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January 14, 2014 8:45 pm  #41


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Yes, he's a past addict.
I think all the time we've known him in the series, he has been clean...
until he went undercover into the drugs den.


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January 14, 2014 11:39 pm  #42


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Swanpride wrote:

That's why all his friends try to wane him from his addictions...keeping him from drugs (which mostly works), cigarettes (which changing success) and bringing him something to eat. Because if they would just allow him to do what he wants, he would destroy himself. Not with an overdose. But through his disregard for his own health and well-being.

I just love Mycroft's reaction to that. Suddenly not so cold now, huh? 

Sherlock naturally still insists that they are arch enemies because the alternative is just too painful. Comedy and drama all in one. 
 

 

January 15, 2014 12:29 am  #43


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Swanpride wrote:

There are two aspects to Sherlock's behaviour, both in canon and in the show. I firmly believe that he is able to control his drug addiction. It is just a way deal with the boredom...I don't even believe that it is supposed to enhance his abilities, but to control the "engine spinning out of control".

But there is also his other addiction...when he is on a case he is so focussed, that he forgets everything else. He doesn't eat (in canon it is even mentioned that he can keep this up until he faints), takes huge risks.

That's why all his friends try to wane him from his addictions...keeping him from drugs (which mostly works), cigarettes (which changing success) and bringing him something to eat. Because if they would just allow him to do what he wants, he would destroy himself. Not with an overdose. But through his disregard for his own health and well-being.

this is one of the reasons why I like the unaired pilot so much - with John insisting that he eats in 2 occasions - and he's only just met him
When they are at the restaurant - with John saying 'for God's sake you need to eat!' and at the end, when he pulls his 'doctor' act and says that 'this man hasn't eaten for 3 days'  (or something like that).

I think these 2 things might have been taken out of the official pilot (as far as I remember..)

 

January 15, 2014 12:14 pm  #44


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Agree with those, who read Molly's remark as being highly sarcastic. Of course he wasn't clean. But I do believe, it was for the case. Even, when John finds him, he's too much in control of everything.  Also, if this was just recreational, Sherlock would probably do it at home and not in a shooting galery. But Anderson& Co didn't find anything in his appartment. The closed bedroom door, which made them and Mycroft highly suspicious, was because of Janine. I love Anderson's changed role a lot, btw. Heck, he's even featured as a helper in Sherlock's near death experience!
That said, Sherlock probably likes his drugs, and there are many subtle allusions throughout the show, that he has used, even after John moved in. Remember the 'Drugs Bust', which indicates past problems, Mycroft's fears and allusions, the search in 'all the usual places' as well as 'Don't mess up my sock index' in SiB, which indicates, that they have searched before, and that there must've been stuff, otherwise there are no 'usual places' or 'Danger nights'. And I really don't think, they'd make such a fuss about cigarettes.
But his drug use in HLV is not such a relapse. So far, we've never seen a relapse on screen (except with ciggies), and I don't think, we ever will. The shooting galery was a nod to canon.

Last edited by sherlocked (January 15, 2014 12:18 pm)

 

January 15, 2014 1:38 pm  #45


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

shezza wrote:

Molly didn't lie, I thought it was obvious that she said "Clean!!!" in a sarcastic/exhasperated way. Like "Yeah, clean, as if!". She was absolutely furious.

 
I totally missed the sarcasim on that.  All makes sense now.


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January 15, 2014 2:12 pm  #46


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Yes, I realise it as well


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January 15, 2014 2:27 pm  #47


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

She would never have slapped him (and that hard) if he had been clean. 


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"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

January 15, 2014 2:28 pm  #48


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

obviously. she was really angry for a reason.


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January 15, 2014 2:39 pm  #49


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Swanpride wrote:

There are two aspects to Sherlock's behaviour, both in canon and in the show. I firmly believe that he is able to control his drug addiction. It is just a way deal with the boredom...I don't even believe that it is supposed to enhance his abilities, but to control the "engine spinning out of control".

 
So his use of drugs is NOT an addiction then. Yes he uses drugs, but he is not addicted to them. SO what you mean is he is "able to control his dug use."

From early in the series we hear something of him 'being clean' during a search of the flat that they call a 'drug raid' yet it has never been stated that he was a drug addict; people are still just assuming this to be true.
I find it's interesting how people make that leap from the 'I'm clean" line to him having a drug addiction. Because that's all he has actually admitted to, and that's all characters have said of him. No reference to what they are speaking of. Sign of the times perhaps?


____________________________________________________________________________________________
Also, please note that sentences can also end in full stops. The exclamation mark can be overused.
Sherlock Holmes 28 March 13:08

Mycroft’s popularity doesn’t surprise me at all. He is, after all, incredibly beautiful, clever and well-dressed. And beautiful. Did I mention that?
--Mark Gatiss

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Robert McCloskey
 

January 16, 2014 3:33 am  #50


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

kazza474 wrote:

Swanpride wrote:

There are two aspects to Sherlock's behaviour, both in canon and in the show. I firmly believe that he is able to control his drug addiction. It is just a way deal with the boredom...I don't even believe that it is supposed to enhance his abilities, but to control the "engine spinning out of control".

 
So his use of drugs is NOT an addiction then. Yes he uses drugs, but he is not addicted to them. SO what you mean is he is "able to control his dug use."

From early in the series we hear something of him 'being clean' during a search of the flat that they call a 'drug raid' yet it has never been stated that he was a drug addict; people are still just assuming this to be true.
I find it's interesting how people make that leap from the 'I'm clean" line to him having a drug addiction. Because that's all he has actually admitted to, and that's all characters have said of him. No reference to what they are speaking of. Sign of the times perhaps?

I see that as a very American view of addiction. I read a meta today that essentially asserted that ALL of the characters of Sherlock are addicts. But then, we think that almost EVERYTHING can be an addiction-- so, Lestrade's drinking is suspect, John is now an adrenaline "junkie", Molly has a Love Addiction and is an alcoholic, Mycroft is an Alcoholic and (gasp!) a smoker, Sherlock is a (gasp!) smoker, and uses illicit drugs on what appears to be an on-again off-again basis. Oh, Mrs. Hudson is an alcholic and a Pothead. Sorry, has a marijuana addiction. 

I live in Seattle, WA-- and we seem to be the rehab center of the country; and if you have two cocktails a week here, you may be considered to be a "maintence drinker." :-D

 

January 16, 2014 8:01 am  #51


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

As for Canon Sherlock I do not think he takes cocaine solely for the purpose of stimulating his brain. There is this quote from "The Sign of Four":

"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.

To me this does not sound as if he was just talking about fighting boredom. 

 


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

January 16, 2014 9:30 am  #52


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Stimulating the brain can indeed be a form of relaxation; some do crosswords etc, jigsaws; some study animals, plants etc just to soothe their curious minds. Delving deeper into the mind by using drugs, exploring the effects of the drugs, etc sounds very much like what Holmes would do as part of his relaxation time. Never know when that could come in handy.
Lat's face it Sherlock Holmes does many things in his downtime that ordinary people would not do. Investigating the effects of drugs or just exploring where it takes him is just one more of those things, canon or otherwise.


____________________________________________________________________________________________
Also, please note that sentences can also end in full stops. The exclamation mark can be overused.
Sherlock Holmes 28 March 13:08

Mycroft’s popularity doesn’t surprise me at all. He is, after all, incredibly beautiful, clever and well-dressed. And beautiful. Did I mention that?
--Mark Gatiss

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Robert McCloskey
 

January 16, 2014 10:44 am  #53


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Well, some people do drugs for the experience. Drugs can intensify feelings, colours, taste, well everything.
Lots of geniuses took drugs. Edison and Freud had a relationship with cocaine. Van Gogh or Toulouse- Lautrec had their absinthe.
I don't want to downplay the danger and risks. I have seen to much to do so.
 


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“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
Terry Pratchett - A Hat Full of Sky
 

January 16, 2014 11:12 am  #54


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Holmes uses cocaine to simulate the feeling he gets when he is working on a crime.


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January 16, 2014 1:55 pm  #55


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Freud's cocaine use probably destroyed his brilliant mind. 

 

January 16, 2014 2:13 pm  #56


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

silverblaze: I agree with that. But it is kind of fascinating why a lot of geniuses did so.


-----------------------------
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
Terry Pratchett - A Hat Full of Sky
 

January 16, 2014 10:16 pm  #57


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Sherlock's remark in HLV really confused me: 'Your best friend is a sociopath who solves crimes as an alternative to getting high.'
I never read it that way, I always assumed that Sherlock took drugs - presumably cocaine - because it helped him to think even quicker, stay awake for a longer time, solve crimes even better and faster, stimulate his brain and overcome the boredom.
But this makes it sound as if the crimesolving is actually just an alternative to taking drugs, not something that really matters to him.
Is this really how Sherlock sees himself?

What did he take in the beginning of this episode, anyway? He seemed agitated and moody, even aggressive towards Mycroft, but seemed to be totally fine only minutes later.


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"Yes, of course I forgive you."
 

January 16, 2014 10:25 pm  #58


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

Lily wrote:

Sherlock's remark in HLV really confused me: 'Your best friend is a sociopath who solves crimes as an alternative to getting high.'
I never read it that way, I always assumed that Sherlock took drugs - presumably cocaine - because it helped him to think even quicker, stay awake for a longer time, solve crimes even better and faster, stimulate his brain and overcome the boredom.
But this makes it sound as if the crimesolving is actually just an alternative to taking drugs, not something that really matters to him.
Is this really how Sherlock sees himself?

What did he take in the beginning of this episode, anyway? He seemed agitated and moody, even aggressive towards Mycroft, but seemed to be totally fine only minutes later.

I found that rather confusing as well since it as, as you mentioned not canon, however, I think that Sherlock does love solving crimes. I mean, you do have more than one passion, don't you? Especially if you've decided to give one up.
For the latter I would suggest cocaine (canon), but I'm not familiar with possible mood swings. I think in the beginning it's not even so much the drugs that make him angry, but Mycroft being there and searching for drugs as well as John interrupting his work.

 

 

January 16, 2014 10:28 pm  #59


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

I'm totally confused.  I'm completely missed Molly's sarcasim or question mark.  I thought she clearly said he was clean and was just angry that he was going near drugs again.  I also thought Sherlock made it clear he was only in the drug den to give the appearance of being back on drugs, he wanted th rumors started so Magnussen would pick up on them, it didn't seem like he was actually looking to get high.  Also he wasn't particuarily acting out of character except for beating up Mycroft which might have just been his idea of fun.  Also Jeanine didn't seem to notice anything out of sorts with him either.  

Of course now that I mention Jeanine clearly Sherlock doesn't have any moral compunctions on following through with things just to give the appearance of an act... I mean clearly he was sleeping with her.  (speaking of which I think Jeanine is lovely looking and all, but I really really don't think one of his shirts would fit her, Sherlock is sort of shockingly thin.  Does anyone know if Benedict has to actively lose weight for the part?  He never looks so thin in his other work.)  

 

January 16, 2014 10:34 pm  #60


Re: Drugs: Do you believe Sherlock?

She would never have slapped him three times that hard if he had been clean. I never doubted that he had taken some drug. 

No, he was not. In the hospital scene she said that once would have been nice. And he answers that he was going to wait until they were married. She only sold the sex stories to the papers to make money out of it and to have her revenge. 

 

Last edited by SusiGo (January 16, 2014 10:35 pm)


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

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