#john bashing

One thing that stuck out to me during the special is how much of a prick John is. No really… He's quite an asshole. Maybe this was meant to have a character displaying Victorian misogynistic attitudes towards women, but he didn't need to be so much of a boor.

He talks down to his wife, who we know is an incredibly capable women. He literally tells her to go make them some food. He gives a pre-dressing down to his maid…It's not even an actual dressing down, because it's the wife's work to manage the household staff. He also humiliates Molly, putting her job in jeopardy.

So why does John come off so badly? Well, let's think about who comes off as very well.

Mary is shown to be a capable and powerful woman. She tells of Lestrade. She works along with Mycroft and manages to solve the mystery before Sherlock and John. She is fearless and resourceful.

There is also quite a bit of attention drawn to the fact there is trouble in the Watson marriage. It has everything to do with the fact that Mary wants to go out with them. By the end of the mystery, Sherlock has come to the realization as to how useful she could be to his work. In the second layer of dream, Sherlock even gives Mary a second change to get one over on Mycroft and be the one to "wear the pants in the family" when it comes to John.

The mystery with the Carmichaels seemed strangely out of place to me. It also seemed like Sherlock was ascribing a lot of attributes to Lord Carmichael we didn't have much opportunity to see on screen. This isn't terribly out of line for Sherlock, but what the attributes are were very particular.

Sherlock thinks Lord Carmichael is a boorish prick who doesn't deserve his wife. John calls Sherlock out on liking Lady Carmichael.

We don't see any evidence he actually does like her. But there is one person we DO get evidence he likes.

Mary.

Even when high on cocaine, Sherlock snaps to immediate action when he believes Mary is in danger. When asked if he's in a fit state he says "For Mary, of course. Never doubt that."

In Mary's first scene, Sherlock is shown to know her better than John, something Sherlock says "Spells disaster for [John]."

Mary fits every description of the women John thinks Sherlock likes. She has many similarities to Irene Adler: Perceptive, intelligent, dangerous. Sherlock is reluctant to discuss it, even preferring the idea of suicide. It is not out of annoyance he doesn't want to have the conversation, it is out of guilt.

The fandom hates John because he raised Sam and Dean as hunters instead of a normal life

But then they hate him for not teaching Adam how to be safe from supernatural creatures