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selenakOkay, having voiced my criticism re: Morland Holmes in pretty much every review of an episode he’s in, I’ll try to be constructive about it.
First, to restate the basic problems: so far, the character of Morland Holmes brings nothing new to the table. (As opposed to Kitty Winter last season.) He’s not bringing out anything in Sherlock (the one regular character he almost exclusively interacts with) we haven’t seen before, nor does he change the Sherlock and Joan dynamic in ways we haven’t seen before, nor does he interact with the other regulars, the one scene with Joan being the big exception and a hint to how to partially resolve one problem. The Morland-Sherlock relationship so far is standard tv Daddy Issues, with an additional irritant because the show pretends Mycroft doesn’t exist.(Father-child dynamics are different when there’s more than one child around.)
If this continues, neither of the two standard tv solutions will give me anything in the ways of emotional satisfaction or remove the sense all of this has been another waste of John Noble and screentime, two wit: either the tag scene from the last broadcast episode is a straightforward reveal, i.e. Morland is evil, and the season will end with Sherlock & Joan defeating him (this would only be emotionally suspenseful if the show had given me reason to care about the Sherlock & Morland relationship) , or, in a repeat of the s2 Mycroft storyline, Morland isn’t evil but pretends to be for plot reasons connected to protecting Sherlock, and there will be a heartwarming reconciliation at the end before Morland takes off to parts unknown.
How to avoid both and still work with what we have? First of all: Morland from this point onwards interacts more with Joan (in fact, to balance things, for the next few episodes almost exclusively with Joan and without Sherlock), and gets introduced to Alfredo, Bell and Gregson. I don’t care under which pretext; but I think that would immediately make the character more interesting and heighten my emotional investment. Secondly, the show stops pretending Mycroft doesn’t exist and gives me that one line of dialogue referencing him I ask for, so I can stop being irritated about the lack of continuity and go back to focusing what’s on screen. Thirdly, Morland will turn out neither a misunderstood protector nor the big bad of the season to be vanquished. Instead, Joan will discover whatever he’s up to in two episodes and it will be a dastardly scheme, but then he’ll have a stroke or something like that, with the knowledge of how to destroy dangerous plot device X/foil even more dastardly villain Y locked in his head, so Joan and Sherlock will find themselves in the completely unwanted position of having to take care of a recovering Morland in the Brownstone in the hope of getting the knowledge from him in time to accomplish world saving goal Z. This will create a completely new dynamic and endless possibility for mindgames. Just how sick is Morland really? Will he try to manipulate our valiant duo (of course he will, but will it be for survival or sinister purposes)? Joan’s a doctor; a reluctant doctor-patient bond could happen despite her awareness of all the good reasons why it shouldn’t. Sherlock has never experienced his father weak and dependent before, nor did he have to care for someone physically dependent on him (except for the very brief interlude of Moriarty faking to be traumatized Irene), let alone someone he has bad emotional history with. See what I mean? This could be new-to-the-show and interesting and bring out the best in the actors.
By the end of the season, the bigger bad is vanquished and Morland has lost his money but is physically recovered, having to face the interesting challenge to start from scratch (which he’ll be up to – he actually is brilliant and a survivor) after a lifetime of superrich privilege – elsewhere. Thus he leaves the show and our duo will have to take on more non NYPD clients in order to make a living as an additional bonus to me.
Will all of this happen? I think not. But it would be my optimistic best case scenario.
The other days
First, to restate the basic problems: so far, the character of Morland Holmes brings nothing new to the table. (As opposed to Kitty Winter last season.) He’s not bringing out anything in Sherlock (the one regular character he almost exclusively interacts with) we haven’t seen before, nor does he change the Sherlock and Joan dynamic in ways we haven’t seen before, nor does he interact with the other regulars, the one scene with Joan being the big exception and a hint to how to partially resolve one problem. The Morland-Sherlock relationship so far is standard tv Daddy Issues, with an additional irritant because the show pretends Mycroft doesn’t exist.(Father-child dynamics are different when there’s more than one child around.)
If this continues, neither of the two standard tv solutions will give me anything in the ways of emotional satisfaction or remove the sense all of this has been another waste of John Noble and screentime, two wit: either the tag scene from the last broadcast episode is a straightforward reveal, i.e. Morland is evil, and the season will end with Sherlock & Joan defeating him (this would only be emotionally suspenseful if the show had given me reason to care about the Sherlock & Morland relationship) , or, in a repeat of the s2 Mycroft storyline, Morland isn’t evil but pretends to be for plot reasons connected to protecting Sherlock, and there will be a heartwarming reconciliation at the end before Morland takes off to parts unknown.
How to avoid both and still work with what we have? First of all: Morland from this point onwards interacts more with Joan (in fact, to balance things, for the next few episodes almost exclusively with Joan and without Sherlock), and gets introduced to Alfredo, Bell and Gregson. I don’t care under which pretext; but I think that would immediately make the character more interesting and heighten my emotional investment. Secondly, the show stops pretending Mycroft doesn’t exist and gives me that one line of dialogue referencing him I ask for, so I can stop being irritated about the lack of continuity and go back to focusing what’s on screen. Thirdly, Morland will turn out neither a misunderstood protector nor the big bad of the season to be vanquished. Instead, Joan will discover whatever he’s up to in two episodes and it will be a dastardly scheme, but then he’ll have a stroke or something like that, with the knowledge of how to destroy dangerous plot device X/foil even more dastardly villain Y locked in his head, so Joan and Sherlock will find themselves in the completely unwanted position of having to take care of a recovering Morland in the Brownstone in the hope of getting the knowledge from him in time to accomplish world saving goal Z. This will create a completely new dynamic and endless possibility for mindgames. Just how sick is Morland really? Will he try to manipulate our valiant duo (of course he will, but will it be for survival or sinister purposes)? Joan’s a doctor; a reluctant doctor-patient bond could happen despite her awareness of all the good reasons why it shouldn’t. Sherlock has never experienced his father weak and dependent before, nor did he have to care for someone physically dependent on him (except for the very brief interlude of Moriarty faking to be traumatized Irene), let alone someone he has bad emotional history with. See what I mean? This could be new-to-the-show and interesting and bring out the best in the actors.
By the end of the season, the bigger bad is vanquished and Morland has lost his money but is physically recovered, having to face the interesting challenge to start from scratch (which he’ll be up to – he actually is brilliant and a survivor) after a lifetime of superrich privilege – elsewhere. Thus he leaves the show and our duo will have to take on more non NYPD clients in order to make a living as an additional bonus to me.
Will all of this happen? I think not. But it would be my optimistic best case scenario.
The other days
no subject
Date: 2016-01-03 07:46 am (UTC)I do like your idea of him having to start over - and Morland being who he is, he would be loath to call in favours from his powerful connections when he is the one in a vulnerable connection - and it would be very interesting to see Sherlock and Joan engaging with more clients.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-03 11:43 am (UTC)I do like your idea of him having to start over - and Morland being who he is, he would be loath to call in favours from his powerful connections when he is the one in a vulnerable position
Yes, exactly. I mean, undoubtedly he'd still know about a few skeletons people would pay dearly to keep in closets, but it's one thing to use these when you're in a position of strength, the way he did in the most recent episode, and another when you have no more protection than, say, a street bum. And I'm a fan of storylines where people are put in the opposite of their usual background and have to survive there - it usually brings out the most interesting aspects.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-03 07:59 am (UTC)I would love to see him interacting with other people in Sherlock's world. Anything to affect some change or development in the character.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-03 11:51 am (UTC)