BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Was Mrs. Hudson acting?

**Posted by melissak334** July 26, 2015 11:38 am

How much was Mrs. Hudson faking in the scene where she was tied up?

She was visibly upset when Sherlock came in, and kept apologizing to him. Was that real or just a distraction of some sort?

And when Sherlock came in, he very coldly told her to stop snivelnig which seemed like an atttempt to act as though he didn't care about her but then he ruined it by going right up to her and sort of inspecting her for injuries.

Afterward he implies that he left the phone with Mrs. Hudson on purpose and she says she managed to sneak it out when they thought she was having a cry. Why did she sneak it out? Did he tell her to do something? How did she know what was going on?

Did she recover quickly because she was faking most of it anyway?

Last edited by melissak334 (July 26, 2015 11:38 am)

**Posted by Dorothy83** July 26, 2015 11:41 am

Good question! I always saw her 'thought I was having a cry' as meaning that yes she was having a cry, but she was also smuggling the phone on herself and they didn't notice. As in, they thought she was JUST having a cry. If that makes sense?

**Posted by Lola Red** July 26, 2015 12:00 pm

Considering Mrs Hudson’s background I think she is able to keep thinking, even when she is really scared. So they have either asked her where the phone is or she was just looking for something that does not belong in 221B and when she found the phone she had the presents of mind to hide it. I believe she was really scared, but she is a though lady, given her activities in her younger years and the fact that she generally “keeps her cool” around Sherlock and all that comes with being his landlady, so she recovered fairly quickly.

**Posted by Whisky** July 27, 2015 9:06 am

I think Mrs. Hudson has very good antenna for all the "not good" stuff going on, and for realising who is the "wrong sort of people". Her background would strongly suggest she has been in some tight spots. I think she keeps a close eye on all the doings of Sherlock and John,and knows a good deal about their cases and about what's going on. We never see it on screen, but I can well imagine her having talks with Sherlock about his work, maybe not all the details, but I'm sure Sherlock would trust her with more information than, say, Mycroft or Lestrade. Like,while bringing the tea...
Mrs H: "Sherlock, all these nasty people interested in you, I wonder what you're up to..."
Sherlock: "Oh, the woman gave me this interesting phone. Some people seem interested."
Mrs H: "I hope we'll not have unpleasant visitors..."
Sherlock: "I hope so, too. But should they pay us a visit, I can't let them have this. - Oh, btw, have you seen my other dressing gown?"
I can perfectly see Mrs. Hudson make the necessary connection and snatch the phone so no one can get it. She would do nearly anything for Sherlock I suppose - we only talk about Sherlock's friends but never about Mrs Hudsons. She only has the occasional lover, and maybe she has some lady friends,but I guess those would be more for tea and not for exotic dancing and the likes. We have been assured she is a close friend of Sherlock, and I think she considers him something like that for herself.
I'm sure she can be scared by men with weapon, but I don't think for a second she is as much the frightened, helpless old lady she pretends to be.

Last edited by Whisky (July 27, 2015 9:11 am)

**Posted by Dorothy83** July 27, 2015 10:03 am

I kind of see Mrs Hudson as the mum who just wants to make her son happy no matter what - the one that goes to buy him a Ninja Turtle costume for the last minute party he wants to go to

**Posted by Whisky** July 27, 2015 10:32 am

Now I'm thinking of Benedict in that costume and can't stop laughing :D omg

I'm not really sure how far Mrs Hudson would go out of her way to please the boys. Even if she really loves Sherlock, I don't see her in a mother role. I think of her saying "He's Sherlock. How will we ever know what goes on in that funny old head." This sounds affectionate to me, but also there is a distance - she doesn't know him that well. Also she can put a foot down if he annoys her.
I guess that she takes the phone for Sherlock and keeps it safe is mainly to protect Sherlock, and not to make him happy or help him. I think she realises he has once again miscalculated (why didn't he put the phone in a safer spot?) and she intervenes. She's keeping an eye out, but I'm not even sure she is giving presents to him except making tea...
I really wonder what Mrs. Hudson would give Sherlock as a birthday present :D :D

**Posted by Dorothy83** July 27, 2015 10:48 am

good point. But the reason I see her as a mother, apart from how it just looks to me watching the show, is Una Stubbs saying herself that she acts with them like she does with her own sons. And after all, what mother knows her children 100%? Sherlock is more like a teenager and so her behaviour and reading of him I think is well aligned with that.

Also - yes she can put her foot down, but to me that seems like it works only in theory? Like, she says a lot of things, but does she actually follow through? She's not his housekeeper, but she dusts, cleans his floors, makes him tea in the morning, does his shopping...that to me sounds like A LOT of things she does that doesn't have to do. Again, she sounds like a mum threatening her son to throw his dirty laundry out of the window if he doesn't tidy up, but obviously never does it. She looks after him like a mum, rather than just a friend. When does she ever refuse to do things for him?

Last edited by Dorothy83 (July 27, 2015 10:50 am)

**Posted by Whisky** July 27, 2015 12:04 pm

Good points as well :-)
True, Sherlock is more the teenager... except when he is dealing with the most dangerous criminals (and sometimes even then...)

I have to think about Mrs Hudson saying no. To me it feels like she would say no, if something happens she doesn't approve of. Maybe Sherlock is just really good in keeping just in line...

**Posted by Lola Red** July 27, 2015 12:06 pm

I also see her more as a mother type figure. My favourite scene is in ASIB when he comes into her flat after having flung the American from the window several times, very neatly cleans his shoes before entering and then goes straight to the fridge to steal some food. That whole scene (and also the one before) to me just really sums up their relationship.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** July 27, 2015 12:12 pm

As much as Mrs H claims not to be their housekeeper, she very much is, so she obviously wanders in and out of 221B of her own free well, and most probably tidies up occasionally, or at least picks things up and puts them where they're supposed to be. She mentions later that Sherlock left the phone in the pocket of his "second best dressing gown". I've always imagined that Sherlock just left this dressing gown lying around on the sofa or the back of the armchair, and Mrs Hudson comes swooping in as she does, sees it lying there and tuts to herself, picks it up to throw it in the laundry basket, then realises there's something in the pocket. It's a phone. She takes it out and is probably planning to put it somewhere more appropriate where it's not going to get lost or thrown in the wash - like on the table or the desk - when the doorbell rings and it's the thugs come to attack and question her. They question her about a phone, she realises that must be the phone she just found, and sneaks it into her bra.

**Posted by Whisky** July 27, 2015 12:19 pm

I'm not so sure about her effectively being the housekeeper :-) Tidies up occasionally, that's more like it. I simply think 221b would be much tidier if she really did housekeeping. But picking up a dressing gown, I can see that.

Although I don't think Sherlock would be so careless with the phone in that situation, especially because he knows the Americans are already after it. He must have known they would look for it. It seems really careless to leave it lying around.

**Posted by Dorothy83** July 27, 2015 12:41 pm

I don't think that's because of Mrs Hudson's choice. She says in TEH that Sherlock didn't like her dusting, which implies she certainly would have if he'd let her! I don't think we can say she just 'tidies up a bit': she tidies up, cleans, does the food shopping (see TGG when she comes in after John and Sherlock's domestic with the shopping and leaves the receipt on the table), cooks whole meals for them (see Asib, when she takes away the plate Sherlock has left untouched, TsoT when she makes Sherlock and John both breakfast, etc)

Definitely way beyond the remit of a landlady...more like a mum. If we go back to her behaviour towards Sherlock, just think of her scolding him in HLV: "Sherlock Holmes, if you've been youtubing..." (or something like that). That's a sentence that could easily end with "no TV for a week young man!"

Last edited by Dorothy83 (July 27, 2015 12:43 pm)