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victorianpining · 7 months

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Are you planning to do more video essays on BBC Dracula? I have to say I miss watching tjlce.

That's kind of you! Given the unique circumstances of the Dracula video being taken down and no editing on my part appearing to resolve the problem, I'd actually thought about taking it as an opportunity to re-do my original Dracula video, mostly because I was still having a fairly strong emotional reaction to it at the time and so I don't think I fully succeeded in my goal of not repeating my previous mistakes. Not to say I disagree with the main points of my Dracula reading, in fact the further I get into my graduate studies and the more I start to concentrate in meta fiction and meta horror I'm feeling pretty good about the general takeaway of the story being an extended metaphor about storytelling. But I think because I'd spent so long yelling at myself for reading any intent at all into Mark or Steven's work, seeing any form of confirmation of any of the themes that first drew me to their work really tempted me to swing back too hard in the opposite direction.

I mentioned in the conclusion that at the time I was having a really hard time squaring the idea that I could be in any way right about Dracula with a reality where I was wrong about Sherlock. But since then I've managed to de-couple the two a bit. It's entirely possible (and maybe even probable) that my explanation about them just really enjoying raising questions about these well known figures also led to a bit more self awareness in the end about a disconnect with an audience that rightly or wrongly expected more of them than they could deliver.

So I don't know. Maybe I'll try to have another, more dispassionate crack at it. But I'm also aware that I have a tendency towards neuroticism and if I start going down a rabbit hole of endlessly correcting my previous work and trying to make it all perfect, that could go on forever. But I would like to have *a* video about Dracula that can live on the channel so. We'll see what happens there.

#asks #this may or may not interest you but The Stories in Our Veins will very much be a thematic examination and response to Dracula as well #its actually what's helping me work through the rest of the emotions I hadn't resolved yet

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kajaono · 6 months

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What is your level of belief in TJLC ?

Hey nonny, thats one of the most compliacted questions I ever got

When I first watched Sherlock the third season was just released. I watched the show without any contact with fandom, i didn't even knew it existed.

When I finished I was left with so many questions. I really believed Sherlock would confess his love during the tarmac scene. I also wondered why he smiled when he saw the military in TSOT and came to the conclusion, that he just likes soldiers. All in all, I believed Sherlock and John were in love.

I then came in contact with TJLC and was amazed to see that people had seen the same thing like I had. And had the same questions. I then discovered TJLCE and finally I had answers to all my question. Suddenly it all made sense.

Today I can not say anymore if i really believed John and Sherlock would kiss.. idk... but i believed in a love confession, in something textual. I believed in the tea code and all of that. I still do. Because it is not so unsual to have easter eggs in a show. And it was indeed confirmed that John as an alcohol problem, something that was hinted at since season 1. And that was big part of TJLC theories.

I believed in all the little things. Reading metas and watching TJLCE was my whole joy. For me that was peak fandom.

But all of this was over for me with season 4. I never believed in The Lost Special, or that season 4 is just part of a bigger plan. Maybe Mofftiss never had the intention to make Johnlock canon, maybe something changed between season 3 and 4... we probably will never know.

For me TJLC got a new meaning after season 4. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes are in love in every universe. They will find each other in every universe. No matter what.

Also TJLC teached me a lot of meta writing and I will be forever grateful for that.

TL:DR: I think i was a casual believer and today I am just honoring the time I had in this famdom, using the knowledge for something good, as in: Making sure we get more openly queer lead characters and that no queer couple has to face such a queerbaited #nohomo ending ever again.

#tjlc #bbc sherlock #anon

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afishlearningpoetry · 2 years

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what do you think about the "this plan is bad and i don't love it" section of the new tjlce video? i mean, i love that rebekah's back and i obviously respect her pov, but i feel like that is such a pessimistic take on s4 than i think it ought to be dkdk i feel like, taking tjlc as the right answer for granted, the only way to fully assess how effective s4 is in making its argument is to have the context of the complete show, that is: s5 and how it's gonna pay everything off. i also don't agree that more sherlock and johnlock specifically happening wouldn't be as big of a deal if s4 hadn't been the way it was. the show is still very popular and talked about (for better or worse, which is actually good because it still provokes VERY strong emotional responses from people, there's barely anyone indifferent to it who is/was a casual or a hardcore fan), the cast and crew still get asked about it all the time, have been for all these years of hiatus. and i also don't agree that the writers have such a responsability to its viewers to the point where they should alter the fundamental nature of their story to appease fan emotions. even if mofftiss lament the backlash for those emotional reasons, how they impacted former tjlcers in particular, i don't think they regret making the story they wanted to. and they can't be held accountable for things like that either, that's not a healthy way to engage with a tv show, period. i don't wanna be rude, but we, the viewers, are the ones who should be fully responsable for how we engage with that stuff.

I mostly agree with you.

Like I said I totally understand why people were hurt and still have negative feelings about it, but most of the hype around series 4 specifically did come from us and assuming the Shakespearean dramatic structure where it would be the climax.

But also, though I don’t think we impacted the story they wanted to tell, we are in it… from the meta response in TEH, the room of brides and the secret society, is tea code? they’re very aware of that, and some of the marketing for series 4 does raise eyebrows. “Tell them your darkest secret”, “Be Part of Making History”, the love confession in the last trailer, “love conquers all” by Benedict, and so on. And as much as the backlash was bad, I don’t think it helped that on top of everyone else acting like we were crazy for understanding what was going on, tbh it was basically mass gaslighting but that’s another story, I don’t think their response helped either. So they didn’t alter their story and should have the freedom to do what they want but some of the outreach was clearly angled in our direction, or at least in a way that the reception between audience and storyteller with the canon is an important function in the legacy of the character and how they’re retelling it now and that we’re clued in. They did plan series 4 and 5 in that bus conversation while filming HLV/TAB, after all (I forget which). I understand where she’s is coming from. I think they were overwhelmed with the response in the months after. We have the benefit of hindsight now but some kind of olive branch would have been nice at the time.

But I do largely agree with you. It’s just an unfortunate situation that’s no one person’s fault. I also think it’s too early to say their ambition with series 4 won’t pay off like you’re saying, it hasn’t been done before and we have to think about how people will be thinking about it years from now, not just in the immediate aftermath where people are making cracks about high-functioning sociopaths or the charger port on the phone.

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thetorturedarchives · 1 year

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i was never an earnest believer in tjlc but i mean it unironically when i say the tjlce channel and sherlock bbc (the first three seasons) feel like Christmas to me. in america they have elf in the shelf in norway they have christmas trees in my house we have m theory and drink code

#sherlock bbc

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peepingcreek · 3 years

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I made this for personal reasons

#johnlock #Sherlock #ASiB #John Watson #BBC Sherlock #Mrs. Hudson #consulting husbands #221b #TJLC #TJLCE #Mycroft #Irene Adler #her MIND #season 5

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helloliriels · 3 years

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Cleaning out my queue and drafts to start afresh ... one year really did catch up to me. Goals - not to have 800 drafts and a perma maxed queue lol. Johnlockers keep posting all this stuff tho cause damn - I LOVE IT!!! 💜💜💜

#johnlock #tjlc #tjlce

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astrangergivingthestrangewelcome · 2 years

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Also that stag night is so funny now that I think about it... like It’s supposed to be A Party. John has other friends, more than we’ve seen on screen, there are plenty of people at his wedding, his stag night should have at least included Greg and Mike but Sherlock was like. Nope! I’m giving myself one last homoerotic night with him. Just as a treat. And John was like you sure are buddy. Like were there friends gossiping about it? I would be gossiping about it if I was in on the tea like Molly, Mrs. Hudson and co. are.

#bbc Sherlock #tjlce

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werenotacoupleyesyouare · 4 years

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Not to give y’all war flashbacks, but is it naïve or optimistic to still believe I might not have missed it?

#sorry #forgive me #tjlc #johnlock hours #sherlock #johnlock #tjlce #bbc sherlock

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moriartysqueen · 5 years

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“Are you really a doctor?” - TJLC META / Scene Analysis

Today I would like to discuss a scene from Sherlock season 4 that has really stuck with me, because it seemed so unnatural. I am talking about the scene in Culverton’s “favorite room” before Faith appears.

In TJLC, which by the way got basically completely destroyed by season 4, it was believed that John’s profession as an army-doctor stood in as a metaphor for his bisexuality.

Unfortunately I do not recall who first mentioned/developed this theory, but to quickly summarize:

His profession as a doctor is a metaphor for being attracted to women.

His profession as a soldier/army-man is a metaphor for being attracted to men.

But John is an army-doctor, read attracted to both. And we have seen in many scenes that John is only his most authentic self when he can be an army-doctor, not reduced to just one of the two professions. The most memorable scenes to underline this theory are

1) the scene in The Abominable Bride, after John finds Sherlock in 221b.

“You’re not a soldier, you’re a doctor.” – “NO, I’m an army-doctor.”

2) when he tries to appeal to Sarah in The Blind Banker, clearly disregarding the side of him that is attracted to men

“Might be a bit mundane for you. Since you are… a soldier.” – “…And a doctor.”

and finally

3) when Sherlock returns for John in the beginning of A Study in Pink

“You’re a doctor… in fact you are an army-doctor.” – “Yes.”

Clearly, John is only his truest self when he can embrace every part of who he is, including his bisexuality and often times, the only person her can be this with is Sherlock.

For our analysis today I will be going off of the belief that the entire episode of The Lying Detective is actually just happening in Sherlock’s (drugged) mind palace, which makes a proper reading of this scene a lot easier.

The scene of course starts off with Culverton, John and Sherlock entering the morgue, and then Culverton and John conversing about Culverton’s crimes, which Sherlock just observes.

It is notable that in Sherlock’s mind, John is figuring out everything that is going on without any help, since Sherlock is just standing off on the side waiting for Faith Smith. This supports the reading that Sherlock clearly sees John as a lot smarter than other people.

But let’s get right into the important stuff: Sherlock of course feels like he has disappointed John, since he couldn’t protect Mary like he had promised. Therefore, in Sherlock’s mind, any chance he could have possibly had to be with John seems to have disappeared. This makes what comes next very blatant.

Looking at Sherlock’s effort from The Six Thatchers to reunite with John; it clearly shows that Sherlock was hoping to continue a life with John. Maybe even now, possibly after a mourning period, he could finally be with John in a romantic way.

But since Sherlock had experienced nothing but rejection after Mary’s death, he now believes in his sub-conscience that all hope is gone and John isn’t (and possibly never has been) in love with him.

Because I go off of a reading where everything in The Lying Detective happens in Sherlock’s head, I read Culverton Smith as the embodiment of everything negative and vile in Sherlock’s head.

Culverton is a murderer, and this is how Sherlock sees himself after shooting Charles Augustus Magnussen. Culverton is witty, clever but also very eccentric. Remind you of someone? But also, since Culverton is very frank and sometimes even intrusive, Sherlock pictures him having a conversation with John the way he never could have, confronting him about his sexuality and his feelings.

The conversation goes as follows:

Culverton: “Let me ask you this… are you really a doctor?”

John: “Of course I am.”

John answered without a moment’s hesitation. This symbolizes how sure Sherlock is that John isn’t (and possibly never has been) in love with him. While John is answering, his eyes stay on Culverton; in fact he isn’t looking at Sherlock at all throughout the entire conversation. Which is very telling; Sherlock and his feelings obviously get ignored by John.

Culverton: “No a medical doctor. Not […] media studies or anything…”

John: “I’m a doctor.”

Culverton mentioning “media studies” is a metaphor for the fact that John and Sherlock just present themselves as “straight” for the public eye. So Culverton is basically accusing John of putting on his straight persona just for the media. Read: “He’s just a doctor in media”. In The Reichenbachfall we have the iconic scene of John reading a newspaper, which names him “a confirmed bachelor”, after which he tells Sherlock that they “need to be more careful”, clearly implying that there is something to hide and they need to change their public image.

Being a “medical doctor” of course has a practical/physical connotation to it, which can be interpreted as “are you also physically straight?”. So Culverton is basically asking John whether he is celebrating his heterosexuality physically (sex, kissing,etc.) or if he is just putting on a “theoretical” act for the media.

John just answers with “I’m a doctor”, after which he nervously laughs.

Sherlock obviously knows who John really is; he has always accepted him as his most authentic bisexual self. But he has also seen John try to convince others of his heterosexuality, which of course isn’t entirely true. This is why Sherlock imagines John to nervously chuckle, afraid that someone could catch his lie. Clearly neither John nor Sherlock are convinced of John being just a doctor.

Culverton: “Are you serious? Are you? Are you ACTUALLY serious?”

Whenever I watch this scene, this is where it always seems so over-the-top for me, almost like they are hitting you over the head with it. They WANT us to question John’s sexuality. Culverton questions his sexuality and therefore, Sherlock does.

Why would they put this scene in, with a character repeatedly asking John if he is serious about being straight, if we aren’t meant to doubt John’s sexuality and attractions?

While Culverton is asking this question, John’s expression changes from a confused one to a sad one.

Firstly, John might be confused because he thought he had already “proven” his sexuality (by marrying a woman and having a child) and therefore there shouldn’t be any doubt. But we all know that John isn’t 100% straight, he HIMSELF knows this, so he is worried/sad that someone could find out about that.

Culverton: “I’ve played along with this joke. It’s not funny anymore.”

…meaning that Culverton (Sherlock) is done trying to keep up a fake public persona (=joke). The whole joking in the earlier seasons of “is he your boyfriend?”, “[…] for you and your date.”, “Will you need two bedrooms?”, “live-in p.a.” is not funny anymore. It’s real, it’s happening. John’s and Sherlock’s feelings for each other are not a joke. And they have both played along with it for too long.

Culverton: “Look at [Sherlock]. Go ahead, look at him Doctor Watson.”

Culverton comically emphasizes on the word “doctor”, once again implying that John isn’t just a doctor. But also, Sherlock wants John to look him in the eye and realize it. And eventually decide – is there really nothing he feels for him?

I wanted to stop my analysis right here, because the rest of the scene is still too hard for me to read, I am working on it though.

The last quote I want to leave you with is the following, where Culverton addresses Sherlock directly (after avoiding him for the entire scene so far):

Culverton: “I think you need to tell your faithful little friend how you’re wasting his time because you’re too high to know what’s real anymore.”

There is two ways I’m reading this quote.

The first way: it’s a fourth-wall break. The writers want to endear us, the audience, with “faithful little friend” and tell us that because Sherlock Holmes is on drugs, we should be questioning what is actually true (in this episode/season) and what isn’t. They don’t want us to waste our time by trying to read these scenes literally; we get encouraged to read between the lines.

The second way, and probably the more likely one, is Sherlock telling himself how much he has wasted their (John & Sherlock) time together. We have seen time and time again how Sherlock tried to cope with/repress his feelings using drugs. If Sherlock would have instead opened up to his “faithful (read: always by his side, believing in Sherlock) little friend” earlier, they could have avoided so many things. They could have avoided John’s heartbreak when Sherlock committed suicide, they could have avoided John’s engagement and marriage to Mary and eventually John’s heartbreak at her loss. If Sherlock wouldn’t have relied on drugs as much as he had, maybe this all would have turned out differently.

But to summarize, John clearly looks miserable in the entire scene. Because both John and Sherlock know that John being a doctor is not his most authentic self. While the part of him that is attracted to women isn’t made up (not “media studies”), it’s not all there is to him. But his attraction to men (soldier) or moreover his attraction to both genders (army-doctor) isn’t mentioned at all in this scene, clearly showing how Sherlock has lost all hope that John could actually still be in love with him after everything that went down.

Thank you all so much for reading. Season 4 has been tough on all of us but this is my attempt on reading this scene. Also as you probably noticed, I am still quite new at writing meta, so please excuse.

If you agree, disagree or have anything to add, let me know.

#tjlc #johnlock #sherlock #sherlock holmes #john watson #the lying detective #meta #spoilers #season 4 #tjlce

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