#i don’t think i can put into words just how pivotal this moment is #because for so long we’ve been presented this female Chinese-American Watson and decided not to question it #“why is her last name Watson? because her father’s white; let’s move on” #“watson doesn’t have to be a white male; here’s proof of that!” #and that’s a perfectly fine way to engage a text #but suddenly we have this; something that engages in the complexity and cultural baggage behind that kind of name; that kind of title; #the cultural heritage and the politics of otherness vs assimilation that an immigrant’s name bears #that’s *huge* in terms of the meta-narrative and how to interpret a text because so many Holmes adaptations are just different variations #of the same song #Joan Watson was not born a Watson; she stepped into the name #it doesn’t just challenge and update the Holmes mythos but actively interrogates it #by asking it why this narrative is a) so exclusionary and b) so stifling in its interpretations #that’s extremely meaningful in terms of how we engage with cultural symbols and a franchise as symbollic as the Holmes mythos #anyway: i’m emotional/screaming/dying my skin is clear etc etc (tags via @stardust-rain)
John Noble has joined the cast of Elementary as a series regular for season 4, the network announced Wednesday.
The Fringe and Sleepy Hollow star will play Sherlock Holmes’ (Jonny Lee Miller) estranged father, who has only so far been referenced on the CBS series. The elder Holmes was also responsible for bringing Watson (Lucy Liu) into Sherlock’s life as his sober companion.
ACCEPTABLE
he’s at an expensive restaurant with watson on the company dime of a wall street firm, which he hates on principle
he notices a young couple nearby, and deduces that (A) the man is about to propose to the woman and (B) they can’t normally afford to eat at a place like this
cumberbatch-sherlock would just be a dick and rattle off a bunch of deductions about them to impress watson
downey-sherlock would be an even bigger dick, march up to the couple, and tell them everything about each other that might destroy their relationship
but miller-sherlock goes and buys them the most expensive wine on the list, and charges it to the wall street firm because man, fuck wall street
I have watched all of Elementary! Over a period of several days! It was good. It was very good. (I have subtitled it “Clever People Who Are Also Nice”)
Both Sherlock and Watson are compassionate, kind people in this one! Which is a hell of a lot closer to the original than the detached-ness of Sherlock.
I knew about the Irene-Moriarty reveal but it was still very well done. Natalie Dormer was great. (Which accent was her real one? I have no idea.) In a way, I’m almost disappointed that ‘Irene’ wasn’t real, because she was really interesting by herself, but I guess that’s the idea.
EVERYTHING ABOUT the finale was…probably the best thing anyone’s done with Sherlock Holmes in years. Damn. It was clever and engrossing and a love letter to Watson and it was called ‘Heroine’ (heroin, gettit?) and it was MARVELOUS. Yes. I’m very excited for Season Two!
