#Howard Shilcott

[surprisinglyokay]

Having recently read a fanfic in which Sherlock and John catch trains to various parts of southern England exclusively from London’s Waterloo station, even when this is not the usual/logical route, I’d like to share this for writers who might not be familiar with the whole business of trains in/to/from London.

Let’s start with the history of how and when rail services came to London. This article explains how and why we have so many terminal stations (short version: because when they were built, the railway companies were privately owned and all needed their own terminus in London).

The main terminal stations are Waterloo (south), Paddington (west), Euston (north-west), King’s Cross (north-east), St Pancras (East Midlands and Eurostar), Liverpool Street (east), Fenchurch Street (south-east) and Victoria (south). There are others (see the article linked above and my husband’s comment below).

As we know, within London and the suburbs, these termini are linked by the London Underground (aka The Tube) network. There is also the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) - a driverless system - and other overground rail services. Here is a map of it all from Transport of London (TfL). Baker Street is served by five tube lines: Bakerloo (brown), Metropolitan (maroon), Jubilee (silver), Circle (yellow), and Hammersmith & City (pink). It’s also only a five-minute walk from Marylebone (the nearest terminal) which itself is just behind the Landmark hotel, which we know as the exterior for The Restaurant Scene.

Aside: I think Sherlock is unlikely to catch a bus unless directly related to a case - they’re just too slow for him. But you can find bus maps and all kinds of other TfL mappy delights here.

If you have characters using public transport in the UK, your best bets for accurate research are:

Google Maps (in public transport mode)

National Rail (see the page footer for all the useful stuff)

Transport for London

All these also have apps available.

I’m happy to do Sherlockian Britpicking (my day job is copy-editing) if that’s helpful for you.

If you want to go the full Howard Shilcott, I still very much enjoy reading the rail enthusiasts’ forums posts about the myriad tube-related continuity errors in TEH. I’ll let you Google those for yourself. 😉

———

Ran this past my husband (who is totally the full Howard Shilcott) and he made a few corrections (and a lot of faces!) before I posted: he wishes it to be known that he ‘remains unhappy about [my summary of] Fenchurch Street’ and thinks I should add Charing Cross to the list so people know how to get to Kent. So that’s all clear then. 😂

[chanceorchesspod]

@devoursjohnlock

Hey! Hannah here. I would be happy to write up something on the St. James' Park thing. Not sure what you mean about general disclaimers about fact checking, but I would encourage it actually given how casual the podcast can be. Speaking of, I can't for the life of me remember what I said in the episode word for word (and I'm mortified to listen to myself lol), but I wouldn't be surprised if you're referring to my sort of conflating St. James' Park and St. James the less which is a church and I didn't make that clear.

So I'll briefly fact check myself as best as I can. St. James' Park is what the book discusses, though there are many other references to St. James' Square where many figures mentioned in the book lived and spent their time. There's a whole stretch of streets and neighborhoods on the west end that the book discusses, and the church is St. James the less church (not the park but still evokes the name and isn't really all that far from the park). The scene itself appears to take place in a park and I know that the very next day Sherlock, John, and train guy (Howard Shilcott) are trying to find the missing train car and "it vanishes between St James’s Park and Westminster."

So the significance of St. James' Park exists in the episode but the fact that I conflated the two in my head is pretty telling lol I read "St. James" and my ears perked up, but the poem itself I read aloud had me !! Anyway you're right I should put this in writing!

[possiblyimbiassed]

The Man in the Barrel

Some excellent observations from @ebaeschnbliah with an addition from @raggedyblue (X) made me reflect a little over the topic of Nelson in BBC Dracula, and the idea of having someone enclosed in a barrel. In Blood Vessel, when they are searching the ship Demeter for hidden murder victims and murderers, Dracula finds the young deckhand Piotr about to open a big barrel on deck, and tells him the following anecdote - apparently to distract Piotr - about Nelson after the Battle of Trafalgar (1805): 

COUNT DRACULA: Admiral Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar. Died of his wounds, they say. And they wanted to get him back to England with all speed. National hero. The British are very keen on that sort of thing. But Spain is quite a way, and it was hot, so what do you think they did? They put the old admiral into a barrel of rum to preserve him. 

PIOTR: No!

COUNT DRACULA: True. Trouble is, they didn’t tell the crew. So when they got home to England, they found out that those thirsty sailors had been helping themselves to a drop or two all they way back to Portsmouth.

(Continued under the cut)

Then Dracula digs his hand into the barrel and pretends there’s a monster in there that grabs his arm. He does this apparently to joke with Piotr, but then he scares him away by being creepy.

I can’t help thinking that this reference must have some metaphorical meanings, so I took to read some more about Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (X). 

First of all, the anecdote seemed rather exaggerated to me. Looking it up, Dracula’s version appears very much like a tall tale. According to Wikipedia, Nelson’s body was actually transported ”in a cask of brandy mixed with campher and myrrh, which was then lashed to Victory’s main mast and placed under guard”. Not a barrel, thus, and not rum. If the cask was placed under guard, I very much doubt that any crew member would dare to even approach it, not to mention drink from its content. But there’s apparently a grain of truth in the story; Nelson’s body was preserved in alcohol onboard.

Nelson is one of the most famous British national heroes; a high-ranked naval officer who sacrificed his life for his country in battle and brought Britain to a glorious victory over Napoleon. 

By the way; Thatcher, another (in)famous British leader, is in BBC Sherlock rather compared to Napoleon, since The Six Thatchers is a direct reference to ACD’s The Six Napoleons. And Napoleon, as pointed out in @raggedyblue’s addition (X) has resemblances with Jim Moriarty - the ”Napoleon of crime”. In my opinion Moriarty in BBC Sherlock (among other symbolisms, and maybe this is the case also in ACD canon) represents homophobia.

Anyway, Nelson fought many battles and lost an eye and an arm in them, so the pirate references are actually there too. Dracula even puts emphasis on this:

As Dracula also points out, Nelson is a national hero for the British people.

Going by Wikipedia, Nelson was very popular already when he was alive. He’s described as a skilled strategic war leader who cared about his troops, and the Battle of Trafalgar did lead to a great victory for his country. But he also appears as a rather controversial human being (X); his behaviour is described as self-centered and ”vain” (X), he actively supported slavery (X), and he definitely cheated on his wife (X). He also seems to stubbornly have not listened to some advice from his fellow naval officers at the Trafalgar battle (X), which otherwise might have saved his life. One piece of advice was that he should “remove the decorations on his coat, so that he would not be so easily identified by enemy sharpshooters”, but Nelson refused, and was shot.

Another interesting thing about the Battle of Trafalgar is the marine signal flags that Nelson used on the HMS Victory to transmit the following famous message to the part of the British fleet present on site:

"England expects that every man will do his duty" (X)

Flag combinations represent the three last letters of the message. Picture by J.M.W. Turner, (X). HMS Victory still exists, by the way, and is the world’s oldest naval ship still in commission! (X)

I have tried to explore the meaning of signal flags in TFP, BBC Sherlock, in this meta, including the interesting discussion that followed (X).

A statue of Admiral Nelson (X), on a 52 m high column, stands in the center of Trafalgar Square in London, guarded by four sculpted lions that weigh 7 tons each. The square is a large meeting point in London, which is often venue for different kinds of political demonstrations. I mentioned it in this post about the punk rock musician Tom Robinson (X), who was most famous in the seventies for his fight for LGBTQ rights. There’s this photo of Tom and his band at a protest against the prosecution of the magazine Gay News, London 1978 on Trafalgar Square, where Tom in my opinion looks a great deal like Sherlock, coat and all (X). 

Trafalgar square also figures several times in BBC Sherlock - once per series in fact. In TBB (S1) Sherlock and John cross Trafalgar Square, talking about codes and ciphers: 

In TRF (S2) there’s a scene where the police car carrying Sherlock and John to the court passes Trafalgar Square, while John is telling Sherlock what he ought to remember once they arrive. We see Nelson’s statue reflected in the car window:

And then there’s one moment in TEH (S3), when John and Sherlock are discussing older underground stations via Skype with the nerdy train enthusiast Howard Shilcott. One of the stations mentioned is Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square and the Strand. Hmm...

Last but not least, in TLD (S4) Sherlock and Faith/Eurus pass Trafalgar square on their little night stroll through the streets of London:

Anyway, enough about Trafalgar Square; back to Nelson and his (supposed) barrel. A man being held in a barrel also makes me think of the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes the Cynic (404-323 BC), who used to live in a huge clay wine jar (X). According to Wikipedia Diogenes “made it his life's goal to challenge established customs and values” and also “considered his avoidance of earthly pleasures a contrast to and commentary on contemporary Athenian behaviors. This attitude was grounded in a disdain for what he regarded as the folly, pretence, vanity, self-deception, and artificiality of human conduct.” Quite the opposite of Nelson, I’d say. :) But doesn’t it sound a little bit like Sherlock’s opinion about marriage and weddings in his best man speech in TSoT? ;)

In art Diogenes is often depicted surrounded by dogs (X):

(X) Diogenes believed human beings live artificially and hypocritically and would do well to study the dog. He also carried around a lamp “looking for an honest man”.

There’s also a dirty joke about ‘being in the barrel’, as described by Urban Dictionary (X). (I suggest you look it up for yourselves if you’re interested, though, because I’m not gonna reproduce it here ;))) )

So, in summary: Nelson is a national hero known for having sacrificed his life for his country. But he’s also pirate-like, he takes foolish risks and seems to care little about his own survival. He’s an old ‘war lord’ (like Dracula), and Napoleon (= Moriarty - or Thatcher in BBC Sherlock) is his adversary. He dies in battle in a war against Napoleon, but after his ‘fall’, he gets preserved in alcohol, and (like Dracula) the legend about him lives on for eternity. He’s ‘Un-Dead’ and preserved for ever, but doesn’t seem ‘real’ any more. But there’s also another side of him, where he is a controversial figure; vain (’posh’?) and extravagant. In BBC Dracula we hear a tall tale about his fate, where he ends up inclosed in a barrel. Going with the Diogenes analogy, the barrel and an ascetic living could also be self-inflicted. And the dogs are a strong theme in his life. ;) @raggedyblue​ mentioned ‘Reichenbach vibes’ here (X), and I can only agree. :)

@ebaeschnbliah​ @gosherlocked​ @sherlockshadow​ @shylockgnomes

[ebaeschnbliah]

DISTRACTIONS  &  CONSEQUENCES

Exploring the deeper meaning of ASIB has always been a joy and an exiting experience. No matter if it’s about the Strange Similarities this episode shares with HLV, or the intriguing question why Sherlock plays Irene’s theme in TFP when prompted by Eurus to ‘play himself’ (Explosive, it’s more me   Oh, have you had sex?). Also the recuring Christmas theme in every series and Mycroft’s Bond Air plan, that doesn’t appear very ‘Neat’ at all after taking just a slightly closer look. When I wrote The Importance of Little Things  Boomerang and the other posts mentioned above, I didn’t dwell on a detailed metaphorical reading of the somewhat strange boomerang case, which initiates the appearance of ‘the woman’. @sarahthecoat added a short and very good summary of the already existing theory on this post. It was this comment which reminded me that I still hadn’t written down my own version of he boomerang case in ASIB.

Playing around with the idea of a much further extended mind palace scenario than that from the shooting in CAM Tower onwards (EMP Master Post 2016), those ideas inevitably led to slightly different interpretations of events than some of the already existing ones. (EEMP=Extraordinary Extendend Mind Palace, I called it back then, jokingly. Links are included in this post),

Characters created by Sherlock’s imagination, to play a role on his mind stage, aren’t autonomous individuals who can act of their own free will. Instead, they would represent different aspects of Sherlock’s personality, his views, fears, desires, expectations and experiences, his memory, etc. The way they look, speak and act would be designed by Sherlock, precisely to play their role in the experiments/scenarios appointed to them. Approaching Sherlock BBC from this angle, the story appears in a different light …. like a holographic postcard, where the motive displayed on it, changes with the slightest movement. Most importantly, it changes the central question from HOW to WHY something happens. And it also raises the question of ... WHAT could be the actual meaning behind choices regarding character behaviour, names, places, dialogues and so on, inside those scenarios. What’s the real meaning of all those little stories told in the coded language of Shelrock’s mind? 

Based on this idea, the boomerang case, the story of Phil with his backfiring car and the Hiker with the bashed-in head, in context with the main storyline of the associated episode, changes as well. 

For anyone who is interested in a different reading, this theory is …. alternatively below the cut …. :)

The boomerang case of A Scandal in Belgravia is presented in four sequences:

The first part is placed near the beginning of the episode. Phil’s POV of the event is shown almost exclusively by visuals without dialogue. This sequence merges seamlessly into ...

... the second part, which is about John, his investigation on the crime scene and his report to Sherlock via WiFi before he and Sherlock, separately, get whisked away to Buckingham Palace, ordered by Mycroft Holmes.

In the third part Sherlock explains the event to Irene at her place. Before Sherlock can finish his explanation he gets interuppted, first by the fire alarm, initiated by John, then by the American agents who want to confiscate Irene’s camera phone.

Directly afterwards Sherlock gets injected with drugs from Irene’s syringe. He imagines how Irene gives the final explanation and reveals the solution of the boomerang case.

This fourth sequence contains, what Sherlock would call ‘a special feature of interest’. The Hiker, distracted by the sound of an ‘explosion’, is hit by his  returning boomerang. While the man is shown falling backwards and out of the picture, the scene, just for a second, jumps also backwards in time to the very moment where Sherlock falls to the floor in Irene’s bedroom, due to the influence of her 'chemistry’. Then the scene continues with the Hiker still falling backwards out of the picture.

In the third sequence, while Sherlock describes the event, the camera circles round himself and the Hiker in a very explicit way. One man vanishes behind the other alternately.

Additionally there are also a certain similarities when it comes to 

men lying on the ground with bashed-in heads (red and blue)

characters wearing red jackets (x) 

characters wearing specific headgears

All of this strongly suggests that the Hiker, like Mary, is a mirror for Sherlock. Phil, the driver of the unmoving car, on the other hand, appears to be more connected to John, at least on a first glance. He wears similar clothing. ‘Ghost’ John can be seen sitting behind him on the sofa, while the man tells his story, placed in the clients chair in the middle of the living room. This leaves the question why John isn’t shown sitting in his own chair if he is present at the time and not in Dublin. Later, during the Wi-Fi conversation from the crime scene, Phil sits in John’s chair while Sherlock seems to have just woken up.

“Morbidly obese, the undisguised halitosis of a single man living on his own, the right sleeve of an internet porn addict and the breathing pattern of an untreated heart condition. Low self-esteem, tiny IQ and a limited life expectancy “  … this is how Sherlock describes Phil. As I mentioned in ‘Importance of Little Things’ those characteristics can also be attributed either directly to Sherlock himself or indirectly to some of his ‘mirrors’.

morbidly obese - Mycroft, who represents Sherlock’s brain department for logic and reason, appears exactly like that in TAB

halitosis - foul things coming out of ones mouth, could easily be a metaphor for ‘you alway say such horrible things’. Furthermore, halitosis is also mentioned associated with Mr. Howard Shilcott, the train guy from TEH, the one with the silly (ear) hat who is sentimental, maybe isolated but doesn’t mind being different. 

internet porn addict - computer language metaphors aren’t uncommon in this story. Sherlock compares his brain to a hard drive. Jim calls himself ‘virus in the data’ and Mycroft shares that opinion. Brains consist of billions of neurons, interconnected with each other, communicating with each other, carrying trains of signal pulses and informations … very much like the internet. Metaphorically, an internet porn adict could be someone who deals with sexual desires ‘virtually’ inside his head and not with the body. 

untreated heart condition - this description mustn’t necessariy be aimed at a real pathological condition of said organ. Heart metaphors are very often used to paint vivid pictures of the emotional state of a person. Hearts can suffer, can be neglected, they can break, turn to stone, freeze, burn, melt, do a somersault, sing with joy … and so on

low self-esteem -  in TSOT Sherlock describs himself … ‘I am the most unpleasant, rude, ignorant and all-round obnoxious arsehole that anyone could possibly have the misfortune to meet’ … ‘I never expected to be anybody’s best friend’  No further words needed, I guess.

tiny IQ - only some statements which compare Sherlock to an idiot (there exist a lot more) … ‘I used to think I was an idiot’ (Sherlock, TEH),  ‘I’ve been an idiot – a blind idiot!’ (Sherlock, TEH), ‘I’m an idiot. I know nothing’ (Sherlock, TST), ‘You always were the slow one …. the idiot’ (Mycroft, TFP) and finally Sherlock about Phil, the man this description is aimed at:  ‘He’s an idiot. Why else would he think himself a suspect?’

limited life expectancy - Mycroft again, the brain department for logic and reason. In TAB Sherlock and Mycroft are betting on big brother’s life expectancy, which both brothers assume to be not very long: ‘Three years flat if you eat that plum pudding’ … ‘Done’ 

If Phil with his unmoving car is indeed a mirror for Sherlock, like the Hiker, why is he visually connected so closely to John? Maybe because Phil represents the object of Sherlock’s investigations and deductions. 

Phil, the driver of the transport that lies dormant

A little later in this episode Sherlock observes how John meets Irene at Battersea, the disused Power Station. An unmoving car and a disused power station ... are this two different metaphors for the same thing?

A disused power station, a car that doesn’t move = a body whose sexual urges lie dormant. Repressed desires, emotions behind elephant glass ...  ‘ignored, patronised, disregarded, not allowed so much as a vote’. And the brain demands ‘you will stay out of this’ and warns ‘don’t get involved’. But the same brain also forces Sherlock to investigate ‘the woman’ and later releases ‘the criminal mastermind’. And in TAB this brain proclaims very clearly ‘We must lose this war because they are right and we are wrong’. Janus-faced indeed. Or maybe just a massively conflicted mind, torn in two, like the family pictures at the walls of the grey chamber in TFP.

Who’s John Watson on Sherlock’s mind stage?

John Watson - acting as a character on Sherlock’s mind stage - is hard to pin down. He seems to represent several aspects at the same time and he is definitely the main focus of Sherlock’s investigations.

In ASIP Sherlock confirms John’s question that he’s filling in for his skull - the one Sherlock calls ‘friend’. The skull is an imortant part of the body. Made of strong bone, it encloses the brain and protects it. Interestingly, broken up skulls - bashed-in or penetrated by bullets - are a rather important theme of this story. Maybe something imprisoned by inflexible bone wants to break free … an idea, a dream, a desire ….

John, ‘good old doctor Watson, the one fixed (inflerxible) point in a changing age’ is strongly connected to mirrors for love and emotions. As his counterpart, he is also connected to Jim Moriarty, Mr. Sex …. ‘John or James, James or John … the more is less’. John seems to be Jim’s main target in the game the criminal mastermind plays with Sherlock. And the painting of the Reichenbach Falls is declared as ‘William Turner’s masterpiece’ (Reichenbach=Rich Brook, William=William Sherlock Scott Holmes, turn(er)=turn round/change direction)

John - the eternal friend -  is the incarnation of PHILIA (love between friends). But in this adaptation of the great detective, PHILIA is mingled with EROS (intimate love, sexual passion) right from the start. In PILOT & ASIP, when Anteros, the god of requited love, rises behind the episode title and a dog starts barking in the middle of the night. (More detailed explanations and musings on this topic - the evolution from friend to lover - can be found in ‘The Big Question’, ‘Solutions or Choices’, ‘Shoes for the Hound’ and ‘Sekhmet’ 

Skull, body, heart, protector, emotions, desire, friendship, love ... but also the fear to lose friendship and love, in case the ‘fixed point’ changes …. all those terms can be assigned to the John-character on Sherlock’s mind stage and his mirrors.

Out in the middle of nowhere ...

When the curtain rises for the boomerang case, the stage is set somewhere in the countryside. There’s a shallow valley and soft hills, thickly covered by woodland. A lush green meadow leads gently sloping down to a river or maybe a lake. There’s also a small brook which meanders through the wetland and flows forth into the greater water. Not far away a street runs along the margin ot the forest.

The main characters of the play are: 

the Hiker in a bright red jacket, who busies himself with his boomerang beside the small brook

Phil, who tries to restart his unmoving car on the street nearby

It’s not explained how long Phil is working on his problem at the time the scene starts, but when the audience first sees him leaving the car to take a look at the engine, the bonnet is already open. So, most propably this is not his first attempt to restart the car.

The surrounding area is still and quiet. No significant background noises can be heard. Though both men stand in shouting distance to each other, there is no contact between them. The Hiker has turned his back to the street. He either really hasn’t noticed Phil and his unmoving car or he has, but simply doesn’t care. Phil on the other hand is aware of the Hiker on the meadow. For a moment it looks like he considers calling the man for assistence but then Phil apparently dismisses that idea again. 

Instead Phil makes another attemt to restart his car.This time it backfires and the sound of the explosion splits the silence. The Hiker, distracted by the sudden noise, turns round and looks back to the street. At this moment the boomerang comes flying back, hits his head and kills him instantly. When Phil gets out of the car and looks down the meadow, he sees the Hiker in the red jacket lying motionless on the ground next to the small brook.

The Hiker and Phil ... Sherlock’s MIND and BODY

The Hiker - the MIND who plays with an idea

Viewing the Hiker as a mirror for Sherlock, his bright red jacket connects the character also to Mary, the facade. This makes him the man with his facade still intact but already curious about ... something. The Hiker wears a checkered shirt, which otherwise is closely attributed to John, while he palys with the boomerang. 

If someone returns from foreign travel with a boomerang, one can assume that this person is meant to have been in Australia. Compared to Great Britain, Australia lies very far in the East. The East is strongly connected to Eurus, the East Wind, who represents Sherlock’s emotional side and is also strongly linked to buried/deleted memories and the Holmes family history.

The Hiker who traveled far to the East and brought back a small, fascinating but dangerous item, would then represent Sherlock, who went deep down into his mind palace. He retrieved something from the past, something he had ‘deleted’ a long time ago. Maybe something related to emotions and love. Sherlock/the Hiker takes that memory back into the present and starts playing with it …. he lets a seemingly harmless idea fly ….

Phil - the desire of a BODY whose sexuell transport lies dormant

Viewing Phil also as a mirror for Sherlock, that man and his unmoving car would represent an aspect of Sherlock, which is consciously or unconsciously dealing with investigations and deductions about the ‘John-Problem’. Phil too, wears a checkered shirt which links him even further to John. Obeseness stems from too much eating. Some time ago I read and reblogged a very intersting meta about eating as a metaphor for desire. Sadly I can’t find it again and credit the autor. If someone has a link, please add it, that would be great. In my opinion the food=desire methaphor is brilliant and fits perfectly. Phil, the carnal desire of Sherlock’s BODY, eats too much/stuffs himself with desire and is therefore obese ... he is filled with desire to bursting … just like the BRAIN in TAB.

The Hiker has turned his back on Phil. He doesn’t even see the desperate man beside his car. Sherlock’s MIND, dismisses the desires of the BODY as unimportant and at best sencondary. Who needs that annoying ‘transport’, when one can ‘hike’ with the MIND wherever one wants and let the ideas fly? The brain is what counts, logic and reason … cases and mysteries are solved by the MIND … the desires of the BODY, who repeatedly tries to restart the transport, are just distractions which can/should be ignored and neglected. Especially when one has just unearthed a fascinting little memory from a long time ago …

Different aspects of Sherlock are dealing with related cases at the same time. One case lies in the past, the other one in the present. They overlap ... and this leads to consequences:

a car backfires and the sound of an explosion splits the silence =  a BODY reacts and explodes/has an orgasm

a head gets bashed-in = ‘la petite mort’ of the BRAIN

The best thing about this interpretation is, that an almost similar scene, in a different setting, is played out a second time simultaneously during the Irene Adler case. 

The repetition of a hit

Fascinated and very pleased with himself, Sherlock plays with a little item he has just retrieved from a secured and guarded place. He lets the thing fly through the air and catches it again, a bit like someone would do with a boomerang. This time though, it’s a camera phone packed full with ‘scandalous’ informations. Sherlock underestimates the danger he is in and most of all, he underestimates the opponent he is faced with. 

Carelessly and maybe even provokingly he turns his back at Irene. The next second Sherlock is hit by a syringe full of chemistry … the chemistry of sex. Sherlock falls to the floor of Irene’s bedroom ... beaten by Mrs. Sex.

As mentioned above, in the final explanation of the boomerang case, the fall of the Hiker beside the small brook on the meadow, closely frames the fall of Sherlock in Irene’s bedroom … they actually become one fall. What lies closer at hand than to assume that both cases are actually about the same topic? 

Sherlock’s experience of a sudden, unexpected orgasm … triggered by awakening emotions, while playing with a memory from the past. 

A full list of the ‘cast’ involved in the boomerang case

The Hiker and his boomerang - Sherlock’s mind plays with an idea, with a once deleted but now revived memory

Phil and his unmoving car - Sherlock’s carnal desire, affected by the ‘John-Problem’, awakens and tries to start his sex drive

the colour green - it’s the colour of HOPE, rebirth and harmony (X) it’s also the colour assigned to John in the PILOT and ASIP. (X)

the river/lake - a lot of water means a lot of emotions, ‘deep waters, all your life’. Eurus represents emotions, the past and deleted memories

the small brook next to which the Hiker dies - Rich Brook, the storyteller who is also Jim Moriarty, Mr. Sex. RichBrook translates into Reichenbach, an event that is linked to the music of J.S. Bach

the ‘object’ on the meadow - (more on this in The Cabin on the Meadow)

Viewing Series One as prelude for the whole story, where the three episodes serve as introduction (ASIP), user manual (TBB) and chapter list (TGG), the actual story told in Sherlock BBC would then start with A Scandal in Belgravia. 

“Don’t be alarmed ….. it’s to do with sex“

Mycroft’s statement, when he introduces Sherlock to the Irene Adler case, describes the whole episode in a nutshell. Sherlock’s RATIO tells himself (and the audience) what this case, this episode actually is about:

The emotional and sexual awakening of the character Sherlock Holmes. 

Sherlock’s appearance, when he starts his investigation of the boomerang case, is the most fitting outfit to present a metaphorical scenario for an awakening of this kind. Clothed in a pristine, white sheet (virginity), completely naked (newborn) beneath it and heartily yawning. Sherlock enters the ‘stage’ of 221b Baker Street, as if he had just woken up from a very long sleep. Just like Snow White slept in her coffin of glass before she woke to a new and exciting life (Sherlock in ASIP). 

“Noises are important ... noises can tell you everything"

A car backfires, innitiated by Phil. There’s the loud noise of an explosion.  Distracted, the Hiker turns and as a consequence, his head is hit and bashed-in. 

A fire alarm goes off, innitiated by John. Mr. Archer (the ‘bowman’, Cupid) gets the order to shoot John in the head.

The most significant noises of this episode are the orgasmic sighs Sherlock’s phone makes every time the text alert gets activated by Mrs. Sex … 59 in total. 

The noises are the most important factor on all three occasions … the explosion, the alarm, the orgasmic sigh ….

At the end of the episode Sherlock lets Irene’s phone fly again. He catches it, takes a thoughtfull look at the little thing and tucks it away in the drawer. Then Sherlock looks out of the window, while rain pours down the glass pane in front of his face. 

Fiftynine orgasmic sighs have been ignored (59 calls will be ignored in TST before little Rosy is born). The phone and with it the sexual desires get tucked away in a drawer. Sherlock, detached and secure behind a wall of glass, contemplates the pouring rain/emotions. His RATIO always carries an umbrella to avoid getting wet/affected by emotions. But his RATIO also seems to be in need of a cigarette after that case. A substitute drug/chemistry instead of the ‘real thing’, the ‘natural high’ which he denies himself stubbornly? Meanwhile the ‘eternal friend’ is already soaked wet with rain. The matter of the ‘fixed point in a changing age’ has already become a highly emotional one for Sherlock, it seems. Looks very much like the first stage of drowning.

In the next episode the HOUND will be unleashed, immediately followed by Mr. Sex ….. ‘Honey, you should see me in a crown’ …. who smashes the impenetrable glass case and reaches for the Crown Jewels.  (When the man with the key becomes king)

May, 2019

I leave you to your own deductions. Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts. 

[home-is-where-the-tardis-takes-u]

The Other Side (Of Tomorrow)

I was watching The Empty Hearse this morning and, in the words of Howard Shilcott aka Train Guy ‘I found something a bit bizarre’.

Precisely in the scene in which he tells Sherlock of his own strange finding, but that’s off-topic (or is it?)

Now in Sherlock’s own words, ‘it could be anything, therefore nothing’ but please bear with me for a second.

A long second. which is why there’s a cut.

When Shilcott shows the CCTV of the Tube car leaving Westminster station, we can see that there’s a poster for something that is ‘???t ****cal in 10 years’ (most magical, I suppose) as well as bits of the title ??? OTHER ??????? ?OM??R?? and a reaction ‘I laughed, I cried’.

And when the car arrives at St James’s Park station, actually moments before the train enters the station, we can see that poster a bit more clearly.

Here it is

The title now because clearer OTHER SIDE OF TOM

- WTH? Molly’s boyfriend? Again? Oh, no, right, it continues even though it is obscured by the shadow of people... expressing themselves? Through... dancing, maybe? (’I love dancing, I always have’). The last letter is clearly part of W and what word do we all know that starts with TOM and ends with a W? 

Yup, TOMORROW.

Now, I’ve looked this title up, see what came out of Google.

It looked like a poster for a play or a musical so I tried looking for plays/musicals/films with that title around that time but didn’t come up with anything. 

(A more thorough research might come bearing more results)

What did come out was the title for a book dating back to the 1970s, The Other Side of Tomorrow by Micalea Smeltzer and its summary goes as follows.

‘A powerful journey that explores life, loss, and love. ((that’s very BBC Sherlock-like, isn’t it?))

The Other Side Of Tomorrow ((TOSOT...TSOT...???)) is so much more than a romance novel ((It’s a novel about romance....?)).

Willa ((shortened female version of William)) and Jasper ((John?))’s story is raw, gripping and undeniably heartfelt, a tribute to the healing power of hope and the unexpected adventure that is living.’

* raw, gripping, and undeniably heartfelt 

BBC Sherlock is certainly the first two. As for the third, it does puzzle me a bit, but ... heartfelt as in John’s mourning is heartfelt because he was convinced that Sherlock was ... dead?

Or heart-felt, felt by the heart, matters of the heart? Remember we are talking about their story.

* healing power of hope we need to be crushed down for hope to light (once more).

     As Sherlock (probably) feels after John’s rejected him (crushed) to later join him in his adventures again (hope).

As Sherlock feels at the wedding (CRUSHED), after Mary shot him (nicely...), there is still hope (Hope? A cabbie to kill?? Something to get rid of because hoping against hope is not good? Or get rid of it to finally have one’s hope come to pass? Needless to say, I prefer that hypothesis much more than the former.).

             After Mary dies both of them are crushed to smithereens (Do we really need to talk about the state of each of them?? That Scene was raw and gripping as in heartWRENCHING), but there is still hope for friendship, and adventures (Mary’s bloody speech at the end of TFP......)... and more? John wanted more, after all. And he still does. 

* unexpected adventure - well, ‘expect the unexpected’, need I say more?

Now, here’s what Goodreads has to say about it (and the characters).

All emphases are my own.

Life can change in an instant…

For Willa Hansen, this statement couldn’t be truer. One minute she was a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old, and the next her life was turned upside down with only a few words. Three years later, she’s receiving a kidney transplant and can start living again, only now she’s not sure she knows how.

Life can end in a moment…

Jasper Werth knows this all too well, seeing as a drunk driver killed his little brother. He’s always been a carefree guy, never taking life too seriously, but losing his brother is a major blow, and he finds himself lost until Willa walks into his life.

Life can mend the most broken parts of our souls…

Willa and Jasper couldn’t be more opposite, but as fate brings them together they’ll learn maybe they’re not so different after all.

Sometimes what you need comes in a package you least expect.

* turned upside-down with only a few words... the ones that come to mind are ‘Here. use mine’

Three years later he can start living again because John is back in his life. 

I suspect Sherlock’s line ‘What life? I’ve been away.’ goes both ways.

((I imagine I am preaching to the choir here though)).

Although we do have to admit this phrase could also very well apply to John as well. ‘Afghanistan ot Iraq?’ and ‘the other person who has done that (turned his life upside-down) is..a complete dickhead.’

* killed his little brother... Yes, I know. Sister. Harry is short for Harriet.

Would John’s father (presumably) have (metaphorically) killed Harriet when she came out?

The result is that Jasper (John) finds himself lost (I that am lost who will find me...?). Until Willa walks into his life.

Jasper and Willa (John and Sherlock) could not be more opposite.

In the words of Henry Knight ‘Well, mates are mates, aren’t they? I mean, look at you and John. (...) Well, I mean, he’s a _ pretty straightforward bloke and you...’

* comes in a package you don’t expect  - John I-Am-Not-Gay Watson could not have expected his life to be turned upside-down by another man. and Sherlock I-Am-A-Genius-And-Sentiment-Is-A-Chemical-Defect Holmes ((even though we know it’s just a façade)) would certainly not have expected developing sentiment for a being of ‘average mind’.

These are my ramblings, I would love to hear your thoughts!

I would also love to know whether anyone has read that book, and what their thoughts are.

Tagging a few people who could maybe be interested, I don’t know.

@sarahthecoat @gosherlocked @raggedyblue @loveismyrevolution @i-believe-n-sherlock-holmes @possiblyimbiassed

[johnlockismyreligion]

Chapters: 7/7 Fandom: Sherlock (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Bill Wiggins, Greg Lestrade, Howard Shilcott, Irene Adler (Sherlock Holmes), Janine (Sherlock), Jim Moriarty, Mary Morstan, Mike Stamford, Molly Hooper, Mrs. Hudson (Sherlock Holmes), Mycroft Holmes, Raz (Sherlock), Rosamund Mary "Rosie" Watson, Sarah Sawyer, Stephen Bainbridge, Soo Lin Yao Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Reality Show, Alternate Universe - Tattoos, Angst, Banter, Body Modification, Cheating, Competition-Set Fic, Desire, Developing Relationship, Disability, Falling In Love, Feels, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Married John, Past Drug Addiction, Pining, Requited Love, Sex, Slow Burn, Smoking, Tattoo Artist John, Tattoo Artist Sherlock Summary:

John has a triple-coiled tattoo machine in his hand and a row of inks at the ready. He has gloves on, a willing client in front of him, and a detailed stencil. He is ready to win this bloody competition. Except he’s competing against Sherlock Holmes...

First-meeting-on-a-reality-show AU, Ink Master edition! There is expert tattooing, slightly less expert flirting, and two men falling hard. But John is married, and they can’t all win.

************

This is not a drill.

I repeat, this is not a drill: Masters of Ink is finished!

[simplyshelbs16xoxo]

‘Of Assumptions and Snogging’ Chapter 7 (The Final Chapter)

This epilogue of sorts turned out to be way longer than I had planned but I hope it's nice to see a look into their established relationship. Thanks so much y'all for reading and reviewing. Thanks again to @writingwife-83 for allowing me to adopt her prompt lol. Until next time :)

Sherlock had a skip in his step as he reentered 221B. John had left after Sherlock was well on his way to Molly's. He stepped inside his bedroom and opened up the bottom drawer of his dresser, digging through the clothes he rarely wore to uncover Molly's gift from five years back. Carefully undoing the ribbon and wrapping paper, it revealed a small keepsake box of sorts. He lifted the lid to find a worn paperback book, a disc in a jewel case flipped over backwards and a letter on top. He opened the letter first, finding the need to read Molly's words and hear her voice in his head.

Dearest Sherlock,

Though you claim to be above sentiment, I don't wholeheartedly believe that's true. I know you secretly appreciate sentimental things. At least that's what I personally deduced about you seeing the items scattered across your flat each time I brought body parts for you.

Anyways, I'm rambling, so here, have a box full of sentiment…my sentiment. The book is the first in a trilogy that I adore. It reminds me of us a bit. Okay, a lot but if you do enjoy the first book, I'll be more than happy to hand over the other two. I have another set, so it's okay. The other gift you'll find is a CD full of music. As to what it pertains to, you'll see when you flip it over to read the inscription.

And for another dash of sentimentality, do you remember the first time we met? Everyone had warned me about you as I was new and replaced the old head pathologist. From the snippets I processed from their warnings, it all seemed to come down to one thing: they didn't think you to be "normal." Well, I had told them that normal was overrated and terribly boring. Meeting you, I was, for lack of a better word, enchanted. The things that made you different are the things I found most charming about you. Anyways…

Merry Christmas,

Molly xxx

Sherlock smiled to himself. He never knew that that was how Molly felt even before they met. He turned the disc over and read the inscription.

I love you, but I'm not good with words.

Things I never said.

She loved him even then and it grew throughout the years into something deeper. The difference between love and being in love came to his mind. The book was revealed to be Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. It was obviously her personal copy, little sticky tabs poking out every which way. Flipping through the pages to give it a glance over, he found her annotations in the margins, sometimes accompanied by a doodle. It was an incredibly personal gift and he mentally praised her bravery. His phone pinged then.

Did you open it yet? MH

Yes. SH

And? MH

I love it. I love you. SH

I'm glad. I love you too, Sherlock. MH

A month later, Molly was tugging on her rubber gloves, preparing for an autopsy. Greg had just given her the run-down of what had happened; or supposedly happened. Sherlock was supposed to arrive any moment now. Molly flicked her eyes over every corner of the room before speaking.

"Pssst, Greg, do you have any tens?" Molly asked, referring to Sherlock's rating system for cases, but it went right over the detective inspector's head.

"Eh…go fish?" Greg shrugged. Molly closed her lips tightly in an attempt to keep herself from bursting out with laughter.

"I was talking about cases," Molly explained. "Do you have any that Sherlock would consider a ten?"

"No, sorry. Why? Is he bored already?" Greg chuckled.

"No, I was just trying to do something special for him," Molly sighed. "Oh well, I'll think of something."

"Lestrade," Sherlock nodded as he flew into the morgue. "Molly," he smiled, caressing her name on his lips as if it only contained the best letters in the alphabet. With a chaste kiss pressed against her cheek, they began to work together, throwing observations at one another until the cause of death and the man's associations were revealed.

"So you've got everything?" John asked Sherlock.

"Yes, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of Rosie while you're on your double shift," Sherlock insisted. John raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him in line," Molly smirked.

"Don't you always?" Sherlock asked, flashing a smile at her. John left for work, leaving the godparents to it. Molly held Rosie in her arms, cooing at her.

"We'll make sure Uncle Sherlock stays out of trouble, yes we will," Molly told Rosie in her baby voice. Sherlock was too awestruck to be annoyed at the remark. Seeing the woman he loves handle Rosie with such care with her natural motherly instincts warmed him. He knew then that one day, he wanted a family with Molly. He could see a little girl with Molly's hair color but in curls and her eyes or even his.

"Sherlock? Did you hear me?" Molly asked.

"Hmm?" he muttered, snapping back to reality.

"I said, why don't we go out for ice cream?" Molly reiterated.

"Sounds wonderful," Sherlock agreed.

"Uncle Sherlock's silly, isn't he?" Molly laughed. With a kiss to her temple, he took her hand in his as they left for the ice cream shoppe.

Sherlock had Rosie in his lap as he fed her the creamy vanilla ice cream.

"Mmm," Rosie hummed in delight with every bite. Molly was enjoying a cup of mint chocolate chip. She couldn't help but think that Sherlock would be such a wonderful father. Her heart jumped at the idea and she knew then that she wanted a family with him.

"Isn't your Aunt Molly beautiful?" Sherlock asked Rosie, gaining a loving smile from his girlfriend.

It didn't take too long before Molly figured out exactly what she wanted to do for Sherlock. It was more of a sentimental route, but she knew he'd appreciate it, as he had grown into his emotions. She had left him a heart in his refrigerator from an autopsy that she performed a couple days ago. When the consulting detective opened the door, he discovered the heart for his experiment with a sticky note on either side of it. I love you is what it essentially said. Their shared morbid sense of humor made it all that more personal.

Friday rolled around and Sherlock was surprised to find Molly at his door.

"What happened to work?" he asked her.

"Traded shifts so I could have the day off," Molly smiled, biting her lip.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Sherlock smirked.

"Here," Molly said, thrusting a rolled up paper into his hands. He unrolled it, revealing a map of various landmarks. She had drawn it herself, symbols depicting each different area.

"What is the significance of these places?" Sherlock questioned.

"Well, you see, that's for me to know and you to find out," Molly teased.

"Consider me intrigued," Sherlock replied. "I take it that 'X' marks the spot where there's buried treasure?"

"Figuratively," Molly laughed. "So, are you up for an adventure? I bet it'll be a ten in your book."

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked, throwing on his Belstaff and scarf. "The game is on."

Their first stop was Bart's Hospital, where Molly had only written the word 'hello' on the map. They traveled to the currently empty morgue.

"This is where we first met," she told him. "A bit morbid, I know. Loads of other things happened between us here at Bart's." Her tinkling laugh filled the room.

"I remember," Sherlock mused. "You were the first person at this hospital to treat me so kindly. The only person."

"Remember the day after, you were waiting outside of those doors and I was rushing down the hallway because I was late," Molly reminisced.

"Yes, I recall that you ran right into me." Sherlock chuckled. "And then promptly fell down." He laughed once more.

"But you helped me up and made sure I was okay," Molly smiled. "That was the day my crush began."

"I'm always learning something new about you," Sherlock smiled in return.

"So, all of these places have sentimental value, I take it," Sherlock deduced.

"Mhmm," Molly confirmed, walking hand in hand with him. They went inside a building and Sherlock took in the familiarity of this particular stairwell.

"The day I took you out to solve crimes," Sherlock pointed out.

"Our first date, according to you," Molly laughed. "That day, you said things to me that indicated you thought of me as more than a friend."

"Experienced my first heartbreak here," Sherlock told her. "It wasn't fun but I wanted you to be happy."

"I wasn't; not really. If you had come back six months later than you did, I'd be in a loveless marriage right now. Well, maybe not loveless but I knew I wasn't in love. I was settling," Molly explained. "You made me realize that when you came back."

"How so?" he asked.

"When you went to kiss my cheek, all I wanted to do was turn just enough to kiss you properly," Molly admitted.

"Why don't we have a second go at it?" Sherlock smiled. And then he was leaning into her, pressing his lips against hers. He pulled away after a moment and spoke again. "Kiss me the way you wanted to then." That was all Molly needed. She tugged at the lapels of his coat and captured his lips in a most passionate kiss. It was gentle and hard at the same time. It was, in a word, illogical. Beautifully illogical. His fingers found the belt loops of her jeans and pulled her closer, unable to get enough of her. They broke the kiss and leaned their foreheads against one another. The silence was broken by a familiar voice.

"Sherlock Holmes?" Howard Shilcott questioned in disbelief.

"Ah, Mr. Shilcott," Sherlock greeted, pulling his face away from Molly's.

"Miss Hooper," Howard nodded. "I knew there was something between you two. Congratulations." And with that, he stalked off onto the streets of London, leaving Molly and Sherlock to their fit of laughter.

They stopped at her flat, where Sherlock was supposed to search for a note. He found it stuck to her bedroom door, where he used it as a bolt hole. The words written on it only said,

Home is…

The mystery was solved when they arrived at their last stop where 'X' marked the spot: 221B Baker Street. There, Molly handed him the other note that she had kept in her pocket the whole time.

…Where you are.

"Molly," Sherlock whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

"I was thinking, maybe, if you wanted to—" Molly began before being cut off with a kiss.

"Yes," Sherlock told her.

"Do you even know what I was going to ask?" Molly laughed.

"Yes, I want you to move in with me," Sherlock smiled. She should've known he would have deduced it.

"I love you," Molly told him, placing a hand against the side of his face. He snogged her senselessly all the way to his bedroom, now theirs, laughing against each other's lips in a moment of pure bliss.

Fanfiction.Net | Ao3

[finalproblem]

me: *pulls off rubber mask to reveal i was actually howard shilcott the whole time*

me: welcome to my train blog

[ebaeschnbliah]

SCANDINAVIAN  REFERENCES

________________________________________________________________

In Sherlock BBC - and also a little bit outside of it 

While writing on DISTRACTION & CONSEQUENCES and CABIN ON THE MEADOW, involving Phil with his ‘explosive’ car and the Hiker with the bashed-in head, I couldn’t fail to notice that Phil’s unmoving car is a SAAB … which is a Swedish brand. 

According to the informations given during the promotion campaingn for the Escapre Room, TheGameIsNow, Sherlock lives currently in Sweden. Since these aren’t the only occasions where Scandinavian regions are mentioned in Sherlock BBC, the suspicion inevitably arose that those references could be of some importance. Reason enough to make another little list. :)

TBC below the cut ….

Short definition of Scandinavia

The term Scandinavia in local usage covers the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. 

In English usage, Scandinavia also sometimes refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula, or to the broader region including Finland and Iceland.  x

A Scandal in Belgravia

As mentioned above, Phil’s immobile car, which ‘explodes’ and thus distracts the Hiker who, as a consequence, is killed by his own boomerang, is of the Swedish brand SAAB. 

The Empty Hearse

Mr. Howard Shilcott, the ‘train guy (and mirror for Sherlock), possesses important informations about the Underground station at Sumatra Road, which once was built but then closed before it ever opened. He wears a ‘funny hat with earflaps’ made of Islandic sheep wool. That hat becomes an object of significance when Sherlock invites his brother to play deductions with him, just like in the old days.

MYCROFT: The earlier patches are extensively sun-bleached, so he’s worn it abroad – in Peru. SHERLOCK: Peru? MYCROFT: This is a chullo – the classic headgear of the Andes. It’s made of alpaca. SHERLOCK: No. MYCROFT: No? SHERLOCK: Icelandic sheep wool. Similar, but very distinctive if you know what you’re looking for. I’ve written a blog on the varying tensile strengths of different natural fibres.

His Last Vow

The main villain of this episode is designed after Doyle’s British character Charles Augustus Milverton. For some reason, in this adaptation, name and origin of the man have been changed into Charles Augustus Magnussen, who is now from Denmark. The fact that he is ‘foreign’ is driven home explicitly right at the beginning of the episode by the dialogue as well as the accent of the man, who is played by Danish actor Lars Mikkelsen.

GARVIE: Do you think it right that a newspaper proprietor, a private individual and, in fact, a foreign national should have such regular access to our Prime Minister? MAGNUSSEN: I don’t think it’s wrong that a private individual should accept an invitation. However, you have my sincere apologies for being foreign.

The Six Thatchers

Mr. Kingsley, a client, thinks that Sherlock’s deductions, once explained, are actually dead simple. Highly annoyed, Sherlock spontaneously invents a ludicrous story and tells the shocked man that his wife is actually Greta Bengtsdotter, Swedish by birth and the most dangerous spy in the world. She secretly works for none other than James Moriarty and uses her unsuspecting husband as cover to hide her true intentions which will finally precipitate in World War III. 

The first location Mary visits on her hiatus is Norddal in Norway. That’s a small place (ca. 1660 inhabitants) deep inside the Storfjord. Here she picks up a fake passport hidden inside the stonewall of a coastal watchtower. Her new name, Gabrielle Ashdown, is taken from TPLOSH, where Holmes chooses the pseudonym ‘Mr. and Mrs. Ashdown’ for himself and Gabrielle Valladon, the woman who consulted him in the case of her missing husband but is actually Ilse von Hofmannsthal, a German spy who pretends to be Mrs. Valladon. 

The Final Problem

One of the very last scenes of this episode shows a man dressed as Viking, including the (cliched) horned helmet. He lies motionless on the floor in the livingroom of 221b Baker Street (played by Paul Weller). John bends over him and examines his left eye. 

Vikings were highly skilled Norse seafarers who raided and pillaged (like pirates) with their infamous longboats (also well known as dragonboats). They acted as mercenaries but also as merchants, who traded goods across wide areas of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, European Russia and the North Atlantic islands. Some of them even reached the North-Eastern coast of North America. (X)

That Viking is not the only character in this story who ‘wears horns’. Furthermore, cow horns are also connected to the eye-goddess Hathor, whose other, dangerous side is represented by lioness goddess Sekhmet.

The way this Viking lays there … one leg sharply angled at the knee, the foot shoved beneath the other, outstretched leg and both arms straight beside his torso … it’s a bit odd and strangely reminds me of the ‘dancing men’ drawn on the blackboard in the shot displayed immediately before this one. It almost looks like the way this man lies there could have some meaning. 

And something else comes to mind: the way John bends over the Viking stunningly resembles the scene from Magnussen’s office in HLV, when Sherlock got shot by Mary. One could even say, there are three potential ‘pirates’ gathered in Magnusson’s bedroom in that scene ... Sherlock, John and ‘Viking descendent’ Magnussen. Interesting ...

The Game is Now - Escape Room Promotion

With the cliffhanger of The Final Problem in mind and still no official announcement regarding a fifth series on the horizon, one could come to the assumption that the ‘TheGameIsNow- EscapeRoom’ event serves as a sort of interlude and somehow resembles a ‘SherlockBBC-Hiatus’ (hopefully). Isn’t it interesting that here too, Scandinavia seems to play a role?

During the conversation with Mycroft, in the intercepted message Nr 1, Sherlock mentions that he currently is in Sweden. 

During the intercepted message Nr 2 a map of Scandinavia is shown in the background with informations regarding its natural recources: iron ore, copper, zinc, gold, IKEA and uranium. 

Additionally Mycroft confirms a second time where his brother might be found at the moment: ‘Missing, rumoured to be in Sweden’ is written below a picture of Sherlock, kept in black and white, but temporarily overlaid with pink and green  (Study in Pink and Green)

Scandinavian canon reference regarding the ‘hiatus’

In Doyle’s original story The Empty House, Sherlock Holmes tells Dr. Watson after their reunion that, for some time during his hiatus, he had stayed in Norway under a fake identity. 

“You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend.” (ACD, The Empty House)

Using Sherlock’s own words from The Great Game, one could say that, by now, the story told in Sherlock BBC as well as the EscapeRoom event have a …  ‘distinctly Scandinavian feeling about it’.  :)

Some Scandinavian side notes outside Sherlock BBC

Not Sherlock related. Should be taken with caution and humor: 

Radio Times, November 2018:  Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss reveale that Danish actor Claes Bang will be playing Dracula in their new series. ‘Hell has a new boss’ says the headline. Strictly speaking, the boss in Hell is generally considered to be the Devil (maybe also his grandma :) but surely not Dracula, who is after all just a human who desired immortal strength to protect and revenge the ones whom he loved. At least, that’s the story told in ….

Dracula Untold  (2014) -  some quotes:

"One day I will call on you to serve me in an immortal game of revenge … to unleash my wrath against the one who betrayed me."

“This is not a game!”

"Oh, what better way to endure eternity. For this, is the ultimate game. Light versus dark, hope versus despair. And all the world's fate hangs into the balance." 

Vlad Dracula meets his creator         Let the games begin

“You want me to shake hands with you in Hell? I shall not disappoint you.“  (Sherlock at Jim Moriarty, TRF)

How Dracula BBC came into being

“It came about several years ago,” Gatiss said. “We were filming  — we’d just started the third series of Sherlock, where he comes back from the dead, and we had to break off after two days to go to the RTS Awards (March, 2013) and I had a picture on my phone of Benedict silhouetted against the door of Mrs Hudson’s room. I showed it to Ben Stephenson, who was then the Head of Drama [at the BBC], and I said, ‘Looks like Dracula’. And he said, ‘Do you want to do it?'”  (RadioTimes, April 2019)

“We’re gonna go all Dane“

The same article from RadioTimes, contains an interview with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. When asked about their upcomming mini-series ‘Dracula’, if there will be more ‘homegrown talents’ among the cast, the producers answered the question in their most familiar way - with lots of laughter and giggling - obviously taking much pleasure in the announcement of their new ‘informations’.

“No, no ..., it’s strictly Dane from now on. We're only casting over Denmark. I don’t think Denmark’s being sufficiently represented and so we’re gonna go all Dane.”  

Strictly Danes …. well, well …. I’m more curious than ever ... and extremely exited!  :))))  

On Scandinavian name-giving tradition

It is a well known custom in Scandinavian regions to create personal names based on the given name of one’s father, grandfather or male ancestor by adding the ending -son/-sen/-søn or -dotter/-dottir/-dattir. This is called a patronymic (while the same method based on the mother’s name is called matronymic). A good example for this in Sherlock BBC is the character Charles Augustus Magnussen …. Magnus-sen = son of Magnus. 

This kind of Scandinavian name-giving tradition is based entirely on first names. Just assuming though, this method would also be applied to last names, then ... a female descendent of someone with the family name ‘Bang’ could be named ... ‘Bangsdotter’. :)))

A last funny detail:  the subtitles for Sherlock BBC, Series 4 (British Edition), display the name of the famous Swedish spy, Sherlock invents in TST, as Greta Bengsdotter. The correct spelling of the first name of Greta’s father (used here as patronymic) isn’t Beng though …. but Bengt.

Bengt (female, Bengta) is the Swedish equivalent of … Benedict.   :)))

As I said above ... to be taken with caution and humor.  :)))))

Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts.    Related post by @tendergingergirl

Mai 2019

[bbcsherlockpickuplines]

"I like you more than Howard Shilcott likes trains."