Archive of Our Own ^beta

this is very random, but I’m currently reading a biography of The Smiths ( A Light That Never Goes Out, by Tony Fletcher, Xmas present from one of my dearest friends) and some of the things about Morrissey’s stance on sexuality caught my eye and IMHO might be useful to intepret the way Sherlock has been characterised in the series. (It may sound very weird and random but I’m serious.)

As a sort of disclaimer, I should point out that while I’m a fan of the band, I didn’t know that much about them before starting to read this book, and I’m neither British nor old enough to know first hand the impact the band had on British popular culture. I just got the impression that Morrissey is a somewhat controversial figure but also an important part of musical culture. (Last time I went to London in Waterstones there were 3 different books/biographies about him propped up on a desk in front of the musical section…so…yeah.) 

Back when TRF aired I was obviously not the only Smiths fan who found this bit very, very interesting. 

"And if a double-decker bus 
Crashes into us 
To die by your side 
Is such a heavenly way to die” 

I mean, is it actually possible to watch that scene and not think about THAT song? (Which is probably the most popular and famous song by The Smiths, and one that is referenced very, very frequently in pop culture, so…definitely not an obscure song that only hardcore fans know.) 

So, is the reference just an interesting coincidence? Or is it deliberate? Are Smiths fans reading too much into things? Could the song help us understanding a bit more about Sherlock and John? (IMHO, definitely yes, but I’m trying to support this claim…) 

So, I remembered reading someting about Gatiss and his kinda “goth-y” past and I wondered if The Smiths could be a band he liked. And I googled for Gatiss and music and I found something very, very interesting here. It’s a BBC article called “Desert Island Discs”, I scrolled down and choice n1 is…drum roll… There is a Light That Never Goes Out. 

The date is 2011 BTW, so the interview took place some months before s2 came out. I obviously know that Thompson is the one who wrote TRF, but it’s most likely that Moffat and Gatiss had their say. Still, it’s another interesting coincidence. I tried looking for info about Moffat and Thompson and their music tastes, but I didn’t manage to find anything. Anyway, right now I’m listening to the interview and Gatiss basically said that this particular song is poetry. (And I agree.)

So, we know that at least one of the writers actually likes The Smiths. 

Back to the song, what intrigued me is that after watching s3 the idea of it not being just a coincidence made even more sense. (At least for me.) After TRF the song might have been from John’s POV…but after s3, with Sherlock pining in such an overt way, I feel it’s more fitting for Sherlock’s feelings towards John. 

Lyrics here.

In a way, in s3 221B is not Sherlock’s home anymore, because John is not there. The idea of a more or less suicidal Sherlock who would find “heavenly” to die by John’s side is not that far-fetched, just look at the way he walks into deadly danger without A BLOODY PLAN at the end of TEH. He knows there’s a a tube carriage (or car, if we want to be precise, LOL) filled with bombs in it and he’s basically more excited because he’s solving a case with John again at last. 

And if we want to bring up the subject of bombs…real, or metaphorical, we have Ask:

Because if it’s not love 
Then it’s the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb
That will bring us together 

That’s TGG. Basically, Moriarty shows very neatly that John is Sherlock’s heart, courtesy of bombs strapped to John’s chest. Then in TEH we have the real reconciliation between Sherlock and John in the tube car(riage) filled with explosives. In the song, the bomb is most likely a metaphor for war and/or destruction (and death), even though “the bomb” was also something more, because of the nuclear threat of Cold War… BTW, both TGG and TEH were written by Gatiss (who apparently likes to blow up stuff.)

Getting back to There is a Light That Never Goes Out, at the end of HLV, it seems like Sherlock is about to say something he’s been waiting a long time to say…

I thought oh God, my chance has come at last
(But then a strange fear gripped me and I 
Just couldn’t ask) 

Ok, the situation is not the same, but it’s still quite close.

Now, I could go on a long time picking verses from Smiths songs that can fit Sherlock and John’s relationhip, but it would be a bit redundant I think. (But if you’re curious, I picked some songs for a fanmix, and it’s here.) 

Just like many songs by The Smiths feature a certain kind of subtext, so is for Sherlock. 

Then, about Sherlock’s characterisation. Up to now we have few certainties about Sherlock’s sexuality. Basically, we have different interpretations (asexual, gay, bi, straight…personally, I can’t imagine how it is possible to see BBC Sherlock as straight, but…to each their own.) What we know is that he’s been nicknamed “the virgin”, that women don’t seem to be terribly arousing, that Mycroft implied that he’s never had sex, that he doesn’t consider “the transport” important, but then we also have that little bit about the fish and chips guy…so…who knows. In interviews the creators have been “confused” about this particular issue (IMHO, because they can’t give too much away…)

This brings me back to the biography I’m reading. Basically, I was intrigued by the fact that Morrissey himself had somehow acted like that in regards to his sexuality (presented himself as asexual, celibate, even though others - friends, bandmembers - pointed out that he had had girlfriends in the past, or that he probably had more homosexual experiences than he wanted to admit [that’s in the bio I’m reading, btw].) I mean, these things are Morrissey’s business, and if he wanted to not be clear about it, it’s perfectly fine.

The point is that the sort of ambiguous stance he had seems to my fannish eyes a bit similar to what is happening with Sherlock’s characterisation. Sherlock is clearly hiding behind some labels as if they were masks (calling himself a sociopath, for instance, which he clearly isn’t) probably in order not to get hurt. (It’s not working very well, though.) And he likes saying clever and controversial things (which some take at face value even when it would be better not to) probably to hide some insecurities.

So, the confusion (for some) about Sherlock’s sexuality maybe is actually intentional, and meant to attract out attention to a complex aspect that is sometimes hard to label.

In conclusion, I didn’t mean to demonstrate anything with this messy thing (except that Gatiss likes The Smiths), but maybe, if I’m very lucky, someone who up to now thought that Sherlock’s characterisation had been not consistent might even change their mind