Episode 3.3, "His Last Vow"

[Carol the Dabbler]

... Mary and Sherlock ... tell him he is in this situation because he likes it! Because he is addicted to danger and to dangerous people......They imply that he somehow knew subconsciously that Mary was dangerous and thus chose to be with her, even though she had never shown this side of herself to him or given him any clues and even though the brilliant detective himself apparently failed to deduce the truth....

 

Indeed! In fact, we have only the word of Mycroft, Sherlock, and Mary that John is an "adrenaline junkie" in the first place. I'm not sure John believes them, but he does seem to be worried that they're right. I'd sooner believe that they're projecting their own characteristics onto him.

 

As I've said before, my impression is that John likes to be where he's needed, and dangerous people do tend to do dangerous things that sometimes backfire -- so a combination crack shot and level-headed doctor can indeed be very helpful.

 

[sherlockandjohn]

I agree with you, Carol. Every time we see John near a corpse, he does or says something that shows sympathy for the person, and displeasure at the act that had taken place. And then he steps into doctor mode. Sure, I've also noticed that he enjoys running around London chasing criminals, and that's not only because he wants to catch them, but also for the thrill of the chase. However, that doesn't equal being attracted to dangerous people. Prior to HLV, I never thought of John that way. He's drawn to Sherlock, but that seems to be because he's brilliant, and of course has a number of other appealing qualities. He never liked Irene or Moriarty, for instance; he seems to be appalled by both.

 

I get that John is a bit of an adrenaline-junkie, but not to the degree we're suddenly supposed to believe during HLV.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yes, I suppose everyone's an adrenaline junkie to some extent.  How else would one explain roller coasters and 3-D movies? 

 

But John self-identifies as a doctor first, and a soldier second.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

He is a caregiver. He may have considered himself Sherlock's live in physician. Unfortunately he didn't consider the possibility that he was also Sherlock's live in guinea pig.

[T.o.b.y]

The only thing I would blame him for, a bit, is not noticing that Sherlock is on the verge of collapse. Even though John is naturally upset and angry, as a doctor he might be expected to notice that the victim of a very recent gunshot wound, who should have been in a hospital bed, was bleeding internally and about to go into cardiac arrest for the second time.....

 

One should think so... But then, I suppose John has a bit of a blind spot for Sherlock being vulnerable. While women like Irene or Mary (or even Molly, at times) do see past his facade fairly quickly, to John he always seems to be the great Sherlock Holmes, who is always supposed to have a plan and know what to do. He simply doesn't expect him to collapse on the living room floor. And besides, he's so angry in that scene that he probably doesn't much care, either.

 

For some reason, I identify most with Mary in the confrontation scene. I feel really bad for her, and then for Sherlock. Poor John, for all his yelling and kicking chairs, doesn't generate much sympathy in me. I understand why he's angry, but I still think he might have at least gotten round to the "why" at some point. If I love a person, I'd usually assume he or she has reasons for doing something outrageous. Mary's affection for him has been called selfish, but I must say "what have I done all my life to deserve you" is not exactly an unselfish attitude, especially as opposed to alternatives like "what in God's name possessed you to act like this and why didn't you confide in me sooner?"

[Slithytove]

You are probably right that John tends to see Sherlock as superhuman. On the other hand, he was with him a few minutes after the shooting and saw him dying in the ambulance. As a doctor, he knows about the long recovery period that would follow such a grave injury. Even a great man doesn't mend overnight.

 

Personally, I would cut John a lot of slack when he has had such a terrible shock. I think he can be forgiven for thinking of himself first, given that he has just found out that his wife is a liar, a killer and the person who committed a horrible crime which nearly cost the life of his best friend. If I was in his situation, it would be some time before I got round to seeing Mary's point of view - if, indeed, I ever did.

[sherlockandjohn]

Personally, I would cut John a lot of slack when he has had such a terrible shock. I think he can be forgiven for thinking of himself first, given that he has just found out that his wife is a liar, a killer and the person who committed a horrible crime which nearly cost the life of his best friend. If I was in his situation, it would be some time before I got round to seeing Mary's point of view - if, indeed, I ever did.

 

John has indeed had a huge shock, so I cannot blame him for getting furious and not seeing Mary's point of view at first. It is strange, though, that he never asks for it. But, like it's been said, we're probably meant to think that his later forgiveness of Mary without knowing who she was is a grand gesture... Not entirely sure about that one myself.

 

However, in the scene in Baker Street, John really evoces sympathy from me. The part that really gets to me is when he shouts, "Why is everything always my fault?" after Sherlock has told him that he craves dangerous people in his life. I am taken back to TEH, when John also asks, "Oh, so it's my fault?" when Sherlock explains why he didn't contact John. John has gone through some tough times, but he always ends up being there for the very same people who have hurt him deeply.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Maybe being, as Fox put it, a caregiver to people like Sherlock (in particular) and Mary means that John is likely to be blamed for a lot of things, if only because they are really good at rationalizing, so that in their mind, nothing is ever their fault.  And John was the only other person involved, so obviously --

 

I don't think Sherlock means it in a bad way, though -- just sort of matter-of-fact, like "well of course it's your fault,  John, but of course you didn't think it through, you never do, so moving on -- "

 

[T.o.b.y]

Maybe being, as Fox put it, a caregiver to people like Sherlock (in particular) and Mary means that John is likely to be blamed for a lot of things, if only because they are really good at rationalizing, so that in their mind, nothing is ever their fault.  And John was the only other person involved, so obviously --

 

I don't think Sherlock means it in a bad way, though -- just sort of matter-of-fact, like "well of course it's your fault,  John, but of course you didn't think it through, you never do, so moving on -- "

 

I like that explanation!

 

[sherlockandjohn]

Yes, that sounds a lot like Sherlock!

 

And no, there's no blame; he is perfectly fine with John being attracted to danger, and he's used to John not observing (plus, he missed the facts here himself), so I'm sure he doesn't blame him for any of it. He's just trying to reason with him: "You can't remain angry with Mary for being who she is, because it's basically your own doing for being who you are... And she never wanted to kill me, she was just buying time, and she saved my life..."

I definitely sympathise with John. I get furious at Sherlock - even if, to some degree, he's right (at least according to the writers, who now want us to believe that John likes dangerous people, and that Mary could foresee that Sherlock would survive her shot). Sorry, I know I'm being harsh on our otherwise brilliant writers, but those two things I find inconvincing - sadly, because they've made their "defense" of Mary rest on such a weak foundation.

 

A funny thought occurred to me: What if Sherlock was the one married to Mary, and he found out about her? I think he'd recover from the shock fairly quickly, shrug his shoulders, and say: "Better leave the gun at home from now on. Let's avoid a court case." And John would still be furious, of course, but on Sherlock's behalf.

 

[sherlockandjohn]

Been considering Sherlock and John's dynamic in this episode. Come to think of it, it makes sense for Sherlock to be the "protector" now that John and Mary are married. Sherlock is sort of the odd one out. I'm not saying John is abandoning their friendship - at all - but the dynamic has shifted, and in order for them to still stand as a strong team, Sherlock had to be portrayed this way. If not, John could simply go on with his life as per the "new usual", which is obviously him living the domestic, married life, and not seeing Sherlock for longer spells. That wouldn't make for a very compelling story, would it?

 

I do wonder if Sherlock feels like he needs to be more actively involved in John's life than he had to before. He was used to John just being there, following him around.

 

I also wonder how their dynamic will be in series 4 - Will it be more like it used to be, or will John continue, as in HLV, to tell Sherlock, "I'll text you if I'm available"? Not that I mind much either way. John ends up following Sherlock anyway

 

Oh, and on that note: Isn't it ridiculous how John is first practically begging Sherlock to ask him along on the case ("you trying to put me off?"), and when Sherlock does, he gets all defensive of his new lifestyle? ("I'll text you if I'm available!")

[Carol the Dabbler]

I definitely sympathise with John. I get furious at Sherlock - even if, to some degree, he's right (at least according to the writers, who now want us to believe that John likes dangerous people ....

Perhaps the writers merely want us to know that Sherlock and Mary think John is attracted to them because they're "dangerous." Perhaps they (Sherlock and Mary) are proud of that trait, so they assume it's the attraction. Or perhaps they're simply incapable of understanding John's real reasons for liking them.

 

At least that's the way I have to look at it, if I'm to maintain my sanity.   

 

 

I do wonder if Sherlock feels like he needs to be more actively involved in John's life than he had to before. He was used to John just being there, following him around.

Good point! Sherlock has until now been the "passive" one in the relationship, oddly enough, while John has been doing all the work (even though Sherlock probably never noticed). Now it's his turn.

[Carol the Dabbler]

We watched this episode tonight. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it, but I find myself liking it, overall, less and less. It's got some scenes that I really like, but then there's Magnussen (who just turns my stomach), to say nothing of why the hell did they have Mary shoot Sherlock.

But I have a question: When did Sherlock move John's chair back into the living room? No one had seen him since he disappeared from the hospital. Did he sneak in just long enough to move the chair and leave the bottle of perfume? (At least I assume it was him who left the perfume -- as some sort of in-your-face "clue" for John.) And come to think of it, HOW was Sherlock able to move the chair, in his condition?  It hadn't been in the living room or kitchen, and I can't imagine Sherlock would have moved it to his bedroom -- so it must have been all the way upstairs in John's bedroom. I hope for Sherlock's sake it's lighter than it looks.
 

Poor John, ... I still think he might have at least gotten round to the "why" at some point. If I love a person, I'd usually assume he or she has reasons for doing something outrageous. Mary's affection for him has been called selfish, but I must say "what have I done all my life to deserve you" is not exactly an unselfish attitude, especially as opposed to alternatives like "what in God's name possessed you to act like this and why didn't you confide in me sooner?"

Oops, I meant to concur with you there. Yes, absolutely -- if you love someone, you trust them. And if you trust someone, you assume that they have some sort of reason for the cockeyed things they do (maybe not anything you'd consider a good reason, but a reason nonetheless). That seems to be John's attitude toward Sherlock. So why not Mary?

 

[Arcadia]

Yah, but the love between friends is somewhat different than the love between a married couple, no? Same with trust. The relationships are just .... different, so how you react is different. Having said that, you could also say that John decided to trust Mary in the end.... Like most things with this episode, I can always end up arguing against myself if I really try!

 

I was a little puzzled about the chair too but finally just decided, where there's a will there's a way ... and besides, isn't Sherlock "known to be indestructible" ? He's not gonna let a little thing like a bullet hole in his gut stop him from moving a chair ....  

 

By the way, does anyone have an idea how long someone would "normally" spend in the hospital for a wound like that? Because at Christmas, "Mummy" Holmes says "Sherlock is home from hospital" which would imply that he is "just" home, recently. Yet Mary says it's been "months" since John spoke to her; i.e., since Sherlock collapsed in 221B. Which would make for a mighty long hospital stay! (If nothing else, I would think Sherlock would go nuts if he were stuck in a hospital that long ... I know I would!)

[T.o.b.y]

Perhaps Sherlock didn't go to Baker St at all? Maybe he just called Mrs Hudson on the phone and told her to move the chair back (I'm fairly sure she could drag it across the floor if she really wanted to, hip or no hip) and get a bottle of Clair de Lune? I certainly wouldn't put it past her to do so and act all innocent when John arrives... I think Mrs Hudson and Sherlock make a great team, anyway (that's one of my favorite parts of Scandal in Belgravia, where we find that out).

 

I can easily imagine Sherlock having been in hospital for months. He's probably the patient from hell, totally incooperative, prone to running off to meetings with creeps like Magnussen or other case work, and coming back with reopened wounds, infections, god knows what. You can drag your recovery on all you want if you really put your mind to it, believe me...

 

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Sherlock has a whole "Homeless Network" so even if he can be a egotistical cock-of-the-rock, he also knows how to delegate when push comes to shove. So yeah, I like the idea of Sherlock ringing up Mrs. Hudson and planning that little reveal to John.

 

 Plus this "when did he have time to do that" is canon. There is  more then one story where Holmes is running himself ragged on a case then he gives Watson a piece of information or evidence and Watson is like.....What? Really?  When did you have time to do that?!? Or maybe it was the fandom that looked at the action and asked the question.....which ever.

[Slithytove]

The hospital question interested me, so I looked it up. Everyone asking about recovery times from gunshot wounds seems to be a writer doing research......and the general answer from various medical people seems to be " it takes a bloody long time to recover", particularly if the bullet penetrates the body rather than grazing it. In fact, everyone seems to think that the chances of surviving a wound to the torso are very, very low indeed. Weeks in bed, and at least six months to heal, if you are amongst the few who survive.

 

As for the chair, maybe Billy moved it for him. Sherlock had evidently been in touch with him, as he gave the phone to Mary near the empty house.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I found this article on bullet wounds and such.

 

    http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/parts/best-place-to-get-shot.htm

 

 

 

                       But one point that was made in this article is that people do survive wounds that should have been fatal and others die from wounds that should not have been life threatening at all.

 

 It also sites the case study of the civil war era man who was shot with a musket ball. The wound was devastating even taking out part of his abdomen. He lived for 66 more years.

[Carol the Dabbler]

As for the chair, maybe Billy moved it for him. Sherlock had evidently been in touch with him, as he gave the phone to Mary near the empty house.

I like that idea. Mrs. Hudson has presumably gotten used to Billy hanging around, so she wouldn't pay much attention to him. And even if she was in on it, I can't believe that she could have brought it down from John's bedroom (God knows I wouldn't care to try).

 

Unless I'm missing something -- while the chair was away from its usual spot, did we see it elsewhere in the flat?  If not, I can't think of anywhere else it could have been, other than John's room.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Here is a meta dealing specifically with John's chair and what did Sherlock do with it.  Warning....it does have some swearing in it...the "F" word and such.... so read at your own risk. 

 

    

    http://deducingbbcsherlock.tumblr.com/post/77672201795/ever-wonder-to-where-sherlock-moved-johns-chair

[Slithytove]

Thanks for the link. Even if you don't agree with the sub-text, the idea that the chair was in Sherlock's bedroom rather than John's makes sense. Why would he bother to lug it upstairs - and then down again - when his own room is on the ground floor?

[Caya]

Maybe he put it upstairs because he didn't want Janine to sit in it? He was prepared to do a lot for that little ruse, but John's chair was John's chair .

[T.o.b.y]

Funny, that's the first thing I thought when I saw the episode: He just didn't want Janine in it!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks for the meta link, Fox.  I think the author has a plausible idea, that Sherlock took John's chair into his own room because he misses John.  So the chair is kinda like his teddy bear, I guess, or more like his johnny bear.  (Meaning no disrespect to Dr. Watson.  It's just a metaphor.)

 

However, I think Martina has a good point.  If Sherlock misses John and associates the chair with John, then maybe he moved it out of the living room so other people wouldn't "contaminate" it by sitting in it.  In which case, he wouldn't move it to any other room where somebody might sit in it -- so obviously not the kitchen.  And presumably not his bedroom either, as long as Janine goes in there.

 

So it'd have to be John's bedroom.  Maybe Sherlock goes up there and sits in John's chair when he's feeling lonely.  (Awwww!)

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Well the guy who did the meta did say it didn't look exactly like the chair.....it did look like what ever it was was covered somehow....so maybe it was John's chair disguised not to look like a chair that could be sat in unless or until Sherlock wanted to think of John.  But yeah if that wasn't the chair then it would have been upstairs.