besleybean wrote:
Why would John think Sherlock wasn't interested in him?
And even then, why wouldn't he marry another man?
Maybe because of this: "I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while I'm flattered by your interest... I'm really not looking for any...". Plus has it never happened to you to miss the opportunity of a relationship just because you were so convinced you didn't stand a chance that you couldn't even see that your feelings were reciprocal? Happened to me a couple of times in the past.
As for marrying another man... I don't know. Maybe John is gay but only discovered it when he fell in love with Sherlock and doesn't want to admit it, maybe he was convinced to be straight and doesn't know what to think of his feelings for Sherlock, maybe because it's Sherlock and only Sherlock that makes him feel that way, whatever his gender, and that he wouldn't fall for another man other than Sherlock (I once was kinda obsessed with a woman, nothing happened with her because I never told her, even though I know she was lesbian, I didn't know exactly what I felt about her, and yet I had never been interested in any woman before, never been interested in any woman after, the simple idea of kissing "disgusts" me while it didn't while I imagined kissing her, so maybe I could have been "lesbian" only with her lol) I don't know.
As for marrying Mary, well, many people marry the wrong person thinking they're making the right choice.
One of my workmates got dumped by a man after years of living together. They even had a kid together. He dumped her saying he'd always been gay but couldn't admit it to himself until he met that guy that gave him the will and the courage to come out of the closet. He said she was a nice girl but that he'd never been in love with her because he'd never been attracted by women, but that he stayed with her, had a kid with her and all to try and convince himself (and his family) that he was straight... Let's say it happened 3 or 4 years ago and she hasn't coped yet...
*****************
Anyway, if some moments in TSOT made me laugh to tears, most of them broke my heart, no matter what we thing of their relationship (friendship or more). IE. when the photograph says "Just the bride and groom please!" and John has to say "Sherlock!" to make him step aside, because Sherlock stayed there as if it was also HIS wedding, as if he was an equal to Mary.
John's wedding also reminded mine back in 2005. I had a very good friend who I already knew for a couple of years before I met the man who became my husband. I had a crush on that guy, and he often joked about us being together and all though I never took him seriously because he had a girlfriend, and even if he didn't, well, I thought he was too smart, too beautiful... etc and that he would never be interested in a girl like me. Then I met my (future) husband and fell in love with me. When we got married, it was an evidence to me to ask my old friend to be my best man. He admitted he hated weddings and all, that he couldn't see the point, but that he would do it for me because I was her best friend. He was sitting next to me during the wedding, just like Sherlock and John. And he drank wine. A lot of wine. And he ended up looking at with a desperate expression on his face and said "Why didn't you marry me instead?" (thank God my husband didn't hear this! My friend's gf did though and looked daggers at me for the rest of the party...). After the wedding, he tried his best to avoid me, then he moved far away, changed his number, and I've never heard from him since
I didn't realise how bad he must have felt, being asked to be best man if he really was in love with me, but seeing TSOT really made me realise this...
I felt so bad for Sherlock during the whole episode... and there is so much subtext...