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krytellaMy thoughts, distilled by a night of sleep but unspoiled by talking to anyone else:
This was by far my favorite episode of Sherlock so far. And I liked A Study in Pink and The Great Game very much (let's not talk about The Blind Banker's utter failure to thoughtfully engage with the imperialism of the Conan Doyle stories, okay, because I know other people have written all you probably want to read on that). But this episode spoke to me personally in a completely unexpected way. I like Irene Adler as a character, but she appears in the first published short story, and I think it can be hard to make her fit with the rest of canon. They handled it practically perfectly here.
I came to this episode completely unspoiled. Based on the title I knew Adler would be in it, and assumed it would have something to do with the incriminating-affair plot of A Scandal in Bohemia. This one follows an original story more closely than any of the episodes so far, which referenced stories but had new mysteries. A Scandal in Belgravia hit many of the plot points in A Scandal in Bohemia, including details like Sherlock conning his way into Irene's residence and then faking a fire in order to see where she hid the evidence. All that was fun as a fan who's read Conan Doyle.
So, Irene. The major update she gets is a career as a pro domme (dominatrix, though I don't know anyone locally who prefers that term). Sexuality is a major part of Irene's role in the original stories and this was a clever update. This is where I'm going to complain about the new movies' Irene, who is just not old enough and not self-possessed enough. She comes off as a pretty but silly girl who uses her attractiveness to manipulate people, where as Irene in BBC-verse is a calculating woman whose carefully maintained adherence to cultural standards of beauty is only one weapon in her arsenal. Women in media are often more valued for who they are, as objects, than for what they can <i>do</i>, and I think Irene inverts this fabulously. She's powerful, highly sexual, and her power doesn't draw in any way from her withholding her sexuality. She comes on to Sherlock several times and whether or not it's genuine it certainly doesn't make her look weak.
And this episode is fucking sexy. I'm sorry, I'm a bad slasher today, but this is personal to me in a way that slash rarely is. I just want to explode with all the things I love about her character:
I think there was some other stuff in this episode, but I'm still just asdfgh over Irene. The one thing I'm a little uncomfortable with is the way they treated her defeat by Sherlock. There are two characters we think could beat him in a battle, Moriarty and Mycroft, and apparently Irene doesn't get added to this short list. She's almost good enough, but not quite. And they could have chosen to go the other way, have them evenly matched before she gets away. The overtones of humiliation when he finally bested her made me uncomfortable. A little too much "what every woman really wants is a man to put her in her place." But the fact that Sherlock went and helped her after speaks volumes, and softens it a bit for me. The only other person he'd do that for is John (maybe Mycroft, though he wouldn't need it), and so she's now in a very exclusive club. Her failure in the end hasn't made Sherlock disdain her. That's an accomplishment.
It's great to see a female character get to be the full-out intellectual rival while John is the emotional center. This episode is definitely about Sherlock's relationship with "love," but not necessarily about him being in love, at least not with Irene.
This was by far my favorite episode of Sherlock so far. And I liked A Study in Pink and The Great Game very much (let's not talk about The Blind Banker's utter failure to thoughtfully engage with the imperialism of the Conan Doyle stories, okay, because I know other people have written all you probably want to read on that). But this episode spoke to me personally in a completely unexpected way. I like Irene Adler as a character, but she appears in the first published short story, and I think it can be hard to make her fit with the rest of canon. They handled it practically perfectly here.
I came to this episode completely unspoiled. Based on the title I knew Adler would be in it, and assumed it would have something to do with the incriminating-affair plot of A Scandal in Bohemia. This one follows an original story more closely than any of the episodes so far, which referenced stories but had new mysteries. A Scandal in Belgravia hit many of the plot points in A Scandal in Bohemia, including details like Sherlock conning his way into Irene's residence and then faking a fire in order to see where she hid the evidence. All that was fun as a fan who's read Conan Doyle.
So, Irene. The major update she gets is a career as a pro domme (dominatrix, though I don't know anyone locally who prefers that term). Sexuality is a major part of Irene's role in the original stories and this was a clever update. This is where I'm going to complain about the new movies' Irene, who is just not old enough and not self-possessed enough. She comes off as a pretty but silly girl who uses her attractiveness to manipulate people, where as Irene in BBC-verse is a calculating woman whose carefully maintained adherence to cultural standards of beauty is only one weapon in her arsenal. Women in media are often more valued for who they are, as objects, than for what they can <i>do</i>, and I think Irene inverts this fabulously. She's powerful, highly sexual, and her power doesn't draw in any way from her withholding her sexuality. She comes on to Sherlock several times and whether or not it's genuine it certainly doesn't make her look weak.
And this episode is fucking sexy. I'm sorry, I'm a bad slasher today, but this is personal to me in a way that slash rarely is. I just want to explode with all the things I love about her character:
- She's a sex worker who's not a victim
- Her clients are treated with relative respect. Sherlock probably looks down on them, but it's the same way he looks down on anyone who lets sex or romance get in the way of good sense.
- She appears to be a lesbian-identified woman who's interested in a man (unless she's lying about one of these things), but because nobody talks about this there's no chance to devalue her identity or use it to suggest that lesbians "just need a good man." On the contrary, I think they use it to suggest that straight men just need a good man to turn them, and I don't even think that's my slash goggles talking.
- Her clients are not treated as weak or pathetic, and she's intrigued by Sherlock not because he acts weak or submissive in any way, but because he's strong. This just... this. I don't think I've ever seen such a non-offensive portrayal of female dominance or male submission in any kind of media.
I think there was some other stuff in this episode, but I'm still just asdfgh over Irene. The one thing I'm a little uncomfortable with is the way they treated her defeat by Sherlock. There are two characters we think could beat him in a battle, Moriarty and Mycroft, and apparently Irene doesn't get added to this short list. She's almost good enough, but not quite. And they could have chosen to go the other way, have them evenly matched before she gets away. The overtones of humiliation when he finally bested her made me uncomfortable. A little too much "what every woman really wants is a man to put her in her place." But the fact that Sherlock went and helped her after speaks volumes, and softens it a bit for me. The only other person he'd do that for is John (maybe Mycroft, though he wouldn't need it), and so she's now in a very exclusive club. Her failure in the end hasn't made Sherlock disdain her. That's an accomplishment.
It's great to see a female character get to be the full-out intellectual rival while John is the emotional center. This episode is definitely about Sherlock's relationship with "love," but not necessarily about him being in love, at least not with Irene.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-03 01:44 am (UTC)I didn't see the defeat in the same way, though I see what you're saying. Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the original canon and so I didn't expect her to best Sherlock. It took forever for Sherlock to figure out the code, which was a victory in itself, even thought it didn't last.
I really enjoyed the episode!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-04 01:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-04 01:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-04 03:21 am (UTC)