The way I understood it is that CAM needed leverage on Mycroft. And he achieved that via Sherlock, John and Mary, kinda like a chain reaction. You get to Mycroft through Sherlock, you get to Sherlock through John, and you get to John through Mary. Mary was leverage to get CAM what he wanted all along: Mycroft and his state secrets. And putting John in the bonfire was CAM's twisted way of seeing whether John would offer the leverage that he needed in order to have a weakness of Sherlock's to exploit. Come to think of it, perhaps it was a bit of a "test", because Sherlock had such a long list of pressure points, and CAM wasn't sure which one to use.

It all seemed so very elaborate, because I'm quite sure CAM was smart enough to find a way to use his pressure points without having to go through three different people (which leaves more margin for error and unpredictable events), but it sure made for a good TV plot.

Last edited by TeeJay (January 14, 2014 7:51 am)

Well I think it is like he said. He wanted to prove that John is a pressure point of Sherlock. But he still needed John that's why he had people standing by.
Mary->John->Sherlock->Mycroft

I dont think it has anything to do with figuering our whether Sherlock is gay and using "he is gay" as a pressure point.
Can you see Sherlock being concerned about being called gay? All the time people are calling Sherlock and a couple and Sherlock just doesnt react at all, he also doesnt mind Janines made up stories, so there is no pressure point concerning his sexuality.

BUT it is about how important John is to Sherlock, what he will do to save John from danger, and look what he did: stealing a motorbike, going there the quickest way possible not minding about minding about actually using streets, throwing himself into a fire. that says he cares about John a lot and so by threatening John you can get to Sherlock and by threating Sherlock to Mycroft.

No - Sherlock wouldn't be remotely bothered by what people said about his sexuality - the reason John is his pressure point is simply because of Sherlock's blind loyalty to his friend - he'd do anything to protect him, including getting himself into trouble, which in turn would affect Mycroft.
I agree that this was a test of Mary's pressure point, too - she ran straight to Sherlock for help ( though she stopped short of actually running into the fire, like Sherlock did :D)

KeepersPrice wrote:

This Is The Phantom Lady wrote:

I think it was a test of both Sherlock and Mary's feelings for John; how far they were ready to go to save the man they love. And if Mary was being a good little 'puppet'; like he called her in the telegram.

I think the word used by CAM in the telegram was "poppet" not "puppet". It's kind of the same thing because a 'poppet' is an older variation of the word 'puppet' and means a little doll; however, it is now used as a term of endearment or affection to describe a little girl or someone cute. In English terms, being called a puppet gives more the impression that someone is manipulating you to do their bidding and has a more sinister meaning. Cam could have been thinking "puppet" but doubtful he would not have said that in a wedding telegram that would be read out loud. It was also something of a joke in the show because everyone thought it was funny when Sherlock had to read cute little endearing words like "cuddles" and "squishy hugs" to everyone.
BTW, if the subtitles had the word 'puppet' and not 'poppet', I stand corrected on this....

Can I just say that I LOVE the complexity of the English language, and especially the British? 
The subtitles did say 'poppet'; a word I didn't know the full meaning of until now! Thank you! But still, perhaps Magnussen was trying to not be completely obvious in the telegram? and therefore he put 'poppet'? 

But what do I know!  

This Is The Phantom Lady wrote:

Can I just say that I LOVE the complexity of the English language, and especially the British? 
The subtitles did say 'poppet'; a word I didn't know the full meaning of until now! Thank you! But still, perhaps Magnussen was trying to not be completely obvious in the telegram? and therefore he put 'poppet'? 

But what do I know!  

You know plenty! I don't know one word of Danish  .  I'm always amazed how well the rest of the world speaks our crazy English language and so many of us English speakers barely know anything in another language - and sometimes even the proper grammar in our own.
I think CAM meant to say "poppet' as a term of endearment but rather a slimy one - sort of like insolently licking Lady Smallwood's face.  His real point was when he said something about her family not being there, knowing full well she has a fabricated identity.  I think it was his way of saying "I'm watching you. And don't you forget it."

I'm still not sure what was up with the text messages either...usually villains don't want the people they've captured rescued...here, did CAM need for Sherlock to know John was in danger, because then he could see what Sherlock would do to save John?

I think CAM wanted to test Sherlock and to satisfy his sadistic needs by sending the message to Mary instead of Sherlock thereby insuring that she would be there.

Oh I think he did know before...he just wanted to cause maximum discomfort for John and therefore Sherlock.

Willow wrote:

Tinks

I believe the technical term is 'gloating'; villains get to gloat a lot because they are villains, and this is a way of establishing that someone is a villain.

Frankly I was convinced once he'd abused the fireplace in Baker St, but the actor was having a lot of fun, and I'm all for actors having fun. It also served the purpose of demonstrating that Mary has a lengthy history of being not nice; that's quite a big file that CAM is gloating over...

 
Yes, I guess that makes sense.
Can't wait to find out what's in that file.
Or where it is, since CAM claimed all the info was in his head - so what happened to the documents he wes looking at, I wonder?