BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Sherlock's voice when speaking to Sarah

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** July 2, 2015 7:05 pm

He can turn it on when he wants to.

**Posted by RavenMorganLeigh** July 2, 2015 7:34 pm

I think it's a good example of how Sherlock is often "human"-- when John is not going to see it.

**Posted by kornmuhme** July 2, 2015 7:56 pm

Sherlock Holmes wrote:
He can turn it on when he wants to.

But can he also turn off his instincts? I believe every man and woman has instincts, also Sherlock has. I think he sometimes follows them without eagerly thinking about what he's doing any second :-).
Thanks for your thoughts, by the way!

**Posted by Kittyhawk** July 5, 2015 2:53 pm

I had to watch the scene again, because I had never found it remarkable in any way - why wouldn't Sherlock say a few comforting words to Sarah while untying her? It's the normal thing to do...

As for his voice - I think he's whispering because he was just getting strangled and has trouble speaking.

**Posted by SusiGo** July 5, 2015 3:09 pm

I found it remarkable because he rarely shows compassion.

**Posted by Kittyhawk** July 5, 2015 7:00 pm

The opportunity doesn't present itself all that often (and not all all until TBB) - the victims are dead in most cases. But Sherlock was perfectly nice to Soo Yin, and btw it was also Sherlock who pointed out that it would have cost the lady in pink a lot of effort and pain to scratch "Rache" into the floorboards. Sherlock is not without empathy! If he were, he could never do his job.

**Posted by kornmuhme** July 5, 2015 8:12 pm

Kittyhawk wrote:
The opportunity doesn't present itself all that often (and not all all until TBB) - the victims are dead in most cases. But Sherlock was perfectly nice to Soo Yin, and btw it was also Sherlock who pointed out that it would have cost the lady in pink a lot of effort and pain to scratch "Rache" into the floorboards. Sherlock is not without empathy! If he were, he could never do his job.

Well said! And that's exactly why I appreciate and love Sherlock: There's always such an ambiguity in his character: Yeah, he's often an asshole and arrogant, but he KNOWS what feelings are - he can show and feel them, he just mostly decides to put them aside.

**Posted by Dorothy83** July 28, 2015 12:41 pm

The truth is Sherlock is a big softie and capable of tenderness and affection (have you noticed how many times he kisses people spontaneously - ok, on cheeks and foreheads, but that's possible even more on point because those kisses are platonic and therefore hold no further motive like a kiss on the mouth would) whereas for all his screaming about caring and being tactful, in this instance I think John acted a bit 'douchy' with that silly joke - I know he wanted to make Sarah laugh but honestly if I had been her I'd have thought 'what the hell, I nearly died and the first thing you think about is how to make sure you get a second date!?!'

lol

**Posted by nakahara** July 29, 2015 6:50 am

They both care deeply, in their own special way.

John had a poor taste of joking in that´s scene, that´s true, but he was still shaken from the ordeal and the hit to his head too + he just save Sarah, so why would she be angry about him?

**Posted by Ariane DeVere** August 21, 2015 12:09 pm

maryagrawatson wrote:
That makes more sense than John's behaviour in the previous fight: Sherlock's on the ground, hurt, and badly winded. A bad guy takes a swing at him and John takes a swing at the bad guy, then runs off. Another bad guy goes to deal Sherlock a fatal blow and enter Sarah! Where did John go?!

Mary

John didn't 'run off' - he was kicked quite firmly in the delicate area by the bad guy and that pushed him away from the immediate scene of the fight. He was presumably still stumbling around clutching his injured groin when the baddie took a swing at Sherlock, and so wasn't in any fit state to protect him. He was probably still seeing stars in front of his eyes!

**Posted by Ariane DeVere** August 21, 2015 12:28 pm

And I love the way that Sherlock not only speaks gently to Sarah but puts a comforting hand on her shoulder while she's crying. It's made even more poignant by the fact that he's staring down the tunnel wishing that he could chase after Shan, but appears to realise that both Sarah and John need him and so he has to stay with them.

Sociopath? I don't think so!

**Posted by Harriet** August 21, 2015 12:46 pm

Are you The One?

**Posted by SusiGo** August 21, 2015 12:50 pm

If yes, let me thank you from the depth of my heart for your brilliant transcription work.

**Posted by mrshouse** August 21, 2015 2:14 pm

Welcome to the forum, ArianeDeVere.

**Posted by Ariane DeVere** August 21, 2015 2:39 pm

Yes, it's me. *shuffles feet in embarrassment at the nice welcome* Hello!

**Posted by dioscureantwins** August 27, 2015 7:53 pm

Ariane DeVere wrote:
And I love the way that Sherlock not only speaks gently to Sarah but puts a comforting hand on her shoulder while she's crying. It's made even more poignant by the fact that he's staring down the tunnel wishing that he could chase after Shan, but appears to realise that both Sarah and John need him and so he has to stay with them.

Sociopath? I don't think so!

Absolutely agree. Sherlock, much like Mycroft I'd like to add, is actually an incredibly sensitive person at heart imho. After years of bullying and abuse he's decided to be always the first to strike out. Fight or flight, that's the question, and he's conditioned himself into continuous fight mode. Just look at his reaction earlier in the ep in Sebastian's office and later in the posh restaurant loo. A whole history of always being the odd one out is revealed there, and the choice was either between either turning himself into an apparently insensitive cad or a permanent underdog position. Given his intelligence, the question was easily resolved.