Episode 3.2, "The Sign of Three"

[Carol the Dabbler]

I was a little bit amazed by the amount of people who came to the wedding. Because John seemed not to have any relatives beside Harry, who didn't show. So apart from the old gang, the rest of guests must have been Mary's friends, which she found in the last 5 years. It's quite a bunch. I doubt I have known so many people in my entire life (outside of the job of course).

 

Yeah, who were all those people?  No relatives whatsoever, as far as we know, other than John's cousin (the one seated "by the bogs").  Surely at least a few were friends of John's, though, maybe some of the old army buddies that he writes about in his blog.  And maybe some people from work too.

 

Yes, when I think about where ACD canon could take us, it makes me pretty sad.  So, in my own mind, I mute the ACD canon to say that Sherlock winds up living "like a hermit" by which we could mean on the outskirts of a small town with, perhaps, a partner.  I'm on board for a second John wedding and his return to full time medical practice, even though it would mean ultimately losing Mary, but I do hope he stays in better touch with Sherlock than Watson apparently did with Holmes.  I mean, hey, we have email; we have Skype.  It should be easier, right?

I'm tempted to say email didn't help John stay in touch with Mrs. Hudson, but we don't need any additional depression, do we?

 

As for John's second wedding, how about this: Mary is finally to clear her (original) name, so she reverts to using it, and they get married again, just to make sure it's legal? As long as What's-her-name is still around, John won't be able to ignore Sherlock for too long (or vice versa either).

 

[Arcadia]

Hah, y'all are singing my tune now. I don't want Sherlock to end up alone!  (Twanging country-style guitar goes here.)

 

I'll bet some of them were John's relatives. Aunts and the like.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I like JP's description of the Christmas party. I'd call that fairly accurate. Also like the idea of Mart reverting back to her original name and a remarriage to keep everything legal. As for John & Mrs. Hudson, she's older so may not have a computer not email. Realize it's hard to determine when all we see is her flat door & her kitchen.

[sfmpco]

As for Mrs. Hudson not having a computer and email... she does respond to some of John's blogs... and the responses are often hilarious.  So she has to do that online...and since those blogs are the property of the BBC and an extension of the show, we can assume she has access to a computer or has her own and is comfortable navigating around.  She seems to understand all about surfing Youtube.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I totally forgot about the responses to John's blog. This road trip has my brain in left field somewhere.

[sfmpco]

All those BBC extra-curricular things have all our brains elsewhere... Let's not forget Molly's blog, Sherlock's IMac video of the wedding, and a host of other things... extra stuff... almost like Easter eggs.  

[Carol the Dabbler]

... Sherlock's IMac video of the wedding ...

 

 

   ???

[sfmpco]

 

... Sherlock's IMac video of the wedding ...

 

 

   ???

 

 

[Arcadia]

 

... Sherlock's IMac video of the wedding ...

 

 

   ???

 

From the last post on John's blog. You might have missed it because the link on the blog won't work for us Amuricans, you have to hunt it down on YouTube. (Unless some kind soul posts it here; yay sfmpco!)

 

You all know about the Moriarty video, right? Where he breaks into 221B? And there's another one, I can't remember what it's about, some fan video, I believe. Neither are very revealing, but if you're really starved for Sherlock minutiae....

[Arcadia]

P.S. - John's blog, y'all. Have fun!

 

Oh ... and now suddenly the video on the blog IS working for us Amuricans. Either their player has changed or my software's been upgraded. :p

 

Oops, wait, no, still can't play Jacob Sowersby's fan video .... I'm going to shut up now.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've been able to watch Jacob's video, and I think it was directly on the blog -- though that was a while back so I can't be sure.  I love John's replies to Jacob -- very respectful, despite the kid being (to my mind) kind of weird and annoying.  Which post was that on?

 

[Arcadia]

"Actually, Happy New Year".

 

And Moriarty's video is on "Hello Boys!" It doesn't play for me either, never has. :(

[Carol the Dabbler]

Just now I was able to play the wedding video (and it's even offering to replay), but when I tried Moriarty's video, I got "media selection request failed," whatever that means -- and the same failure mode with Jacob's video.  I know I have viewed the latter two sometime in the past, but maybe they're also on YouTube?

 

Yup, here's Jim Moriarty:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OH-nPEEtNc&feature=player_detailpage

 

... and Jacob Sowersby:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtveProD0M0&feature=player_detailpage

 

[sfmpco]

I had never seen those before!  They are great!!!!

[Arcadia]

Re-watched last night, luvvvv this episode. Much to my surprise, though, I realized I enjoyed TEH more, at least this time around. Partly, I suspect, because TSo3 takes a little more concentration than I was able to give it last night. But also, TEH is such a high-spirited lark; this one, you have to feel your way through, it requires more work from the audience. 

 

I was thinking ... if I'd never seen anything but the pilot, I would have never guessed that they would end up doing anything like this episode. I'm reminded again of the theory of impressionistic writing, which more than ever I am convinced is what they were after in S3 (whether consciously or not). The more I see it, the more I like it ... it's really not your typical television. Heck, it's not even your typical episode of Sherlock.

 

Favorite bits: "I'm ... your ... best ... friend?" and John's smile when he says yes. Sherlock's jealously over Major Sholto. Of course, the wedding speech, especially the train wreck parts of it. The pained expression on Sherlock's face when Mrs. Hudson rattles on about weddings, and the alarmed expression on John's when she rattles on about her sex life. (Mrs. Hudson is priceless in this episode at all points.) Molly sassing Sherlock in the lab, and his nonplussed expression when she talks about her sex life. (The women are so saucy in this episode!) The insanity of Sherlock trying to read a crime scene while he's drunk. Lestrade yelling "Not really!" That heart-breaking moment when Sherlock realizes that he has no one to dance with, and has no one to blame for that but himself. And so on, there's so much.

 

The thing is, though, they're all just bits. There's no real sustained drama. I wouldn't want every episode to be like this, I think it would become very tiresome very quickly; they were wise to follow it with a very plot laden episode. But as an artistic statement, I think it works beautifully, you just have to leave your expectations at the door and follow where it goes.

 

I also think it's here where John stops being a co-equal character and Sherlock dominates the stage. It's weird, because John's right there in almost every scene, yet I have a very vague impression of him. Is it because Benedict's so dazzling in the best man sequence that I can't see anyone else very well? Or something else... maybe it's because we're learning a bunch of new things about Sherlock, but not John? At any rate, I hope it's a short-lived trend, the show feels slightly lop-sided in Sherlock's favor, and I miss John's ballast.

[Inge l-w]

Well, someone has a great sense of humour, because in Moriarty's video they used the music from the Garrow's Law episode where Andrew Scott plays a Georgian sodomite caught in flagrante delicto with his shoemaker lover and in peril of his life, as it was a hanging offence at the time! A bit NOT good!

But, as Sherlock would say, "to battle":

First of all, the Waters gang seem to be robbing the same bank over almost two years, as Lestrade and Donovan are repeatedly shown exiting or in the forecourt of the same building.

Donovan protests that if Lestrade goes to help Sherlock, Jones will get all the credit: a reference to the ACD Athelney Jones?

There seems to be a rearrangement of furniture in the Sherlock/David scene, because the table has been moved to the other side of the room, which is not the case when Lestrade responds to Sherlock's plea for help, compared to the position of the music lectern, as well as evidenced by its distance to the curtains, while in the Archie scene the table is back next to the windows and with the lectern in the background.

That bearskin cap gag is effective, but neither the Guardsmen nor their officers leave such valuable headgear lying around for "dickheads" to play at soldiers. His very careful infiltration of their barracks is much more convincing.

Vicky tells him: Sorry, Sexy, some secrets have to stay secret. Sexy is Moriarty's first jibe in TGG, (Vicky=Moriarty?)

In the scene with Major Sholto, there is an inexplicable reflection of them on a mirror hanging outside his room, at an impossible angle. Blooper?

In Major Sholto's room a painting appears first on one wall to his side and then behind him as he is sitting.

In the scene right before Lestrade drags in the photographer, Sherlock has his hands behind his back, then crossed in front, then behind his back, then in front again. Continuity slip-up?

And because this was a rewatch, I couldn't skip the stag night, as I always do when I watch for fun! #*%#

[Arcadia]

First of all, the Waters gang seem to be robbing the same bank over almost two years, as Lestrade and Donovan are repeatedly shown exiting or in the forecourt of the same building.

 

 Well, I think the building they are exiting is the courtroom building (or whatever they call them in England ) not the bank, so maybe that's why it's always the same building?

[Inge l-w]

Dear Arcadia, Lestrade's extreme reaction each time does not suggest that they were exiting the Law Courts, it's certainly not the Old Bailey or the Inner London Magistrates, and his talk is of their being greedy and will do it again. Not sure about it, either, just an impression.

And I forgot to mention that my favourite part of this rollercoaster of feelings and sentiment is Sherlock's scene with Mrs Hudson right at the start, his genuine surprise at her bringing tea in the morning.

[Arcadia]

His reaction may not indicate where they are, but the dialog does:

LESTRADE: They just walked out of there!
DONOVAN: Yeah, I know. I was sort of sitting next to you.

 

From Ariane DeVere. Actually, now that I look at the transcript, I see that she agrees with me ... except for one scene, they're outside a courthouse. Budget constraints?

 

I love that whole sequence with Sherlock and Mrs. Hudson, his pained expressions are hilarious!

[Van Buren Supernova]

I was thinking ... if I'd never seen anything but the pilot, I would have never guessed that they would end up doing anything like this episode. I'm reminded again of the theory of impressionistic writing, which more than ever I am convinced is what they were after in S3 (whether consciously or not). The more I see it, the more I like it ... it's really not your typical television. Heck, it's not even your typical episode of Sherlock.

You made me curious about impressionistic writing so I took a peek at the link. I mostly agree to it, except that in TSoT I feel like I see bigger picture and have to zoom in to see the details, which is opposite to one of the characteristics.

 

Favorite bits: "I'm ... your ... best ... friend?" and John's smile when he says yes.

Sherlock's jealously over Major Sholto.

Of course, the wedding speech, especially the train wreck parts of it.

Yes, they are gems.

From his various suggestions for best man (Gavin? He is a man and good at it) :lol:

Sherlock can't really hide it when he is jealous isn't he?

Ohhh.. the wedding speech.. priceless..I love it to bits especially the part when he destroys everyone and made a comment about ludicrous fantasy designed to provide career opportunity for the family idiot. My jaw dropped the first time I watched.

It must be fun for the writers, and all the actors while BC had to deliver the monologues.

And let's play murder! (because apparently there are a lot of similarity between wedding and murder :lol:)

 

 

the alarmed expression on John's when she rattles on about her sex life. (Mrs. Hudson is priceless in this episode at all points.) Molly sassing Sherlock in the lab, and his nonplussed expression when she talks about her sex life.

TMI, Molly and Mrs.Hudson!

 

The insanity of Sherlock trying to read a crime scene while he's drunk.

That thing is deaded!

 

I also think it's here where John stops being a co-equal character and Sherlock dominates the stage. It's weird, because John's right there in almost every scene, yet I have a very vague impression of him. Is it because Benedict's so dazzling in the best man sequence that I can't see anyone else very well? Or something else... maybe it's because we're learning a bunch of new things about Sherlock, but not John? At any rate, I hope it's a short-lived trend, the show feels slightly lop-sided in Sherlock's favor, and I miss John's ballast.

John is visible to me, but you are on the point that he is the side character in this episode eventhough he is the groom. I guess they nailed it 'story about detective', when he is going through an important phase in his life, probably the most shocking to him, that he is actually capable to be loved and have someone who considers him a best friend.

 

 

Vicky tells him: Sorry, Sexy, some secrets have to stay secret. Sexy is Moriarty's first jibe in TGG, (Vicky=Moriarty?)

Nope, don't think there is any connection.

I think he is just generally sexy. XD

 

  

I love that whole sequence with Sherlock and Mrs. Hudson, his pained expressions are hilarious!

I remember on my first watch I thought he was quite rude to Mrs. Hudson, but on rewatch, I support his yelling 'Biscuits!!!!' when she went on and on and on without realizing the mood of the listener, I know several people who do that and it's painfully annoying.

[Van Buren Supernova]

I start with the funs first because my next post is kind of depressing.

 

Bits:

First scene, Lestrade really dressed up in the court, very properly dressed. And I can't help to think, everytime, that Sally looks pregnant in this scene.

 

Sherlock's guilty look when Lestrade bursts in to Baker Street (but it's indeed emergency! :lol:), I won't be surprise if there are SWAT (or whatever special team) break into the flat from the windows.

 

The violin can be heard from the street! Wonder why noone calls the police in TGG when he shoots the wall? (That is how he calls the police in SIB anyway), or maybe all the neighbours just brush it off, well the wall had it coming again..

 

David and Archie.. XD

David's expressions are great :lol: and Archie, that little adorable sociopath, glad to see him in the special, and Sherlock absent-mindedly offers the beheading out loud when he tries to solve the murder during the speech.

 

Is that Mr. Chaterjee (sp) with Mrs. Hudson in the wedding?

 

I don't mind that Anderson and Donovan are not invited, but Harry and Mike should be there. Mike, your mutual friends that you brings together!

 

John never stops Sherlock drinking the eyeball tea XD

 

Mary has evil horn when she gives the boys thumbs-up (foreshadowing?)

 

Sherlock looks huge compared to John here:

 

John tries to highfive the Mayfly landlord. :lol:

 

Irene Adler is wandering naked in Sherlock's mind palace.

 

Did I hear it correctly, Sherlock says John has good singing voice? I want the back story!

 

Get your wife in control. Drama queens. :lol:

 

How long does Sholto plans to stay? He brings a lot of clothes!

[Van Buren Supernova]

Fun aside, TSoT is difficult episode for me. It's sad.

Well, it's really the end of an era, in real life it's quite accurate too.

For Sherlock, it's even more.

 

I think it must be difficult for him to realizes that he actually has feelings and capability to care so much for someone, and capability of being loved and considered best friend.

It's definitely scary and foreign for him, it's so adorable to watch him does his best to be a best man, textbook style, and he is great! From learning how to fold serviette to making sure that David stays away from Mary. 

 

But while he is great at it, he is so stressed out and out of character that it's kind of make me sad because it's like watching someone trying to fit in, putting efforts the best he could in the world that might not be suitable for him. I guess it's hitting very close to real life where the world has been cruel to people who are different. Sherlock is so stressed out that he calls Mycroft and almost begs him to come to the party. Why, I'm not sure. Maybe Mycroft is the one that he is holding to for the sanity of the lifestyle he chooses, maybe he is the one that is left now that John has somebody else, maybe he just realizes that Mycroft might feel the same kind of losing when he meets John the first time, or maybe, Mycroft is the only one that really understands who he is. Redbeard. I'm not sure.

But this episode breaks my heart for him, maybe that's why despite all the funs, it's very difficult for me to watch.

And at the end, it was conclusive, like what he knows and experiences before, love hurts, caring is disadvantage, it makes you fragile, it's painful to see his expression on the dancing floor and when he leaves.

 

Molly! Molly through the whole episode. She is the one who understands Sherlock (being best man, speech etc). She side-eyes Janine, and we can actually see that she falls for Sherlock again (plus always) during his speech, but why? Why she didn't get him at the end? She didn't seem to understand that he is sad.

[Arcadia]

And let's play murder! (because apparently there are a lot of similarity between wedding and murder :lol:)

Well, yeah. The participants tend to know each other, and it’s over when one of them’s dead.

 

 

I love this gif, it's so cool and so weird all at once.

 

 

Vicky tells him: Sorry, Sexy, some secrets have to stay secret. Sexy is Moriarty's first jibe in TGG, (Vicky=Moriarty?)

Nope, don't think there is any connection.

I think he is just generally sexy. XD

 

 

 

Is that Mr. Chaterjee (sp) with Mrs. Hudson in the wedding?

I assume so. We never actually saw him in any other episode, did we?

 

Sherlock looks huge compared to John here:

We had quite a discussion about this photo at one point, as I recall. It just looks so strange, and surely it's deliberate? But why? What is it supposed to mean? I think some people suggested it shows a gulf growing between them, but I don't see it that way ... on the other hand, I don't know what to make of it.

 

Fun aside, TSoT is difficult episode for me. It's sad.

Well, it's really the end of an era, in real life it's quite accurate too.

For Sherlock, it's even more.

 

I think it must be difficult for him to realizes that he actually has feelings and capability to care so much for someone, and capability of being loved and considered best friend.

It's definitely scary and foreign for him, it's so adorable to watch him does his best to be a best man, textbook style, and he is great! From learning how to fold serviette to making sure that David stays away from Mary. 

 

But while he is great at it, he is so stressed out and out of character that it's kind of make me sad because it's like watching someone trying to fit in, putting efforts the best he could in the world that might not be suitable for him. I guess it's hitting very close to real life where the world has been cruel to people who are different. Sherlock is so stressed out that he calls Mycroft and almost begs him to come to the party. Why, I'm not sure. Maybe Mycroft is the one that he is holding to for the sanity of the lifestyle he chooses, maybe he is the one that is left now that John has somebody else, maybe he just realizes that Mycroft might feel the same kind of losing when he meets John the first time, or maybe, Mycroft is the only one that really understands who he is. Redbeard. I'm not sure.

 

But this episode breaks my heart for him, maybe that's why despite all the funs, it's very difficult for me to watch. And at the end, it was conclusive, like what he knows and experiences before, love hurts, caring is disadvantage, it makes you fragile, it's painful to see his expression on the dancing floor and when he leaves.

I think that's the point of the ending though, isn't it? To make us sad for Sherlock? He's so wedded to his ideal of himself as a superior being, that he is isolated even in the moments when he is willing to come down from the heights. In other words, in order to be special, he has sacrificed the comforts of being "ordinary." Is the trade-off worth it? Don't know, but he's made his own bed, and as he walks off into the night I think he's determined to lie in it. Which is a bit tragic and a bit heroic at the same time.

 

Molly! Molly through the whole episode. She is the one who understands Sherlock (being best man, speech etc). She side-eyes Janine, and we can actually see that she falls for Sherlock again (plus always) during his speech, but why? Why she didn't get him at the end? She didn't seem to understand that he is sad.

All just part of breaking our hearts.

Maybe she didn't get him, but I'm more inclined to think she did, but decided not to act on it. Whether that's due to loyalty to Tom, or because she didn't want to risk getting hurt again, I haven't decided. Probably both. But it doesn't work out for her.

 

Wow. Now I'M depressed.

[Boton]

 

 

But while he is great at it, he is so stressed out and out of character that it's kind of make me sad because it's like watching someone trying to fit in, putting efforts the best he could in the world that might not be suitable for him. I guess it's hitting very close to real life where the world has been cruel to people who are different. Sherlock is so stressed out that he calls Mycroft and almost begs him to come to the party. Why, I'm not sure. Maybe Mycroft is the one that he is holding to for the sanity of the lifestyle he chooses, maybe he is the one that is left now that John has somebody else, maybe he just realizes that Mycroft might feel the same kind of losing when he meets John the first time, or maybe, Mycroft is the only one that really understands who he is. Redbeard. I'm not sure.

But this episode breaks my heart for him, maybe that's why despite all the funs, it's very difficult for me to watch.

And at the end, it was conclusive, like what he knows and experiences before, love hurts, caring is disadvantage, it makes you fragile, it's painful to see his expression on the dancing floor and when he leaves.

 

 

 

 

I think this is why I can't watch TSoT.  And, I've been on a bit of a comparative-Holmes kick lately, watching/reading different version, and I think this is so fundamental to the Sherlock Holmes character: he feels abandonment much more deeply and fears being alone more than people would expect.  After all, canon ACD Holmes says that Watson's wedding is the one instance of Watson betraying him by leaving him alone.  TSoT is one of the most poignant portrayals of this I've seen on film/TV, because it is palpable how betrayed Sherlock feels by an event that he has been so involved in to date.  The feeling of aloneness shouldn't have come as a surprise to him, but I think it did.

 

 

 

I also think it's here where John stops being a co-equal character and Sherlock dominates the stage. It's weird, because John's right there in almost every scene, yet I have a very vague impression of him. Is it because Benedict's so dazzling in the best man sequence that I can't see anyone else very well? Or something else... maybe it's because we're learning a bunch of new things about Sherlock, but not John? At any rate, I hope it's a short-lived trend, the show feels slightly lop-sided in Sherlock's favor, and I miss John's ballast.

 

I think it's true that Sherlock is decidedly the main character in TSoT and HLV.  I think the ACD canon uses Watson as the secondary character, and Sherlock breaks that mold by making John an equal.  But there is a heritage there of Holmes being the central character.  

 

I actually think that they are taking John a little bit away from center stage in preparation for an evolution in his character.  I've said before, but I sort of expect Mary and the baby to die in the special, precipitating the Victorian era "flashback" or "coping fantasy," and John moving back to 221B in Season 4.  But I could be really wrong.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

John was in and out of residence of Baker Street after Holmes's return from the Great Hiatus. You may be right, Boton, in fact a whole lot of people are really hoping to see the last of Mary as soon as possible with no baby ever in sight.

 

 I kind of felt John was just reeling from one shock to another through out Season Three. It will be interesting how that is all dealt with in Season Four.