BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Conversation in Mrs Hudson's kitchen

tobeornot221b · March 23, 2014 9:12 pm

Watching the little conversation between Mrs Hudson and John at the kitchen table after the stag night my thoughts would pop in like this. (In yellow. Transcript taken from Ariane DeVere)

MRS HUDSON: Well, if you’ve found the right one – the person that you click with – it’s the best thing in the world.
JOHN: Well, I have. I know I have.
(Yes, John, we all know!)
MRS HUDSON: Oh, I’m sure. She’s lovely!
JOHN: Yeah. I think so. What about you?
MRS HUDSON: Me?
JOHN: Did you think you’d found the right one when you married Mr Hudson?
MRS HUDSON: No! It was just a whirlwind thing for us. I knew it wouldn’t work, but I just got sort of swept along.
JOHN: Right.
(This may also apply to you, John. Have you been considering this?
"So short after Sherlock?")

MRS HUDSON: And then we moved to Florida. We had a fantastic time, but of course I didn’t know what he was up to…The drugs.
(Another one who's in the dark of their partner's business…)

JOHN: Drugs?
MRS HUDSON: He was running ... um, oh God, what d’you call it? Um, a ... cartel. Got in with a really bad crowd.
JOHN: Right.
(No, John, something like this would never happen to you, would it?)

MRS HUDSON: And then I found out about all the other women. I didn’t have a clue! So, when he was actually arrested for blowing someone’s head off ... it was quite a relief, to be honest.

(May we have a hint here concerning Mary's future…?)

SusiGo · March 23, 2014 9:24 pm

I see what you mean. There is definitely a parallel to John - marrying someone and only later finding out that you do not know anything about your spouse.
This may be another instance of Mrs Hudson being a prophetess. Just remember her words about leaving a wedding early.

Last edited by SusiGo (March 23, 2014 9:38 pm)

This Is The Phantom Lady · March 23, 2014 9:41 pm

That's really interesting; and clever if this is the case!

SolarSystem · March 23, 2014 10:05 pm

Apart from everything else that we might read into that conversation, since the very first time I saw the episode I always found and still find this part very telling:

MRS HUDSON: Oh, I’m sure. She’s lovely!
JOHN: Yeah. I think so.

John actually really says "I think so"...? What does that mean, he thinks that Mary is lovely...? He should know, shouldn't he?
I mean, I know you can't know everything for certain and people can turn out differently than we thought, but come on... he wants to marry a woman he has known for how long, six months, one year...? For however long exactly he might have known Mary, it's not very long and I guess he wants to marry her pretty soon, compared to lots of other people. So I would think that since he decides to marry her after not very long (he says to her himself in the restaurant scene "I know it hasn't been long"), he has to be absolutely certain that she is the one, that she is the right woman for him, that she definitely is lovely. So why say "I think so"...?

SusiGo · March 23, 2014 10:12 pm

Good point, Solar. It seems he did not get exactly swept along, did he?

And another thing - we should not forget that it was Sherlock who assured that Mr Hudson was, er, eliminated.

Last edited by SusiGo (March 23, 2014 10:13 pm)

tobeornot221b · March 23, 2014 10:12 pm

I always consider his "I think so" being the English understatement of "Yes, you're absolutely right."
(Like "not bad" being the highest possible compliment.)

SusiGo · March 23, 2014 10:15 pm

Sorry, cross-post.

Of course John is not exactly good in talking about his feelings. So this may be due to this and his sense of British understatement. And yet ...

Last edited by SusiGo (March 23, 2014 10:17 pm)

SolarSystem · March 23, 2014 10:31 pm

Exactly, Susi, and yet...
I'm sure this conversation between Hudders and John happened for a reason, and the fact that Mr. Hudson turned out to be a different man than Mrs. Hudson had expected - even if she knew from the beginning that it wouldn't work in the long run - IMO has to have some meaning in regards to John and Mary.

Wholocked · March 23, 2014 11:06 pm

I think this is a language barrier thing. "I think so" is a really common phrase in that kind of conversation.

Mrs Hudson says "She's lovely" and he's replying "Well, I think so" as in he's agreeing with her in a completely understated almost sarcastic way. He wouldn't be marrying her if he didn't think so... you see? There's nothing to be read in to that.

SolarSystem · March 24, 2014 8:23 am

Well, then of course he could also say "Of course she is" or "Oh yes, she definitely is"... but okay, I see your point. I'm not quite sure why he should give an understated answer to that though, I mean, he will marry her, it's kind of obvious that he loves her, so there's no real reason to downplay it. On the contrary, I would imagine that John is glad that Mrs. Hudson finally realizes that he is not gay and in love with a woman, so he might even stress the fact that Mary is lovely and all that.

Wholocked · March 24, 2014 9:32 am

Like I said, it's a common way to respond. It's almost formulaic.

SolarSystem · March 24, 2014 9:46 am

If it's almost formulaic, then... that starts me thinking about this all over again, I'm afraid. A formulaic answer in such a context... doesn't seem to be very romantic... but okay, I'll shut up now.

SusiGo · March 24, 2014 10:55 am

But apart from John's answer - we know the scripts are usually well thought out and there is not really much place for coincidence. So IMO there is some meaning in having Mrs Hudson now of all times talk about a husband who turned out to be a criminal. And from whom she was saved in a way by Sherlock. And the same goes for the wedding story.

SolarSystem · March 24, 2014 11:12 am

Well, we now know that pretty much everything she mentioned came true one way or another for John and Mary and Sherlock. John's wife turned out to be a criminal (of sorts), Sherlock left the wedding early... it's the end of an era...

tonnaree · March 24, 2014 11:48 am

SusiGo wrote:
But apart from John's answer - we know the scripts are usually well thought out and there is not really much place for coincidence. So IMO there is some meaning in having Mrs Hudson now of all times talk about a husband who turned out to be a criminal. And from whom she was saved in a way by Sherlock. And the same goes for the wedding story.

This is constantly in the back of my mind. We only get 3 episodes at a shot so I can't imagine much of anything gets tossed in on a lark. And film is expensive, they want to make every minute count.

tobeornot221b · March 24, 2014 6:35 pm

tobeornot221b wrote:
MRS HUDSON: And then I found out about all the other women. I didn’t have a clue!

And in John's case we might have this David guy who still seems to have an interest in Mary - and vice versa. ("You volunteered to be a shoulder to cry on on no less than three separate occasions.") There wouldn't have been the need to write this line into Mrs Hudson's script if not for the purpose to create another future parallel, saying that it wasn't enough that both had married criminal partners but also ones that would cheat on them. Which could fuel doubts as to John's paternity of the baby. Maybe Mary panicking (when Sherlock deduced her pregnancy) actually lies in the fact that David may possibly be the father?

Last edited by tobeornot221b (March 24, 2014 6:36 pm)

SherlocklivesinOH · April 2, 2014 2:04 am

The baby not being John's would probably make Sherlock madder than anything else Mary has done, including shooting him!

And let's not forget that, in the middle of Mrs. Hudson talking about her sex life, John blurted out "Sherlock!"

Of course, it could have been at a WORSE moment. It could have gone:

Mrs. Hudson: It was purely physical between me and -
John (interrupts): Sherlock!

tobeornot221b · April 2, 2014 3:48 am

SherlocklivesinOH wrote:
Of course, it could have been at a WORSE moment. It could have gone:

Mrs. Hudson: It was purely physical between me and -
John (interrupts): Sherlock!