Been a while, yes? But, I'm back and all ready to talk about various pop culture-y things, mainly (for the moment) Sherlock Season 3 (let's leave aside questions of run on sentences and what seems like a lack of appreciation for English grammar on my part). I've watched the Empty Hearse (EH) and Sign of Three (SoT) and have some thoughts (not in length since I'm also dealing with a burst water pipe and a flooded basement in my Real Life. But, hey, I still managed to watch Sherlock since there's only so much of staring at pipes-in-old-walls one can do). I've not yet watched the final episode--The Last Vow
- This series seems to be an effort in humanizing (in the most basic sense of the term) Sherlock. He's gone from a "high functioning sociopath" (though he calls himself that again here) to a quirky friend, one who takes time to meticulously plan a stag night for his best friend, one who gives a lovely speech at said best friend's wedding, one who apologises for not letting in the best friend on the Big Secret, one who kisses girls (becomes relevant for another point I want to make), one who is almost too conventional. It's a bit strange since I think since the charm of Sherlock was that it was about a person who was clearly not a fit for the current world actually managing to do all right in it. Even do really well in it. As such, it was a show for and about misfits and about friends (Well, just one-Watson)
- In a show set in London, why are there so few people of colour? I suppose one could laud the show for not going the "usual way" and having the police chap be black (and, really, Rupert Graves is superb in his role as Lestrade) but what about medical examiners/random people/friends/etc? Or, Mary even? It's a very white milieu and I find that somewhat odd.
- Following on from that, did we really need to establish Sherlock as (fairly) aggressively heterosexual? Kissing Molly; Kissing whatshername; Why couldn't he have been played as "Girlfriend? No, not really my area" (from 2010's A Study in Pink and a sentence that is open to different interpretations) rather than "goes about kissing girls since he's lonely now that John's leaving him to get married".
- Women. I'm not the only one who reckons Mr. Moffat isn't that great at writing women. Mary, to me, comes off very much River Song-ish. All we need is "sweetie"after the end of whatever it is she's saying. That's not to knock River Song (or Mary) but that one almost expects her (Mary) to do something nefarious in the final episode now. She's been almost too tolerant of Sherlock and seems to be able to get both Watson and Sherlock to do what she wants. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the final episode (though my bet on having her turn out to be Moriarty's twin/double/wife/sister is probably not going to work out--too obvious, eh?). Molly's moved on but to another chap who looks rather like Sherlock. We never see Watson's sister. Mrs. Hudson remains a bit of a stereotype as well and doesn't really have much to do (though her past and her marriages seem to be foreshadowing what will happen to the Watsons, perhaps?)
In short, I'm somewhat disappointed so far with EH and SoT. I'm disappointed with the efforts to humanize Sherlock as a conventional (and boring) human being. I'd have preferred him as "odd" and a "misfit" but one with friends who care for him and who he, in his own way(s), cares for. Lestrade hugs him when he realizes Sherlock lives and that is when he (and we) still think it's OldSherlock--grumpy, uncaring of people often, unused to living in "society" but capable of doing so and capable of having friends.
- This series seems to be an effort in humanizing (in the most basic sense of the term) Sherlock. He's gone from a "high functioning sociopath" (though he calls himself that again here) to a quirky friend, one who takes time to meticulously plan a stag night for his best friend, one who gives a lovely speech at said best friend's wedding, one who apologises for not letting in the best friend on the Big Secret, one who kisses girls (becomes relevant for another point I want to make), one who is almost too conventional. It's a bit strange since I think since the charm of Sherlock was that it was about a person who was clearly not a fit for the current world actually managing to do all right in it. Even do really well in it. As such, it was a show for and about misfits and about friends (Well, just one-Watson)
- In a show set in London, why are there so few people of colour? I suppose one could laud the show for not going the "usual way" and having the police chap be black (and, really, Rupert Graves is superb in his role as Lestrade) but what about medical examiners/random people/friends/etc? Or, Mary even? It's a very white milieu and I find that somewhat odd.
- Following on from that, did we really need to establish Sherlock as (fairly) aggressively heterosexual? Kissing Molly; Kissing whatshername; Why couldn't he have been played as "Girlfriend? No, not really my area" (from 2010's A Study in Pink and a sentence that is open to different interpretations) rather than "goes about kissing girls since he's lonely now that John's leaving him to get married".
- Women. I'm not the only one who reckons Mr. Moffat isn't that great at writing women. Mary, to me, comes off very much River Song-ish. All we need is "sweetie"after the end of whatever it is she's saying. That's not to knock River Song (or Mary) but that one almost expects her (Mary) to do something nefarious in the final episode now. She's been almost too tolerant of Sherlock and seems to be able to get both Watson and Sherlock to do what she wants. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the final episode (though my bet on having her turn out to be Moriarty's twin/double/wife/sister is probably not going to work out--too obvious, eh?). Molly's moved on but to another chap who looks rather like Sherlock. We never see Watson's sister. Mrs. Hudson remains a bit of a stereotype as well and doesn't really have much to do (though her past and her marriages seem to be foreshadowing what will happen to the Watsons, perhaps?)
In short, I'm somewhat disappointed so far with EH and SoT. I'm disappointed with the efforts to humanize Sherlock as a conventional (and boring) human being. I'd have preferred him as "odd" and a "misfit" but one with friends who care for him and who he, in his own way(s), cares for. Lestrade hugs him when he realizes Sherlock lives and that is when he (and we) still think it's OldSherlock--grumpy, uncaring of people often, unused to living in "society" but capable of doing so and capable of having friends.
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