I LOVE THE DIFFERENT WAYS HE SITS WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE. With John, all pretense is thrown to the wind. He can be as weird and himself as he wants to.
With Mycroft, he’s relaxed. Posturing (because that’s what you do with brothers
who are jerks) but unthreatened. Crossed legs can either be a sign of defensiveness or arrogance. In this case, Mycroft obviously isn’t feeling defensive, with his shoulders squared and arms wide. Sherlock—it’s hard to tell, with the way he’s holding the violin. He seems to be using it as a barrier, but more in an assholish “I can’t hear you over the sound of my violin lalalal!” way. But look how close they are, the way their feet cross. They’re comfortable with each other. They’re just being pricks.With Irene, he’s completely squared off. I was once given pointers by a professional presenter on body language while sitting. This, what he’s doing there, is a posture of dominance and command: squared up, feet flat, arms open and at rest, facing the other person head-on. Having neither legs nor arms crossed broadcasts a sense of both strength and openness—an announcement that the other person does not threaten you, that you feel in command. If you ever want to take control of a meeting, square yourself up like this and lift your head to draw in the attention of the room. (Irene, meanwhile, is doing a similar thing in her own way, by making herself completely at home in a near-stranger’s house. ”I’m so unintimidated I can parade around wet and bathrobed and hug your pillows like I’m at a slumber party. Come on, try me, I dare you.”)
With Moriarty? Sherlock sits the same way he does with Mycroft (and Jim’s posture is very similar to Mycroft’s as well), except note that the chairs are pulled a couple feet further apart—and of course Sherlock is in John’s chair! (I loved it when he took John’s chair in that scene. ”We can play all the games you like, Moriarty, but you don’t get to so much as share the space my flatmate’s previously occupied.”)
And then, of course, Sherlock again, with his dickery once more on full display before John.
Yes, this, BUT didn’t Sherlock intend for Moriarty to sit in John’s chair and then Moriarty just took Sherlock’s? I think that’s how the scene went.
Yep, benedictable just pointed that to me too. I had the scene remembered wrong in my head.