That awkward moment when you can’t help but see your married-to-his-work flatmate and crush is hit on by people in front of you.
in all seriousness, maybe i’m just reading a little too much of Martin Freeman into his character (because let’s face it, Martin Freeman is a privileged cis straight dude who thinks he’s very accepting when he…really doesn’t seem to be), but I really don’t like that even though John says “it’s all fine,” he plays these moments this way—like he’s eyerolly, baffled, and vaguely repulsed by displays of queer sexuality, and especially any and all references to his own queer sexuality.
It’s one of the things I dislike about this show. Because, yes, I’m over here slashing the hell out of it, but I pretty strongly fucking resent that the show itself is keeping such a WOAH, NO, WAY, THEY’RE NOT LIKE THAT, THEY’D NEVER BE LIKE THAT attitude. I mean, I think most of you already know how I feel about that, specifically wrt Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, lol.
And it’s one of the things I don’t think the second season gets right, actually: like, even though Irene’s all, “you’re a couple” and even though she says, “you’re straight, and I’m gay, but here we are,” ie both in love with Sherlock, I don’t believe that, because even if the text is telling me one thing, Watson’s still cringing in vague disgust whenever someone assumes he and Sherlock are together.
in short, UGH this show.
1. Yes this exactly. (Well, almost exactly.) But -
2. This sort of exaggeratedly playacted discomfort is most likely to come from internalized homophobia. (At least there’s that?) Freeman’s Watson does seem to react to his own big psychological issues by becoming a bit overwhelmed or flustered, I guess, so perhaps this fits.
3. Of course, not all cases of suppressed or denied homosexual desire result in laddish expressions of homophobia, and it does strike me as OOC for Watson the character. It’s not at all OOC for this show, though. In fact, it fits perfectly with those nauseating nudge-wink scenes of dialogue. I’m comfortable with laying it all at Moffat’s door. I suppose this backward attitude goes hand-in-hand with his misogyny problems.
4. Ultimately the effect of all the nauseating nudge-wink homophobia in the entire series, for me, is first wondering why on earth it’s THAT uncomfortable, and then deciding that methinks they protest too much. Pretty sure that backfire is totally unintentional on Moffat’s part, though.
