Let’s talk about the name “Alex”

There are three different characters named Alex in BBC Sherlock: Alex Woodbridge from TGG, the Alex who was a member of A.G.R.A, and Alex Garrideb from TFP. 

The name comes up three times, so this is not a coincidence; the writers are trying to tell us something. All of the Alex characters are mirrors for Sherlock. Specifically, they are mirrors for how Moriarty tortures him with the quest to “burn the heart” out of Sherlock.

Some meta below the cut.  

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River=Threshold

@sagestreet just posted a Black Sails meta about a painting of a river standing in for a River as a Threshold between the ordinary outside world, and the special world on the other side, and rivers as a trope in queer cinema, also separating the ordinary world from the world of free love. Of course this makes me think of Sherlock, and how many times the Thames, in particular, has figured in the episodes. It’s been a while, and I only watched S4 once, but isn’t it in TLD that Sherlock sits beside the river with Faith, and also has a kind of breakdown on the bridge right over the river. I don’t remember if it’s at the end of TST or TLD that he’s walking over the river on a bridge with the lines about when are we locked onto a certain path, etc.

But also, in general, Baker St, Barts, NSY, Buckingham Palace, Belgravia, Whitehall, Big Ben, even Soho, and many more of the show’s settings are north of the river, but Battersea Power Station and that pivotal scene with Irene=Sherlock’s libido, is south of the river, and close to it. They all had to cross the river to have that scene. 

I don’t know London geography well enough to say if, for instance, Alex Woodbridge’s corpse was on the north or south bank, or where various other places shown are. Maybe others can chip in with that, and other more well-formed ideas.

@sagestreet, @ebaeschnbliah, @possiblyimbiassed, @gosherlocked, @freethemfrom1895, @spenglernot, @watchthemfall, not sure who else to tag off the top of my head. @raggedyblue

Can anyone confirm if that’s the strand bridge they’re crossing in TLD? If so I vaguely remember some queer history meta to do with that bridge in particular

Interesting, @sarahthecoat​ - I do like this topic! Yes, there’s a lot of scenes in BBC Sherlock that are associated with the river Thames and its many bridges. I don’t know much about London’s geography either, even if I’ve been there a (small) number of times. But Google Maps is a useful tool. :) 

In the Alex Woodbridge case in TGG, I think his body was found on the south river bank, because Sherlock says this to John when they are looking at the fourth ‘pip’ on the pink phone, before they visit the site:

“View of the Thames. South Bank – somewhere between Southwark Bridge and Waterloo.” Which would be a length of about 1.5 km of the southern river bank. 

Near the end of TST, when Sherlock is trying to figure out who betrayed AGRA, he’s crossing the Vauxhall Bridge.

Those buildings in the background are on the south river bank, as far as I can see. Right after this scene, Sherlock runs towards them. And then, after Mary has died, he’s walking by the Thames, hard to tell exactly where, and says: “When does the road become a river with only one destination?” 

My answer would be: when there’s too much water (= emotions) and the current is too strong. Sherlock’s destination seems to be south of the river. If he reaches Samarra, I think it’s likely that Sherlock will be ‘killed’ (by Love) and end up on the ‘south bank’ (with free love) like Alex Woodbridge. And I don’t think Samarra can be avoided.

In TLD, when Sherlock writes his little message to Mycroft’s monitoring guys, he’s walking with Faith in Soho, near Oxford Circus and Picadilly Circus.

They keep moving southeastwards. I believe the bridge they’re crossing after that is one of the Golden Jubilee Bridges. That’s actually a triple bridge with two pedestrian bridges on the flanks and an older railway bridge (Hungerford Bridge) in the middle. 

And the park by the river that Sherlock and Faith/Eurus are visiting at dawn, and where Sherlock is having his breakdown, is the Jubilee Gardens, at the south bank of the Thames close to the Golden Jubilee Bridges. (Well, since the river is meandering, Jubilee Gardens is actually on the east side, but in general this should belong to the south side of the river). The bridges are located about 2.1 km north of Vauxhall Bridge and 1.2 km southeast of Piccadilly Circus. It’s also very close to the London Aquarium and the famous ferris wheel London Eye (both on the south side).

I also seem to recall that Culverton Smith says that “we must be careful not to burn our bridges”. So yes, it seems like you’re right, @sarahthecoat​; the river is a threshold.

@sagestreet @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @spenglernot @raggedyblue

thanks for all these additional details! I feel like it might be possible to derive a metaphorical reading of the river as a threshold between the world of the mind and the world of feelings, or possibly the partial or fragmented self, and the fully integrated self. And maybe also “bridge code”??? I also wonder if there will ever be a scene with sherlock going into the river. He went into a swimming pool in TST, john went into a well in TFP, but those are not rivers, they aren’t moving water, just still. Like emotions that are stuck.

@sarahthecoat it would be interesting indeed if Sherlock took a swim in the Thames. ;)) The water doesn’t look too clean in the river, but that’s probably due to sediments. (Apparently, the Londoners take their tap water from the Thames - upstreams - and it’s said to have good quality). Another thing that struck me is that there are two murder victims named ’bridge’ in the show: Alex Woodbridge in TGG and Private Bainbridge in TSoT. Both are working as guardians but while Woodbridge actually dies, Bainbridge survives - saved by the army doctor John Watson, no less. ;) I wonder if this might be significant?

im sure it is, since both are OC's, and we know names are important. Aren't they both established as sherlock mirrors, too? Woodbridge certainly is, and pretty sure bainbridge also, as the "test subject" for sholto.

CONDUCTOR  OF  THE  UNIVERSE

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This post is part of another one - of ‘Love, actually …?’ from Feb.14th 2019. Only recently I noticed that I’ve overlooked one of the elderly ladies in Sherlock BBC. And a rather important one too, I guess. Therefore I decided to do an OUTTAKE for this one because it grew more lenghy than I first thought it would. But I will also incluce it into the original post for the sake of completeness. 

Love isn’t always blind

Another elderly lady who plays a very interesting part in the story is professor Cairns. She isn’t among the hostages in TGG, but nonetheless she is a victim in the ‘Lost Vermeer’ case of the same episode and she shares the fate of the blind old lady, the hostage in the Prince’s case … the case immediately prior to this one.

More under the cut ….

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AH, brilliant, as ever! I jotted down a few things that popped out at me while i was reading.

I feel like we've established that a photo is a metaphor for a memory, though i couldn't put my finger on a specific meta. So the fake painting is a fake memory, it's supposed to represent something from history, but it's not. What gives it away is the misplaced supernova, ahead of its time.

The golem has an international reputation, like sherlock in TSOT (but not john)

the kid on the phone = the future of the heart. (@sagestreet 's "baby switch" meta)

IIRC, @just-sort-of-happened wrote something about the planetarium being full of circles, and circles represent feelings. I will see if i can find that.

I just love your reading of sherlock, the titan moon, between the two planets! and love as the conductor of the universe.

The poor guy got murdered for figuring out it was a fake. We feel ya, Alex.