Sherlock Meta Masterpost

multifandom-madnesss:

A Work In Progress. 

In light of me writing an essay on Sherlock and TJLC I wanted to do my own compilation. I will update this as I come across material that was previously unknown to me and if you have anything that’s missing, please let me know! 

“Let’s play subtext.” - LSiT

[Disclaimer: A large part of LSiT’s, mid0nz’s, wsswatson’s, deducingbbcsherlock’s, theconsultingactor’s and finalproblem’s work is yet to be included. It will be added soon. Also there might be an extra section for shorter gif posts without much text.]

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WHY TJLC IS REAL: 

Our “smoking gun”: 

• BBC’s 2009 LGB Research Commission | LSiT - The BBC undertook massive research to determine how its LGB viewers think about portrayal of LBG issues on television. In short, the BBC sees it as its duty to reflect life’s diversity in its program and specifically decided to push for “landmark” LGB content. 

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1) Episode Meta

• The Unaired Pilot | LSiT - It hasn’t been dubbed “gay pilot” for it’s lack of homoerotic subtext… 
• Space, Framing, Tone & Meaning | wsswatson - On how the cinematography changed from the unaired pilot to ASiP

A Study in Pink

• Subversion and Sherlock Series: Introduction | A Study in Pink | The Blind Banker | tbc
• Shaftesbury Avenue and Requited since the pilot | LSiT and auburndammit - The statue of Anteros, the Greek God of requited love, can be seen when the ASiP title card appears. Also, Shaftesbury *giggles* Avenue appears all over Sherlock and the Network App. 
• Proof from the Script that we’re supposed to read John as suicidal (in ASiP) | LSiT - Furthering the idea of John’s depression being related to his hidden bisexuality. 
• John’s look at Sherlock during drugs bust | joolabee - Right, because that moment has actual subtext. We’ve been using the gif too much for other things. 

The Blind Banker

• Subversion and Sherlock Series: Introduction | A Study in Pink | The Blind Banker | tbc

The Great Game

• The Great Light [TGG] | 221beemine - The pool scene is lit light porn! 

A Scandal in Belgravia

• The Hiker Deduction is about how John broke up with Sarah | LSiT - The hiker as stand-in for John, the victim who returned from New Zealand also as a foil to John… Conclusion: John and Sarah broke up because of Sherlock, and, more specifically, because John couldn’t get it up for her. 
• Was John actually there for the Hiker Deduction | LSiT - or was he just a projection of Sherlock?
• The Speckled Blonde (case on John’s Blog) and how John’s father may be the reason John’s in the closet | LSiT - The Blonde was killed by a slow acting poison, which subtextually aligns with her father’s homophobia and there are lots of parallels comparing her to John. 
• Why Sherlock wasn’t in love with Irene | LSiT 
• What Irene meant by “I don’t think so… do you?” | LSiT 
• Sherlock’s smoking habit proves he wasn’t in love with Irene | LSiT 
• Irene’s theme is John through Sherlock’s eyes | LSiT
• Mycroft’s and Sherock’s moral philosophies and Sherlock’s immediate attraction to John | LSiT 

The Reichenbach Fall

• What didn’t John say at Sherlock’s Grave | LSiT 
• John’s body language at Sherlock’s Grave | Provocatrixxx and porcupine-girl 
• "For Me” | joolabee - A closer look at Sherlock asking John to do it “for me” on the rooftop. 

The Empty Hearse

• Tone, Self-Image, Brothers and Ees Zees Sherlock Anway? - part I - The Subconscious (part II) - Su-Limination (part III) | 221beemine - still have to read this one :)
• Best In-Frame Use of Light as a Narrative Device | 221beemine - John at Baker Street in TEH 
• The Holmes Parents and how they mirror John and Sherlock | xistentialangst - A closer look at the scene in TEH. 
• Elephants Everywhere |
• Is a camera transition an allusion to a popular fanfic | LSiT - It refers to “The Progress of Sherlock Holmes” by Ivy Blossom. 
• The Curious Case of the Twin Wallpapers + Drunk Deductions Crime Scene | stepfordgeek and LSiT 
• Sherlock dropping his food in TEH and the Jack the Ripper Crime Scene | LSiT
• Martin’s acting in the recognition scene | plaidadder and mild-lunacy 

The Sign of Three

• Lyrics to John’s Stag Night | LSiT 
• For Science, Jawn | 221beemine - A close look at the stag night at 221b, shot by shot. 
• That Scene | 221beemine - Very short look at what the Who Am I game means.
• That Sequence | acafanmom - Shot analysis. 
• International Reputations, or the Lack Thereof | LSiT - The conversation in the hallway is John and Sherlock stating that they want to have sex with each other.
• John is trying to cheat on Mary with Sherlock | LSiT - The “I don’t mind” deconstructed. 
• Why Sherlock lied about finding out John’s middle name | LSiT 
• Sherlock dresses as the other groom | LSiT - What we all thought.
• My Husband is Three People | wsswatson - A look at the triangles in TSoT, starting from the case Sherlock solves without even leaving the flat. 
• The Mysterious Case of the Johnlock Signpost | xistentialangst - Written after SoT. 
• Sherlock’s Mind Palace: The Bakerstreet Room | deducingbbcsherlock 
• What is Love Anyway? or How Sherlock Deduced Himself in Love | LSiT - I still don’t follow this exactly. Need to re-read it several times, I guess…^^
• Deducing John with help of Major Sholto | Provocatrixxx - 
• Clothing, Costumes, Parallels, Caricatures and foreshadowing-is-ruining-my-life and addition | freebachproblem - On Major Sholto and Sherlock, and why Sherlock might come close to dying and accepting it. 
• Mirror, Mirror | sublim8 - Sherlock spins, sees himself in mirror shortly before John enters the frame. 
• Subtext equates John with The Mayfly Man and John lying about being bisexual | LSiT - It’s all so obvious when LSiT explains it to me, srly. 
• Irene’s Theme in the Mind Palace and Sherlock deducing John’s bisexuality | LSiT 
• Sherlock playing Nurse | LSiT - A very nice piece of erotic imagery indeed. 
• Sign of Red Part II | 221beemine - Military kink and arguments against queer and bi-erasure.
• Sign of Red musings | xistentialangst
• Dancing as Sex in Moffat’s writing | wsswatson and bbcatemysoul 
• Sherlock coming out to Molly? | mrsashdown - The perfect man with John’s picture - what it might mean in context. 

His Last Vow

• Close reading of Janine in 221B plus answer to anon and another answer | 221beemine 
  
• Green with envy | adlerforpresident - How green in HLV drives John’s jealousy home. 
• A socratic approach to subtext | LSiT - On John and how he wonders who Sherlock is protecting. 
• Moriarty’s role in Sherlock’s mind palace | LSiT 
• Sherlock first looks for John in his mind palace | LSiT 
• Why John thinks Sherlock killed CAM for Mary | LSiT - This hurts me every time I think about it. Sherlock intentionally makes John think he did it for Mary… 
• Sherlock does NOT trust Mary | LSiT - Good. 
• Sherlock the Dragon Slayer | xistentialangst - in which John is the damsel in distress. Hehe. 
• John as the Damsel In Distress | wsswatson
• On Sherlock snapping at Mycroft | silentauroriamthereal

Across the Series:

• Arguments for the subtext becoming text in the future | LSiT and thetwogaydetectives 
• Top 4 Reasons why Johnlock will become canon | bbcatemysoul 
• A Clusterfuck of Psychos Series: part I - part II - part III - part IV | deducingbbcsherlock
• Johnlock and the idea that Sherlock is a sociopath | LSiT - John thinking Sherlock is a sociopath is part of the big misunderstanding that’s keeping them apart. 
• John / Jim Sholto / Sherlock | deducingbbcsherlock - A look at TSoT’s locked mystery of similar names across TSoT and HLV. 
• HLV - Why being a high functioning Sociopath is so important for Sherlock | wellingtongoose 
• Moriarty, Irene and Johnlock | LSiT - Moriarty and Irene are both distorted versions/mirrors to Sherlock. 
• John loves Sherlock back plus more on the subject | piningjohn - A look at how much John needs Sherlock and answer to anon listing scenes that don’t make sense if it’s unrequited.  
• Why “not gay” doesn’t mean straight | wsswatson - A powerpoint presentation.
• John’s feelings for Sherlock after marrying Mary | Ivy Blossom
• Sherlock’s Sexual Identity and Season 3 | xistentialangst
• Stone Romancer, John Watson: Some thoughts on John’s sexuality | Ivy Blossom
• Sherlock’s feelings for John per episode (part II) | LSiT
  
• John’s feelings for Sherlock per episode | LSiT 
• Molly as foil | LSiT 
• M-theory: Mycroft, Moriarty, and Magnussen’s shared motifs, James Bond’s “M”, Mary and Janine, and the big gay long game | LSiT - This is long, epic and awesome to read. 85k of it. Bottom line: Moriarty is still alive, has Mycroft wrapped around his finger and is Janine’s brother. Also, he sent Janine after Sherlock. And Moriarty is very much into our beloved detective - romantically. 
• Sherlock’s morality | LSiT - A short one, but the subject is dealt with in LSiT’s M-theory more extensively. 
• Love and Breadcrumbs: The Relationship Development of Sherlock and John on BBC’s Sherlock and full deconstruction of HLV | xistentialangst
• Penance: Sherlock in Season 3 | xistentialangst 
• On Queerbaiting, Mofftiss, etc. | the consulting actor
• Acting and what it means for TJLC | the consulting actor
• Why Sherlock’s attractiveness obliterates some people’s sexual orientation | LSiT - On how the need to identify is a social construct and people reacting to Sherlock.
• On Sherlock’s Virginity | LSiT
• The Continuity Axiom: the real conspiracy | mild-lunacy - As to why TJLC explains continuity problems in season 3. 
• The Long Game | salsify, mild-lunacy - Sherlock’s 5 seasons as 5 acts of a classic drama… would definitely work imo!
• The Elephant in the Room | finalproblem - Elephants everywhere. Even though Arwel Wyn Jones says it wasn’t intentional. And we’re still believing anything a crew member says? 

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2) The Creators & Crew

• Trust in Gatiss: Operation Johnlock is Go and Operation Johnlock is still Go (post HLV) | LSiT - Johnlock has been endgame from the start and everyone is in on it. 
• Moffat is the biggest Heterobaiter of all: part I - part II - part III - part IV | LSiT, 221beemine, incurablylazydevil and noctumsolis - Part I shows which episodes and parts Moffat has written and they are all heavy on Johnlock. Part II goes in the same direction while part III reveals Moffat as the writer of Press Gang, a 90s show which was prominent with girls and women as well as POC.  Part IV dwells even more on Moffat and his writing. 
• What about Ben and Martin? They would totally play Johnlock - Martin saying John is in love with Mary, not Sherlock - answered ask | LSiT, multufandom-madnesss
• Mofftiss are LIARS - tweet confirmation 
• The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes served as template for BBC’s Sherlock, according to Mark Gatiss | LSiT
• Captain Subtext, a character on Steven Moffat’s Coupling | LSiT 
• Stephen Moffat on writing Sherlock’s Best Man Speech | volutre.com - Magazine article 
• Interview with Joe Lidster | sherlockcanada - Interview with the author of BBC’s Sherlock’s blog.
• Authorial Intent analysis | destinationtoast, intellectualfangirl, mild-lunacy - Starting from an ask about why the gay bar scene was cut if tjlc is real, a discussion about authorial intent, bi-erasure and a lot more. 

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3) Additional Material (Blogs, Network, etc.)

• The Promo Pictures | LSiT - Yes, they have always been gay. 
• Johnlock in The Network | LSiT - The climactic sequence screams Johnlock so loud it’s deafening. 
• The Speckled Blonde and bubble baths | LSiT - Drawing on a case from John’s blog with the conclusion that John’s father might be homophobic. 
• The Mystery of the Aluminium Crutch | writemeastoryofsolitude and Additional Comments | LSiT - Wonderful breakdown of how the case on John’s blog offers a lot of subtext. Hint: Sherlock is gay and fell in love with John without realising it.  
• An Ode To Intermediacy | violethuntress 
• The Johnlock Conspiracy | Hubpages - Great article about the most important arguments of TJLC. 
• Straight until proven otherwise (Sherlock’s sexuality in ACD) | wsswatson - A look at parts of ACD’s stories and why wsswatson always read the original Sherlock as aromantic. 

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Non TJLC-centric Meta:

• M-theory: Mycroft, Moriarty, and Magnussen’s shared motifs, James Bond’s “M”, Mary and Janine, and the big gay long game | LSiT - This is long, epic and awesome to read. 85k of it. Bottom line: Moriarty is still alive, has Mycroft wrapped around his finger and is Janine’s brother. Also, he sent Janine after Sherlock. And Moriarty is very much into our beloved detective - romantically. 
• Mycroft was Moriarty’s Target | thecutteralicia 
• Did Mary mean to kill Sherlock? | xistentialangst
• The Problem with Mary | xistentialangst
• “Sherlock and John killed people too” and why that isn’t quite the same thing | painlock - Argues against those who defend Mary and put her on the same level as Sherlock and John in terms of killing people. 
• On John’s Military Career | Provocatrixxx - A look at how John’s career could have gone posted on AO3. 
• Why does Major Sholto require special Dispensation to wear Dress Blues | Provocatrixxx 
• People don’t like John | LSiT - Answer to the question why John has hardly any friends. 
• BBC Sherlock Wallpaper Masterpost | stepfordgeek - The fandom needed this. 
• It’s not new. It’s really new. Or, The Sherlock Of Modern Life | annejamison - An essay about fandom in light of TEH and the numerous nods to Sherlockians. 
• Fans don’t feel mocked or catered to | penns-woods - Another post TEH post. 
• Molly in Season 3 | 221beemine - Molly is not a doormat. 
• The Holmes Childhood | 221beemine 
• Why the Holmes Parents are perfect | wellingtongoose - Why the parents fit and what we learn or deduce about the Holmes childhood. 
• On Sherlock and Mycroft: Your Loss Would Break My Heart | stephisanerd
• Sally Donovan Meta | bbcatemysoul and LSiT - Sally is more than a bully. 
• Mycroft as Sherlock’s parent | thecutteralicia
• Mycroft as Sherlock’s brother | thecutteralicia 
• Mycroft and John | thecutteralicia
• Mark’s Creation | thecutteralicia - on Mycroft and Mark Gatiss, his creator. 
• Mycroft: Lestrade’s Partner | thecutteralicia 
• Mycroft’s Position | thecutteralicia - A look at the facts regarding Mycroft’s job and a response/addition to the following.
• Mycroft the Enigma Part I | wellingtongoose - A look at Mycroft’s role in UK politics. 
• Heroes and Villains | wellingtongoose - Essay-series on enigmas and villains of Sherlock. 
• Walk me through Lazarus again | violethuntress, cosmoglaut, ivyblossom - 
• #the empty fall | finalproblem - a collection of posts that point out inconsistencies in the fall theories as seen in season 3. 

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CINEMATOGRAPHY 

Season 1

• Space, Framing, Tone & Meaning | wsswatson - On how the cinematography changed from the unaired pilot to ASiP
• A Study in Purple [ASiP] | 221beemine - omg there really is a lot of purple in the pilot!
• Seeing the angles: Tilt-shift lens | 221beemine 
• Rule of Thirds and the frame | 221beemine - On “good” framing, centering someone in a frame, etc. Also, see: 
• Rule of Thirds | mid0nz 
• The Great Light [TGG] | 221beemine - The pool scene is lit light porn! 
• Some Camera Shots in Sherlock | mid0nz - a look at what some shots are called and what they might imply. 
• Sherlock and the Cabbie | wsswatson - An analysis of a screencap in ASiP for mid0nz’s meta project. 

Season 2

• Scene Analysis: Battersea Power Station | thecutteralicia
• Scene Analysis: The Morgue | thecutteralicia 

Season 3

• Opening shot of TEH: DoP appreciation | 221beemine
• Tone, Self-Image, Brothers and Ees Zees Sherlock Anway? - part I - The Subconscious (part II) - Su-Limination (part III) | 221beemine - still have to read this one :)
• Best In-Frame Use of Light as a Narrative Device | 221beemine - John at Baker Street in TEH
• The Empty Eye, or, The Vision Fetish, or, Trains and Projections | 221beemine - A look at a few cinematographic aspects of TEH. 
• The Still in Mycrofts Office | 221beemine and mid0nz - 
• The Phantom Shot [TEH and SoT] | 221beemine - 
• For Science, Jawn | 221beemine - A close look at the stag night at 221b, shot by shot. 
• The Sign of Red and Part II [SoT] | 221beemine
• Sign of Red musings | xistentialangst
• The Kiss Shot aka The HUG [TSoT] | 221beemine - Argues that the Hug in SoT is basically a wedding kiss shot. *swoons* 
• Lighting Mary: The Empty Hearse - The Sign of Three and His Last Vow | 221beemine
• Negative Space Framing | 221beemine -
• How would a Johnlock kiss be shot? | 221beemine - unfolds several possibilities. 
• Pictures very much worth more than 1000 words | 221beemine 
• Mary in Red [HLV] | 221beemine and xistentialangst - 
• Lasers on Sherlock’s face [HLV] | 221beemine - refers to the sharp shooter laser lights in the mind palace being red and then turning green in reality
• Molly in the boltholes scene [HLV] | 221beemine - 
• Mary and the lense flare [HLV] | 221beemine
• Female reading of the Male Gaze and Sherlock | 221beemine
• I see what you did there | deducingbbcsherlock - The blow job shot in SoT

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MUSIC

• Irene’s theme is John through Sherlock’s eyes | LSiT

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SPECULATIONS 

• What about the baby | 221beemine - Argues for considering the baby to be a plot device. 
• If Sherlock met Irene before John | joolabee - Warning bc author is very critical of modernized Irene. 
• Johnlock in the light of Sherlolly  | wsswatson 
• Lestrolly will be canon - top 4 reasons it won’t - yes, it will | wsswatson, bbcatemysoul

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BACKGROUND INFO

• Sherlock Fandom Glossary
• Is TJLC a cult? | LSiT - Hilarious. Nope, we’re merely a religion. 
• A Wider Universe | wellingtongoose - Essay collection on British things and Sherlock, for example speculation on Sherlock’s university life, tea, suits and politics. 
• Why so many people ship Johnlock | wsswatson - one of the most comprehensive posts I have seen so far with many pictures. 
• On the SA80 (assault rifle) | Provocatrixxx 
• ID tags and Service Numbers | Provocatrixxx
• Saluting | Provocatrixxx
• How does the British Army treat mental illness | Provocatrixxx
• Semantics of Healthcare | wellingtongoose - Essay-series about the real world of medicine in regards to Sherlock. 
• TSoT - Why the murder doesn’t work | wellingtongoose - Alert, medical professional at work :)
• HLV - Sherlock’s drugs and urine test | wellingtongoose - What drugs Sherlock might have taken and why he needed to pee in a cup. 

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ON SUBTEXT AND META

• How To Find Subtext | LSiT
• Inferring authorial intent | LSiT
• What it takes to formulate and write a persuasive meta plus an addendum | LSiT
• Why queer people tend to see Johnlock and straight people don’t | LSiT 
• Decoding Subtext in ACD’s works | nekosmuse - A website with essays on ACD’s stories. 
• Can’t it be both? Or: using fic to meta plus discussion | eiael-thinks, mild-lunacy, baudown

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FANDOM RELATED

• On who is allowed to speak for whom | joolabee - Response to a post that’s saying some… very controversial stuff about “slash fetishizing” etc. 
• Truly, We Are A Generation of Hypocrites | axiom + reaction Regarding Hypocrisy | joolabee - I have only read the answer but bottom line is that you can’t look at fandom in a vacuum which axiom apparently does. 
• The Mythical “Normal” Fan | urbanhymnal 
• Fandom and Ew, Girls | urbanhymnal 
• On Fandom, Tumblr and Community | acafanmom 
• Sherlock, series 3, and the Fourth Wall | penns-woods, professorfangirl, salsify 

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PRO-QUEERBAITING and ANTI-JOHNLOCK (for transparency’s sake - not my opinion)

• Johnlock The Great Queerbait (Powerpoint) | snuggydeamon - This blogger has made another pp about SPN and one on queerbaiting in general which I found interesting, but I am of the “Mofftiss are heterobaiting us” persuasion and planing an anwer to this post. 
• “I am disappointed in everybody”, Or: No, My Expectations were Never That High | joolabee - Starting from a tweet from Ian Hallard, joolabee makes a case as to why Sherlock is queerbaiting. 
• Why watch Sherlock if you hate queerbaiting | joolabee 
• On Scandal| joolabee - very critical of Irene, resp. the way she is written.
• Anti-Johnlock FAQ | ben-c - Haven’t read much since I found it too polemic for my taste but it feels wrong not to include a bit of “the other side”. 

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MISC

• Johnlock Fandom Bingo | vowofsherlock

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Authors’ Masterlists: 

Loudest-Subtext-In-Television | 221beemine | deducingbbcsherlock | finalproblem | mid0nz | xistentialangst | consulting actor | wsswatson | mild-lunacy | thecutteralicia | wellingtongoose |