Many people, myself included, have already written on the ‘love triangle’ trope as explored throughout series 3 (and the many implications of ‘The Sign of Three’ as a title), and I touched on this very aspect in a former post, but I wanted to post it as a stand-alone observation and analysis because I think it’s a particularly interesting aspect of the storytelling of The Sign of Three with regard to John’s relationships with other characters.
In The Sign of Three, a piece of dialogue that particularly gripped my attention was this:
JOHN (chuckling at something on his screen): “My husband is three people.”
MARY: Table five.
SHERLOCK (looking at a list): Major James Sholto. Who’s he?
MARY: Oh, John’s old commanding officer. I don’t think he’s coming.
JOHN: He’ll be there.
MARY: Well, he needs to RSVP, then.
JOHN (firmly): He’ll be there.
MARY: Mmm …
JOHN (reading from his phone): “My husband is three people.” It’s interesting. Says he has three distinct patterns of moles on his skin.
SHERLOCK (standing up and speaking quick-fire): Identical triplets – one in half a million births. Solved it without leaving the flat. Now, serviettes.
My first thought was this: what is the relevance of mentioning this case? It is immediately resolved by Sherlock, and the solution was a very obvious one, in my opinion – I don’t know about you, but I guessed that it was a case of identical triplets before Sherlock said so. The case was never investigated, it made no impact on the criminal investigation aspect of the narrative. So what was it doing there?
I then considered that it was between the first and second time that John reads out “my husband is three people” that Major Sholto is introduced. Major Sholto, you have have noticed, is twice discussed in such a way that creates strong romantic undertones. The first is shortly after we meet Sholto at the wedding:
([John] looks down, then raises his eyes towards the entrance and looks surprised.)
JOHN: Oh, God, wow!
(The scarred uniformed man we saw earlier has just walked in.)
MARY: Oh, G… Is that…?
JOHN: He came!
(As Mary smiles with delight, John walks over to the man and they salute each other. Sherlock walks over to Mary.)
SHERLOCK: So that’s him. Major Sholto.
(His voice sounds disapproving.)
MARY: Uh-huh.
(Sherlock narrows his eyes as he looks at the two men.)
SHERLOCK: If they’re such good friends, why does he barely even mention him?
MARY: He mentions him all the time to me. He never shuts up about him.
SHERLOCK: About him?
MARY: Mm-hmm.
(She takes a drink from her wine glass, then grimaces.)
MARY: Urgh. I chose this wine. It’s bloody awful.
SHERLOCK: Yes, but it’s definitely him that he talks about?
MARY: Mm-hmm.
(At the entrance)
JOHN: I’m very, very glad to see you, sir. I know you don’t really do this sort of thing.
SHOLTO: Well, I do for old friends, Watson… John. It’s good to see you.
JOHN: You too.
(Sholto nods, then looks around the room.)
SHOLTO: Civilian life suiting you, then?
JOHN: Er, er, yes, well… (he gestures towards Mary) …I think so, sir.
SHOLTO: No more need for the trick cyclist?
JOHN: No, I-I go now and then. Sort of a top-up.
(Sholto nods.)
JOHN: Therapy can be very helpful.
(Sholto looks away.)
JOHN: Where are you living these days?
SHOLTO: Oh, way out in the middle of nowhere. You wouldn’t know it.
(Back at Sherlock and Mary.)
SHERLOCK: I’ve never even heard him say his name.
MARY: Well, he’s almost a recluse – you know, since …
SHERLOCK: Yes.
MARY: I didn’t think he’d show up at all. John says he’s the most unsociable man he’s ever met.
SHERLOCK: He is? He’s the most unsociable?
MARY: Mm.
SHERLOCK: Ah, that’s why he’s bouncing round him like a puppy.
(Mary grins and hugs his arm.)
MARY: Oh, Sherlock! Neither of us were the first, you know.
(He looks round at her.)
SHERLOCK: Stop smiling.
MARY: It’s my wedding day!
Here, Sherlock displays very clear signs of jealousy, and Mary saying ‘Neither of us were the first, you know’ on what she then reminds him is her wedding day is very telling. Again, there is no narrative reason for this discussion between Sherlock and Mary – there are plenty of other ways to establish that Sholto rarely makes public appearances. In fact, the dialogue between John and Sholto does that itself. John is apparently far more comfortable with male intimacy this series than before – he even goes so far as to speak frequently with Mary about a man he was evidently very close to, yet hasn’t seen for a while. Is it that he feels that his engagement/marriage provides him with a layer of security from ‘assumptions’ about his sexuality? After all, would the man who, in The Great Game, was “glad no one saw that” really admit to having been taught to slow dance by another man?
The second is during the flashback to John and Sherlock’s conversation on the bench while investigating the case of what will later be referred to as the ‘Invisible Man’:
(They sit in silence for a few seconds.)
SHERLOCK: So why don’t you see him any more?
JOHN: Who?
SHERLOCK: Your previous commander, Sholto.
JOHN: ‘Previous‘ commander?
SHERLOCK (briefly closing his eyes awkwardly): I meant ‘ex’.
JOHN: ‘Previous’ suggests that I currently have a commander.
SHERLOCK: Which you don’t.
JOHN: Which I don’t.
SHERLOCK (with a small smile): ’Course you don’t. He was decorated, wasn’t he? A war hero.
JOHN: Not to everyone. He led a team of crows into battle.
SHERLOCK: “Crows”?
JOHN: New recruits. It’s standard procedure; break the new boys in – but it went wrong. They all died; he was the only survivor. The press and the families gave him hell. He gets more death threats than you.
SHERLOCK: Oh, I wouldn’t count on that.
JOHN: Why have you suddenly taken an interest in another human being?
SHERLOCK: I’m… chatting.
Both the words ‘why don’t you see him anymore’ and the term ‘ex’ are, of course, most frequently used in reference to romantic relationships. Even John notes his unusual level of interest in ‘another human being’ (and ‘chatting’, Sherlock? really?) – remember that at this point in the narrative, when the flashback scene actually took place, Sherlock was not aware that Sholto was the intended victim of the ‘Invisible Man’.
Then there’s the dialogue between Sherlock and Sholto through the hotel room door:
JOHN: Whatever you’re doing in there, James, stop it, right now. I will kick this door down.
SHOLTO: Mr Holmes, you and I are similar, I think.
(John turns away from the door and Sherlock walks closer.)
SHERLOCK: Yes, I think we are.
SHOLTO: There’s a proper time to die, isn’t there?
SHERLOCK: Of course there is.
SHOLTO: And one should embrace it when it comes – like a soldier.
SHERLOCK (firmly): Of course one should, but not at John’s wedding. We wouldn’t do that, would we – you and me? We would never do that to John Watson.
(Sholto closes his eyes. Outside, Sherlock steps away from the door and John walks closer, leaning towards the door and listening for any sound from the room. He straightens up and takes his jacket off.)
JOHN: I’m gonna break it down.
MARY: No, wait, wait, you won’t have to.
JOHN: Hmm?
(The door opens. Sholto glances briefly at Sherlock, then lowers his eyes before looking at John.)
SHOLTO: I believe I am in need of medical attention.
JOHN: I believe I am your doctor.
(He follows Sholto as he turns and goes back into the room. Giving Sherlock a quick smile, Mary follows him. Sherlock closes his eyes for a moment, then follows them.)
Sherlock knows very little about Sholto (as much as Sherlock can know little about someone), yet he sees himself in him through their affection for John. Mary, too, acknowledges that again here in realising that Sherlock’s words will have convinced Sholto to let John do what he does best and save his life.
This series doesn’t just establish a subtextual Sherlock/John/Mary love triangle, but a Sherlock/John/Sholto love triangle as well.
There are three people present at John’s wedding who are evidently of significance to him – Mary, Sherlock and Sholto. This triplicity, the triplicity of ‘The Sign of Three’ as a title and the “my husband is three people” case could coexist coincidentally, but the universe (and the media industry, known for being obsessively precise) is rarely so lazy.
–
This is derived from my meta on romantic conventions in Sherlock, which can be read here.
Superb!
I want to make a nine-patch quilt now based on this episode.
I originally read this case as referencing as Mary’s three personas, but they have been doing a good job of layering references and this meta is fantastic.
Oh, that is gorgeous.
It’s a small thing compared to the glory of this meta, but also worth noting is that there’s one situation in a typical person’s life where you find yourself not talking to somebody who’s important to you about somebody who’s been very important to you: exes and boyfriends (/girlfriends/SOs/etc.).
John didn’t have any problem talking about Sholto to Mary, so obviously Mary wasn’t filling that place in his life.
(Also, how much do I love that Sherlock clearly knows exactly what place in John’s life he’s filling, AND he seems to be pissed off that John’s got a type? It is the most weirdly adorable thing in the universe.)
Previous commander, though. 😀 Sherlock, you DO have a military kink, you bossy bastard.