John Watson: The World’s Only Consulting Moral Compass
This is one of my favorite things about their relationship, and I loved that it clicked into place almost immediately (in ASiP). That showed more than anything how close they’d inexplicably gotten, before anybody shot anybody: of all the things Sherlock could have done when that silence fell, he chose to ask John. That in itself has to be a behavioral anomaly on his part. And the moment that John quietly, easily, casually answered the question was the moment they became a couple, in the Adlerian sense of the word.
Yes, I said “in the Adlerian sense.” Don’t worry, I hate me too.
—MM
You’re right, that is the moment.
Also I like how they go from the gentle forthrightness of ASiP to Hound’s well-worn “I’ve been correcting your mistakes for 20 years” marriedness.