It also seems to me that a man as Watson, with such an education and clearly able to fend for himself, would long have abandoned Holmes if what he writes in 3GAR were true - that this was the only time he ever saw evidence of Holmes's regard for him, of his goodness. Let us not forget, too, Holmes's heartfelt apology after the experiment of the Devil's Foot Root, and his frequent introduction of Watson as a friend. I do think it may be the only time the regard was so unveiled, the vulnerability so evident, but Watson would not have been able to stay with Holmes if he had never before had the feeling that Holmes cared - it would have been inhuman, and no amount of hero-worship can overcome such maltreatment. I am sure Holmes always could be incredibly insensitive when it came to cases, but I always felt that, deep down, he made an exception for Watson - Watson might very well have been the one to turn him into a good man, even though he never takes credit for it, save when he says the he has managed to put an end to Holmes's addiction. And in EMPT, when Holmes taunts Moran, it seems to me like he is venting some frustration for his three years of hiding, but that may just be a fanfic-writer's point of view. Plus, I have always taken his statement in DYIN, that he had forgot about Watson, as part of Holmes's sometimes a bit twisted humour. ;)
I think the main reason while there seems to be such a gap between the good and the great Sherlock in "Sherlock", is that the producers have overexaggerated the original!Holmes's insensitivity by declaring Sherlock is a sociopath, and as such incapable of feeling, which canon!Holmes never was, for all his insensitivity. The question then becomes if Sherlock does indeed feel, or if he is just the calculating machine. And John, just as Watson, never doubts that he can feel, even if it might not be visible to anyone else. John takes it upon himself from the start to force Sherlock to show some of those feeling. Watson is not as foreward, but perhaps the 3GAR are so special for him because he sees that he has succeeded - there finally is proof that behind the great mind, the greatness, there is a great heart - the goodness, of which he had always known that it was there.
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branchandroot
Continued...
Date: 2011-03-24 01:53 pm (UTC)It also seems to me that a man as Watson, with such an education and clearly able to fend for himself, would long have abandoned Holmes if what he writes in 3GAR were true - that this was the only time he ever saw evidence of Holmes's regard for him, of his goodness. Let us not forget, too, Holmes's heartfelt apology after the experiment of the Devil's Foot Root, and his frequent introduction of Watson as a friend. I do think it may be the only time the regard was so unveiled, the vulnerability so evident, but Watson would not have been able to stay with Holmes if he had never before had the feeling that Holmes cared - it would have been inhuman, and no amount of hero-worship can overcome such maltreatment.
I am sure Holmes always could be incredibly insensitive when it came to cases, but I always felt that, deep down, he made an exception for Watson - Watson might very well have been the one to turn him into a good man, even though he never takes credit for it, save when he says the he has managed to put an end to Holmes's addiction.
And in EMPT, when Holmes taunts Moran, it seems to me like he is venting some frustration for his three years of hiding, but that may just be a fanfic-writer's point of view.
Plus, I have always taken his statement in DYIN, that he had forgot about Watson, as part of Holmes's sometimes a bit twisted humour. ;)
I think the main reason while there seems to be such a gap between the good and the great Sherlock in "Sherlock", is that the producers have overexaggerated the original!Holmes's insensitivity by declaring Sherlock is a sociopath, and as such incapable of feeling, which canon!Holmes never was, for all his insensitivity. The question then becomes if Sherlock does indeed feel, or if he is just the calculating machine. And John, just as Watson, never doubts that he can feel, even if it might not be visible to anyone else. John takes it upon himself from the start to force Sherlock to show some of those feeling. Watson is not as foreward, but perhaps the 3GAR are so special for him because he sees that he has succeeded - there finally is proof that behind the great mind, the greatness, there is a great heart - the goodness, of which he had always known that it was there.