Sherlock Meta Roundup: Reactions to / Reflections on The Sign of Three (as of 1/7/14)

knackorcraft:

The past few days have given us loads of meta on BBC Sherlock in general and The Sign of Three in particular.

I’m compiling a general list of Sherlock Metas, but in this post, I’d like to focus on general reactions to The Sign of Three. (It’s necessarily incomplete, but this first Meta Roundup will focus on general reactions and very particular one-off figures like Sholto and Redbeard. Future Meta Roundups will focus on predictions for HLV, metas on individual characters, metas on the JohnLock relationship, etc. I welcome your requests.)

Let’s start with a series of posts that offer readers their general reactions.

(And surely it goes without saying that there’s room in the fandom for joyful squee and significant critique and everything in between. Please don’t use these links as an opportunity to tell people what they should and should not like.)

The Sign of Three: A Study in Sherlock, ivyblossom. In brief: this episode shows us Sherlock’s vulnerability and John’s increasing comfort (perhaps) with the way people respond to their intimacy.

Oh, What a Night: An Account of My Experience Watching Schrodinger’s Episode (The Sign of Three), mydwinter. In brief: Lots of bullet points, lots of humor, a bit of critique at the end (if you’re avoiding critique)

Sign of Three, earlgreytea. In brief: A squee-ful bullet point list of reactions. Of particular note is the elaboration of how this Sherlock can be seen to line up with Sherlock as EGT often writes him.

More distilled thoughts about The Sign of Three, pennypaperbrain. (note: includes but is not limited to critique, if you’re avoiding such things)

The Sign of Three (issues and misgivings), sperari. With additional conversation / replies from violethuntress (Note: If you don’t want critique, don’t click.)

The Sign of Three and Alien Lollies, emmadelosnardos. (Note: if you don’t want critique, don’t click.)

The Fine Line Between Comedy and Pathos, acafanmom. In brief: traces a trajectory of Sherlock’s emotional growth through the three series and from TEH to TSoT And some followup from violethuntress and sanguinarysanguinity

JohnLock—it’s not just for fans anymore, pretty arbitrary. Quotable quote: “But after this episode, I no longer ship Sherlock and John ‘fannishly.’ I no longer buy the writers’ insistence that these characters are not attracted to each other. I don’t think it’s the people who want a queer reading they’re lying to. ” This post has had TONS of reblogging and follow up. Here’s one thread, with PA responding to an anon commenting on the BBC and Professorfangirl chiming in.

Episode 17: Wedding, The Three Patch Podcast

Episode 50: The Sign of Three, Baker Street Babes

Posts that deconstruct the visuals in The Sign of Three

The Sign of Red, 221beemine. In brief: a close examination of the appearance and reappearance of the color red in The Sign of Three.

Sequence and Frame Composition, acafanmom. In brief: Bringing cinematography smarts to bear on analysis of the scene in the chairs

Mirror, Mirror, sublim8. In brief: Brief observation on mirrors in the “I’ve always loved dancing” scene

For Science, Jawn, 221beemine. In brief: A close analysis of the cinematography (with lots of visuals, of course) in TSoT’s drunk-in-the-chairs scene. Wow.

Color in The Sign of Three, a conversation between salsify, mid0nz, and 221beemine. Another version of this thread with violethuntress here

Thoughts on Major Sholto

Clothing, Costumes, Parallels, Caricatures, and foreshadowing-is-ruining-my-life, freebatchproblem. In brief: On the parallels between Sherlock and Sholto

Why does Sholto require special dispensation to wear dress blues, provocatrixxx. In brief: just like it says on the tin. Fascinating stuff.

Thoughts on the Redbeard reference

About Redbeard and his last vow, abidos.

Conspiracy theory of the day, the norwoodbuilder. Another Redbeard theory.

My current Redbeard theory, acafanmom.

And, to wrap up, thoughts on why we love this show—and this fandom

This is why we love this show, thecutteralicia. Quotable quote: ”Sherlock S3 is doing something I never expected. It’s changed the game by allowing Sherlock, the character, to change the game. It’s not the story of an anti-hero. It’s the story of becoming a hero….This is not a detective show. It’s a show about a detective.”

You Keep Me Right: My Love Letter to the Fandom, ruinedbyliterature. In brief: A lovely personal reflection on how supportive fandom can be, intellectually and personally.

If you’d like to suggest some metas to add to my list or request a Meta Roundup (or if you have a correction), just let me know in my ask box. Happy reading!!!