The John Watson- Sherlock Holmes Relationship
The Reichenbach Fall was an extremely emotional episodeâ Sherlockâs tears seemed to be real, his sacrifice was one he made to save his best friendsâ lives, but The Empty Hearse proved those theories wrong.Â
Sherlockâs tears were not real, and he didnât fake his death to save John because Mycroft had already removed Johnâs sniper. There was no risk to Johnâs life. He could have easily kept John from entering the fray, the street was blocked off, John wouldnât have had to have his heart broken the way it was, but the entire plan was built so that John could be tricked.Â
âI donât have friends, I only have one.â What did the term âfriendâ mean to Sherlock when he said that? It obviously didnât mean the same thing to everyone.Â
It is obvious that if Sherlock has one genuine relationship in the story, it is his relationship with John. Despite the cruel âmagic trickâ he played on John, Series 3 lets us know for sure that Sherlock definitely cares for his army doctor. I have come across so many wonderful metas about the two of them, but hereâs how I think Sherlock and Johnâs relationship has blossomed and what the state of it is at the end of Series 3.Â
Episode 1- A Study in Pink
John is a loyal, brave army doctor who has just come home to London from the war. His therapist thinks he is haunted by his past, but really he craves to have it back. John needs the thrill to live, and he finds it in Sherlock. We know Sherlock also needs thrill to live (âmy mind rebels at stagnationâ), so the two are very much alike. Are these insatiable needs for danger healthy? No. Can any relationship between two people who crave danger be healthy? Absolutely not.Â
John shoots a man for Sherlock, and then both of them start laughing about it. The writers tend to keep saying that âJohn is usâ, perhaps when it comes to not understanding Sherlockâs deductions, yes he is, but otherwise, John is not us. But thankfully, when it comes to relationships, he makes more sense than Sherlock does. So we know after the 2nd episode that John likes Sherlock, but not as a person, just for the thrill that he provides. Sherlock, who isnât as emotionally invested in the relationship yet, can see Johnâs obsession very clearly. At the end of TSiP, we can all tell that Sherlock admires John almost as much as John admires Sherlock. No one bothers to compliment Sherlockâs skills, and not many tell him heâs an idiot as easily as John does.Â
Episode 3- The Great Game
Also known as the episode when Sherlock tells John that he is not a hero, and then throws a jacket laden with bombs off John at lightning speed. The entire series 1 makes clear to John that Sherlock is a sociopath, but one that is fun to be around. For some reason, and I have no observations to support this, I think John is trying very hard, like we are, to look at Sherlock in a positive light. He wants to believe Sherlock is a human human being. Sherlock, on the other hand, wants to keep his cold, hard exterior intact at all times. John is bound to be disappointed.Â
Episode 1- A Scandal in Belgravia
Irene Adler exposes and tries to play with the heart she can see in Sherlock, I especially like ivyblossomâs explanation of why Sherlock tries extra hard to impress Irene. She can see through him, and that makes him uncomfortable. John is visibly shocked by the relationship Sherlock has with Irene, and is perhaps able to confirm, to some extent, the humanity of Sherlock Holmes. John is starting to consider himself a friend of Sherlock Holmes the person, not Sherlock Holmes the detective. Somehow I doubt Sherlock thinks anyone at all sees him as a person, and doesnât understand the extent of Johnâs affection. Heâs just a fun app on Johnâs iPhone.Â
Episode 2- The Hounds of Baskerville
In this episode, Sherlock doesnât behave like much of a friend to John. He tricks John into thinking heâs locked in the same room as the hound, which is a very Sherlock Holmes-type thing to do, but not very friendly. Despite all of the tricks Sherlock plays on John, John doesnât expect to hear Sherlock say âhe doesnât have friendsâ. Sherlock later telling him he doesnât have friends, he just has one, once again reassures John that their friendship is intact. Sherlock says what he does because he doesnât want to waste time fighting with John, what with the game being ON. I know, itâs a terrible way of interpreting Sherlockâs statements, but Sherlock really isnât a great person, and this is the only way the next episodeâs betrayal makes sense.Â
Episode 3- The Reichenbach Fall
Sherlockâs fall is hard on John, because Sherlock wants it to be. The Holmes brothers, if the Lazarus plan is the truth, were very mean to John for the sake ofâŚnothing? (Here is the final problemâs explanation of why the Lazarus plan is wrong and if not, pretty darn evil.) How could Sherlock betray his best friend? Because he doesnât think John really cares about him all that much, and John may be a great âconductorâ, but he must do what he must and continue the solo act. Sherlock tears up on the roof to make his act more believable, and John is heartbroken. As his speech in front of the grave makes clear, John really cares about Sherlock as a person. How Sherlock could watch Johnâs speech and not change his mind about keeping the secret (now that we know heâs not a sociopath) is beyond me, but it might be possible that Sherlock thinks John is mistaken. No one could possible like the insufferable jackass who is Sherlock Holmes, and plus, John is in shock, heâll get over it.Â
Episode 1- The Empty Hearse
âWhat life? Iâve been away."Â
Remember, Sherlock always knew he was the spice in Johnâs life, but little more. He expects to surprise John. "Yay, John! The excitementâs back!â Does he think John has been hurting for two years? No, probably not. He doesnât think to apologize and tries to diffuse the tension too soon. Unfortunately for him, Johnâs having none of it. John has moved on and realizing that he was one of the only people who didnât know about Sherlockâs plan makes him underestimate how important he is to Sherlock. According to John, Holmes is a machine, and he never cared for John, but John still cares about him.
However, Sherlock cannot keep his hero inside when John is in danger, and Charles Augustus Magnussen is excited to have found Sherlockâs pressure point. John Watson.Â
Episode 2- The Sign of Three
This episode was probably the best one for Johnlock shippers, and the one where we find out that Sherlock had no idea he was Johnâs best friend, and is flattered to discover it. Someone loves the machine? Time and time again Sherlock reminds the people around him, and us, that he is a sociopath. Then, we see him prepare obsessively for Johnâs wedding, we listen to him say heart-wrenching truths to John about his feelings for him and weâre stumped. This man may be a jerk, an asshole, a dickhead, have the emotional range of a teaspoon at most, but he is not a sociopath. He wants to be one very badly, and perhaps that is exactly why he is always saying he is one, so it sinks into everyoneâs minds, including his own.  The roles have been reversed, and now Sherlock Holmes cannot stop complimenting John Watson. âI will solve your crime, but John Watson will save your life."Â
This episode is all about pressure points, and for some reason, Sherlock isnât Johnâs pressure point. Ever since discovering that Sherlock had deceived him, John is trying to distance himself from Sherlock. He isnât liking it, because he says itâs been "agesâ since heâs seen Sherlock, when itâs only been a month. He has to go to a crack house to bring the fun back into his existence. Even after Sherlock lets him know about the case surrounding Magnussen, you can tell he doesnât want Sherlock assuming heâs always going to be available to be a sidekick. You can sense John regressing back to thinking of Sherlock as a sociopath when he proposes to Janine for access into Magnussenâs office. He cannot believe Sherlock could do such a thing, which is unreasonable considering how in-your-face Sherlock gets about declaring heâs a sociopath. From that, itâs not a stretch to assume John doesnât really think Sherlock is as heartless as he says he is, but there are moments when he doubts his own assumptions.Â
At the end of series 3, the dynamic between the two has changed. Sherlock is the one willing to come back from the dead to protect John and shooting someone in the face for Johnâs wife (but I also have a theory that this isnât a sacrifice as much as a plan), and John may be slipping away, but probably not, because if thereâs a relationship thatâs all-enduring, itâs the John-Sherlock relationship.Â
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