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Mid0nz announced her “Each Frame Tells a Story” project, and it sounded like such an awesome opportunity to try a type of meta that I’ve never tackled before, I couldn’t resist. I don’t know enough about lighting or photography or any of the mechanics of film making to feel confident analyzing their use, so I decided to tackle the narrative as captured in a snapshot from Sherlock. I went with this still from His Last Vow:
I’m a big fan of parsing the language of a story for deeper meaning. My favorite graphics are the ones that incorporate particularly moving quotes with images. I was looking for an image that evoked a turning point that could be summed up in a single line of text. I found it with this image, of Magnussen and Sherlock meeting in the “canteen” of the hospital. The 4 word story of what’s happening here was provided by Sherlock himself in A Scandal in Belgravia:
THIS IS JUST LOSING
If we look to Sherlock first, we see him examining the spectacles which moments earlier he was convinced held all of Magnussen’s secrets, a “portable Appledore.” He’s just proven himself wrong, and within the confines of the screen, two things are happening:
- Sherlock knows he’s been beaten.
- He knows he’s going to continue anyway.
He was so certain that Magnussen’s glasses contained all of his secrets that this was the chink in the armor that he could exploit and bring Magnussen down. But he was wrong, and more than just wrong, he was deceived; he walked into a trap Magnussen set at their first meeting:
SHERLOCK: Obviously the letters no longer have any practical use to you, so with that in mind ...
(He breaks off, perhaps noticing something about Magnussen’s expression. Magnussen gives a quiet snort.)
SHERLOCK (letting out an exasperated huff of air): Something I said?
MAGNUSSEN: No, no. I-I was reading.
(He adjusts his glasses, the red list of pressure points cycling more quickly.)
MAGNUSSEN: There’s rather a lot.
(Sherlock frowns. In front of Magnussen’s eyes, the white list of information vanishes and the red list cycles rapidly.)
MAGNUSSEN: “Redbeard.”
(Sherlock blinks and his mouth opens slightly.)
MAGNUSSEN: Sorry. (He shakes his head.) S-sorry. You were probably talking?
Magnussen directed Sherlock’s attention to his eyeglasses and Sherlock fell for it. Here he’s realizing that Magnussen’s had the upper hand the entire time. If Sherlock misjudged this, what else has he been wrong about? His plan to break into Magnussen’s office led to him getting shot, he called Magnussen’s bluff and was wrong; nothing in this situation has gone his way. In this screenshot, we can see Sherlock realizing he may finally be outmatched.
But we see something else happening too, something subtler. Even though Sherlock knows there’s no winning, he’s going to keep playing. We know, from John’s blog and past episodes, that there have been cases that Sherlock hasn’t solved. That’s he’s walked away before. But it’s different now, he made a vow (Mary and John: whatever it takes, whatever happens, from now on I swear I will always be there, always, for all three of you). He knows that as long as Magnussen has information on Mary, Mary and John (and their forthcoming child) will never be safe. It’s in this moment that he decides to keep going, even though it likely won’t go well for him. He has to, to protect those he loves. Moriarty may not have succeeded in burning the heart out of Sherlock Holmes, but he paved the way for someone else to.
MEANWHILE, ON MAGNUSSEN’S SIDE OF THE TABLE
While Sherlock is staring at his undoing, Magnussen seems right at home. And that’s because in this moment, he knows he’s won. He’s exploited Sherlock’s weakness (he always needs everything to be clever). He set a trap, Sherlock took the bait, and now Magnussen has the upper hand; in fact he’s had it the entire time. Sherlock’s so caught off guard by the eyeglasses, Magnussen can be quite certain that he won’t deduce the truth about the vaults. It’s in this moment, most clearly, we see all the ways that Magnussen is not Moriarty.
He is not going to cut Sherlock a break or throw him a bone.
He’s not going to give Sherlock a clue to make the game ‘interesting.’
He’s not playing a game at all.
He’s winning.
And he’ll destroy anything in his path to get there; he follows a scorched-earth business plan.
Unlike Moriarty, he doesn’t just threaten what you love and hold dear, he desecrates it (in this snapshot, literally).
He’ll take any little moment he can, like washing his fingers in your glass of water to remind you who’s in control.
So in this scene, at this table, he’s saying:
Go on Sherlock, have your little existential crisis. I’m going to enjoy this olive and take what’s mine.
Imagine from [x].
Transcript from [x].