FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE GOTTEN HOOKED on the BBC-Masterpiece production of "Sherlock", I don't need to explain how the hook got into me, nevermind how fast and deep. Unlikely I'd offer anything you haven't heard or experienced. You're either on this train or you're not (probably are), and you were onboard within the first few minutes of "A Study In Pink" -- right? If you haven't watched Season Two yet, skip this blog until you do. Suffice to say that any concern you may have that the Season Two opener, like so many television and motion picture productions in the past, badly handles bdsm themes is unwarranted. Really. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, I strongly recommend you go look into this show yourself...now.
(Sidenote: The mystery genre has never resonated with me, nor can I reasonably consider myself Sherlock Holmes literate. Doesn't matter. "Sherlock" rocks.)
In my view, in "Belgravia", Moffat, Gatiss and company do it right. Naturally, when I'd heard that there was a "dominatrix" character in the show, I winced a bit inside, wondering if the character would be superficial, the usual device of titilation. Silly me, it's "Sherlock". Not only did this episode make it clear the series wasn't letting up in quality one bit and was densely packed and blazing, but there are real explorations of D/s dynamics in the story. As early word (that is, sometime in the year and a half between series) had it, Series Two digs deeper into the relationships, particular that of Sherlock and John. "Scandal In Belgravia" confirms that notion, delivering a lot more than I would have ever imagined. The D/s dynamics seem to run throughout. It's fascinating fun.
From the outset, who really seduced whom? Yes, Sherlock, initially dismissive of the lack of a "case", got interested when he saw that Adler was playing with power. Yes, he stepped to her first, but, really, which one was more nervous trying to dress for their first, uhm, scene? Plenty of seduction to go 'round. On the way to Adler's, we get this:
Sherlock: Punch me in the face.
John: Punch you?
Sherlock: Yes, punch me in the face! Didn’t you hear me?
John: I always hear “punch me in the face” when you’re speaking, but it’s usually subtext.
Sherlock and Irene Adler repeatedly powerplay each other. While that seems fairly standard for adversaries in a thriller, there are other character attributes making it more. Adler is a pro-domme, apparently 24/7 by disposition. Sherlock, true to Doyle's "Bohemia" original, is only ever truly engaged when wrangling with an intellectual challenge. Part of Irene's gaming is repeating her vulnerability -- her phone. That she took away Sherlock's phone while he was down and set that erotic text alert is one thing, but Sherlock leaving it on is quite another. Being beaten impresses, whets the appetite for more. A friend suggested to me that Sherlock and Irene both switch. Might be about right.
Something else I saw in the show is the idea that gender and sexuality are mutually exclusive. Sherlock's gender is male, Irene's is female, but their sexualities are different matters. Here's a touch on that:
John: ...for the record, if anyone out there still cares, I'm not actually gay.
Irene: Well, I am. Look at us, both.
Back in the beginning, in "A Study In Pink", at the cafe window table, we were given some boundaries:
Sherlock: John, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and, while I'm flattered by your interest, I'm --
(By the way, I've got an idea for a new little drinking game for anybody doing marathon viewings of both series. Every time John says, "We're not a couple.")
It's simplistic, at best, I think, to conclude that Sherlock is either gay or neutered. As Irene Adler's behavior and statements -- and pulse rate -- suggest, things are sometimes far more complex. "Brainy is the new sexy," she says. Well, hardly new, but point made. It's what's in your head, not just your pelvis. From what I know, a good bdsm scene is a head trip. Likewise, D/s is largely mental. You might get wet, but it isn't necessary. I think Irene Adler, Sherlock, and a good many viewers of "A Scandal In Belgravia" got aroused, however way that personally works, by the power played -- exchanged -- between Irene and Sherlock. Television scenes? The whole story was a scene.
From the outset, who really seduced whom? Yes, Sherlock, initially dismissive of the lack of a "case", got interested when he saw that Adler was playing with power. Yes, he stepped to her first, but, really, which one was more nervous trying to dress for their first, uhm, scene? Plenty of seduction to go 'round. On the way to Adler's, we get this:
Sherlock: Punch me in the face.
John: Punch you?
Sherlock: Yes, punch me in the face! Didn’t you hear me?
John: I always hear “punch me in the face” when you’re speaking, but it’s usually subtext.
Sherlock and Irene Adler repeatedly powerplay each other. While that seems fairly standard for adversaries in a thriller, there are other character attributes making it more. Adler is a pro-domme, apparently 24/7 by disposition. Sherlock, true to Doyle's "Bohemia" original, is only ever truly engaged when wrangling with an intellectual challenge. Part of Irene's gaming is repeating her vulnerability -- her phone. That she took away Sherlock's phone while he was down and set that erotic text alert is one thing, but Sherlock leaving it on is quite another. Being beaten impresses, whets the appetite for more. A friend suggested to me that Sherlock and Irene both switch. Might be about right.
Something else I saw in the show is the idea that gender and sexuality are mutually exclusive. Sherlock's gender is male, Irene's is female, but their sexualities are different matters. Here's a touch on that:
John: ...for the record, if anyone out there still cares, I'm not actually gay.
Irene: Well, I am. Look at us, both.
Back in the beginning, in "A Study In Pink", at the cafe window table, we were given some boundaries:
Sherlock: John, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and, while I'm flattered by your interest, I'm --
John: No --
Sherlock: -- not looking for any...
John: No, I'm not asking, no...I'm just saying it's all fine.
Sherlock: Good. Thank you.
(By the way, I've got an idea for a new little drinking game for anybody doing marathon viewings of both series. Every time John says, "We're not a couple.")
It's simplistic, at best, I think, to conclude that Sherlock is either gay or neutered. As Irene Adler's behavior and statements -- and pulse rate -- suggest, things are sometimes far more complex. "Brainy is the new sexy," she says. Well, hardly new, but point made. It's what's in your head, not just your pelvis. From what I know, a good bdsm scene is a head trip. Likewise, D/s is largely mental. You might get wet, but it isn't necessary. I think Irene Adler, Sherlock, and a good many viewers of "A Scandal In Belgravia" got aroused, however way that personally works, by the power played -- exchanged -- between Irene and Sherlock. Television scenes? The whole story was a scene.
