hope not), then yes, I think that would be abusive. 

I confess to being very much saddened by people ready to believe the worst of Mycroft. Even in the modern version of Sherlock's MP he's the one that remains at Sherlock's side, though he clearly believes Sherlock could spend his time much more fruitfully. John however, rants like mad at Sherlock and initiates Mary walking him home. Apparently, deep down, Sherlock realises Mycroft loves him and will try to always be there for him.

dioscureantwins wrote:

I confess to being very much saddened by people ready to believe the worst of Mycroft. Even in the modern version of Sherlock's MP he's the one that remains at Sherlock's side, though he clearly believes Sherlock could spend his time much more fruitfully. John however, rants like mad at Sherlock and initiates Mary walking him home. Apparently, deep down, Sherlock realises Mycroft loves him and will try to always be there for him.

I do not believe the worst of Mycroft, still, in my opinion his behaviour to Sherlock borders on downright abuse. This constant mocking and sneering at Sherlock´s work, putting him down in front of strangers, dissing his person and even his flat, calling him names, making fun of his achievement and of his intelligence... how exactly is this to Sherlock´s benefit?

Despite his strong words, Sherlock is looking up to his brother and he gets this in return?
 

As I said, Sherlock 's MP is quite telling. He sees Mycroft as a judge, high above himself. Or the way he is presented in HLV - Sherlock as a scared little boy and his brother towering over him, telling him he is a disappointment to their parents. There must be a reason for this.

Now something funnier. If Mycroft had his own spin-off...

http://marybegone.tumblr.com/post/142399823306/if-we-were-fortunate-enough-to-be-gifted-a-30

Well said, Lola. Makes a lot of sense to me.