Apollo's Rebellion

About a month ago I decided to broaden my internet presence and get myself my own tumblr* account. An account that none of my friends know about and can't find me on. A place where I can safely obsess over my favourite TV shows with people who watch and appreciate it. I delved deeper into the heart of tumblr, picking up on words and phrases while getting the general just of things. The one thing that I found predominant was the amount of Sherlock and John shippers**.

Image courtesy of tumblr

I knew that there were lots of people out there who placed John and Sherlock together, some even calling it their "one true pairing" (OTP), but I hadn't known the extent of their fandom. When I say together I mean together, like together-together. Which is fine by me and I'll admit it, John and Sherlock are my one true pairing. They go together like all the great combinations, but I don't want them to be together in that sense.

Throughout the Conan Doyle canon, John and Sherlock have shown a great friendship. Sherlock is quoted multiple times saying "my dear Watson," and let's not forget the fact that he missed Watson sitting opposite him in his study as mentioned in The Empty House. But they were never a couple, they were just friends and that's what I want from BBC's Sherlock. I want a friendship that makes me believe in love and life. Steven Moffat has stated that there is no sexual attraction between them, just a long lasting friendship. A type of friendship that will never fade, a rare friendship that only a few possess in their lifetimes. To me their love for one another is completely non-sexual. It's a love, yes, but it's not that kind of love.

I don't need a big confession and a sex scene for me to know that these two were made for each other, that no one will ever compare to the eternal love they have towards one another. I know this because I've seen this only once before, between two girls who, if you had seen them out together, you would swear that they were a couple. It's something that doesn't just happen straight away, but grows over time. It's that type of love that gives me hope. The type of love where you can get married to someone else, but still go back to them and begin where you finished off. It's that kind of love that Sherlock and John have. It's a romance, but not a sexual attraction. 

I'm in no way criticising those Johnlock shippers out there who post some of the oddest yet magnificent pieces of art and literature. All I'm saying is, do we really need to have a kiss or sex scene to show us that they love each other? Hasn't Sherlock already proven that in The Reichenbach Fall when he jumped to his death to protect his friends? What further confirmation is needed?

Drawn by Golubaja on Deviantart.

*tumblr - internet blogging platform where people generally share their views on their favourite shows or other things. Sort of like twitter and a blog mixed together.
**shipper -  a person [who] wants two characters to get together and/or shows support for two characters already together. (taken from Urban Dictionary)

Irene Adler is one of the most famous woman in literary history. Known as the only woman to attract the interest of Sherlock Holmes, Irene first appeared in the short story A Scandal in Bohemia in the novel The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This was the very first Sherlock Holmes story I had ever read which made me very interested with the character of Irene Adler. She is known as the only woman to beat Sherlock which elevates his admiration and respect for her. We only get a brief background of Irene but that makes her mysterious.

Will the real Irene please stand up.

In my opinion Irene should just be in A Scandal in Bohemia and left at that. I feel now with more adaptions of Sherlock Holmes comes the possibility of Irene being in them. I dislike that. People don't know enough about Irene's character to bring her into adaptions. In the Guy Ritchie version of Sherlock Holmes Irene is shown to be a skilled thief and has "mutual romantic feelings" towards Sherlock. It was never stated in the book that Sherlock ever had "romantic feelings" towards Irene Adler. He had an admiration for her but never anything more than that. Sherlock is a masterful detective who would never let something like a love for a woman get between him and his job. In the film it does. He is tricked by her and she runs off again.

Another example is the BBC's modern adaption of Sherlock Holmes titled Sherlock written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Irene first appeared in the episode A Scandal in Belgravia  where she is a dominatrix who serves high-end clients. The episode, written by Steven Moffat, has received criticism for the exist portrayal of Irene Adler. I have not seen the episode yet (wake up, BBC South Africa!)  but the few clips I have seen almost shocked me. One of the first clips I saw was of Irene naked and talking to Sherlock on a couch. The first thing I thought was, "Great, the only strong woman character and you make her into some sort of sex symbol. Why, Moffat, why?" but seriously though, why? Irene was one of the only female characters I looked up to and now you make her into mistress who could possibly be bi. To me Irene was a smart and witty character. She saw past Sherlock's disguise and she got away before he could catch her again. I wanted to be as clever as her: the woman who outwitted Sherlock Holmes and got away with it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle showed people that woman can be as smart as men and sometimes even smarter. Irene was an equal to Sherlock and that's what made her so well-loved.

There have been other adaptions of Sherlock Holmes which brings in the character of Irene Adler just because she is "The woman". A Russia adaption of Sherlock Holmes has introduced Irene Adler just because she was popular in the Guy Ritchie version. In a 2007 production called Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars she is shown as one of Sherlock's arch enemies. If she isn't a love interest then she's an enemy. Why can't Irene just be "The Woman" and left at that? I feel as if my favourite character is being murdered over and over again. This is my plea to anyone who wants to introduced Irene into their own adaptions. Please keep her true to the story, don't try to change her. Or, better yet, don't introduce Irene Adler. She stays within the pages of A Scandal in Bohemia written by the only person who knows her: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sources:
http://stavvers.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/irene-adler-how-to-butcher-a-brilliant-woman-character/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Adler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_(TV_series)


Update:
I have watched 'Scandal in Belgravia' and I have to say that I didn't like Irene as much as I wanted to. I didn't particularly like the fact that she sold her body and I also didn't like that she had to get help from Moriarty. I'll tell what I did like: her passion and her brains. Which irks me more because she chooses to swap her intelligence for a job that demeans women. All in all I loved the episode and it did keep me on the edge of my seat at times. I always like when I can solve the case with Sherlock and this episode provided enough for me to figure out. Also the score was fantastic.