Hey guys! Filling in for Alex here because he's trashed. This is Ablestone
narrating for you. Before we start this video I just like to say that this is a
very big fandom with a lot of excellent writers.
We've asked for the permission to use some work from Metawriters. Please go
visit and support these people because they put in a lot of hard work and dedication.
Links in the description.
Oh yes, Sherlock. 200 years after it's conception and
people in Victorian England questioning the characters' sexuality,
people are still questioning the characters' sexuality and, you know what?
It's about time we got a response.
"I am not gay!"
Well, well, you didn't say you were straight either.
Sherlock, at least the BBC version, is about a man named John Watson who has
returned from the war in Afghanistan. He's really bored with his life and as a
result takes up being flat mates with Sherlock Holmes
together they go on wild heterosexual adventures and solve crimes together.
Many fans of the show have one question: Why the hell are the only three episodes
every 50 years what th-?!
They also asked: Are Sherlock and Watson gay?
Are they gay for each other? What? That's where I come in.
Let's take it one step at a time.
Sherlock is a recluse, he seems to not have a heart, seems to be a stoat
creature of logic like Spock.
However John Watson brings out the best in Sherlock.
"John Watson, you keep me right."
John becomes his best friend. He feels
compassion for John, he even acknowledges that John is an expert in people while
Sherlock is an expert in ... everything else, I guess? They owe each other their lives but
John has always questioned Sherlock's sexuality. In fact, when they first me
it's one of the first things to come out.
"You don't have a girlfriend then?"
"Girlfriend? No, not really my area."
"Alright."
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Which is fine by the way-" "I know it's fine."
"So you got a boyfriend?" "No."
"Alright, okay."
"No one attached, just like me."
John assumed that Sherlock was gay when he said that
women weren't his area and Sherlock didn't even deny the question of having
a boyfriend right away. Instead he went right away to saying he knows it's fine.
Now we know Sherlock doesn't have a boyfriend but he went straight into
saying that having a boyfriend is okay.
And since when has Sherlock openly approved normal human relationships when
he usually feels they're a waste of time?
Notice the question isn't "Are you straight?" or "Are you gay?"
The question was if he had a girlfriend or boyfriend. We don't know if Sherlock
is straight.
In fact with the "women are not really my area", most people take that to assume
that Sherlock IS gay.
He didn't say boyfriends weren't his area either, did he?
And then Sherlock goes on to reject John coming on to Sherlock by saying:
"John, um, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work and while I'm
flattered by your interest, I'm really not looking for any-" "No, I'm not asking- No. I'm
just saying, it's all fine."
Sherlock assumed that John was interested. Sherlock isn't stupid he
knows when people are romantically attached to him. He knows the science of attraction.
He's the master of body language and deduction, so why did he read John as
coming on to him?
Maybe it was because he was.
And many will say: "But Sherlock isn't good with people!"
June 3rd of John Watson's blog describes one case that Sherlock and
John had where a woman named Sabrina - who was secretly attracted to women - wanted a
divorce from her husband to pursue true love.
Here's a quote: "From the moment Mary had joined us,"
"Sabrina had unconsciously shown signs of attraction towards her,"
"and as he, (Sherlock), pointed out, they're signs he's used to seeing in women when they're looking at him."
So he does recognize these signs of attraction, huh?
Tumblr user 221boylove used June 3rd of John's blog as another example
of Sherlock defending queer couples as well, even though Sherlock makes it seem
relationships are nonsense, he still somehow finds a way to defend non-straight couples.
221boylove connects this with John and Mary, and how John might be in the same
situation as that woman.
You can read 221boylove's full meta by clicking the link below in the description.
Let's also think about the beginning of the restaurant scene. When Angelo first
brought John and Sherlock their food, he assumes that John is his date.
"Sherlock. Anything on the menu, whatever you want: free. On the house for you, and for your date."
"Do you want to eat?"
"I'm not his date."
And Sherlock brushes it off and doesn't even comment about it.
But why would Angelo assume John is Sherlock's date? Surely Angelo and Sherlock have a
long history together since Angelo and Sherlock are both very friendly to each
other.
So, after all these years Angelo made the conclusion that Sherlock is attracted to men?
And Sherlock doesn't even deny it,
he just went with the flow. Who else has known Sherlock for a long time?
His landlady, Mrs. Hudson. And she assumed that Sherlock and John were a couple too:
"I've met someone"
"Oh, lovely."
"Yeah, we're getting married. Well, I'm going to ask, anyway."
"So soon after Sherlock?"
"Hm, well yes."
"What's his name?"
"It's a woman."
"A woman?!"
"Yes, of course it's a woman."
"You really have moved on, haven't you?"
"Mrs. Hudson! How many times? Sherlock was NOT my boyfriend."
"Live and let live, that's my motto."
With all these people close to him constantly
pointing out that Sherlock is gay and Sherlock not denying it,
what should the audience assume? Is the audience, is JOHN supposed to assume he's
straight?
In this context, I don't think so. And this is only the first episode. The FIRST
EPISODE.
After a few episodes (also known as the ENTIRE SEASON),
their relationship develops a little more.
They're starting to become friends.
With a LOT of ... sexual tension.
And eye sex.
Dear God, is there a LOT of eye sex.
I mean, Sherlock talks to John when John's not even there. Like John's become an
ingrained part of his life and Sherlock needs John to survive.
"No point in me leaving the flat for anything less than a seven. We agreed. Now, go back."
"Show me the grass."
"When did we agree that?"
"Yesterday."
"Stop."
"Closer."
"I wasn't even at home yesterday - I was in DUBLIN."
"It's hardly my fault you weren't listening."
"Shut up!"
"Do you just carry on talking when I'm away?"
"I don't know, how often are you away?"
And when Moriarty - Sherlock's evil big bad enemy - is doing his big bad plan,
he uses JOHN as Sherlock's sensitive spot. Moriarty is an evil genius.
He knows how to get to people. He knew to use John because of the affection
Sherlock has for him.
"I will burn the heart out of you."
"I have been reliably informed that I don't have one."
"But we both know that's not quite true."
And also this happens:
"Alright?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah yeah."
"I'm glad no one saw that."
"Hm?"
"You. Ripping my clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. People might talk."
What are you thinking about John? You're so defensive when it comes to people saying he was gay.
"I'm NOT GAY!"
The moment they 'officially' become friends is when they're arguing about
dumb stuff and Sherlock says:
"I don't have FRIENDS."
"Nah."
And the next day, after realising what he said, Sherlock tells John:
"Listen. What I said before, John, I meant it."
"I don't have friends."
"I've just got one."
This is huge for Sherlock. He's acknowledging that he's subject to
emotions, and thinks of John as at least a friend.
For NOW ;)
He didn't acknowledge or give in to emotions like this before, but we're
seeing a change in Sherlock.
The next piece comes a lot later in the series, when John is going to be married
to Mary. Sherlock is, of course,
John's best man, but feels a pang of jealousy, like the end of an era is over.
Note what Mrs. Hudson says:
"My best friend Margaret."
"She was my chief bridesmaid, we were going to be best friends forever."
"We always said that. But I hardly saw her after that."
"Aren't there usually biscuits?"
"I've run out."
"At the shops."
"She cried the whole day, saying 'Ooh it's the end of an era!'"
"I'm sure the shop on the corner is open."
"She was probably right, really."
"I remember she left early."
"I mean who leaves a wedding early?"
The writers are telling us what Sherlock feels.
It's definitely some sort of jealousy:
whether it be platonic or romantic is a question for the audience.
Skipping ahead once again to the end of season three. Sherlock and John are
saying goodbye and it's emotional.
Sherlock decided to leave with final words.
There's a huge romantic build up.
"John, there's something..."
"...I should say. I meant to say, always, and I never have."
"Since it's unlikely we'll ever meet again, I might as well say it now."
Sounds like he's about to confess his love for John, right?
Like he's about to say something significant?
Here's what Sherlock ACTUALLY says:
"Sherlock is actually a girl's name."
Oh.
He - he made a joke. One of those rare, Sherlock jokes. Even if it wasn't a full-fledged
love confession it's still significant. Even just the joke bit shows us that
Sherlock is letting out some of his humanity - something he only does with John.
"In Buckingham Palace, right."
John also has a similar scene where his therapist asks him to say what
he wanted to say to Sherlock before he died. He can't.
"The stuff that you wanted to say..."
"... but didn't say it."
"Yeah."
"Say it now."
"No."
"Sorry, I can't."
What did he want to say? So, when they shake hands,
Sherlock gets on a plane. Long story short - somehow, his enemy Moriarty is back
or something, even though we saw him shoot himself??
So Sherlock decides to take drugs and go into a Victorian dreamland in his mind:
Take note that EVERYTHING happening in this Victorian dreamland is coming from
SHERLOCK.
It's HIS head.
"Why are you talking like this?"
"Why are you so determined to be alone?"
"Why do you need to be alone?"
"A brain without a heart,"
"The calculating machine. I write all of that, Holmes. And our readers lap it up."
"But I do not believe it."
"Damn it, Holmes. You are flesh and blood you have feelings."
"You have - you MUST have impulses."
The whole intention of his "Mind Palace" thing is to figure out the
Moriarty trouble.
So why is John suddenly asking him all these questions about LIBIDO? And John isn't
even John. This is Sherlock AS John, telling himself he must have urges.
Later in the same episode, this happens:
"I am your weakness!"
"I keep you down!"
"Every time you stumble. Every time you fail."
"When you're awake."
"I'm -"
" - there."
"At the end, it's always just YOU - and ME."
"Professor, if you wouldn't mind stepping away from my friend: I do believe he finds your attention a shade annoying."
So if Moriarty is his weakness bringing him down, who's his strength?
Who's the man that will always be there for him who's there right now?
Oh look, it's John Watson
Now let's take a look at the next clip:
"Ugh, why don't you two just elope, for God's sake?"
You'd think this is just Moriarty being Moriarty, and mocking John and Sherlock
but remember: this is all a creation of Sherlock's mind, so Moriarty IS Sherlock
(or some part of Sherlock).
Never mind that everyone in the REAL world makes gay jokes about him and John
but APPARENTLY so does Sherlock's subconscious.
There's a part of Sherlock that wants him and John to elope, or at least somehow
his mind just came up with the idea.
Now, let's see. How about John? What is there to suggest that John is gay, or
bisexual, or just in love with sherlock?
Well he's definitely not gay.
"I'm not actually gay."
But he's not straight either...
As I pointed out earlier John is VERY conscious of these things.
"You. Ripping my clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. People might talk."
Where does this hyper awareness of people thinking he's gay come from?
Has he always been this way? Tumblr user cheuwing wrote a meta theorizing that
John's father was homophobic or abusive.
John does have a lesbian sister, and there are hints on John's blog and in
the show that his father, or the authority figures in John's life weren't
too nice to John.
It explains why John is so quick to defend his sexuality. Please go read
cheuwing's meta to learn more about the whole idea. Who is Sherlock to John?
Certainly John acknowledges that they're best friends, but why is Sherlock so
special to John? You see, before John and Sherlock met, John was a loner with no life.
He also had a psychosomatic pain that came out of his feeling pathetic but then,
Then he met Sherlock. Sherlock brought out the adventure in John.
John's cane, a representation of the dull and pathetic way he saw himself, was left
behind the moment he and Sherlock went out on an adventure.
Sherlock changed him for the better.
He's even willing to die for Sherlock, IN THE FIRST SEASON.
Remember the pool scene? Well, John was willing to die to save Sherlock's life.
"Sherlock, run!"
From the beginning, John suspects that Sherlock is not heterosexual. Just confused about his
sexuality overall. But John always asserts that he himself is definitely
NOT gay.
"I am NOT GAY."
Not that he isn't bisexual, or that he isn't attracted to Sherlock,
but just not gay.
Irene Adler confronts him about this:
"You jealous?"
"We're not a couple."
"Yes, you are."
"There."
"I'm not dead."
"Let's have dinner."
"Who the hell knows about Sherlock Holmes, but, for the record, if anyone out there still cares:"
"I'm not actually gay."
"Well I am."
"Look at us both."
What Irene is saying here, ASSERTING, is that John and Sherlock are a couple.
She doesn't even deny it, she just says:
"Yes, you are."
John returns with the usual "I'm not THAT way response", but Irene dismisses that
excuse with "Well, I am." As in they're both primarily attracted to women, but somehow
they fell in love with Sherlock. Irene isn't one to get these sorts of things wrong.
she's an expert of sorts on human sexuality. She knows what she sees.
John stands there in silence: not in denial, but in defeat.
As in: "Oh. She got me."
Another point of Irene Adler that relates back to
Sherlock is her passcode. As we all remember,
Irene's passcode for her phone was "Sher", which makes more sense in this clip:
"You could have chosen any random number and walked out of here today with everything you've worked for."
"You just couldn't resist it, could you?"
"I've always assumed that love is a dangerous disadvantage."
"Thank you for the final proof."
"Everything I said,"
"It's not real."
"I was just playing the game."
"I know."
"And this is just losing."
The numbers for "Sher" on a telephone are "7437". Now, where else does this number appear?
Oh, right. That's John's PIN!
Thank you to Tumblr user holey-fred-geddit for first spotting this one.
And even if he's in love with Sherlock, and Sherlock is in love with him,
nothing's happening between them. So John instead dates a string of women: women who aren't really that important to him.
The women are even angry at him for putting Sherlock above them.
They outright say it, even hinting that Sherlock and John are a couple.
"I'm really sorry."
"You know, my friends are so wrong about you."
"You're a great boyfriend."
"Okay, that's good."
"I mean, I always thought I was great -"
"And Sherlock Holmes is a very lucky man."
"Oh Janette, please -"
"No, I mean it."
"It's heartwarming."
"You'll do anything for him. And he can't even tell your girlfriends apart."
"I'll do anything for you just tell me what it is I'm not doing. Tell me -"
"Don't make me compete with Sherlock Holmes."
"I'll walk your dog for you. I'll say it now, I'll even -"
"I don't have a dog!"
"No, because that was ... the last one. Okay."
"Jesus."
"I'll call you."
"No!"
"Okay."
So, John puts Sherlock above everything, and when Sherlock -
- dies, John is broken. Heartbroken. HEARTBROKEN.
"Um, there were times when I didn't think you were even human,"
"But, let me tell you this. You were the best man, and the most human human being that I've ever known,"
"And no one will ever convince me that you told me a lie."
"Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most..."
"... human."
And then he found Mary. There's always SOMETHING about Mary, huh? To make
this video shorter, she manipulated John and lied to him
but John still stays with her because, I guess, he may not shave for Sherlock Holmes...
"I don't shave for Sherlock Holmes."
But he sure loves his BEARD (ayyy)
Oh yeah, and let's not forget the thigh touch.
"I don't mind."
You don't mind WHAT? An eleven-way orgy? A prostate exam?
Male to male casual touches?
Now, how about the creators? Some people question
Johnlock because the creators have constantly said that John and Sherlock
are not gay lovers, and that John is straight, and Sherlock is some asexual-ish thing.
Of course, these guys are notorious for lying about their shows to make the twist even more surprising.
Of course, with a twist (well, not REALLY a twist) as big as this,
I think they would keep it to themselves. Second of all, co-creator Mark Gatiss IS gay.
Why would he actively participate in a queerbait this massive? He wouldn't be up for this.
Queerbaiting isn't right. For those of you who don't know,
Queerbaiting is when a show creates sexual tension or alludes to a gay relationship
to attract an LGBT audience, but intentionally never sees it through.
Why would he do such an awful and destructive thing to our community?
So, what do you all think?
A very strong friendship that'll stay an epic adventure?
A pining romance that we'll see develop?
One big awful queerbait?
Whatever it is, Sherlock is a compelling drama with compelling characters. These characters
have shared their ups and their downs together.
But are they gay?
You decide.