Psyching Sherlock: Strengths & Vulnerabilities

[Carol the Dabbler]

That may be a part of Moftiss's apparent plan to start us off with a younger, less confident, Sherlock Holmes, and then let us watch him grow into the more familiar older character.  Right now, Sherlock substitutes bravado for the confidence that he hasn't fully earned.

 

[T.o.b.y]

... and I love that! I can see myself sitting in front of the TV in years from now (assuming the show did continue, which I strongly hope) and sighing in a motherly fashion "he grew up so fast..."

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Or like an exasperated John, and go: What took him so long!

[T.o.b.y]

This seems to be the right thread to vent a vague feeling of annoyance with a perceived perception of Sherlock as childish and inept and largely dependent on other people who take care of him.

 

Fist of of all, the original Holmes was nothing like that. He was a very autonomous individual, habitually on top of everything and everybody (exceptions prove the rule). As for being taken care of (by Dr Watson), there are two stories ("The Devil's Foot" and "The Reigate Puzzle") where Holmes has worked (and starved and drug-abused) himself into illness and is made to go on holiday, accompanied by his friend in the capacity of medical attendant. In both stories, Holmes finds a crime to solve as quick as ever he can and recovers on the job. Watson at first tries to dissuade him but is quickly drawn into his usual role of assistant detective and everybody is happy (except maybe the villain). Holmes knows himself pretty well. The cure for him is doing what he does best and what keeps his mind together and if his friend had not been around, he would have cured himself in exactly the same way - although he does seem to enjoy being fretted over a bit, I must say.

 

Of course Doyle had Watson claim that he was responsible for weaning Holmes of his cocaine and other "indiscretions". I very much doubt, however, that the great detective would have gone so far on his own as to become a full-time junkie. He preferred brain work to "drug induced dreams" and came out of the latter regularly to pursue the former.

 

I do realize that Sherlock is a different character from the original. And I definitely like him being more vulnerable. I like the impression we get of him being kind of fragile. But that fragility is coupled with great strength and independence. When we meet him in "A Study in Pink", he is on his own and doing well enough even with mundane boring things like finding an apartment, moving his stuff there and getting an acquaintance to find a flat mate for him. I don't think he shirks doing the shopping or sits around for an hour waiting for somebody to hand him a pen because he couldn't do anything for himself, he just seizes the opportunity to be waited on and thus have more free time for thinking and fighting and running around London's dark alleys.

 

The power he has to make other people do what he wants (and care about what happens to him) is a strength rather than a weakness.

 

I think Sherlock would function well enough on his own. He might be less happy, but that is a different story.