{"id":172370,"date":"2015-01-16T16:31:36","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T16:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/01\/16\/prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake\/"},"modified":"2018-09-11T15:33:59","modified_gmt":"2018-09-11T15:33:59","slug":"prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/01\/16\/prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-172370 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/01\/16\/prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake\/attachment\/172371\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo1_500-150x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/01\/16\/prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake\/attachment\/172372\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo2_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo2_500-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo2_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/01\/16\/prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake\/attachment\/172373\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo3_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo3_500-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo3_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/01\/16\/prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake\/attachment\/172374\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo4_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo4_500-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/tumblr_n02ogsx4FI1rtwwnmo4_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/prettyarbitrary.tumblr.com\/post\/108107531326\/gorgeouslock-gethinblake-sherlock-is-often\" class=\"tumblr_blog\" target=\"_blank\">prettyarbitrary<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/gorgeouslock.tumblr.com\/post\/108024921798\/gethinblake-sherlock-is-often-metafictional-in\" target=\"_blank\">gorgeouslock<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/sylviatietjens.co.vu\/post\/74741220924\/sherlock-is-often-metafictional-in-nature-in\" target=\"_blank\">gethinblake<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Sherlock<\/em> is often metafictional in nature: in series three particularly, the writers frequently draw the audience\u2019s attention to the fact that the programme is constructed. One of the ways through which they accomplish this is through utilising word selection and dialogue framing so as to draw attention to the particular implications of specific linguistic choices.<\/p>\n<p>This plays a significant role in The Sign of Three, particularly in the exploration of relationships, and is exemplified by the framing of the introduction of Major James Sholto:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>JOHN: \u201cMy husband is three people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Table five.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Major James Sholto. Who he?<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Oh, John\u2019s old commanding officer. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: He\u2019ll be there.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Well, he needs to RSVP, then.<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: He\u2019ll be there.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Mmm\u2026<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: \u201cMy husband is three people.\u201d It\u2019s interesting. Says he has three distinct patterns of moles on his skin.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Identical triplets \u2013 one in half a million births. Solved it without leaving the flat. Now, serviettes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The resolution of the client\u2019s dilemma is a simple one: even if the audience hadn\u2019t heard of identical triplets before, it remains the most obvious explanation of three people who are identical other than mole patterns. The case doesn\u2019t serve to showcase Sherlock\u2019s deductive abilities and makes no impact on the criminal investigation aspect of the narrative. So what was it doing there? Possibly it was there to insinuate a connection between the case and the relationship between the other people present in the discussion either physically or by mention. It is between John twice reading out \u201cmy husband is three people\u201d that Major Sholto is introduced \u2013 a character who is discussed with language carrying romantic implications. This is first exemplified during the following dialogue:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>JOHN: Oh, God, wow!<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Oh, G- Is that\u2026?<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: He came!<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: So that\u2019s him. Major Sholto.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Uh-huh.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: If they\u2019re such good friends, why does he barely even mention him?<\/p>\n<p>MARY: He mentions him all the time to me. He never shuts up about him.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: About him?<\/p>\n<p>[\u2026]<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n<p>[\u2026]<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: I\u2019ve never even heard him say his name.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Well, he\u2019s almost a recluse \u2013 you know, since\u2026<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: I didn\u2019t think he\u2019d show up at all. John says he\u2019s the most unsociable man he\u2019s ever met.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: He is? He\u2019s the most unsociable?<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Mm.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Ah, that\u2019s why he\u2019s bouncing round him like a puppy.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: Oh, Sherlock! Neither of us were the first, you know.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Stop smiling.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: It\u2019s my wedding day!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The framing of this dialogue creates a double entendre \u2013 Mary\u2019s statement that it\u2019s her wedding day serves explicitly as a reason for her to smile, but the implicit implication of it following her reminder that neither she nor Sherlock were \u2018the first\u2019 is that there is something romantic in the nature of John\u2019s relationships with Sholto and Sherlock as well as her.<\/p>\n<p>The second is during the flashback to John and Sherlock\u2019s conversation on the bench while investigating the case of what will later be referred to as the \u2018Invisible Man\u2019:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>SHERLOCK: So why don\u2019t you see him anymore?<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: Who?<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Your previous commander, Sholto.<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: \u2018Previous\u2019 commander?<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: I meant \u2018ex\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: \u2018Previous\u2019 suggests that I currently have a commander.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Which you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: Which I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: \u2019Course you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>[\u2026]<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: Why have you suddenly taken an interest in another human being?<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: I\u2019m\u2026 chatting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u2018Why don\u2019t you see him anymore\u2019 and the term \u2018ex\u2019 are, of course, culturally associated with romantic relationships. It\u2019s also particularly significant that John emphasises the semantic differences between \u2018previous\u2019 and \u2018ex\u2019, since the language of sexuality affects him more than any other character in the programme. He never claims to be straight, only \u201cnot gay\u201d \u2013 a defensive technique which I and many other bisexual people can attest to having used \u2013 and only on two occasions when he has been pressured into discussing personal matters with someone he dislikes and then when it has been insinuated that he couldn\u2019t possibly marry a woman. His other denials of involvement with Sherlock refer to their relationship status \u2013 he is \u201cnot his date\u201d or they are \u201cnot a couple\u201d, but those are temporary claims that in no way discount the possibility of attraction to or future involvement with Sherlock or with men generally. That John plays the most prominent role in exploring the minute differences in language in this episode will therefore be of interest to anyone who reads him as queer and closeted.<\/p>\n<p>Even John notes Sherlock\u2019s unusual level of interest in \u2018another human being\u2019 (and \u2018chatting\u2019, Sherlock? really?) &#8211; remember that at this point in the narrative, when the flashback scene actually took place, Sherlock was not aware that Sholto was the intended victim of the \u2018Invisible Man\u2019.\u00a0The parallel that Sherlock draws between himself and Sholto (implying that he is John\u2019s current commanding officer) is also notable, given that he is evidently jealous of him and discusses him romantic terms.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s the dialogue between Sherlock and Sholto through the hotel room door:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>JOHN: Whatever you\u2019re doing in there, James, stop it, right now. I will kick this door down.<\/p>\n<p>SHOLTO: Mr Holmes, you and I are similar, I think.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Yes, I think we are.<\/p>\n<p>SHOLTO: There\u2019s a proper time to die, isn\u2019t there?<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Of course there is.<\/p>\n<p>SHOLTO: And one should embrace it when it comes \u2013 like a soldier.<\/p>\n<p>SHERLOCK: Of course one should, but not at John\u2019s wedding. We wouldn\u2019t do that, would we \u2013 you and me? We would never do that to John Watson.<\/p>\n<p>JOHN: I\u2019m gonna break it down.<\/p>\n<p>MARY: No, wait, wait, you won\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>John parallels Sherlock and Mary several times throughout series three \u2013 \u2018she has completely turned my life around; changed everything. But, for the record, over the last few years there are two people who have done that,\u2019 \u2018You should have got married\u2019 and \u2018I want to be up there with the two people that I love and care about most in the world. \u2026 Mary Morstan\u2026 and\u2026 you\u2019 \u2013 and here we again see Sherlock explicitly paralleled with Sholto, too.<\/p>\n<p>This triplicity, the triplicity of \u2018The Sign of Three\u2019 as a title and the \u201cmy husband is three people\u201d case could perhaps coexist coincidentally, but \u2018the universe\u2019 (and the media industry) \u2018is rarely so lazy\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>This is derived from my meta on romantic conventions in Sherlock, which can be read <a href=\"http:\/\/sylviatietjens.co.vu\/post\/59034886056\/so-i-mentioned-in-my-video-on\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>this. THIS.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There are metas that are really reaching, and then there are metas that are so rock-solid that coincidence seems like the less plausible alternative.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>prettyarbitrary: gorgeouslock: gethinblake: Sherlock is often metafictional in nature: in series three particularly, the writers frequently draw the audience\u2019s attention to the fact that the programme is constructed. One of the ways through which they accomplish this is through utilising word selection and dialogue framing so as to draw attention to the particular implications of &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/01\/16\/prettyarbitrary-gorgeouslock-gethinblake\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[129,9665,15,405,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172370"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172370"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172375,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172370\/revisions\/172375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}