Let’s talk about that last gif for a second.
Let’s talk about the fact that the world’s only consulting detective was once a lonely university student.
Let’s talk about the fact that deducing the life stories of his classmates was the only way of connecting with them that Sherlock knew of, and they all hated him because of it.
Do not ever try and tell me that Sherlock Holmes can be defined by his arrogance or perceived superiority. He was a child once. He had insecurities. He never had a single friend. I would bet you anything, anything at all, that he tried as hard as he could to connect with the people around him before realizing he was only making it worse.
And you know what the worst part is? Even though this scene takes place years later, when Sherlock is a confident adult, this jackass still has the power to hurt him.
If that’s not worth talking about, then I don’t know what is.
Perfect commentary is perfect.
This. The most common complaint I see people make about the BBC’s Sherlock is that he’s a smug, arrogant bastard, and how can you ever say that about man whose face looks like that? What amongthedistantstars says, about how deducing people’s lives was the only way Sherlock knew to connect with people? That’s so true, and he tried so hard, and what he got for his efforts were people who clearly used him when they needed his talents (Seb has no qualms about e-mailing him out of the blue as some kind of pal) but otherwise hated and mocked him, and that was the best he got. And he told himself it didn’t matter and he wasn’t lonely, and then he met John, and he deduced his life for him, and John told him he was fantastic. Can you even imagine what that must have felt like to him? To have tried all his life to meet new people and befriend them in the one way he knew how and have it rebuffed, and then to give it one more try and have the person on the receiving end be amazed and impressed and delighted instead of cruel? When Sherlock told John people usually said piss off, he made it into a joke, but he really meant it, and they were people like Seb, and they said it all his life, and John saved him from them, and that’s why Reichenbach is so heartbreakingly beautiful, of course.
I’m crying in a restaurant now
::sob::
Yes, Sherlock is arrogant, and smug. Sure, he’s all those things, and in some respect, that’s completely, and understandably within his rights. He IS remarkable, he IS prodigious, he IS brilliant. He should feel proud that he is so very above average. Sherlock has an eidetic memory, imagine the discipline it would take to hone that ability. How overwhelming it can get.
But how much of that perceived conceitedness is actual egotism, and how much of it is guise.. He values his mind above any other thing about himself, to the point of starving his body of food and sleep in an effort to force it into clearer function. As far as he’s concerned, his mind the only valuable part of him worth sharing. And people like Sebastian, USE him. They utilize his talents to suit their needs, and then call him a freak for it later. Imagine the trust issues that Sherlock must have. He’s manipulative because he’s been manipulated.
Sherlock’s coldness hasn’t anything to do with sociopathy. But it has everything to do with a learned need to hide his heart underneath an arrogant, uncaring exterior. It’s protection. I think John is intuitive of Sherlock’s deeply vulnerable side, and the part of him that is complexly innocent. John isn’t afraid to put Sherlock in his place, but he’s also aware of Sherlock’s insecurities and inexperience, he’s firm, but patient, and protective. And in turn, Sherlock is completely devoted to John.
::has otp feels::
(Source: belegaer-the-shoreless, via bleedingwillow96)
