warmth-and-constancy:

Pretty much the only reasons why I ever doubt TJLC are that A) it’s not over until it’s over, and even the most likely, most well-informed prediction in the history of predictions is still a prediction, that’s just a fact, and B) most TV shows or movies don’t throw a bunch of blatantly romantic tropes at you and then purposefully neglect to point them out. Honestly, the level of hand-holding that we’re all used to in our entertainment is just not happening here, and that’s jarring. But the things that we’ve come to expect shows to hold our hands and walk us through are still present in Sherlock, it’s just that no one is walking us through them. It’s like being in a museum which is a jumble of rooms, and all of the art is still there just like you’d expect it to be, but there are no explanatory plaques and there aren’t even any signs to help you find your way to the next gallery or to the exit, you have to figure it all out for yourself, and you’re looking at a painting that you’re pretty sure is a Rembrandt because it looks like every other Rembrandt you’ve ever seen and you have no reason to doubt that it’s a Rembrandt, therefore you deduce that it must be a Rembrandt, but it’s still troubling to you that you don’t know for sure because the little plaque that would tell you in no uncertain terms that this was painted by Rembrandt just isn’t there, like it has been in every other museum you’ve ever been to in your entire life. And to make matters worse there’s a person standing behind you going “Uhhh, listen, I know the colors are dark and there are Dutch people in it, but I really don’t think that’s a Rembrandt, it could literally be by anyone.”