You’re not haunted by the war, Doctor Watson. You miss it.
holy crap i just realized that the very first shot of this episode was a clue to us on how it was all a dream
because unlike a study in pink, we see john get shot from another persons perspective in his nightmare. john is experiencing the dream so of course he would see it in 1st person, but in sherlocks hallucination in the abominable bride he imagines it from the outside, seeing it for himself.
also, not to mention that the way john is trying to save the soldier before he gets shot himself looks remarkably similar to how he was helping the man who was stabbed in the shower in tsot, but in sherlocks perspective. and the way john gets dragged from the fight looks like how he was dragged from the bonfire. idk if this was intentional but the perspective thing must have been.