This is beyond my imagination.

The last thing I want is for Mary to die a hero.   I have stated several time before that my wish is for Mary to go full on villian in S4.  Not because I hate the character but because I think it would be the best, most exciting thing to happen to the character.  Give AA something really meaty to sink her teeth into.  And bring the boys together to take her out.

 

Last edited by tonnaree (November 29, 2015 2:59 pm)

So true!

And with that said, I honestly don't see any way for the producers to keep Mary--even as a villain--and the baby without changing the essential thrust of the show.  What Arthur Conan Doyle was able to manage in his series of stories for a time would not work in a TV show.  The show's essential thrust is that of a detective story, with a close relationship between the two protagonists, Sherlock and John.  Bring in a permanent wife and child for John, and the thrust is automatically and permanently changed.  The only way to prevent that from happening is to kill off Mary and the baby, which is what ACD himself ended up doing (to our knowledge, his Mary never became a mother).  In other words, if the producers want to keep the thrust as it has been, they will have to stick to canon, which will mean making John a fatherless widower.
 

Last edited by kgreen20 (November 29, 2015 3:25 pm)

Nope, he didn't.  With that said, since we don't know what canon Mary died of, all we can do is guess; for all we know, she could have died while giving birth to a stillborn child.  We know only that she did die, and that she did not leave a child behind.  As for BBC Mary, she exhibits no reluctance to letting John solve cases with Sherlock, I've noticed. =)

But even with her willingness to let her husband go on solving mysteries with Sherlock, her very presence and her pregnancy both threaten to change the show's thrust.  What worked in the original stories, and what some fanfiction writers manage to make work in their fanfic, cannot be made to work on a TV show.  Either Mary and the baby will have to die, or the producers will have to decide to change the show's thrust permanently.  And I don't see them choosing to do that myself.
 

Last edited by kgreen20 (November 29, 2015 3:46 pm)

A stillborn child and a deceased wife = double the trauma.  And if John comes close to death as Sherlock did in "His Last Vow," that will mean even more trauma for him.
 

Last edited by kgreen20 (November 29, 2015 4:51 pm)

I think John would know if his wife wasn't really pregnant!
Whether it's his, or what happens to it- I don't know!

Or if it was Mary's.

Harriet wrote:

Or if it was Mary's.

I know we have a thread of its own for this so just my two cents:

A fake pregnancy seems unrealistic to me. However, a child who is not John's is a definite possibility. For a very minor character David is very present, he is even sitting at the same table with Molly, Lestrade, and Mrs Hudson and is visible in many shots of the wedding scene. Apart from the fact that he bears a resemblance to John and even dresses similarly. 

Pregnancies have been faked in real life, and I'm sure it could be done in fiction.  I don't know what the purpose would be, but I don't think there would be any coming back for Mary after that. 

Infidelity seems a bit too soap opera of a crime for me, after shooting Sherlock, being an assassin, lying about her whole background, etc.   I'll be really disappointed if that's the plan.  In fact, I think I'd rather have the fake pregnancy! 

I don't see any way out of John being traumatised if Mary is to be gone, to be honest. That is why I am hoping that she's had an affair or turns out to be a fully-blown villain who does something (even more) horrible either to John directly or to Sherlock. Because I think it will be easier for John if his major emotion towards Mary is anger and not hurt or grief.