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?

If we use the Canon as a source of decoding (x) the river could be the threshold between what you have to be and what you want. A limit that society imposes. A north where who you really are does not matter and a south where you are free to be what you want. Moving from one bank to another certainly requires a great emotional effort.

I really like this thing you noticed on the names @possiblyimbiassed. Destroyed bridges and bridges that have remained intact, the possibility of going further, but without destroying the bridges. A past that can be integrated with the future because it would certainly be sad if the duo were forced to leave Baker Street …. even if we know they will end up in the South Downs

@sarahthecoat

however with all this north, west, south, east, no wonder they gave us a compass at some point ….

You’re right @raggedyblue ; they gave us a compass to navigate this show - a moral compass? ;) Speaking of bridges, there’s one more bridge in the show that has been nagging on my mind:

This is the bridge that Sherlock and John are crossing together in TSoT. The water looks very calm to me, and the duck and trees in the background make me rather think of a park pond than the river Thames. In the background we can also discern the London Eye. So where is this? Well, seeing as they’re walking, on their way to speak with Steven Bainbridge, ’The Bloody Guardsman’, it should probably not be too far from the Wellington Barracks, where the Queen’s Guard is hosted (as far as I can tell - please correct me if I’m wrong). I’d venture to say that this is indeed the ‘Blue Bridge’ crossing St James’ Park Lake (thanx Google Maps!):

The bridge is at the center and Wellington Barracks is at the bottom left of the map, immediately southeast of the memorial at Buckingham Palace: 

Our friends are sitting here later, waiting for Bainbridge to finish his pass.

This is still north of the Thames, though, where you maybe aren’t allowed to be who you want, according to our little allegory here. So I reckon John and Sherlock weren’t actually crossing the real threshold, were they? They didn’t (yet) dare to go into the land of Free Love on the other side of the Thames. ;)

Thinking a bit more about Steven Bainbridge, I also realised some more things (and I’m putting the rest of this under the cut, because it’s getting lengthy)

Keep reading

right @possiblyimbiassed, the fact that the guard is unarmed is absolutely strange. A guard of the queen. Queen, Palace, Mycroft. He who is supposed to defend the Palace is unable to do so, and he is also stabbed (from behind) by a John’s mirror. And finally I see the correlation with TBV. We had already seen how Valeria, Grand Duchess of Augsburg, Bavarian but with ties to Austria, could be connected with Elizabeth Amalie Eugenie of Wittelsbach (Sissi for short). One of the things that intrigued me was that Dracula had bitten her but spared her at a young age, only to kill her years later. Only now do I realize that this is nothing more than a delayed death. Dracula talks about, among other things, the temporal distance that has have to passed so that in the end “Dracula has rights”. Why the true story can be told we could say. Sherlock Holmes was hit (in the heart) by John Watson 130 years ago, but only now he can do (falling in love)

@ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sherlockshadow @sagestreet

Yep, @raggedyblue; it may give it a romantic flavour to say that Sherlock Bainbridge was ‘stung by the little arrows of Love’. But we could also say it more blatantly: he was stabbed from behind with a meat dagger, defenseless and at the mercy of this John mirror. Twice, as Irene would say. ;)) Brainbitch - sorry, Bainbridge - had to ‘lower his guard’ and could no longer protect the ‘establishment’. Hopefully Mofftiss can bridge over the giant gap in time and let Sherlock Holmes finally fall in love. It’s that “timey-wimey stuff” from Doctor Who they’re using when Agatha can travel into our time so the true story can be told. But it’s ‘delayed action stabbing’ to start a show with an unfinished ‘dinner’, and then (hopefully) finish it over a decade later. Valeria lived a lifetime in between the ‘stabbings’; how much water must flow under the bridge until it’s time for S5? Public Domain is a strong argument, and Dracula indeed has rights now and Gatiss is the devil’s advocate. One could also see the delayed death - especially while thinking of Valeria - as “I like to watch you dance”. Or, as Jim would say: “I’m gonna kill you anyway”. ;)

@ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sherlockshadow @sagestreet 

RB for even more discussion! How interesting, that john & sherlock crossed a bridge in TSOT, but over a lake (still water), not a river (flowing).

I LOVE all the "unreal" details about the bainbridge/sholto case coming out again. People in s3 hiatus decried the "delayed stabbing" of course, and then the empress incident was trotted out, as if that covered all the other nonsense as well. So instead of one big lie being hidden by a smattering of small truths, we had a whole pack of nonsense hiding behind one highly improbable, but did happen once, sort of, incident.

Sholto and bainbridge can also both be seen as double mirrors. They are both soldiers like john, as well as being "tall, dark & handsome" like sherlock. So they've both been "struck by cupid's arrows", where jonathan small is also a jim moriarty mirror. AAHHH it's like a kaleidoscope, taking one image (johnlock) and fragmenting it in all directions.

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?

If we use the Canon as a source of decoding (x) the river could be the threshold between what you have to be and what you want. A limit that society imposes. A north where who you really are does not matter and a south where you are free to be what you want. Moving from one bank to another certainly requires a great emotional effort.

I really like this thing you noticed on the names @possiblyimbiassed. Destroyed bridges and bridges that have remained intact, the possibility of going further, but without destroying the bridges. A past that can be integrated with the future because it would certainly be sad if the duo were forced to leave Baker Street …. even if we know they will end up in the South Downs

@sarahthecoat

however with all this north, west, south, east, no wonder they gave us a compass at some point ….

oh, i like that, what you have to be vs what you want to be. That fits with the dystopian act 4 "who you are doesn't matter" nadir, assuming there is an act 5 someday where it does matter, and sherlock does get to choose.

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.

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.

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

absolutely yes @sarahthecoat. As I noticed in this meta, the river seems to be a watershed between the reassuring perfectly heterosexual life and a more … bohemian life even in SIGN.

It seems that the river is a watershed for our two men, and interesting things happen in the middle. “SHERLOCK (voiceover): When does the path we walk on lock around our feet? When does the road become a river with only one destination? Death waits for us all in Samarra. But can Samarra be avoided?” (x)

@sagestreet, @ebaeschnbliah, @possiblyimbiassed, @gosherlocked, @freethemfrom1895, @spenglernot, @watchthemfall @sarahthecoat

Thanks, yes, that’s the quote!

Not only sits beside the river; he has that strange breakdown, with the special effect (which I still haven’t figured out the point of), of him, on the railing, floating in mid-air, and the perspective being that of the river. It’s a very odd scene. TLD is a very… symbolic episode. Even if I’m still lost as fuck in about 90% of it. 

ah, somehow i missed that this was an actual reblog, good morning! :)

yes, it's a VERY odd scene, and suggests to me that sherlock is still in the process of struggling to cross this threshold. If it is what we think it is, no wonder! I think part of why s4 looks so strange to watch, is that it's more subtext than text, or the surface story is secondary to the subtext.

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

absolutely yes @sarahthecoat. As I noticed in this meta, the river seems to be a watershed between the reassuring perfectly heterosexual life and a more … bohemian life even in SIGN.

It seems that the river is a watershed for our two men, and interesting things happen in the middle. “SHERLOCK (voiceover): When does the path we walk on lock around our feet? When does the road become a river with only one destination? Death waits for us all in Samarra. But can Samarra be avoided?” (x)

@sagestreet, @ebaeschnbliah, @possiblyimbiassed, @gosherlocked, @freethemfrom1895, @spenglernot, @watchthemfall @sarahthecoat

Thanks, yes, that's the quote!