I have to admit I had seen this scene in an entirely different way, Moriarty representing the part of himself that Sherlock thought was bad (that is to say, feelings and especially caring because caring brings forth pain), the one he'd locked away -for self preservation/protection.
When he says to MP!Moriarty "you never felt pain, did you?", I understand that Sherlock is berating himself for that, for locking himself away, because he is starting to understand how feelings can be important ("you don't have to fear it!" because, even if it is represented by Moriarty (still a symbol of danger in Sherlock's mind), what happens is really Sherlock telling himself that it's all fine.

As for "why did he go there of all places", I think that, this place being the deepest place in his mind (where else would he have controlled -notice how he says "Control! Control! Control." upon entering the room- and suppressed his feelings?) is the only way he could try and ...well, be "not dead".

I tend to agree with you, however, on the meaning of "Sherlock is boring". Dying from something so...simple? It's not neat, it's not elegant, it's...yes, boring. common.
If you would, let me propose a different meaning: what if, instead of "Sherlock is boring" equates "Sherlock is dying because of something soterribly common and dull" it were yet another taunt from Sherlock's subconscious to remind him how dull he's become so John doesn't want to live with him anymore -John is "addicted to a certain lifestyle" which because of specific circumstances (aftermath of his 2 years undercover?), Sherlock cannot provide him with anymore?

I agree very strongly with how you close your post : Sherlock is, indeed, unable not to care for the consequences of his actions on others -he cannot do this, be that controlled and repressed person he was, not after he has witnessed what befell them after his act. He has to fight, and live, to become a better man -until he eventually becomes the "great man" that Lestrade foresaw from the beginning.

Last edited by Lilythiell (August 6, 2015 3:11 am)

That's an interesting interpretation, Vhanja! It does make sense -and echoes Sherlock's "I am you" in TRF.
As for the interview, I couldn't help out. Sorry...

kornmuhme wrote:

That's the way I understand this mini scene, too. Sherlock and Moriarty are very similar, but Moriarty chose the criminal, "bad" side whereas Sherlock decided to work fo the "good" side; BUT it also could be the other way round! Moriarty embodies/symbolizes the dangerous part of Sherlock's genius, the one that has to be put under control all of the time.

I might have misunderstood what you meant, but I don't see that the last part you wrote is the other way around/different from what you wrote first (and what I wrote in my post). I think Moriarty symbolizes the "bad", cold and egotistical side of Sherlock, the abilities he has to become like Moriarty. And they have to be, as you said, under strict control.

Hm, I've never seen Sherlock getting in touch with the Moriarity side of himself. But he does from time to time slide over to the cold and "psycopath" side, with his use of Janine, for instance. I think he hits very close to mark when he says that John is the one who "keeps him right". John is his moral compass, and Sherlock has evolved tremendously after they became friends. But that side will always be there, I think. And every now and then it will come out.

Moriarty being the "bad" side of Sherlock is kind of what I was getting at, or at least one of the things I was trying to get at.  How Sherlock could have been if he made some different choices.  But I don't know whether that's the onlly thing that he represents, and the posts here so far indicate that more than one meaning can be found in this scene.  The ones I mentioned arecjust what I saw in it.  There is probably more than one layer.

I can see why Moriarty might be locked away because of the fact that he represents something deep inside Sherlock that he doesn't necessarily want to have out, or choices sthat he could have made but didn't, but I think the fact that he mentions about being dead, that being dead has something to do with it, too.  Obviously we have nothing to prove one way or the other for sure, but it's possible that's not how Moriarty would have appeared inside Sherlock's head earlier on in the story.

What Lily said about why Sherlock might have ended up there in this scene is interesting.  Maybe it's a place in his mind that he had control of his feelings.  But I think the strength and the control comes from acknowledging his feelings, instead of suppressing them.  It's when he remembers John and everyone else he cares about that he knows he has to live.

And to paraphrase The Moff, Sherlock is boiling with emotions.

Repressed for so long, that's not really a surprise, is it? Can we suppose his feelings have given him the strength he needed to "break free" when he entered this room? Because he was acknowledging his feelings at that moment -and not repressing anything. He might have realised that it was something extremely exhausting and only tried to control the pain -because he doesn't have a death wish (contrary to Moriarty).

Now, for Sherlock's "dark side". I think that the fact he was able to escape from that room can be seen as his accepting of his darker personality. Echoing, once again, his speech on the roof "But don't believe for one second that I am one of them".
I think that, at that moment, he knew that he had it in him to be as bad as Moriarty, but it took him dying to acknowledge it.
However, the fact that he accepts his darker side doesn't mean he won't ever behave badly -let's just take a look at his final action against Magnussen...while it has been done out of love, one can only wonder how that can be seen as a good action...but he accepts it and seems to board the aeroplane on the tarmac without resentment, but resignation.

I saw Sherlock's remark of Moriarty never feeling pain as a kind of jab against him (kind of like in Harry Potter when Harry says he feels sorry for Voldemort for never feeling love, though not quite the same), if I'm remembering correctly.  Ultimately, Sherlock succeeds and Moriarty doesn't, and Sherlock is the one who feels.

The ordeal that Sherlock does through includes him acknowledging his emotions to pull through.  Is he not feeling many feelings over the course of the entire sequence, let alone the scene with Moriarty? Pain, fear, shock.

I don't really think that it was not until the scene in his mind palace that Sherlock realizes that he could have been like Moriarty, or shares similarity.  I think that was already there, but perhaps he is acknowledging it more fully?  

But I would agree that even if he does not always act on the bad side, he obviously does, even though those action are motivated by better intentions than Moriarty.

I'm not sure I can see something in that scene that says he accepts his "dark side" - or that he has ever NOT accepted it.

I can see that Sherlock is boiling with emotions, but emotions doesn't have to be just a lot of pain. I am wondering where that is coming from. 

I don't know whether he's not always accepted the "dark side," but I think in the scene he is making a decision where his dark side is active in his decision, or could be until he pushes it aside in favour of the option of living.  Based on what Moriarty (or perhaps the vision of Moriarty) says, he does consider letting himself go, but then he thinks of the consequences and realizes that even if in a way it is in his interest to simply slip away, he does not want to make that decision for other reasons, which include the fact that others that he cares about will be hurt or in danger.