I've been thinking about the most recent part of GREE, and I just keep mulling over Watson's reaction to thinking that Sherlock is sneaking out to use drugs and how this is probably some of the strongest language he's ever used on the topic.
What I was thinking specifically was that this is the bluntest he's been (especially around other people!) of this being unhealthy, detrimental, and that he wants Sherlock to ideally entirely"withdraw from this part of life", as opposed to being semi-sarcastic about his roommate having "a charming habit for Class A drugs" or other milder ways for expressing consistent-but-defanged disapproval over the years.
(TWIS is a counterpart to this, and I will get around to that. Man, rereading the transcript now, Sherlock sure weasels his way out of Watson "you're scaring me" hard because there's luckily a case on hand)
Generally in the pod, there's been this general fuzziness around the consequences of Sherlock's drug use on him physically and those around him, and where he stands in the line of untangling chemical dependencies resulting in withdrawal symptoms when not using from it being semi-functional "habit/choice". Baring that fakeout in TWIS, we haven't really had an "oh shit" moment with him and the role of what-can-go-wrong-with-entirely-self-managed drug use in his life.
So, this shift to stronger and more emotionally charged language/references to past physical incidents around it, even if not the focus of the most recent episodes...it feels significant.
In contrast, he is legit angry and worried in Part 3, and he gives a real tongue-lashing to who he thinks is a dealer and an enabling family member for Sherlock.
Additionally...correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the first time that Watson has ever outright called Sherlock "a [drug] addict". No euphemisms, no sarcasm, no softer language or dancing around it.
Watson still thinks that they're all talking about the same thing with the drugs at this point, so this is a genuine reaction from him.
Sure, there's the misunderstanding making a the comedy twist here...but that detail about how John is the one who will have to wake up next to a high Sherlock from keeping watch, when he's full of "shame and guilt" is WAY too specific and evocative for that not to have happened before.
(Note: I also saw @itsnobodysproblem point out that in the finalized audio seen here, Watson instead says that "And guess what-I'll be the one who wakes up next to him in the morning, yeah" before continuing with the rest of the written line.
My guess here is that the switch here changes the context to either Sherlock seeking out a sleeping Watson while he's in an altered state because that's where he feels safe and falling asleep there (more than once) and Watson waking up to him there, or Watson falling asleep while purposefully keeping watch over a high Sherlock and then waking up to the fallout. Poor guys, either way.)
I also think that this is the first time we've ever gotten a hint about Sherlock ever feeling bad about/from his opioid use?
Before, it's all been very self-assured breeziness about self-medication and distracting/pedantic talk about the chemistry of it. He's very much downplayed the danger of it, and given a lot of credit to the idea of his own knowledge and discipline.
So, this idea of him feeling ashamed of this is definitely new.
I have to wonder if, in the context of those memories of waking up next to Watson watching him from a high, if that shame/guilt centers more around on his drug use scaring other people. Now that he has more stable friends in his life, and this is something frightening to them...but maybe something that he can't stop. Not without admitting that he's not in control here, and that this isn't just an on and off quirk.
But let's consider the above language from Part 2 of GREEK with the last time that Watson really got to go off=> The Man With The Twisted Lip, Part 1.
With that, i find it very interesting to consider Watson's reaction to Sherlock being in a ketamine parlor, because it's a very similar setup to what we have with the yacht misunderstanding in GREEK.
Once again, Sherlock isn't using in that specific instance, and there's a misunderstanding at play that turns into the main plot focus...but John's worry and fear is still graphic and real.
What I found interesting (and frustrating) re-reading this is just how goddamn slippery and underhanded Sherlock is being here with Watson's underlying worry.
In no short order, he uses Watson's own alcohol habit as a "whataboutism" argument to nullify him being able to critique his roommate and business partner's drug habit, reflexively pounces on minor inaccuracies to twist things around to his side (he wasn't there to use ketamine, calling it a crack den is wrong and don't be ridiculous he doesn't use crack), and he feels justified in doing it because there is a legitimate case at hand. That's something that draws Watson in as well.
(Yes, Sherlock is also already feeling defensive and twitchy because he's sensitive about the St. Clair case being something he can't crack this time of year, acknowledging that. There is a bit of extra reason for him to cattily lash out)
But Watson is name-dropping heroin above, not ketamine, and we know for a fact that Sherlock uses a variant of the former along with other opioids. He's not making any of the gaps that Sherlock exploits in the rest of the conversation, and he directly says that this scares him.
In reply, Sherlock says that his yelling is scaring nearby children (deflecting, not addressing actual point, you're saying the right thing in a wrong way, etc.). Sherlock has information that John doesn't at this point, and it turns into a concession from him of "I'm not taking ketamine" before leading into explaining what was actually happening and the rest of the case. It's about bridging out from what John got wrong as opposed to acknowledging what he's right about.
Let's consider that when looped back around with the new reporting from Watson in GREEK. Sherlock's blasé defensiveness versus this new idea of him (at least sometimes) feeling guilt and shame around this.
The difference between the confrontations in TWIS and GREE is that now there's other people who ostensibly care for Sherlock/are the direct enablers of the problem that Watson can attempt to shame as opposed to Sherlock not listening to him.
(Or to Wiggins. Man, what I'd give to hear those conversations, the kid's got to have seen a lot. Below is from Part 1 of TWIS)
Mycroft, regarding Sherlock's (implied and real) drug use
All this makes me wonder about Mycroft's role in this, and the implications of how he reacts in this.
It seems obvious that with the healthy lifestyle emphasis and his gunslinging "tracking down and throwing people into vans who I think are implied to be sex traffickers"-career firmly loyal to the UK government, Mycroft isn't really set up to be in a position or inclination to partake in similar substances to his little brother.
Not technically directly discussed, but let's just consider this as a reasonable starting point for now. The rule of the day is friction between the brothers, so I think the more room for contrast, the better.
And when it comes to the yacht confrontation...this is the first and only time so far where Mycroft seems genuinely uncomfortable.
Before this, in all the James Bond spymaster and spa magnate business, and even just speaking with his little brother, he doesn't stumble over his words, he doesn't unnecessarily pause, he doesn't act unsure of what comes next.
But after Watson keeps pressing the issue (of what he thinks the issue is), Mycroft's left taken aback and hesitant, and it audibly comes through in his language.
He (unlike Sherlock) also seems to clock earlier that Watson is not talking about disapproving of Sherlock taking on a case while on vacation, and tries to awkwardly step in to clarify [below].
This is a guy who is 100% unperturbed by his brother's roommate swimming up to a yacht in the dead of night, giving him a dressing gown with a gun he must've lost somewhere, but it's this that makes him hesitate and start speaking cautiously. As if he wants to avoid blowing up something delicate.
After Sherlock and Mycroft explain the case proposal, Watson says out loud "Sorry yes that makes more sense. Than- the drug thing".
(This is on top of the "addiction...to crime" exchange, which is repeated twice, for Watson using that "feed his addiction" language a total of three times in front of Mycroft)
So, unless Mycroft had a "huh, guess I missed that the little one's roommate is homophobic and jumps to conclusions about small-headed Greek researchers" moment, he had reason to know what Watson was getting at here about Sherlock and drug use.
If not before the realization, than definitely after the "addiction" and "the drug thing" bits above. He was reacting in light of that.
...And yet, he only speaks up to suggest that they move to another spot on the yacht. He brushes it all aside, for the sake of focusing on on something else at hand.
No assurance to Watson on the topic that he doesn't have to worry about things, sorry for the concern...nothing.
After that "Who, Sherlock?" he lets Watson and Sherlock do the talking, stays silent during the bickering, and only pipes up to neutrally (and with some pauses) politely state the actual case, continues to stay silent for more of the partners' back and forth, and then tries to delicately conclude matters by suggesting everyone move to a different space (and he technically doesn't even directly address Sherlock and Watson here)
When it comes to considering how Mycroft has acted up to this point, this silence and hesitation and lack of engagement stands in stark contrast. He's not easily intimidated, but he backs down from this, and after there's clues that it's about this topic.
Even if we consider that he may be more concerned about politely clarifying things to Watson and this is purely about rhetorical efficiency, his "um"s and the pauses do suggest that he's on the backfoot here in that. He's not approaching this in the assured manner that we've seen him bring to everything else.
And when he does seem to realize "we're talking at crosshairs" earlier in the conversation and tries to intercede, he quickly backs down after his delicate attempt to speak up is smacked down by Watson.
There are other things that he, or anyone, could've done here. But in face of Watson being persistently angry and worried, he doesn't take charge. He's confident at first, when he thinks that they're all talking about the same thing, and firmly says that this is Sherlock's choice.
But after Watson bangs his fist on the table and continues to clearly talk about something else important to him and concerning Sherlock...he hesitates from diving into the conflict.
He doesn't ask him directly what he thinks this is about. Instead, he mostly steps out from the conflict and seems to be especially averse to conflict with another witness present (he addresses Mr. Melas twice in this here)
I'm going to assume here that Mycroft knows that Sherlock is a drug user, and that he's been one for some time. Sherlock is fairly open about it, it's been mentioned frequently on an award-winning in-universe podcast of their lives, and Mycroft has known Sherlock all his life and thus definitely was there for before and after his little brother starting drugs.
So, since there's no reason for him not to know it, that only leaves what his history there and current thoughts on the matter actually are.
And in that, his behavior here is interesting to consider. Is this hesitation purely because of there being a stranger physically present and hearing all of this? Or is there a deeper discomfort and history to this where his disengagement is one part of other go-to reactions he has?
