#The Abbey Grange

[not-a-princess-but-a-queen]

I’m sorry but we just had the Musgraves Ritual where we know Holmes was using and very obviously high and now the Abbey Grange where a client was talking about her husband’s drinking and Holmes…. Giving Watson a look?!! Are we in a rough patch?

[dathen]

“It is a sacrilege, a crime, a villainy to hold that such a marriage is binding. I say that these monstrous laws of yours will bring a curse upon the land—Heaven will not let such wickedness endure.”

Tbh I don’t think Arthur Conan Doyle gets enough credit for featuring domestic abuse survivors in his works, to the point of overlooking or justifying murder, in a time when it was seen as a Private Matter that outsiders shouldn’t be nosey about. Giving voice to a woman to call out the lack of a woman’s rights to be freed from an abusive marriage is a pretty big deal, and Holmes validating and supporting it each and every time is a purposeful authorial choice.

Others have posted about how it’s very likely that, as a doctor, ACD would be privy to all sorts of ugly secrets from “those isolated country manors” as described in The Copper Beeches—but even if he weren’t, there’s certainly a statement being made via his stories.

[ofbakerst]

scaring the hell out of his new watson

[sarnie-for-varney]

He looks so uncomfortable 🥺

But some truly remarkable acting from Jeremy here. Holmes isn't used to receiving gratitude in such an intimate way, not even wanting to touch her hand for very long. It's almost as though we see Holmes try to calibrate what he should do in real time, his arm going around to hold her but stopping himself. We see him pry her off gently, and he then realises he's holding this young lady's hand. So he proceeds to flick it away. With a mute apology, he distances himself from her, preferring to stand at the window and have his back to his guests. It all happens very quickly.

I'm not entirely sure why Holmes reacts this way, but it's very characteristic of him.

[224bbaker]

WATSON: I've been dropping subtle hints to Holmes that I'm attracted to men.

ALSO WATSON: "There was a sound upon the stairs, and our door was opened to admit as fine a specimen of manhood as ever passed through it. He was a very tall young man, golden-moustached, blue-eyed, with a skin which had been burned by tropical suns, and a springy step which showed that the huge frame was as active as it was strong."

[milquetoast27]

I would usually not touch the Granada chronology very much - with one exception.

Abbey Grange was Edward Hardwicke's first episode that he filmed. I'm not entirely certain if it's because I'm now aware of this information, but he always seems to me a little quieter and hesitant, standing by Holmes, in this episode (particularly when they first examine Sir Eustace's body). His sensitivity is rich, as he hears Lady Brackenstall's account (with the obvious draws to Holmes), and how he's quick to keep watch over Holmes climbing the mantelpiece. This rather contrasts Burke's more consistently active role next to Brett up until Final Problem.

For this reason I would put Abbey Grange right after Empty House, then it's more like Watson is still adjusting to working alongside Holmes, he's worried of treading on his feet or saying something out of line. He doesn't know how much Holmes might've changed while he was away, and navigating their new circumstances is difficult. Just because they are soulmates, doesn't mean everything automatically works out. Despite this, Watson still tries, because of course he missed Holmes. And even so, nothing can undo those three years of hurt. The sweet ending feels as if some of that tension has gone, and they're more in step with each other than they were before :)

Abbey Grange might be my favourite Granada Holmes episode, but that would be a whole other post.

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

"It is that which turns my soul to water."

Little moments from Granada's The Return of Sherlock Holmes S2Ep5, "The Abbey Grange" (1986). Dir. by Peter Hammond. Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson, Anne-Louise Lambert as Lady Mary Brackenstall, and Oliver Tobias as Capt. John Crocker

[thefisherqueen]

Going through with the Granada Sherlock Holmes marathon I'm on, and today I'm watching The abbey grange episode. And within the first 10 minutes, my heart is already shattered by Holmes' and Watson's silent communication and reaction to the lady's story of her husband's alcohol addiction. I never made any gifs yet, but now I really want to get into it to capture that emotion on Jeremy Brett's face. Those who make Granada gifs - how do you do it? I've done video editing before in Shotcut with my own recorded material, just never made gifs. Do you download the clip you want from youtube in mp4, edit it in a video editing programme, and then export it in gif format?

[un-monstre]

Dr. Watson always notes the beauty of the women he meets, which sounds a little creepy, but he also does it about the men too, so he might just be bisexual

[jazzandpizazz]

Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke in Sherlock Holmes (ITV Granada): “The Abbey Grange” (1986)

[i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end]

Goddammit every time Watson describes a woman, he says how beautiful she is or, if she isn't, how beautiful she clearly must once have been. I'm beginning to think he's simply being polite. Like, he once started complimenting the female clients in his writing, and now he can't stop, because not mentioning a woman's looks would equal with calling her ugly. :D

[dathen]

“No, I couldn't do it, Watson,” said he, as we re-entered our room. “Once that warrant was made out nothing on earth would save him. Once or twice in my career I feel that I have done more real harm by my discovery of the criminal than ever he had done by his crime. I have learned caution now, and I had rather play tricks with the law of England than with my own conscience.”

PLAY THOSE TRICKS WITH THE FUCKING LAW OF ENGLAND!!!!

I love that Holmes’ great regrets involve SOLVING crimes. You’d think that someone involved in crime investigation for so long would end up with a “tough on crime” mentality, but Holmes has learned to prioritize good over the concept of legality or even justice. And he knows all too well that the law makes no such distinction.

[ofbakerst]

when ur dazzling ur friend w ur powers of observation but u hear a shrill noise

[sarnie-for-varney]

Just two husbands enjoying their evening together and flirting...

...there is no heterosexual explanation for this

I'm not the only that saw the lust in Holmes' eyes, right? 🤣

[skyriderwednesday]

Of course it was Holmes, Watson, who else wakes you up at four in the morning?

He said the thing!!

I really love how Granada did this bit, with Holmes giving Watson juuuuust enough time to lie back down again before bursting back in to insist he get up.

[intj-greenwords]

A bit of whiplash writing in The Abbey Grange.

Watson (description): opalescent London reek

Sherlock (compliment/insult): ... and I must admit, Watson, that you have some power of selection which atones for much which I deplore in your narratives.

Watson (another description): His dark, handsome, aquiline features were convulsed into a spasm of vindictive hatred ...