BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / First Thoughts...

**Posted by Liberty** August 19, 2014 9:47 am

I don't like the drama queen part either, but at least it's John putting Sherlock down rather than Sherlock putting himself down. And it's actually possibly a fairly insightful comment - Sherlock works better under pressure, and when there's a man about to die, he's back on form.

I think I'd be happier with the baby joke if it wasn't repeated throughout the episode.

**Posted by SusiGo** August 19, 2014 9:57 am

Well, that depends on how you see the episode, I suppose. I really do not see Sherlock being presented as a baby. Definitely not.

I understand that John wants him to function. It is the choice of words I really do not like, he is sort of demeaning everything he ever said about Sherlock before. And up to this moment Sherlock has functioned perfectly well, up to deducing a murder while making a speech.

**Posted by tonnaree** August 19, 2014 1:03 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Liberty wrote:
I do think Sherlock already has some childlike qualities, but he's forced into a child role far too much here. The moment that really makes me cringe is when he asks John if he's said something wrong, in the way a child might. It's not Sherlock. I don't mind the relationship with Mycroft - that is a hangover from childhood. But Sherlock claiming he was John and Mary's baby? No thank you.

I do have problems with some moments in this episode but these are not among them. His words during the speech for me were a reminder of the role John always had for him - serving as an interpreter for "normal" people's behaviour and emotions, what is a bit not good, what is the right timing. I actually like the moment just because we get a bit of the old dynamic between them that has nearly disappeared in series 3.
The baby thing for me is a nothing but a weak joke, Sherlock trying to ease the awkwardness of the situation by saying this (a mechanism he uses again in the tarmac scene).

Just what I was going to say but Susi beat me to it. I loved this moment when Sherlock turned to John. From the moment he met John he started looking to him as a compass.

**Posted by SusiGo** August 19, 2014 1:06 pm

Compass is a wonderful word for this, tonnaree. Or, as ACD put it, "the one fixed point".

**Posted by tonnaree** August 19, 2014 1:16 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Compass is a wonderful word for this, tonnaree. Or, as ACD put it, "the one fixed point".

One could swoon.
I think I will.
*thud*

**Posted by Liberty** August 19, 2014 5:09 pm

By this time, though, he's much more socially adept than he pretends to be . I don't want to repeat too much what I said in another thread, but this wasn't in response to something off-the-cuff. He'd put a lot of thought, research and planning into that speech, and he's very good at manipulating people. Of course it was supposed to be moving. (That doesn't mean it's insincere).

I find it hard to accept that he's suddenly clueless (even if that's what was intended, I can't go for it). If it's just to give us "cute" Sherlock, then I think I can leave it out of my personal picture of him .

I keep thinking about how well he holds it together in TRF, keeping control of the situation, even knowing what he's got to do and what he's got to give up. I know TSOT has to take us through to HLV, where he's almost a dumbed down version of himself in some ways (not all), and he never gains control, never mind keeping it. But in HLV he still has his manipulative skills, and he's not "a child" at all.