I don't think you need to read any metas to see the possibility of a romance, I agree. And you don't need to read any metas to see "only" a friendship. (I don't like the term "only", as if a friendship is anything lesser than a romance, but not sure how else to word it). 

The problem with analysing details is that it inevitably leads to overanalysing. As I've said before, it was the same with the Harry Potter fandom. An incredibly details and nuanced source material combined with dedicated fans on a long hiatus lead to an enormous amount of metas and analyses. And out of pure statistics, mostly where wrong, but some where right. And so of course fans would feel that they "were right", forgetting all the analysis that were wrong (a very normal and human feature, btw). 

But it's math - put out X amounts of analysis and some are bound to be right.

So true!  I have made so many wild predictions about S4 that one or two of them are bound to be right!  It won't stop me saying that I guessed it!

I agree. I do keep coming back to thinking that if they wanted to show this, they would do it.  They've had years.  Same sex attraction is not a dirty secret any more, thankfully. It doesn't need to be hidden away in codes.  I remember what Moftiss were saying about young people needing to see themselves on screen ... if they wanted to show it, they would show it.  Not hide it.  And then everybody could have been following along for years.

I do think a lot of effort goes into the set design and so on, but I've read an interview with Arwel where he mentioned putting his son's initials into scenes - obviously that's planned and has meaning, but it doesn't really have meaning for the main story.  I think the different professionals have some freedom do their own thing, without every little detail coming from Moftiss. 
 

More from http://wmsscottholmes.tumblr.com/post/149143324929/if-tjlc-isnt-real

• Why did Sherlock teach John how to dance?
He tells Janine that he loves dancing, so is the ideal person to teach him!  And he has a personal reason for wanting him to be able to dance, as he is going to play the waltz he composed, and John will be dancing to it.

• Why did Sherlock and John look at each other… The way they did on the dance floor?
I’m not sure what exactly this question is about, but I think there is a poignant moment after Sherlock announces the pregnancy when they realise their lives and relationships are changing.  Sherlock, who we assumed was one of the “three” is on the outside looking in.  They were afraid (well, Sherlock in particular) that the wedding would change things, but a baby will even more so.  And Sherlock has vowed to protect the baby to be, which is quite a big deal.

• Why did John and 'Mary’ act worried, annoyed, angry and panicked to the news of Mary being pregnant?
It seemed to be very early on and unexpected.  I think there are mixed emotions, but I think they are also pleased.  However, we know that Mary is in a vulnerable position.

• Why did Sherlock leave the wedding early?
He realises that it’s not only marriage but a baby that is going to change his relationship with John.  He chooses to be alone (and watches the other people who haven't chosen this, pairing up in their imperfect relationships), and at this moment I think there is some regret.   Moftiss have said this is based on a similar scene in Doctor Who.  

• Why did John’s war nightmares come back after not seeing Sherlock in a month?
He misses it - first it was the war, now it’s Sherlock, “the two of us against the world”.   It’s a reminder of the beginning of ASIP.   

• Why did Sherlock go back to drugs after not seeing John in a month?
He was trying to set up drugs as a pressure point.  He may also have been stressed (we know he missed John and was sad at the end of the wedding, and there's a reference to Holmes saying that he is left with cocaine after Watson announces his engagement in the ACD stories), but I think there is some genuine casework here too.  At the same time he’s dating Janine for the same case.   

• Why did John dream about Sherlock?
He misses him, and the part he plays in his life (the two of us against the world, etc.)

Liberty wrote:

• Why did he look so disgusted when they kissed?
I’m not sure that he does.   Why would he be?

I agree with just about all your answers and I think you are doing an awesome job with these. I have one comment, though - I do think John looks a bit disgusted. He looks away and almost looks as he's about to heave. (It's hilarious, Martin is amazing in this entire scene).

I think it's because watching a friend kiss - or do anything that could be regarded as intimate/sexual - can be quite uncomfortable. Especially if it's a friend that has never shown any interest in that kind of activity before, it's just weird/uncomfortable to watch. 
 

• Why did 'Mary’ shoot Sherlock?
Supposedly to keep her secret.  According to Sherlock, it would buy her time to negotiate (at Magnussen’s, John could have come up the stairs at any minute, and Sherlock clearly didn’t believe she was a threat to him).  

• Why did Sherlock try to go to the John section of his mind palace when mind palace!Mycroft told him to find something to calm him down?
Because John calms him down? 

• Why did mind palace!'Mary’ shoot Sherlock in her wedding dress when Sherlock went to the John section of his mind palace?
She was in a wedding dress when he made his vow to her and John (and when he made the promise to John from both of them). 

• Why did Sherlock restart his own heart when mind palace!Moriarty said 'John Watson is definitely in danger’?
John in is the centre of his world and he would do anything to save him.  Also at that point, he hasn't worked out anything about Mary.  He knows that she has apparently tried to kill him, and that John is about to walk into the room with killer Mary.

• Why did Sherlock never sleep with Janine?
My favourite take on it is he didn’t want to let himself feel those emotions. He knows it’s a dangerous area.  (I suspected that he is actually very wary of getting involved with anyone, and TAB seems to back that up).  But it could just have been that he didn’t need to deceive her to that extent.  It was just work, after all.

• Why did Janine say 'I know what kind of man you are’?
I think it’s meant to be ambiguous (if it was just that he was gay, she could have said that).   It's similar to what she says at the wedding. 

• What kind of man is Sherlock?
Somebody who represses emotions on the outside, but is very emotional underneath.  I remember that Steven Moffat quote about the Doctor being a god who aspires to be human, and Sherlock being a human who aspires to be a god, or something like that.  He’s very, very human beneath the anti-social genius exterior.  And is learning that he needs other humans.  Now, I know some people think this just means “gay”, and it’s obviously left very open to our own interpretations.   But I don’t know if Moftiss would be so coy about trying to show Sherlock as gay.  They are comfortable with showing openly gay characters.

And the last of HLV!

• Why did Sherlock shoot Magnussen?
To protect the three, as he vowed to do.  He can’t see any other way out of the situation. 

• Why did Sherlock get everyone else to leave the Tarmac?
He didn’t. The others move a little bit out of the way, so that he can say goodbye to John more privately.

• Why did Sherlock say 'there’s something I’ve meant to say always but then never have’?
Although he ends up turning it into a joke, I think just saying this helps to get the emotion across.   

• What did he actually mean to say (Because it clearly wasn’t 'Sherlock is actually a girls name’)?
We’ve talked about this, and there’s no way to know.  It could have been as simple as “I love you” (although he has already said that he loves him).  

• Why did he say that he thinks the name 'Sherlock Watson’ could work?
Because he’s talking about naming the baby after him.  Unbeknownst to John, he’s going off to his death because he protected John, Mary and the baby.  Babies are often named after somebody who has died, so it’s ominous.

That's a point, Lisabetharie (welcome, by the way!).  I don't tend to go on tumblr, but I'm sure there will be some reactions there. 

At the moment, I don't think it's clear what's happening.  He could be speaking to John, but it's not definite.   It could be Mycroft, or a third person (it almost looks to me as if he's speaking to somebody outside the room, through a window, or an intercom or something).   He could be about to turn round and "direct" it to one or both of them (I would guess one, I get the feeling that this is aimed at one person, even though "you" could be plural.  Maybe it is plural and is just us, the fans!  I'm kidding).   We know he loves both John and Mycroft.  But neither of them appear to react (in the very short clip that we see.  Maybe there just isn't time).

I'm sure I remember some talk at SDCC about

the brothers' relationship

, and there are hints in the trailers that Mycroft will play an important part, so I wonder if it's to him.   "I love you, but ... I'm going to have to kill you".  Hopefully not!  We know there's a gun involved in that room at some point, and another person there too.  But again, there's that strange thing of the triangular setup of the three of them, and Sherlock facing outwards, towards the camera.  Mycroft and John look like they're literally/metaphorically behind him, while he addresses somebody else.   Maybe he's about to kill somebody else. 

Sherrinford?

Or maybe he's just caught sight of himself in a mirror!

I'm really curious about it!

Last edited by Liberty (December 11, 2016 10:59 am)

There is an introduction thread if you wanted to post an introduction, but no problem with just diving in!  I'm having a look at tumblr now, but I can never seem to get to grips with it.  Anyway, I'm glad you've come to join us here.  I joined for the same reason - that feeling that I had to talk to other people about this! 

We're discussing the trailer over on another thread (http://sherlock.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=6991), and I first felt that this scene was mind palace.  Now I'm not so sure.  At first glance I thought it was Moriarty's cell from HLV, but it definitely isn't.  There's still that sort of mind palace vibe to it, though. 

The feeling I get most strongly is that he's actually saying it to somebody outside the room.  Looking at the shape and size of the room, it seems as if he's facing the wall, and I wondered if there was an intercom, camera or window there.   Or it could be somebody standing right in front of him, but I don't get that feeling, although I don't know why! 

I also got the feeling that "I love you" might come just before doing something awful (like shooting John, as you say).

Yes, we've talked about "the other one" quite a lot here, and I think it has particularly come up in relation to the last episode, TFP, and the

Sherrinford

clue.  And yes, I think sentiment/love/human emotions are going to play a big part for Sherlock in S4. 

As for revealing Johnlock in a trailer ... I agree, if that was a plot point, they would not reveal it.  However, I think that scene is so ambiguous that it would not be a giveaway.   It's not clear at all who he is directing it to.   But for other reasons, I don't think it's going to be a Johnlock moment.

Last edited by Liberty (December 11, 2016 10:58 am)

If we discuss this in here - which is fine - we would have to put a spoiler warning in the title, right? 

I don't know about the trailer itself (there isn't a spoiler warning on the thread it's posted in - to be honest, I hadn't really thought of official trailers as being spoilers).   Everybody else's posts are fine, but I am guilty of alluding to a couple of hints from other sources, so I'll go back and put those in spoiler tags!   (My fault, I usually remember that setlock contains spoilers, but I forget when it comes to SDCC, etc.).