Based on John's reaction to Sherlock's 'death' and Mary's betrayal, losing Mary and the baby is going to destroy him. I cannot imagine him undergoing that kind of loss and just moving back in with Sherlock and carrying on as if nothing happened. I can't think of a single scenario posited in this thread that wouldn't leave John an emotional wreck. The only thing I think could work would be that he and Mary agree to split up and she has the baby full-time with John being a part-time dad. That scenario would work for me while effectively getting Mary out of the picture.

Mary
 

Maybe John will never know. Maybe Mary moves away, with baby, and we get to know via Sherlock that she died, or the baby...
I'm thinking of John and Mycroft trying to keep Sherlock in the dark about Irene's fate. Of course Sherlock worked it out, but I'm not sure if John could work out such a thing. If someone told him Mary was save somewhere... maybe that could be it.
Also, I'm thinking, Mary could become involved in another shooting, maybe becoming a murderer in front of witnesses, and how high would her chances be to keep the child with her then? Mary in prison... maybe that would be alright for John. After all, she wasn't honest with him, and he was really pissed of with her. It would be tragic, but something that't not final and something maybe acceptable for John.
 

This is your opinion. Lots of people regard her as a villain or at least a morally grey character and cannot believe that John forgave her for shooting Sherlock. 

And after watching the deleted scene I am even more convinced than before - Magnussen is indisputably a villain and the scenes with him and Mary entering Sherlock's room in hospital and threatening/humiliating him are very similar. This cannot be a coincidence. 

Well the one thing we know for certain.
Shetlock ain't gonna be bumped off.

BBC Mary is a different deal to Canon Mary, though,.

besleybean wrote:

BBC Mary is a different deal to Canon Mary, though,.

Canon Watson lost two wives. TWO. And he didn't turn into a mourning mollycoddle .
ACD didn't consider wives and girlfriends being that important for his main protagonists.
Though BBC Mary is different I'm sure she won't be written being that essential for John in the long run.
Sherlock is the only one who matters to him.

 

besleybean wrote:

 I just don't see this...
I feel they've written her as a really important character.

Maybe just for the moment.
But certainly not in the long run.

 

Possibly not.
But we were also discussing the impact of Mary and/or baby Watson.

maryagrawatson wrote:

Based on John's reaction to Sherlock's 'death' and Mary's betrayal, losing Mary and the baby is going to destroy him. I cannot imagine him undergoing that kind of loss and just moving back in with Sherlock and carrying on as if nothing happened. I can't think of a single scenario posited in this thread that wouldn't leave John an emotional wreck. The only thing I think could work would be that he and Mary agree to split up and she has the baby full-time with John being a part-time dad. That scenario would work for me while effectively getting Mary out of the picture.

Mary
 

And this is one of the reasons why I want Mary to die a villian.  I want her to act and die in such a way that John is DONE with her.  I want him filled with fury.  Hell, I could even go for a scenario where John has to shoot her himself to save Sherlock.

But that's just me. 

Note:  Also why I would prefer the pregancy to either be fake or not John's.

I fully appreciate your points about how you feel about Mary. 

I like her too - a lot.  And I would feel bad about if she were to be viewed as a villain (which I don't think she is at all despite the shooting which took place in HLV).  All the prior issues of trust/anger/insecurity, etc. that those 3 adults had with each other seemed resolved by the time they were on the tarmac before Sherlock got on the plane ready to go into exile.

But I differ with you on the idea of the baby.  Dogs in adult dramas aren`t the same as adding a baby into the character mix.  And in the books the Watson's dog was virtually ignored and wasn't utilised as a device to develop the characters. 

How long do you think it would be, if the baby came on board before folks would be asking  "When will we see the little tyke?"  and other such questions.  Don't show a pet and it just fades into the background, like Sherlock's skull or the Persian slipper, but don't show John being a father, connecting with his child and his character suffers greatly IMO (he would look uncaring).  It would change the dynamic of the show. 

And yet if you do show such things then that too changes the focus of the show as well.  Suddenly it isn't about John and Sherlock - it is about how BW affects their relationship. And it never goes away unless the child goes away.

I do agree with your point that character development would result from the addition of BW - but it isn't that type of character development that I want to see on this particular show. 

I don't really want to see Sherlock being great with a baby.  He has plenty of ways to explore his humanity in ways that suit the purpose of the stories and the show better. The focus should always be how John is Holmes' chronicler and willing partner in solving crimes and how two very different personalities balance each out to form a indelible friendship.  

-Val