The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1976)

“Three exactly the same”

“Fourth. There’s been a fourth. And something’s different this time”

I’m feeling sooooo normal about this 🤪

Think about how messed up that would be

If john was texting Moriarty 

A Study in Pink sets the stage for all of our future expectations. Nothing in this show is done by accident, and the way it is all handled is masterful. Seeds are sewn in this first episode that will never cease to matter throughout the duration of the show.

Take the first meal Sherlock and John share together at Angelo’s, where Angelo insists that the pair must have a candle for their table:

It seems like sort of a “joke” in a way–something that could easily be brushed off if we didn’t all know that TJLC is real. And the candle thing continues to be a theme. Illumination itself is a subtle theme throughout the show, with all the color-coded lights and the fact that Sherlock dubs John his “conductor of light” in “The Hounds of Baskerville.”

I noticed something recently when watching what is surely one of the favorite scenes of all Johnlockers: the reunion of Sherlock and John at The Landmark in the episode “The Empty Hearse.” This is the night Sherlock returns, supposedly from the dead, and interrupts John’s (rather lackluster) attempt to propose to his girlfriend Mary in a rather half-hearted effort to, in his own words, “move on” from Sherlock.

Notice anything missing from John and Mary’s table?

There’s a lamp, sure, but no candle. Maybe that isn’t terribly unusual. But look at the other tables in the restaurant:

Most have candles.

It doesn’t stop there. When Sherlock catches his first (heart-stopping; you can clearly see that in his face, just as it has been pointed out that if you isolate certain audio tracks in this part here you can hear Sherlock’s thudding pulse) glimpse of John after two years away…

how does he see him?

There is a candle placed strategically between them, clearly visible from Sherlock’s vantage point.

This isn’t the only throwback to Angelo’s on this night. If more is needed, I’m including this little bonus below. The writers have done this *so many times,* where certain words and phrases come back again. It isn’t an accident and it isn’t lazy writing. We’re talking about the combined efforts of two very good writers here, and though John’s nerves on this night aren’t exactly hard to pick up on, we get this cherry strategically placed on top:

I SUGGEST YOU DON’T MARRY MARY. 

How could you do that? Hmm? ;)

“I’ve just woken up”, John tells Sherlock. From inside a well. Where by some miracle he hasn’t drowned while unconsciously chained up. Sure Jan.

He doesn’t feel things that way… I don’t think.

my name is Sherlock i am wise. i hug my Jawn becos he cries. he sad becos his wife is ded So note to self: don’t lik his hed.

honestly tjlc ASIDE this show is just such a master class in subtlety and misdirection…sherlock is undeniably soft from the beginning, physically affectionate with hudders, taking care to make sure john eats, giving john money outright, leaves john out or removes john from the flat when there is a potential danger, he’s so gentle with sarah during the rescue, actually he’s pretty nice to sarah overall, his whole job is about helping people, and yet with a dramatic silhouette, a few fast-paced deductions, and a line about a high-functioning sociopath, hundreds of thousands of viewers, even people who consider themselves fans, fall for this ridiculous persona, for the mask sherlock wears to hide his vulnerability, even though we are shown what’s underneath it. people’s eyes just skim right over him, or over john, or over irene adler, or over mary, it’s just. the ability of the show to misdirect the vast majority of its audience and allow the characters to maintain their vulnerability even while showing them the cracks is absolutely stunning. 

"Miss Me?" DVD

Mary Watson: Sherlock, I have one last case for you

Mary: Perhaps the hardest case of your career...

Mary: If I go, If I'm gone...

Mary: I want you to

*video glitch*

Mary: to fIND OUT THE NAME OF THAT SKANK MY HUSBAND WAS TEXTING.

“I’m not looking at him… I’m not saying anything… He just wants attention.”