The first time you see it, it can hit you really hard, especially since Sherlock is on a total roll and John delivers the line “please God, let me live” in a way where you can be forgiven for not being sure if it’s serious or snark. It apparently has the same effect on Sherlock, as well.
We never do get any details on how Captain John Watson of the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers was wounded in action. But from this exchange alone, it’s clear the situation was extremely serious. He was badly wounded, nearly died, and developed PTSD- Sherlock had himself earlier pointed out that the original circumstances of John’s injury must have been ‘traumatic’, and he meant emotionally traumatic, not just violent and painful. The blunt earnestness of John’s response even trips up Sherlock for a second or two, and he’s just been ranting and raving about not understanding why a woman would care about her stillborn baby after fourteen years. This also works as a tearjerker in hindsight if you recall ‘Please God, let me live’ whenever John is genuinely in physical danger elsewhere in the series.
Pretty much everyone in the room agrees that in your last moments, you would think about the people you love the most. John apparently had no one to think about when he was close to dying. He really must have been lonely even before he returned from Afghanistan.
I hate you for making this post because it’s the best I’ve read on this subject and it hurts.
I also love how in this moment Sherlock is jarred out of his arrogant “oh how cheesy John, thanks for living down to my expectations, God you’re so average, just as I suspected” mindset by John’s quiet “I don’t have to.” He was not expecting that, and he begins to see John as the fascinating enigma he is. 💖
Most of the most successful BBC Sherlock fanfic uses a John that feels very pre-Reichenbach
and a Sherlock that feels distinctly post-Reichenbach. Or, to put it another way, it pairs Series 1-2 John with Series 3-4 Sherlock.
This actually makes a lot of sense, because Series 1-2 John is everything wonderful about John Watson. He’s loyal, funny, big-hearted, (relatively) friendly, devoted to Sherlock and the Work. He has friends, and a full, glorious life.
He is the right combination of domesticated and dangerous. He’s sweet, but still sexy. Someone Sherlock Holmes would absolutely fall in love with.
Series 3-4 John is… well, not. He has no close relationships, aside from Mary, after the Fall. He’s scarily violent with Sherlock, and deliberately oblivious with Mary. He forgives his wife’s immoral past AND her shooting of Sherlock, but doesn’t ever really forgive Sherlock for the Fall. He’s adulterous, an absent father, and he blames Sherlock unfairly for Mary’s death. His painful anger is a constant, unsettling presence that underscores every scene. Series 4, in particular, gave us a John we would actively dislike, were it not for our connection with him from series past.
In contrast, Series 1-2 Sherlock Holmes is the detective at his least human. Yes, he has swoon-worthy looks and intellect, but he’s also terribly cold and routinely cruel. He undervalues John repeatedly and lies to him in every single episode. He has no real friends, and respects no one but John (and only barely). He seems to mistreat his family. This is a man John Watson could fall in love with, but he isn’t one who could maintain a healthy romantic relationship with anyone. He wasn’t ready.
In Series 3-4, Sherlock returns to London a changed man. He’s kinder, more considerate, less likely to disregard the value of others. He actively maintains his friendships and his relationship with his family (until he relapses). He enjoys the company of babies and dogs. He plans a beautiful wedding. He gives and gives and gives, so much that it is painful to witness, and asks for nothing in return.
THIS IS WHY WE NEED SERIES 5. We need to bring together softer, smarter Sherlock with a John that feels more like himself, and less like an irredeemable ass. Please and thank you, BBC.
Stop talking and start doing: My Fallout Shelter for my Tumblr blog 