Episode 3.3, "His Last Vow"

[T.o.b.y]

#4 -- What were the other references besides the one you mentioned? (The shooting.) I'm not great at noticing stuff like that, I love it when other people point it out tho. What else did you see?

 

 

Well, I'm certainly happy to oblige here!

 

Okay, references to A Study in Pink I noticed in His Last Vow:

 

- John's flashback to the war scene and Sherlock talking about him having seen injuries and violent deaths and asking if he wants to see more

- Anderson searching the Baker St flat for drugs

- the staircase in Sherlock's mind palace looks a lot like the one in the house where they found the woman in pink

- John being "abnormally attracted to dangerous people and situations" (see Mycroft: "you're not haunted by the war - you miss it")

- "do your research (...) I'm a high functioning sociopath" (Sherlock originally said that to Anderson)

 

I think there were more but these are the first that come to mind... And of course Moriarty being mentioned at the end is another parallel.

 

'Course there were references to other episodes as well. The "if you're looking for baby names" quote from A Scandal in Belgravia, for example. And the music when Sherlock is shot and finally falls backwards is the music of The Fall.

 

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks for that list!
 

Really, when (if ever...) we get the next series, somebody remind me to watch it at least ten times and wait three months before even attempting to make up my mind about it. I was really underwhelmed when this first came out and now I absolutely love it....

Frankly, I am considering staying away from the forum next time, till I know what I personally think of the new series. I suspect I'd like Series 3 a lot better if I'd done that this time, rather than reading everyone else's reactions immediately after my first viewings. I was spending way too much energy trying to keep my own train of thought separate from the general hubbub.

The only downside I can see to a Series 4 sabbatical would be the catching up afterwards!

 

... I have one wish left unfulfilled, though: After all Sherlock did for him and Mary, I think John might consider saying something akin to thank you. ... Why not get really drunk once again and just say it. Only two words... I wouldn't have written that into the good bye scene on the airfield, though. That is perfect as it is in my eyes. I love the gruffness and awkwardness of it ....

 
Oh, I can definitely subscribe to that idea!  I doubt they'd want to do another drunk scene any time soon, though.  But yeah, Sherlock finally got around to thanking John at the wedding (whereas before I don't think he'd ever admitted that there was even anything to thank him for).  So maybe John can get around to thanking Sherlock in another series or two.

 

[Arcadia]

Thanks T.o.b.y.!!  That's cool.

I noticed the music when S. gets shot, but didn't really make the connection with the other scenes. (Altho that staircase did look familiar, but it didn't occur to me to wonder why.)

 

I didn't find this forum until mid-February, and mostly cuz I was still so confused by what I'd seen that I felt like I needed someone else's point of view (none of my friends watch this show ... at least, not closely enuff to discuss it.) Which I got, in spades! So yeah, I kinda feel like you, Carol, I don't know that I want that much input until I process the show by myself a bit first. Not that I was getting anywhere working on it on my own.....

 

Oddly enough, when I watched S3 this  last time, it mostly made perfect sense to me. But then mine was always more of an emotional confusion than a cognitive one. (I can walk smack into a plot hole and never notice.) I think I've resolved the emotional confusion simply by not minding anymore. :-)

[Redbeard]

Just going to add my musings about this episode okay?  I love everyone's thoughts and its amazing how much people notice and read into things.  I love how people here go so in depth!

My opinion on Mary - I do not like her.  I did like her until she shot Sherlock.  To me there is no coming back from that.  I can't believe how easily he forgave her!  Then again he seems like he easily forgives people that wrong him, like he holds no ill-will to Janine for trashing his name in the tabloids either (although I guess he figured that one was justified somewhat).  And he forgives Irene for drugging and beating him.  Seems like you can do whatever you want to him and he forgives it but harm John and you're toast.  Oh but back to Mary.  I don't like her. 

 

The final scene at the airfield...did not care for it the first time I watched it because John seemed so cold.  But on re-watching I can see that, to me, he actually does seem VERY emotional but very bottled up about it.  He didn't even want to shake Sherlock's hand right away because of the finality of it. I like the scene a lot now. 

 

And that final line!  How Moriarty better bundle up warm, because an east wind is coming.  Only moments before, Sherlock had told John the east wind story and how when Mycroft told the story it was to frighten him, Sherlock was the garbage that was to be taken by the east wind (and Sherlock comments what a bad brother Mycroft was for doing so).  John immediately turns that around and in his version, Sherlock is now the east wind, not the victim.  I thought it was wonderful, kind of like justice for the little boy Sherlock that he had a friend that turned Mycroft's story around like that.  I felt John was proud of Sherlock, that he viewed him as such an unstoppable force of nature, and that he was so happy to have him back.  I think it ended on such a bright note.

 

And oh darn I have to leave for work lol. 

 

Thanks for letting  me play!

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Thanks for letting  me play!

 

Thank you for playing - and welcome! I think a lot of people share your views on His Last Vow.

 

Personally, I find myself liking Mary better after the reveal. She was a bit too perfect in the first two episodes. But now, when I watch them again with what I know about her background in mind, I really enjoy her character. Just like with Sherlock himself, you have to constantly wonder with her how much of what you see is real and how much is just an act, and that is endless fun for me. So far, I think she's genuinely a good person in her own way, and warmhearted enough, but she has a very sinister side as well - just like Sherlock. I absolutely love that little scene where he wakes up in the hospital to see her bending over him and saying in that sweet yet threatening voice "Sherlock... you don't tell John."

 

Then there's the beginning when Kate comes to the Watsons for help. That scene where John seems gruff and insensitive compared to Mary who casts reproachful glances at him while offering comfort to their guest is just so much better when you know that Mary is actually a cold blooded killer...  I think she's complex and mysterious and a bit F***ed up and I love characters like that.

 

 

[Caya]

How you can see any trace of warmheartedness (is that even a word? ) in Mary, I'll never understand. She killed an unarmed man who thought of her as a friend. If that isn't a moral event horizon, what is?

[Carol the Dabbler]

My opinion on Mary - I do not like her.  I did like her until she shot Sherlock.  To me there is no coming back from that.  I can't believe how easily he forgave her!  Then again he seems like he easily forgives people that wrong him, like he holds no ill-will to Janine for trashing his name in the tabloids either (although I guess he figured that one was justified somewhat).  And he forgives Irene for drugging and beating him.  Seems like you can do whatever you want to him and he forgives it but harm John and you're toast.

Thanks for pointing out those parallels.  I had been assuming that Sherlock was basically using Irene against herself (e.g., just pretending to be under her spell while actually taking her pulse), but considering her in parallel with Mary and Janine, I think it's possible that he really was OK with her, at least as regards the beating.  And in general, I'm not so sure that Sherlock even thinks in terms of blame or forgiveness.  Not saying that he has no sense of good or bad, just that as a detective, he deals in logic (or at least believes that he does).  So maybe he thinks (in each of these three cases), "Well, she did the logical thing, under the circumstances."  As someone here suggested about his reaction to one of them, he may even admire them for it.

 

As regards Mary specifically, he may also feel that he owes her.  He had (somewhat unwittingly) come very close to ruining John with his apparent suicide, but then Mary (in John's own words) turned his life around.  So Sherlock may feel that she is, like the Camden Garroter, on balance a good person to have around.

 

 

How you can see any trace of warmheartedness (is that even a word? ) in Mary, I'll never understand. She killed an unarmed man who thought of her as a friend. If that isn't a moral event horizon, what is?

Yup, it's a real word.

 

[Arcadia]

How you can see any trace of warmheartedness (is that even a word? ) in Mary, I'll never understand. She killed an unarmed man who thought of her as a friend. If that isn't a moral event horizon, what is?

Awww, she was positively sweet to Sherlock in the first 2 episodes, esp. TSo3. I LUV the way she treats him. Nicest anyone ever is to him, except maybe Mrs. Hudson (apparently he brings out the mom in women.... wonder why? :-)

 

But then there's HLV. Who knows what to make of her after that. Or Sherlock either, for that matter. It never occurred to me that he would kill a man in cold blood either. I'm actually not sure if I still like him now. It depends on how it's treated from here on out. If he's all "yippy-kay-ay, I offed the baddy, woo-hoo!" I won't like him. If he feels sullied by it, or remorseful, I will. Same goes for me and Mary, I guess. And I wonder if Moftiss will even address the situation at all....

[T.o.b.y]

How you can see any trace of warmheartedness (is that even a word? ) in Mary, I'll never understand. She killed an unarmed man who thought of her as a friend. If that isn't a moral event horizon, what is?

 

Hard to explain. I don't have any proof, it's just my impression that unlike Moriarty or Magnussen, Mary is not simply "evil" and on the other hand, we can't put her in the "good" category, either, now.

 

I guess I just see what I like. And I like characters who are complicated and messed up and contradictory, like real people. When we see Mary sympathetic and loving, I mostly buy it. I think she really does love John, she likes Sherlock a lot, she feels sorry for Kate and wants to help her, she's probably a good nurse. Yet she still has nerves of steel, a disturbing talent for putting on an act and is totally capable of cold blooded murder or cold blooded calculated near-murder "surgery". Just like Sherlock is really a good man and does love his friends and family and has a sense of justice, and yet he still hurts, betrays and kills whenever he thinks fit.

 

Also, I believe Mary did hate to shoot Sherlock. The way that scene is acted doesn't suggest anything else to me. Even though we see plenty of alternatives for her, I think she herself saw none.

 

The story just is a lot more compelling to me if Mary likes Sherlock and still shoots him than if she didn't really care about him at all. Just like Irene really did love him, I think, and still betrayed him.

And just like Sherlock went through with "Lazarus" even though he adores John and he saw him at his grave.

 

The show makes very interesting and (for mainstream fiction) unusual statements about love. I really like that.

[Caya]

Also, I believe Mary did hate to shoot Sherlock. The way that scene is acted doesn't suggest anything else to me. Even though we see plenty of alternatives for her, I think she herself saw none.

 

Yeah, well, I'd buy that if she ever showed so much as a hint of remorse at her actions, but the lady seemed awfully smug and proud of her aiming skills to me instead. If she ever breaks down and realizes what a horrible monstrous thing she did and begs for forgiveness, okay. Until then, I keep rooting for her to be out of the series in three minutes flat at the start of s4 (messy and/or embarrassing end optional, though as far as I'm concerned Moftiss are free to take a leaf out of GRRM's book ).

[Arcadia]

(messy and/or embarrassing end optional...

 

Lol! If she shoots him again, I'll help you provide the messy ending.

[T.o.b.y]

Funny, while I was glad Sherlock finally seemed to feel at least a little sorry about his fake suicide and two year silence (or at the very least began to understand that he should feel sorry), I have no particular demand for Mary to show much remorse about anything. She comes across as the kind of pragmatic soul who'd think what for - can't turn back the clock, anyway. But I think she was awfully repentant towards John during their reconciliation scene, anyway.

 

I wonder whether, from Mary's point of view, she has anything to be sorry for. Maybe she feels completely justified in what she did.

[Arcadia]

My reaction has always been that she misjudged Sherlock and thought he wouldn't take her side, so she did what she thought she "had" to do to save the situation. So I'd like to see her admit she made a bad call, at the very least. In other words, act like a responsible, mature adult. Just as I'd like to see Sherlock mature by realizing other people's feelings are as important as his own. (Hopeful, there.) Childish behavior in an adult is funny for awhile, but I think I will tire of it if the characters don't seem to learn from their mistakes.

 

And as you may have guessed by now, I find the use of guns to be a pretty childish solution, I'd like to see the guns out of the show, frankly. Too facile, too hackneyed. Would like to see brain power employed instead.

[Zain]

 

But I think she was awfully repentant towards John during their reconciliation scene, anyway.

 

I wonder whether, from Mary's point of view, she has anything to be sorry for. Maybe she feels completely justified in what she did.

 

 

And herein lies the problem. For me, at least. I don't think anybody should feel justified to take such actions. I condemn Sherlock just as much for killing Magnussen. With the one big difference that he at least does know it is wrong. He never complains about being punished. He accepts it. Because, and that's interpretation, yes, but we do not see him hesitate to accept the consequences of his act, because he knows it is wrong.

Mary doesn't. She considers her vile actions to be justified, as you said. And that's why I perceive her character as very twisted and beyond the point where I can feel with her. Her morals are too screwed for me to sympathize with her.

 

 

I suppose this is very subjective as well but I can't spot any repentance in her words at the Christmas scene. She only seems sorry that her past and lies have been discovered. Not that she caused other people's death, that she lied to him in the first place, and that she almost killed Sherlock. There's no "I should have never done that" nor any apology. Au contraire: She is snappish. 

If the writers really intended for the audience to forgive Mary as well, I don't know why they didn't include a proper apology. I never was a great fan of her character (more like indifference to a slight weariness) but I find myself disgusted with her.

 

Yeah, we've had our fair share of weapons last season, didn't we? It's an important device to escalate a situation, so I doubt we'll be rid of them.

Maybe a nice case which is a lot about brain power in season four. The second one always tends to be an interlude, so... would be interesting. Maybe John and Sherlock out of town and solving a mystery in the countryside (with Victor Trevor. I am still hoping he'll appear in the show.... one can hope. My one and only pet project: to make this a popular trope. It has begun to establish itself thanks to great writers like ImpishTubist and WindRyder..).

[T.o.b.y]

 

And in general, I'm not so sure that Sherlock even thinks in terms of blame or forgiveness.  Not saying that he has no sense of good or bad, just that as a detective, he deals in logic (or at least believes that he does).  So maybe he thinks (in each of these three cases), "Well, she did the logical thing, under the circumstances." 

 

Yes, that makes a lot of sense in the light of what we've seen of him so far. It would also explain why he seemed largely unprepared for the reaction he got from John when he came back in The Empty Hearse - he'd done the logical thing, right? And John wanted him not to be dead, and he wasn't dead and here he was and why wasn't everybody happy?

 

Mycroft called Sherlock "resentful" in the first episode, but I've not seen him hold a real grudge so far, or expect an apology from anyone. Take Sebastian, for example. It's heavily hinted that he was not exactly friends with Sherlock during their uni days, but that doesn't stop Sherlock from taking his case. Or Anderson. Sherlock doesn't seem to care much about the flak he got from him while he was still working in forensics, either.

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I admire people who don't hold grudges.  In fact, that's probably one reason why I like cats so much.  Sherlock can be grumpy and take a while to get over his initial reaction to a perceived insult, but you're right, once that's past, he doesn't seem to hold a grudge.

 

And good point about his reaction to John's reaction.  I hadn't made that connection.

 

[Pamela]

I don't know anything about cats, but dogs are great at not holding grudges. They love unconditionally.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Cats will let you know very well when you have displeased them....they will ignore you....they engage in payback....but sooner or later they will forgive they will come around purring up a storm and asking to be petted and cuddle.

[Slithytove]

I liked Mary much more than I had anticipated, in the first two episodes, but now she has no redeeming features, as far as I am concerned. For a start, she's a professional murderer, though I suspect we are going to get a sob story in S4 which will attempt to justify her reasons for becoming a killer. (My money is on something tragic involving her family.). That would be hard enough to swallow and still see her as warmhearted, but she damned herself forever when she shot Sherlock. No hesitation about killing an unarmed, non-threatening friend who trusts you. No noble motive, only self-preservation. No remorse, just continued threats. She really is horrible!

 

Now, I like messed-up characters a lot. I like quite of lot of villains, including dear old mad-as-a-duck Jim. I could stomach Mary if we weren't expected to buy a ridiculous attempt to explain away her actions and to keep seeing her as someone we - and John - should still love. Let her be the next Big Bad and that's fine. Tell us that John Watson neither knows or cares about the harm she has caused, and that is all wrong - in my eyes anyway.

 

I also dislike the parallels drawn between Mary and Sherlock. Yes, they are both intelligent liars who can be ruthless at times. However, their ethics seem very different to me. Sherlock lies to John because he is putting himself in a very dangerous situation for a good cause, i.e. destroying Jim's criminal network. Mary lies to John because she wants him, which means he has to believe in her false identity. She also lies to hide the fact that she shot his best friend. Sherlock shoots an enemy to protect his friends - Mary shoots a friend to protect herself. Sherlock weeps after committing murder, Mary never shows any real remorse. Sherlock accepts his punishment. Everything Mary does is to avoid retribution.

 

It seems to me that their differences are far greater than their similarities.

[Zain]

I also dislike the parallels drawn between Mary and Sherlock. Yes, they are both intelligent liars who can be ruthless at times. However, their ethics seem very different to me. Sherlock lies to John because he is putting himself in a very dangerous situation for a good cause, i.e. destroying Jim's criminal network. Mary lies to John because she wants him, which means he has to believe in her false identity. She also lies to hide the fact that she shot his best friend. Sherlock shoots an enemy to protect his friends - Mary shoots a friend to protect herself. Sherlock weeps after committing murder, Mary never shows any real remorse. Sherlock accepts his punishment. Everything Mary does is to avoid retribution.

 

It seems to me that their differences are far greater than their similarities.

 

Exactly. Here something to think about.

I also disliked how much they tried to tell us "yeah, Mary is Sherlock in female so that John can be heterosexual" in the first two episodes. It got on my nerves. Either let him be bisexual, or forget about it. It's not terrifingly clever. Why can't his girlfriend be her own person? Why does she have to be a female Sherlock?

But I've come to see this from another perspective. I am not the first person to point this out in the fandom, sadly I cannot take any credits for it.

The parallels aren't drawn to tell us "it's alright because she is like Sherlock." The parallels are drawn to show us that while they are two sides of the same coin, they have completely different values, and that's why their motivation is different as well. To me, there's a very fine line that separates them. And it is grave enough to fuel the moral discussion we've been having for months. I don't know if they will present us with an answer in season 4 but to me, this is deliberate. They wanted us to fight over this. Well, at least to engage ourselves. I doubt they anticipated that it would harden the front lines.

 

Even if you look at it, it is suspicious.

 

• Sherlock comes back. Mary helps him with John. Mary falls in disgrace, and Sherlock helps her with John.

 

• Sherlock gives John away. Mary "receives" him. 

 

• Mary almost kills Magnussen with a gun while facing him. Sherlock kills Magnussen with a gun while facing him.

 

• Mary probably used Janine to get close to Magnussen. Sherlock uses Janine to get close to Magnussen.

 

• Mary is ready to begin her new life, now that Magnussen is dead and her secret is safe. Sherlock is ready to die.

 

• Mary lied to John about her past life. Sherlock lied to John about his death.

 

• John excludes both from his life He keeps Mary at distance until Christmas. He keeps Sherlock at distance until the bonfire.

 

• John lets both back into his life because he is being manipulated by the other. He seeks out Sherlock after Mary planted the very idea in his head. Manipulation. He forgives Mary at Christmas because Sherlock invited her along. He basically forced them into each other's proximity. Manipulation.

 

 

I don't think it can be disputed that they are set up to be called "alike." 

But Mary's motivation is selfish. Sherlock on the other hand acts because he wants to protect John. As Magnussen put it. Mycroft cares about Sherlock. Sherlock cares about John. John cares about Mary. And Mary cares about Mary. I agree that she likes John, but he is not her first priority. She's the end of the chain. And Magnussen actually shows us each time what people care most about.

He humiliates John in front of Sherlock. He uses Sherlock's weakness, his first priority, to hurt him.

He threatens Mary's life to get to John. We will never know if he would have made good on his threats or if it was simply his way to use John's weakness, his first priority: Mary.

Both bow to Magnussen's will. He "owns" them because he shows them their weak spot. For Sherlock, it's John. For John, it's the prospect of Mary dying.

We know Magnussen found some dirt on Mary's past. When she plans to murder him, he (unsuccessfully) uses John as leverage:

 

 

What-what-what would your husband think, eh?

 

Mary doesn't care about John's opinion as much as about hiding her dirty laundry. He's not her priority. Mary cares about Mary. 

 

 

It would break him and I would lose him forever, and I will never let that happen. 

 

 The often overlooked part of the not-so-romantic, rather selfish sentence.

 

I suppose it was necessary for Sherlock to kill Magnussen. From a writer's perspective. If Sherlock hadn't done anything morally wrong, he'd become the moral guide in season three. Because he does something deplorable at the end, there's another parallel to Mary.

It doesn't redeem her in my eyes, but I suppose it did in some people's eyes.

I just wonder, at times, if I am reading into this to make sense of these ludicrous parallels, or if they truly intend to pick up on this. On the two sides of one coin, on these shades of morality.

Because... honestly:

Why show us how Mary doesn't care about John if they want to redeem her? Why is there no apology from her side? No thank you? Why does John not even once mention that she almost killed his best friend? Why does John have to throw away the thumbdrive? Why are we not allowed to get at least one good reason, or strike that, not even one bad reason for Mary's actions?

 

And did John suffer amnesia? To me, Sherlock getting shot is an important part. Sure, lying to John is a big deal, too, but I would say it would weigh quite on my mind if my partner almost killed my best friend. It would at least be worth to be mentioned. It is something that needs to be forgiven, too. It's not quite a "No hard feelings" matter.

 

The Mary arc is either completely ridiculous or it simply remains unsolved. I don't know what would be worse. Maybe they had to come up with some ridiculous approach to keep Mary in the show because they need her for the next season.

But to me, she is "the weakest link."

[T.o.b.y]

Guys, I am sorry for everybody who is tired of this discussion, but I must say I absolutely love the whole debate about Mary and I'm smiling gleefully at my screen here at home over there still being other slightly obsessed souls out there willing to drag it on.

 

So... can I join in?

 

First of all, I really haven't quite decided yet what I want to make of Mary. I like her, that's for sure. She's very charming, funny, attractive, interesting, mysterious, contradictory. But when I look at her, I feel like Sherlock staring at Irene: ?????

 

I have literally no clue on whether she is meant to be a selfish person or not. I mean, if she really believes she's the best thing that could have happened to John (and John himself admits she turned his life around) and that John needs her, but will fall apart if he finds out the truth, then maybe it's a very loving decision to "protect" him from it? Magnussen might be right that given the choice, this might not be the "protection" he would want, but - in the end, John does choose not to know.

 

I know I've said this a gazillion times, but the only thing that (still) really bothers me about His Last Vow is John throwing the data away and showing zero interest in any version of the woman in front of him other than Mrs Mary Watson, his pregnant wife. The way she was supposed to be. To me, that is selfish. It's not even love. It's denial on a huge scale and it kind of proves Mary was right about him, after all. When I saw that scene, I went wow, this marriage would be doomed if it were existent at all.

 

But, that is my personal interpretation of that scene, based on my gut reaction and how I personally identify with Mary (which I find myself automatically doing, don't ask me why. We have absolutely nothing in common. I'm more like a crossover between Molly and Mrs Hudson, with Sherlockian undertones). I am well aware that it's in all probability not what the writer and director intended at all. I'm supposed to applaud John for his magnanimity and sigh in admiration.

 

So, I have no idea how noble or not Mary is supposed to be. Thanks to Dr Watson's willful ignorance on the matter, we have learned nil about her past, her motivation, anything. She might be a brave dragon slayer trying her best to keep her family safe and happy and not drag them into her mess. Or she might be a selfish, cold-blooded, psychopath killer. Or something else altogether. I don't have a preferred version at this point, I just really want to find out.

 

About all those parallels between Mary and Sherlock. Well, it was to be expected that any woman John Watson would fall seriously in love and have a long-term relationship with would bear some resemblance to the great detective. There can't be too many kinds of people who'd be able to cope with John on a daily basis. But Mary comes across as much more pragmatic than Sherlock. I very much doubt she has "the heart of a poet" and nobody can accuse her of being a drama queen... I think she's a lot like John, too.

 

Before I finish this unreasonably long rambling post: Yes, when John confronts Mary at Baker St, he does emphasize her having lied to him more than her having shot Sherlock. But it's not like he doesn't acknowledge that fact at all. When Sherlock tells him he can trust Mary, John says "she shot you!" in protest.

 

Oh, and that shot. Was it really such a selfish action? What would have happened if Mary hadn't shot Sherlock? If he stepped in to help her and confront Magnussen, he'd have automatically become her accomplice. Magnussen would have called the police and gotten them both arrested for armed burglary at the very least, if not attempted murder. And John would most likely have become involved in that, too. If Sherlock had called the police himself and taken Magnussen's side as the victim, he would have been responsible for getting Mary in big trouble and ruining John's marriage. You could argue Mary did Sherlock a favor by shooting him.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I thought John mentioned that somewhere in the scene when they get back from the "Empty House" and John keeps telling Sherlock to shut up. He didn't say "She shot you!"?

[Caya]

Oh, and that shot. Was it really such a selfish action? What would have happened if Mary hadn't shot Sherlock? If he stepped in to help her and confront Magnussen, he'd have automatically become her accomplice. Magnussen would have called the police and gotten them both arrested for armed burglary at the very least, if not attempted murder. And John would most likely have become involved in that, too. If Sherlock had called the police himself and taken Magnussen's side as the victim, he would have been responsible for getting Mary in big trouble and ruining John's marriage. You could argue Mary did Sherlock a favor by shooting him.

 

Doing someone a favour by killing him is something I have a really hard time wrapping my mind around (if one leaves the whole assisted suicide debate aside, which doesn't belong here anyway).

 

If she really thought she had no alternative to stopping him (dubious, since she could've simply vanished whichever way she'd come in, but people make stupid decisions in stress situations and Mary had shown before that she's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier), kneecapping, for instance, would've worked just as well from the "stopping" perspective and a lot better from the "not killing" perspective. I don't buy that "surgery" yarn that Sherlock spun to calm John down. She didn't shoot to stop him, she shot to silence him permanently. Plus maybe to show Magnussen that she was not to be trifled with when threatened.

[T.o.b.y]

 

If she really thought she had no alternative to stopping him (dubious, since she could've simply vanished whichever way she'd come in, but people make stupid decisions in stress situations and Mary had shown before that she's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier), kneecapping, for instance, would've worked just as well from the "stopping" perspective and a lot better from the "not killing" perspective. I don't buy that "surgery" yarn that Sherlock spun to calm John down. She didn't shoot to stop him, she shot to silence him permanently. Plus maybe to show Magnussen that she was not to be trifled with when threatened.

 

 

Yeah, well, obviously you have to buy the "surgery" theory to give Mary any kind of a chance. And I do because... well, because Sherlock said so and I usually believe he's right. Only it is confusing that they spent minutes and minutes showing how Sherlock did, in fact, die, after all. I can only make sense of this by suspecting that it's meant to foreshadow Moriarty's survival from a near-but-not-quite fatal shot.

 

Now, that's a very intelligent idea, that Mary maybe also wanted to show Magnussen what a serious threat she could be if he didn't keep his mouth shut.

 

[Redbeard]

I think I remember during the part where they all went back to Baker St. and Sherlock (and Mary too I guess) is explaining everything to John about what happened the night of the shooting.  Sherlock tells about how Mary shot him, but he also says that she saved his life.  After all of the story is completely told the first thing John does is look at Sherlock and say "How did she save your life?"  as though that was the most important thing to him.  If it hadn't been for that, I don't think he could have ever forgiven Mary. 

 

(Oh but I still don't lol.)