thegamesafucky:

pbstv:

John is clearly standing behind him in the trailer, so unless he’s talking to a mirror for some very bizarre reason, I should think not.

-Mark

Originally posted by yourreactiongifs

Three messages, each one almost forgotten.

just-sort-of-happened:

welovethebeekeeper:

The Gingerbread Man delivery, the M letter delivery and the maid with the telegram for John are very similar. Each message was close to being forgotten.

TRF MRS HUDSON: Some chap delivered a parcel. I forgot. ……..Funny name. German, like the fairytales.

TAB MRS HUDSON: oh I almost forgot. This came for you.

TAB MAID: Oh I nearly forgot, a telegram came for you. [John says ‘You forgot] No, I nearly forgot.

In this show the writers tell us important things in threes. These three scenes are not about messages they are about nearly forgotten messages. The language escalates from ‘I forgot’ to ‘almost forgot’ then ‘nearly forgot’.

The first is a package, the second a note and the third a telegram. So not the same type of message, their commonality is the fact they are messages. Messages that could have been forgotten.  

First message is about Sherlock’s heart being burnt to a crisp. The second reminds us that Mary is secretive, has an agenda. The third is a famous urgent  summons by Sherlock to John, to come to him no matter what John is doing at the time.  

So Sherlock’s heart is being broken/burned, by Mary, who is not as she seems, and Sherlock needs John urgently. Don’t think that bodes well for the Watson reconciliation!  

Looking at the big picture we are being reminded that the message of Holmes and Watson has always been their relationship, their romantic relationship, it’s almost/nearly been convieniently forgotten in pastiche and Holmesian debate, it’s been MISSED. Sherlock asks ‘did you miss me?’ Did we all miss the fact he was gay? Who needs this message delivered? England. England has an iconic hero who has been maligned, not allowed to be who he really is. A friend IS in need and it IS England. England has a gay icon, let us celebrate that fact in front of the world.

Bravo!  This is brilliant!  And I teared up at the end, too!  Fantastic!  <3

johnlocktentacles:

OK, so my recent reading included “The Trials of Oscar Wilde” by H. Montgomery Hyde.

As I was reading through the fairly extensive introduction, particularly the contextual information surrounding the first trial, in which Oscar Wilde prosecuted Lord Queensberry for criminal libel, I noticed a few details that I would like to take up with Stephen Thompson and his writing for TRF.

Some of these have been pointed out elsewhere, but I’m including them here anyway:

The Old Bailey: 

It’s common knowledge in the fandom at this point that the court where the Wilde trials took place is also the court where Moriarty stood trial in TRF.

Timing: 

The first of the Wilde trials began on April 3, 1895, and Wilde was convicted on May 25 of the same year.

Going by the dates on John’s blog, the Baskerville case is dated March 3 and John’s “he was my best friend and I’ll always believe in him” post is dated June 16.

Which means that the Wilde trials and TRF took place at the same time of year and the dates on John’s blog fairly neatly bracket the dates that the Wilde trials would have occurred. 

Show Off: 

During Lord Queensberry’s trial for libel, Wilde himself was the prosecution’s primary witness. During his cross-examination, Lord Queensberry’s lawyer and the judge were both annoyed by Wilde’s sass. According to the intro:

“Wilde could not resist the temptation to show off, a temptation which was later to prove damaging when he was in the box at the Old Bailey. Almost his very first answer called down a mild reproof from the bench.”

In TRF, as we know, Sherlock’s showing off lands him in contempt of court.

No Defense:

In Lord Queensberry’s trial, the defense never had a chance to present its evidence or call witnesses. In this case, it’s because Wilde’s cross-examination during his earlier testimony was so incriminating, that Wilde’s lawyer interrupted Queensberry’s lawyer during the defense’s opening statement in order to withdraw the charges.

In TRF, Moriarty’s lawyer opts not to present a defense at all, because the whole point is to show that Moriarty has the power to walk free without his lawyer even trying.

In both cases, the defendant was acquitted without presenting a defense at trial.

Sending a Message:

Lord Queensberry elected to send a message rather than pay a visit, but this is from the introduction:

“As soon as he had obtained his discharge from the Court, the victorious defendant sent a characteristic message to his adversary, on whom the tables were now to be savagely turned. ‘If the country allows you to leave,’ said Queensberry, ‘all the better for the country; but, if you take my son with you, I will follow you, wherever you go, and shoot you!’”

Moriarty, of course, in TRF, chose to call at Baker Street in person, and leave his ominous IOU that way. 

Both defendants, immediately upon acquittal, lost no time in getting in touch with the opponent in order to make threats of what was to come.

Arrest:

There are two things here. First, once the warrant for Wilde’s arrest was issued, a friend came to let him know about it before the police arrived to arrest him. Wilde refused to see the friend who came with the news, and sent his other friend, Robert Ross, who was with him, to receive the message instead.

In TRF, warning Sherlock that the officers were on their way to pick him up falls to Lestrade, who makes a phone call to John.

And then when the police arrived, Wilde put on his coat, picked up his gloves and book, and went with the police without any trouble.

In TRF, as the police are arriving, we see Sherlock putting on his coat and scarf and putting out his hands for the officer to cuff him. (I mean, things went to shit a couple of minutes later, but that’s irrelevant.)

Brook/Brookfield:

I’ve saved this bit for last because honestly it fucked me up the most. This is the part where I could no longer explain away the similarities as mere coincidence.

“It is a curious fact, which does not seem to be generally known, that the most damning clues were provided by an entirely voluntary agent who received no fee for his services. This was the actor Charles Brookfield, who had conceived a violent hatred of Wilde…”

“The subject of Oscar Wilde had by this time developed into a positive obsession with Brookfield. Consequently, when the Queensberry storm broke, he went round London getting up opposition wherever he could against the unfortunate dramatist.”

“… after Wilde’s conviction Brookfield and some friends entertained Queensberry to dinner in celebration of the event. These details are confirmed by the journalist who introduced Brookfield to Queensberry’s solicitor.”

An actor named Brookfield provided the worst of the evidence against Wilde, and was put in touch with Queensberry’s lawyers by a journalist.

Moriarty provided all of the false evidence of Sherlock’s crimes and destroyed Sherlock’s reputation… by posing as an actor named Richard Brook and talking to a journalist.