THEY DIDN’T DO IT …..
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There are some characters in Sherlock BBC who, at one point, become suspects in a murder investigation. And in each of those cases it turns out in the end that someone else had been the perpetrator.
Lady Louisa Carmichael
It is Mycroft Holmes who sends the lady with the otherworldly case to his brother. A remarkable woman, thinks John Watson and even Sherlock Holmes is impressed and defends the lady against the disparaging comment of her husband.
“She’s a highly intelligent woman of rare perception. Your wife can see worlds where no-one else can see anything of value.”
Nevertheless, Lady Carmichael soon becomes the main suspect in this case.
TBC below the cut ….
@ebaeschnbliah: Great post. Another important pattern. And I think that all of these lead up to THE FALSE SUSPECT no. 1 - Sherlock. He is suspected again and again of committing crimes none of which he is responsible for:
- Donovan stating that one day they will find a body and Sherlock will have put it there = he is capable of murder
- the whole Reichenbach episode where he is accused of being responsible for every single crime committed by Moriarty
- and when Mary dies John very clearly tells Sherlock that he killed John’s wife.
Therefore I think that all the other occasions where people and animals are falsely accused of crimes serve as a mirror for the fact that Sherlock again and again is accused of crimes he did not commit, that he is made to suffer for other people’s deeds or even framed.
That’s an interesting take on it @gosherlocked! And let’s say that these accusations basically happen inside Sherlock’s own head (except for the media persecution in TRF); is this actually Sherlock blaming himself for a number of things? Self-loathing? Could it possibly tie back to his childhood, maybe he has some kind of survivor’s guilt, of feels somehow responsible for Victor’s death? Hmm…
Indeed, @possiblyimbiassed As you added in your comment here, regarding the above listed characters who get wrongly accused of murder (Phil, the cat, the hound, Lady Louisa, Molly, Janine, Mary and Lady Smallwood), one can reasonable conclude that ‘love didn’t do it’.
What I find also very interesting is that on a first look six suspects in six cases are involved. Then, when the actual ‘perpetrators’ are revealed, it turns out there are only five cases which reflect the pattern of wrongly accused suspects, because two characters, Mary and Lady Smallwood, are suspects in the same case, the Tiblisi hostage incident. The actual culprit is Vivian Norbury who used Smallwood’s codename AMO. This reminds me stronly of the six Thatcher busts who are owned by five different people.
@gosherlocked I agree, the theme of guilt is an ongoing one. It includes also characters like Henry Knight, who utters the words ‘I’m so sorry, Dad’ when his repressed memories finally come back. There is Major Sholto, who once led people into battle but it went wrong and all of them died. Also, Sir Eustace, who fears to be dragged to hell for something he had done in the past. Another main theme seems to be revenge. Ajay, Jim, Jonathan Small and Eurus are clearly driven by it. Assuming all those characters are in some way linked to Sherlock, the chances are high, this has indeed something to do with Sherlock’s past.
Yes @ebaeschnbliah; the merging of six into five is interesting indeed. I wonder if Mary and Lady Smallwood are mutually exclusive? If Smallwood represents ‘true love’ and Mary the heteronormative facade, basically a lie, then both of them cannot exist in the same moment and circumstances, can they? But Mary is never actually freed of any charges, it’s just that Norbury shows up out of nowhere, under a false name (just like Mary), and commits another crime, while kind blaming ‘love’ for it.
As for guilt, i can’t get rid of the feeling that Sherlock feels guilty for having loved, as if his love has lead to someone dying or getting hurt? Sherlock seems to be repressing emotions, and he alway declares that emotions are bad. But there’s actually only one kind of emotion he does repress, and that’s love. He has never seemed to have any problems expressing anger, frustration, contempt, impatience, boredom, disgust or any other negative emotions, has he? And he does have humour, he has no problem with laughing either (especially when he really shouldn’t laugh, like after having played dead for two years), and sometimes he becomes euphoric. Love is the only feeling he actually rejects, which makes it very suspicious in my opinion.
@possiblyimbiassed: Absolutely. Could not agree more. And this is supported by the text itself - love being a vicious motivator, etc. Love is indeed the only feeling he does not allow himself.
And I stumbled upon a post with an old Moffat quote about Mr Jekyll: Hyde is love. And love is a psychopath. Well, well, well …
Agree, @possiblyimbiassed This story circles heavily around love … AMO. And AMO is at the same time AMMO …. ammunition. Because love is a very explosive chemistry, dangerous and destructive. At least, this is Sherlock’s viewpoint back in ASIB. A conviction most likely caused by a painful experience (or experiences) from his past.
Good one, @gosherlocked As far as I remember, Sally Donovan, Philip Anderson and Mary’s ex David call Sherlock a psychopath, while he likes to see himself as a sociopath. In HLV John regards Sherlock as well as Mary, as psychopath and Magnussen calls the Watson’s ‘Mr. and Mrs. Psychopath’. Really interesting, this quote about love.
Nice catch, @sarahthecoat (this comment) The person who smashes the two Thatcher plaster busts, owned by Miss Orrie Harker, and kills her, wears indeed black gloves.
And in TEH Mary can be seen wearing similar gloves as well.
As does Sherlock …
In fact, Sherlock wears his gloves more often than not. His black gloves are almost just as prominently displayed as his Belstaff. He wears them outdoors (when no one else seems to need those items), he wears them also indoors and even when he shakes hands. I often wondered that this is a bit strange.
Interesting point about sherlock and "mary" both having black gloves.