Episode 1.3, "The Great Game"

[Pseudonym]

I admit I'm always fascinated when people skip languages mid sentence, but it seems a bit strange to go up to a stranger and say something in a language they are unlikely to understand. Unless he had a reason to suspect you would understand Cherokee (is that the name of the language too? Unsure). 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, it was just his sense of humor. And I thought it was funny too, once he explained.

 

Yes, the language is also called Cherokee.

[Poise]

Yeah, the very end of this episode was nail biting, I thought then what the hell you're doing Shelrock, where is your common sense? Fortunately it turn out positevely

[Artemis]

Cmon, did you not also think at the pool scene for a second that John was Moriarty? I thought "this can't be true" and "wow, brilliant, did they really make THAT spin to the story?" at the same time...

 

I just read a post on Tumblr that reminded me I had this fleeting moment, lol.  My thought process over the 3 seconds after John walked out in his unreasonable coat went like so:

 

"No *way*, did they make John Moriarty in this version??"

"Wait a sec, that doesn't make sense.  If they were going that direction with it then they're revealing him too soon, because after this there would be no John character for the rest of the show, just Moriarty.  They can't do Holmes without a Watson, so John must not be Moriarty."

"Oh yeah, he's obviously repeating words like the other bomb victims."

"Poor Sherlock, how tragic and dramatic would it be if we went the whole series never seeing Moriarty, and it eventually turned out to be John the entire time?"

"...Am I disappointed that John isn't Moriarty?  Hmm..."

 

And then I got distracted by the rest of the pool scene, and decided I wasn't disappointed, lol.

 

I love this episode, it's one of my favorites.  I remember how much fun it was to watch when I was introducing myself to the show.  The only thing I really didn't like about it was that I thought the bomb victims overacted their scenes; especially the elderly blind woman.  Makes me cringe a bit.

 

 

[J.P.]

Yeah, John's first line throws you off the track :D I think it's fantastic, because even Sherlock seems to believe it. Your enemy was your friend kind of thing. I didn't have any inner argument, because I had absolutely no idea about canon back then.

[Pseudonym]

I can't remember if I believed it or not but I love Sherlock's reaction. I saw somewhere the reason John is blinking so much is because he's blinking morse SOS but I'm not sure if that's true.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I think that was just one of those fan things. I've never seen it confirmed.

[Pseudonym]

He is blinking excessively but maybe the SOS was just made up because of that rather than the other way around

[J.P.]

No Morse signalling. If people bothered to check, there would be no rumours like this.

[Pseudonym]

They should have put in morse signalling it would have been pretty cool. Though Sherlock would know what was going on too quickly.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Too bad he wasn't blinking "UMQRA." That would have been a nice tie-in to -- nothing!

[Pseudonym]

It would have been prescient to HOB at least. 

[Artemis]

It's fun to say "UMQRA", especially in a deep voice like Sherlock, for no particular reason. It confuses people.

[Pseudonym]

Do you creep up behind people and murmur UMQRA in their ear?

[Artemis]

Only my dogs.

[Arcadia]

How do they react?

 

I wonder if anyone's bothered to translate exactly what John IS blinking. Oh lord, does this mean I have to go learn Morse code?

[Pseudonym]

Yup, off ya go!

 

My bet is on 'please rip my clothes off in this darkened swimming pool.'

[Arcadia]

Yes, because he just had sooooo much time on his hands at that moment.

[Pseudonym]

How about 'Sherlock, I love you'?

[Arcadia]

Better, more believeable. You're hired.

[Pseudonym]

Yay! Fanks, bruv. 

[Artemis]

"you know we laugh a lot about sherlock ripping that coat off john and everything but it's actually an incredibly raw and emotional reaction followed up immediately by both of them trying to hem themselves back in and the whole thing is like uncomfortably intimate to witness"

 

http://watsonshoneybee.tumblr.com/post/153100453294/you-know-we-laugh-a-lot-about-sherlock-ripping

 

I came across this post on Tumblr, and I find the first part a bit perplexing.  Personally I always viewed this scene as a heightened emotional one, as she describes, but not very humorous at all.  It seemed to me that they were in actuality terrified for their lives, especially each other's.  During the confrontation with Moriarty they both had to hold that in and maintain their composure, and when he was gone came the release of fear and tension.  I mean really, John practically passed out; and Sherlock was pacing, fidgeting, and mindlessly scratching his head with his gun the way my dog scratches himself when he's anxious (which is actually very telling of his emotional state, as he is normally anything but mindless).  Not to mention he threw that coat as far away from John as humanly possible, as quickly as humanly possible.  He wanted it off and John safe and it didn't seem like a "funny" thing to do; he was afraid.  Really it's one of the most emotional and human moments in the entire show, from my perspective.

 

I guess what I'm saying is, I didn't realize it was supposed to be funny, or that other people "laughed a lot" at it.  :/  Now I feel like something went over my head.  What are they laughing at?  Could someone explain?

[Pseudonym]

Not got time to read it atm, but I didn't find it funny either. Maybe she means more we laugh afterwards about Sherlock ripping John's clothes off, not to mention that pic where he's on his knees and it looks like he's doing something else, rather than laughing at the scene at the time. 

[Arcadia]

I don't find the ripping the coat off funny, per se. I agree with Pseud, it's more finding out that some people managed to make it into a sexual situation that provides humor at that specific moment.

 

I do find Sherlock scratching his head with the gun funny, and their general guy thing of both trying to show each other they weren't just scared out of their wits. Guys acting macho is always funny. :d

[Pseudonym]

Yea, it's both of them trying to seem as manly as possible afterwards; 'Me? Scared? What, no, of course I wasn't scared, didn't bother me in the slightest. No, of course your legs didn't give way, just like I didn't panic, tear your coat off and throw it.' Plus Sherlock's inability to say thank you. I love the way he grins at John after not being able to say thank you and then in their weird male way it's all good.