In the 1st pic, John’s eyes are glassy with a faraway defeated look, his nose and ears are red; he is struggling to compose himself by straightening up his hair and coat (the only things he has any control over at this point) even if he obviously is about to cry from the sheer weight of betrayal of the person whom he:
- was intimate with in every sense of the word
- thought somehow “saved” him from 2 years of grief
- chose even when Sherlock returned 6 months before the wedding (enough time to get his head straight in making life partner choices)
In the 2nd pic, in the span of exactly 1.2 seconds (according to my GIF maker *lol*), he manages to convey
- punchy (right foot down)
- heartbroken (left foot down)
- cold/distant (right foot down)
in 3 easy steps (okay, not so easy, what with the heavy heart).
He has just barely recovered from the Great Big Lie of his best friend. Not quite recovered from watching Sherlock bleeding in his arms AGAIN (this time for real). Then there’s the “trust issues” established in S01E01.
In every single episode, John Watson is kidnapped or otherwise put through the wringer. Give him a break! Have some mercy on the guy!
But the good doctor always passes the tests of his heart with flying colors, doesn’t he?
While watching this scene, the simultaneous tears for the character and awe for the brilliance of the actor were rather overwhelming. I just wanted to hug both the character and the actor.
The talent of this man…I can’t even… Is it any wonder Martin Freeman has won an Emmy & BAFTA among others for his stellar performance in this show?