So a few weeks ago, watching ASIP, I had a thought that John’s weird attempt to hit on Anthea again at the end is done to show Sherlock that he likes women, to save face after Sherlock’s rejection of him. Tonight I’m wondering if the same is true of the Battersea scene.
The reading we usually give this scene is that John doesn’t know Sherlock is there and wouldn’t say “I’m not gay” if he did. But.
hudders-and-hiddles pointed out tonight that when he says “anyone out there” he looks right at the wall behind which Sherlock is hiding, and that got me thinking.
So here’s a possibility to consider: John knows that Sherlock’s there, and he’s trying to save face again.
John says to Irene’s minion: “Couldn’t we just go to a cafe? Sherlock doesn’t follow me everywhere.” This doesn’t necessarily mean, though, that John doesn’t know Sherlock is following. This could be a classic John Watson lie by omission.
During the confrontation, John gets more and more angry and jealous. At this point, he believes that Sherlock is in love with Irene, so if she’s alive, he thinks Sherlock is going to go shag her forever and gaze adoringly into her eyes. If John knows Sherlock’s there, he’s aware that Sherlock also knows she’s alive. He’s eaten up by jealousy.
At the end of their conversation, John says “We’re not a couple,” followed by Irene’s “yes you are” and her sending of the text message. If John does know Sherlock’s there, he now knows the jig is up. Very soon, Sherlock will get the message and they’ll all have to acknowledge he’s there.
So in the last seconds he has the chance, John goes for the face-saving move. “Who … who the hell knows about Sherlock Holmes, but – for the record – if anyone out there still cares, I’m not actually gay.” And as he says “anyone out there,” he looks toward the wall where Sherlock is hiding.
In this interpretation of the scene, the “I’m not actually gay” is intended FOR Sherlock. It’s John’s last chance to say something while pretending he doesn’t know Sherlock is there. From the perspective of “people are more likely to believe things they overhear than bad lies you tell them,” that’s a smart move. And again, it’s obfuscation and lying by omission, because he’s not gay, he’s bi, but he doesn’t want Sherlock to know that NOW, now that the good ship Adlock is apparently sailing happily into the sunset.
And if at this point John thinks “Sherlock was married to his work but now he’s actually in love with Irene and she’s alive so what I hoped we had isn’t what I thought it was and now he might suspect I’m into him OH GOD I can’t be exposed,” well, he takes this opportunity to demonstrate that totally wasn’t true and I Was Never Into You. (Isn’t that a very human tendency that many of us have shown at one time or another?)
It’s painful, but possible, I think.
p.s. quotes taken from Ariane Devere’s amazing transcript!
Things I Say While I’m Driving
Me: What the fuck are you doing. What. The fuck. Are you doing.
Me: NICE BLINKER ASSHOLE.
Me: Why the FUCK are we not even going to speed limit. Why.
Me: I AM GOING TEN MILES PER HOUR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT
Me: Shit is that a cop? No.
Me: Shit THAT is a cop.
Me: /dinosaur screams/
So, in my art history class today, my professor was talking about something that is so fuckin awesome.
These are warrior shields from the Wahgi people of Papua New Guinea. The warriors paint them with imagery meant to symbolize animals who have traits they wish to embody in battle. These depictions are intended to give the person using it the powers of what they’re depicting.
Now. Look at this Wahgi shield:
Hmm. That looks a bit different from the others.
That looks VERY different. Why, it looks like
The Phantom… American comic book character by Lee Falk. And that’s because it is.
The Wahgi people were isolated from the rest of the “modern” world until 1933. They came into contact with WWII service men who shared some aspects of western culture with the tribesmen. In particular, they showed them the comic books they read while shipped out. The Wahgi loved them. In particular, the Wahgi adored the stories of the Phantom, who wasn’t even particularly popular in its home of America.
He is so popular that the few Wahgi who can read english will read the comics out loud in the village center and hold out the pages for everyone to see, so the whole tripe can enjoy them and marvel at the Phantom’s might in battle.
They identify with the Phantom because he came from a jungle territory, like them, wore a mask to fight, like them, and came from a long line of warriors, which the Wahgi, who worshiped their ancestors, deeply respected. Further, despite not really having superpowers, the Phantom is strong, clever, and incredibly fast. He was so fast that his enemies began to believe that he was impervious to bullets and could not be killed.
Therefore, the Wahgi began painting HIM on their shields to invoke HIS abilities in battle. There are TONS of Phantom-Wahgi shields out there.
So, you might think that you’re huge comic book fan, but the Wahgi have taken their Phantom fandom to the next level and have made the Phantom a fucking talisman to carry into battle for strength.
I wish it would be that easy!!!❤️❤️🐾 @Phor_dingo 🐯❤️
(Source: https://vine.co/)
