Episode 3.3, "His Last Vow"

[T.o.b.y]

 

Yes, that's a very awkward place for a comfy chair.  Mycroft sits at the table in a less comfortable chair.  Mummy Holmes probably made Mycroft move that comfy chair into the kitchen area for Sherlock.  Can't let Sherlock do any heavy lifting, after all!  And that probably put Mycroft in a pissy mood to have baby brother be so pampered!

 

Oh, heavens, can't you just see it??

 

"Now Mycie, go and get Father's chair from the sitting room and bring it in here for Sherlock where it's nice and warm."

 

"I fail to see why Sherlock can't get his own chair if these won't suffice."

 

"He's been shot, Myc!  I don't want him lifting things like that."

 

(Cut to Sherlock, who is taking care to lean slightly on the kitchen table and to take small steps wherever he goes, all with an evil glint at Mycroft.)

 

"Now, Sherlock dear, I've made your favorite mince pies....."

 

 

And this is even funnier because we know that within 24 hours of the shooting (probably), Sherlock lugged John's heavy armchair back to the fireplace at Baker St.

 

By the way, isn't it one of the biggest plot weaknesses in His Last Vow that Mycroft doesn't seem to know who shot Sherlock, let alone care? I would have expected the man who kidnapped his little brother's flatmate and interrogated him before he'd lived with Sherlock a day to set all legal and illegal wheels in motion to find out who was responsible for his near-demise. And heaven help the shooter when she was found!

 

Of course, it might turn out next season that Mycroft knew about Mary all along. We shall see. But if he did not, then the series has some explaining to do, and if he did, ditto, because in that case, why didn't he act on his knowledge?

 

 

[Boton]

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, isn't it one of the biggest plot weaknesses in His Last Vow that Mycroft doesn't seem to know who shot Sherlock, let alone care? I would have expected the man who kidnapped his little brother's flatmate and interrogated him before he'd lived with Sherlock a day to set all legal and illegal wheels in motion to find out who was responsible for his near-demise. And heaven help the shooter when she was found!

 

Of course, it might turn out next season that Mycroft knew about Mary all along. We shall see. But if he did not, then the series has some explaining to do, and if he did, ditto, because in that case, why didn't he act on his knowledge?

 

 

 

 

I think that's one of the interesting areas that the show could explore further:  I think Mycroft is all information and very little action, and I think he hasn't the first, faintest, nor foggiest clue how to translate his concern for Sherlock into actual action.  I wonder if maybe it all started coming together for him a bit when he was in that helicopter, looking down at his brother who had just rid the Earth of a vile excuse of a human being (or, you know, shot CAM -- whichever wording you prefer).  I believe the terror in Mycroft's voice when he ordered the fleet (do helicopters come in fleets?) to not shoot at Sherlock was the just about the first time that he was able to put an appropriate action on his knowledge of what was going on with Sherlock.  Before that, he might worry constantly, but he just fumbled around with his actions.  So, I guess I pretty much believe that Mycroft knew that Mary was the shooter but just didn't know what to do with the information, so he did nothing.

[Arcadia]

I like to think there are some things Mycroft doesn't know, even if he thinks he does. :P

 

There were several time gaps, some rather large, in S3 in general and HLV in particular, I have no problem imagining Mycroft interrogating Sherlock at length about who shot him during one of those time gaps. And getting nothing but "piss off" in return. I'll even guess he suspected Sherlock was protecting someone, and decided to honor his wishes by not prying further, and by waiting to see what played out. I think Mycroft is more aware than Sherlock that sometimes inaction is the safer course. Not that Sherlock would care......

 

I do wonder if Lestrade is wasting time and resources looking for the shooter, though.

[Zain]

 

 

 

By the way, isn't it one of the biggest plot weaknesses in His Last Vow that Mycroft doesn't seem to know who shot Sherlock, let alone care? I would have expected the man who kidnapped his little brother's flatmate and interrogated him before he'd lived with Sherlock a day to set all legal and illegal wheels in motion to find out who was responsible for his near-demise. And heaven help the shooter when she was found!

 

 

 

Concerning Mycroft, HLV is a gaping hole. I believe Carol said so many pages ago: HLV will probably only make sense with 4.1 (assuming 4.1 picks up the pieces). The explanations were shoddy, there are a lot of logical flaws, and Mycroft's absence is either the clue to the big reveal, or simply a continuance error.

Personally, I like to think that Mycroft changed his mind about Magnussen when Sherlock was shot under "mysterious" circumstances in Magnussen's office. And that is the reason why he plotted the Christmas "visit" to Appledore with Sherlock, though he did not know about Mary. Mycroft does seem the type to underestimate women like he did with Irene. But I generally like to imagine Mycroft as a fiercely overprotective, overbearing older brother.

 

( I still hope Mycroft will find out about Mary. And kindly remove her from the premises, either by plane, boat, or rocket ship... but the writers seem awfully pleased with Mary's character. Chances are low to remove her from the fictional universe.)

[T.o.b.y]

Personally, I like to think that Mycroft changed his mind about Magnussen when Sherlock was shot under "mysterious" circumstances in Magnussen's office. And that is the reason why he plotted the Christmas "visit" to Appledore with Sherlock, though he did not know about Mary. Mycroft does seem the type to underestimate women like he did with Irene.

 

That actually makes a lot of sense. And because Mycroft didn't know Mary was involved, he didn't know how close to home the whole case was for Sherlock, and didn't anticipate his little brother pulling a gun at the last moment and messing everything up.

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

The only way that Mycroft could have known where they were going WAS to be faking it, and then follow Sherlock somewhat, at least to see the CAM helicopter.  Then he would have summoned his forces, including a helicopter, because he's actually not that far behind Sherlock.  Sherlock has only been at Appledore a very short amount of time when Mycroft comes onto the scene.

 

So you don't think Magnussen was right?

 

SHERLOCK: Oh, I think you’ll find the contents of that laptop ...

MAGNUSSEN: ... include a GPS locator. By now, your brother will have noticed the theft, and security services will be converging on this house.

... or do you think Mycroft got there too quickly to have used that method? Or....?

 

... the whole speculation thing about Mary in a black dress with a veil, if it is not a red herring, it's a dead baby, stillborn, because she is too far gone by the end of HLV....

But isn't the black dress in a Victorian scene? In which case, it may have nothing to do with what was going on in the present. 

 

Concerning Mycroft, HLV is a gaping hole. I believe Carol said so many pages ago: HLV will probably only make sense with 4.1....

You sure you're not quoting what I said about "Reichenbach"?  :P

 

I liked the anti-climactic resolution of the "Great Game" cliffhanger.  It was fresh and funny.  I didn't care so much for the nebulous non-resolution of the "Reichenbach" cliffhanger.  And I'm hoping that Moftiss don't actually consider that to have been a roaring success, and therefore plan to treat us all to another one.

 

I do think Mycroft was in on (most of) the Appledore plan, though.  Otherwise I can't make much sense of it.

 

[sfmpco]

Carol, I honestly have no idea, but I think he got there too lickety split!

[Arcadia]

Just remember, there are lots -- and I mean lots -- of time gaps in HLV. We don't know how long CAM kept John and Sherlock waiting on the doorstep, for example. And CAM himself was just stalling until Mycroft arrived. So I think we're supposed to accept the GPS explanation; whatever time it took can be accounted for by scene changes.

I'm still willing to bet Sherlock and Mycroft were in collusion, though. (Isn't that known as entrapment? )

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yes, I think it is -- but only if they catch you doing it.  (Kinda like speeding.)

[joanneta1]

Talking about Magnussen, when he "reads" his information on Sherlock and is intrigued by Redbeard, who, of course is a famous pirate known as Barberouge to the whole French-speaking world, why does Irene Adler appear repeatedly as one of Sherlock's pressure points?

And anyone with a sense of history would love that they chose to make him a Dane. His ancestors invaded the British Isles including Ireland, so often that it was almost a sport with them. And King Harold's defeat at Hastings against William the Conqueror, another Viking descendant, has been attributed to him and his army having to fight two battles on successive days, one at Stamford Bridge against Harald Hardrada, and one next day at Hastings.

 

[Arcadia]

Talking about Magnussen, when he "reads" his information on Sherlock and is intrigued by Redbeard, who, of course is a famous pirate known as Barberouge to the whole French-speaking world, why does Irene Adler appear repeatedly as one of Sherlock's pressure points?

....

I wondered about that too, but if you believe the last scene of ASiB actually took place, then Sherlock apparently cares about the welfare of Irene Adler. That makes her a pressure point.

 

Mostly I think they put that in there so the fans would wonder about it, though! :D

[sfmpco]

But Magnussen would not have known about the rescue.  He probably did know about Irene and Sherlock's connection from whatever hit the press after she had been exposed (no pun intended).  

 

That episode actually covered at least 8 months of time, including her fake death, and her death was probably reported in the papers along with Sherlock's name.  Therefore, Magnussen probably  read between the lines a bit to deduce that she was a pressure point.

 

Then too, there's the deleted scene where he remarks about the single red rose from W.  Does he put 2+2 together about that?

[Boton]

Talking about Magnussen, when he "reads" his information on Sherlock and is intrigued by Redbeard, who, of course is a famous pirate known as Barberouge to the whole French-speaking world, why does Irene Adler appear repeatedly as one of Sherlock's pressure points?

 

 

My own head canon explanation is that, at that point, CAM's list of Sherlock's pressure points was more of a list of things he was going to explore.  I think maybe his only real certainty was John, because he'd tested both Mary's and Sherlock's response when he put John in the Guy Fawkes Day bonfire.  

 

Maybe CAM knows, through investigation of Mycroft and some connecting the dots, that Sherlock had some sort of relationship with Irene, but he hasn't figured out how you would use that to "own" Sherlock.  Depending on how officially "dead" Irene is at this point, maybe CAM can't use her as a pressure point at all.

 

Same thing with Redbeard; he may know of that as a point of emotion for Sherlock, but I don't believe that CAM at that point even knows that Redbeard is a dog.  I've wracked my brain, and I cannot come up with any logical way that one's deceased childhood pet could ever be used to make them behave according to someone else's will, so I tend to think that CAM knows that something or someone called "Redbeard" is an emotional sensitivity for Sherlock, but not who Redbeard is or how he could use it to his advantage.

[sfmpco]

Oh, it wouldn't surprise me if CAM and Mycroft hadn't had dinner a few times.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Not meaning to scare anyone   ;)   just want to be sure I have your attention:
 

Moderator Warning:  
While I'm delighted with the recent increased activity on the forum, I'm finding that I can no longer keep up with every single thread, every single day.  So if you have a general problem, comment, suggestion, or question, please post it in the "Afghanistan or Iraq?" section of the forum, where I and the other staff members will be sure to see it.  If you have a question or comment for me personally, please either post it in "Speedy's Cafe," which I will make a special point of keeping up with, or else send me a Private Message.  Thank you!

 
(I will also post this notice in other high-traffic threads.  Sorry for the repetition -- just don't want anyone waiting patiently for a reply on a thread that I don't happen to get to.)

[Boton]

Oh, it wouldn't surprise me if CAM and Mycroft hadn't had dinner a few times.

 

Had dinner, or "had dinner?"

 

Oh, I can see the fanfics now....

[Arcadia]

But Magnussen would not have known about the rescue.  He probably did know about Irene and Sherlock's connection from whatever hit the press after she had been exposed (no pun intended).  

 

That episode actually covered at least 8 months of time, including her fake death, and her death was probably reported in the papers along with Sherlock's name.  Therefore, Magnussen probably  read between the lines a bit to deduce that she was a pressure point.

 

Then too, there's the deleted scene where he remarks about the single red rose from W.  Does he put 2+2 together about that?

Mmmmm, that doesn't work, because he "saw" Sherlock's pressure points before he saw the rose.

 

Why couldn't CAM have known about the rescue? He seems to know everything else. I imagine he found out the same way Sherlock found out she needed rescuing. :P

[Carol the Dabbler]

True.  Terror cells seem to publicize their own activities.

 

[sfmpco]

But then Mycroft would have also known.  And as he said, "It would take Sherlock Holmes to fool me."

[Carol the Dabbler]

Apparently Mycroft did know -- after all, he told John.  But he may have gotten some of the "details" a bit wrong, such as whether Irene was actually dead or not.

 

[sfmpco]

Apparently Mycroft did know -- after all, he told John.  But he may have gotten some of the "details" a bit wrong, such as whether Irene was actually dead or not.

 

Regarding Irene being dead, John said,

 

"Are you sure?  She's done this before."

 

Mycroft replied,

 

"I was thorough this time."

 

So either Mycroft is lying or he really believes she is dead.

 

I prefer to think he really thinks she is dead, because I like the idea of Sherlock being able to pull one over on him.

[Boton]

 

But Magnussen would not have known about the rescue.  He probably did know about Irene and Sherlock's connection from whatever hit the press after she had been exposed (no pun intended).  

 

That episode actually covered at least 8 months of time, including her fake death, and her death was probably reported in the papers along with Sherlock's name.  Therefore, Magnussen probably  read between the lines a bit to deduce that she was a pressure point.

 

Then too, there's the deleted scene where he remarks about the single red rose from W.  Does he put 2+2 together about that?

Mmmmm, that doesn't work, because he "saw" Sherlock's pressure points before he saw the rose.

 

Why couldn't CAM have known about the rescue? He seems to know everything else. I imagine he found out the same way Sherlock found out she needed rescuing. :P

 

 

I think CAM was investigating Mycroft pretty aggressively, so all he needed was a mole on the inside to find out about the Bond Air fiasco.  If he knew from his own spies that Bond Air went pear-shaped because of the involvement of Irene Adler and that Sherlock was somehow involved, it would be enough for him to construct a theory that Irene somehow beat Sherlock.  That would make her a possible pressure point, pending his investigation of the situation.

 

Then, seeing the rose from "W" with the characteristic wallpaper motif on it may have been enough to confirm her as a pressure point without him ever knowing about Karachi, necessarily.  He still wouldn't have known how to use her as a pressure point exactly, but he gathers dirt and then waits to use it.  After all, there were 13 months that elapsed between confirming that John was a pressure point for Sherlock (and presumably Mary, although we never see her list) and CAM being able to use the pressure point the following Christmas.  

[T.o.b.y]

I still wonder why Mycroft had Redbeard listed as one of Sherlock's pressure points. I mean, that dog obviously died long ago. What could Magnussen do with that old story?

[joanneta1]

That would depend on how that dog died, young Sherlock's reaction to it and the fallout from that particular event. The dog seems to have been in his life at about the same time as he raised a ruckus on the mysterious disappearance of Carl Powers's shoes.

[J.P.]

Redbeard's death seems to be a huge emotional trauma for young Sherlock. Something about attachement and caring and pain of loss. Maybe Mycroft did something that caused Redbeard being put to sleep, just to teach his brother a lesson? Maybe it was an accident caused by Sherlock himself? I can imagine plenty of dramatic stories.

 

BTW, there is a little figure of a dog on a shelf at 221B, that bears resemblance to Redbeard.