Hmm...I'm not sure I would agree about Pilot John, at least not totally, but it's interesting to think about.

As far as the earlier part of your post, I think you've got something there.  I would say there is something that grows up until series 2 and then in series 3 he goes back to something between pre- and during series 1, although not exactly because he still seems happy with meeting Mary and marrying her, at least at first.

But here's what I think, if it's adding anything onto what you've already said: John is used to what he encountered in the war and he's depressed from not being in it anymore.  I don't want to get too deep into this because there's another topic discussing it, but I think it's a combination of being upset by what he's experienced but also missing some of it.  And then he meets Sherlock and he can have some of that back, but it's new and it's probably better.  And for a while, that's good, through series 1 and then through most of series 2.  Sherlock asks if he wants to see some more.  John's answer of course is "Oh god, yes."  But then at the end of series 2 it hits too close to home as he's experienced his best friend's death.  And he's depressed again, because the meaning of his life, this time the life that Sherlock gave him, has been stripped from him again.  He finds Mary and that helps but he's still not quite the same.  The pain is still there.  It's not a perfect substitution or improvement on before, if it could be called an improvement at all.  And with what happens in series 3, there are more things hitting him very personally, unlike the other exciting things that have happened where even if he was in the thick of the investigation he was somewhat removed from.  And that's hard for him to handle.
 

Yes, John needs to find a way to be happy again with things having changed.  Maybe things won't be the same between him and Sherlock, but maybe they can go from there and still be close and comfortable in each other's presence without having hard feelings.  I think both of them came out of the events of the series 2 finale worse for wear, and I don't think the problems (if I can call them that, perhaps baggage would be a more fitting word?) that resulted are completely resolved.  They are still experiencing negative effects.  And I think John is frustrated, yes.  Because he thinks he should be happy with what he's got since he did want it, and yet it's still not quite right.  It's like how you think of how things could be a certain way but if you get it it's not exactly how you hoped.  Sherlock was alive, but he was still very hurt by him seeing appear to die and he was angry that he had two years of grievning before he knew that.

And I think while it still wouldn't have been the same as what he used to have, I think you're right in saying that he would have been happy with his marriage and child only if Sherlock hadn't come back.  Because he would be getting all he could considering the circumstances. But once Sherlock's back, there's still the promise of the action in his life that Sherlock represents, the possibility of it that keeps him from being satisfied with only "domestic bliss" that he did want but doesn't realize until he's in the middle of it that it's not everything he wants.  He wants more than just that. He needs to figure out what to do about that, but there's no easy answer even if he has found out that his wife has a not-so-pleasant past.

I don't think he really does things just because it's what people do.  I think he does things he thinks he wants to do, but then he's not as happy with them later on, at least as far as what he's done in series 3.  He expects it to be better than it actually is, than he actually ends up feeling.

I agree with you. I have to say, though, I fully understand John's behaviour in S3 consideirng all the stuff he goes through. It could make anyone of us grumpy, I think. But as you, I hope that this will calm down in future seasons so that he will be more in peace with himself, and the people around him. 

RavenMorganLeigh wrote:

Has John (on the show) actually changed that much? Or do we think that his character is following a logical progression? 

I think what you wrote about fanon John is absolutely right. I would like to add that S1 and S2 show John's POV. We see everything from his perspective - including himself. In S3, we get Sherlock's view. Sherlock has to deal with the fact that he did not return to the same world he had left. That could also be partly responsible for why John appears to be different than before.

So, something came up over in the Mary thread which should be better discussed in here. I said that John was not necessarily always "Petey Pureheart" or the good guy in comparison to Sherlock. One thing that brought up this idea is this here:

http://johnnlocked.tumblr.com/post/129000699571/watsonshoneybee-desperately-unspoken

An interesting reading of the fireplace scene. And I would add some scenes from series 3 as well. The "drama queen" scene for example. Or the "dancing behind closed curtains". Minor instances, maybe, but they show how John be quite unfeeling towards Sherlock or does not always recognise when his friend needs help. Or the "not knowing who Sherlock would protect" remark. 

See you!

I expressly do not wish to paint John as a baddie in any way. I just want to state that I think they are equals in many ways, flawed, with weaknesses, but eventually good men. The nice and fluffy John Watson IMO is indeed a product of certain fanfics and not the character we see in the show. 

I hope I made myself clear that this was not my intention. 

Does anyone think that John's tendency to be more focused on the emotional aspects of a case (TGG) makes him a liability at times?

I was thinking about when (TGG) he got angry with Sherlock for not outwardly being upset and disturbed about the human element-- so, at first he wasn't going to help. Until Sherlock called him on it: " Not much cop, this caring lark--".