Episode 24: Heroine

And there we are.

“As if men had a monopoly on murder.”

The entire time, everyone assumed that Moriarty was a man, long before Sherlock actually heard the voice of Moriarty’s lieutenant. Now, they’re all in for a surprise.

Just look at her. She takes gender conventions and does with them as she pleases. No matter how she’s dressed, she’s the woman she wants to be, and here, with all the hyper-aggressiveness, the way of dress that men pride themselves on, she adopts them, makes them her own, and laughs at them at the same time.

Irene: “I see everything you do.”
Sherlock: “So you’re saying we’re the same?”
Irene: “I’m saying I’m better.”

BAM, said the lady.

Every move she makes is calculated, every single pose she adopts. She knows what she’s doing when she’s sitting like this; and it’s awesome.

She doesn’t want to kill Sherlock because she appreciates art — she’s not afraid of him, she’s “afraid of what he might force [her] to do.” And she does want him with her, wants him to work with her.

Sherlock: “We both made the same mistake. We fell in love.”

But it looks like Irene underestimated Joan, badly. It’s the mascot who brought Moriarty down. Sherlock throws that word back into Irene’s face, because that’s it, that’s the clincher. Irene may be better than Sherlock, but she’s got nothing on Joan Watson. Joan’s not afraid of her, she’s too pissed off to be afraid.

Sherlock: “You know, she solved you. The mascot. […] You said there’s only one person in the world who could surprise you. Turns out there’s two.”

Joan gave Sherlock the idea to fake the overdose. She brought the villain down. This whole case was a conversation between women.

And Sherlock named a bee after her. Of course he did. He didn’t steal the Vicodin because he didn’t want to disappoint her, because she has never disappointed him. That fight back at the station is so crucial, because he listened. She was right, and he listened; and she was so hurt by his misguided anger… it was a horrible fight, but it was a beautiful fight, too. If they got through this, they can get through anything. Together.

Next: Step Nine (Season 2 premiere).