#this is another episode where he solves the case btw. just fantastic showing

[all-pacas]

CHASE: Stop it. Your daughter deserves better than this. …You want to get some candy?

(the c-word)

[leupagus]

Guys I Might Have Three Nickels

I've been watching "Agatha Christie's Marple" for the past few days and it's pretty good! Marple adaptations all tend to have a better caliber of actors than a lot of bog-standard mystery shows (looking at you, "Madame Blanc"), and while Joan Hickson's Marple is right up there with David Suchet's Poirot and Jeremy Brett's Holmes as "literally can never be beaten, these are the best anyone's done it," both Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie do a fantastic job as Miss Marple.

Then I got to "The Secret of Chimneys," Season 5 episode 2

and guys

Guys

So there's a murder of a viscount, like there is, and this detective Finch rolls up and immediately spots Miss Marple (in her NIGHTIE! standing at the window like some kind of hussy, honestly Jane) and doffs his cap to her with that little smile that makes you go, "huh."

At this point I've watched a couple dozen Miss Marple episodes where she goes through detectives like wildfire and this guy's supposed to be a "*guru*" so I'm expecting some battle of the egos or something and like, Stephen Dillane is great! But bleh, I might have to skip this one.

Then my dude asks Miss Marple to SHOW HIM THE BODY, with a pleased little smile at her as she goes "uhhhhhhhh but my knitting?" (He even does that thing where you use someone's honorific and wait for them to give you their name, and that's when I was like "ohhh this bitch knows exactly who she is.") What follows is what I can only describe as a meet-cute in the secret passageway where the viscount was shot (and in fact the body is STILL THERE) and where Miss Marple literally asks the police equivalent of "is there a Mrs Finch" and he looks at her like this:

At which point I'm like "ohhh my dude not only knows who she is, he deliberately came here without a sergeant so he could draft her," and sure enough he just starts...handing her pieces of evidence like "hey babe can you decipher this note for me thanks love you" while Miss Marple is like, "this approval and camaraderie coming from a cop... not sure if want."

Next is a series of romantic strolls through the gardens while they discuss murder, during which Finch reveals his undying love I mean his research into Miss Marple and the "dozen case files" of her previous exploits that he's collected like some deranged fanboy. Miss Marple responds to this by BLUSHING LIKE A SCHOOLGIRL and stammering about how pish tosh it's nothing really, and I couldn't find a gif of it but he's staring at her like this:

Yeah I bet u r tempted

He also makes a half-hearted attempt at negging her "amateur sleuth" status, only to then immediately assure her that he makes like, so much money being a big fancy detective and can keep her in all the yarn and garden seed she could ever desire.

There's also a late-night tryst at the compost pile right after Finch has been (mildly) poisoned and Miss Marple is like "men are so weak" as she roots through the garbage for clues.

Not how he wanted their first date to go D:

The next morning there's another murder which: bummer, but also allows the two of them to read love letters together and for Finch to give Miss Marple the following look as she explains how secret assignations among lovers can "quicken the ardor":

Miss Marple then goes onto solve the murders and btw hands over the priceless diamond that's been literally missing for two literal decades that she found in her spare time. The entire scene features Finch looking at her like this:

After the dust settles, Finch and Miss Marple have a lovely moment where he calls himself "another one of your casualties," then super casually mentions that he's probably going to have to go on assignment to use the diamond in a daring international espionage case and I can't decide if he's asking Miss Marple to go with him or simply trying to show her that he is cool and smart and would make an excellent wife, but either way the episode ends with her turning him down and Jane, we need to talk about your priorities.

Anyway I've already written 2K about the subsequent 10-year epistolary romance these two have following this episode because I make poor choices.

[pitchlag]

Joe noticed my tweet :D

Maybe I should have rewatched the season in one go before writing this, but I'm me so it's better to get it all down when I feel like writing it and it's still fresh in my mind.

General s15 opinions below, finale spoilers included, criticism but perhaps not overly so? I prefer being optimistic when possible. Also this ended up kinda long sooo

Let's get over the negatives first

So as I mentioned in my episode 21 commentary that ending was in my opinion the weakest arc finale. In a waay you could say it still follows the pattern every other arc had, the villain of the season goes down, the future of the BGC is pretty open and some died. Except that in this case it was VIC so the impact was hardly as great as that of the former fallen ones.

A lot of what contributed to the season finale being pretty dang lackluster was the pacing, which is a fairly constant issue trough the season. The finale felt like there was two episodes worth of material that were fitted into one. Many things, that could produce an episode's worth of material were pretty much sidelined (Wash's injury was given like 5 whole minutes to wrap up, there could have been more about Grif's time alone, what Locus had been doing and what was the aftermath on Chorus) and things that could have been scattered throughout to keep the thing established were smushed together in few, far between and way too long scenes (Dylan's boss and husband ended up serving very little to no purpose).

The plot was also fairly unpredictable, both in good and bad ways. The payoff to Dylan reaching the BGC was amazing, Church seemed to be alive but he really wasn't, Loco's machine was theorized to be a time machine, but it wasn't, then it was. On the other hand there was our Unicorn Guy who was hyped in the trailer and ended up being nothing more than a punchier to a one-off gag.

Speaking of, there's the issue of Tucker's story particularly this season. In many ways it went a couple steps forward, several steps back, some in more justifiable ways than others. It's great to see he's more confident in his abilities and for a good reason, he is the most competent fighter aside from Wash and Carolina and it shows. However, things got out of hand with him falling for Temple's flattery and later him charging into a battle that almost got Wash killed. Not to mention the thing with the Tower of Procreation which is very much controversial for a reason.

Negative character development is very much a thing and there are issues that can't be solved in a satisfying manner in one season. It's true that a good amount of Tucker's - and Sarge's - recklessness can be attributed to confirmation about Church's death and simple lack of meaningful things to do, respectively (also Grif's departure). In my opinion, however, much of the negative developments or blunders seemingly happened because the plot called for a catalyst, not because the character would naturally be susceptible to fucking up. That sucks.

See Grif leaving the Reds and Blues vs Tucker falling for Temple's lies. Grif's frustration with his situation has been building up this whole time throughout the seasons and so when things finally blew, it felt like a drastic but ultimately a natural development. Tucker however, had just been fooled by Felix just two main season's ago so it felt really off for him to fall for flattery now. 

Same goes for, say, Wash and Carolina just walking into Temple's trap without their usual suspicion.

Same goes for folks just kinda letting Wash walk into the middle of a firefight without supervision.

There's been quite a bit of discussion about the animation usage this season. Personally I don't mind the small animated scenes, although I can definitely see why there are folks against it. 

In general, the earlier arcs used the animations differently and rather sparingly (aside from Freelancer flashbacks obviously). S8 and present time-moments of s10 used it for Monty's pretty amazing battle scenes only, and thus basically every one of those moments is pretty dang memorable. From s12 onward however, casual/non-combat motion capture was included in some scenes, so s15 doing it isn't all that new. However, the big difference here seems to be that a lot of the animations were used for jokes more than anything.

The big thing about Blood Gulch Chronicles was that using non-game animation was not an option, so they relied on other, mostly verbal methods to deliver the jokes, leaving most of the action to the viewers imagination (Getting on another's shoulders to reach a window and Kaikana's health inspection for example). Now that these jokes were made visual, they had a bad tendency to go on a bit too long (Sarge going rock, paper, scissors against Locus for example?)

I made a little breakdown about the issues with the Tex vs Carolina fight earlier here* (tl:dr; pacing is extra faulty, moves are too floaty, the character's actual fighting styles are nowhere to be found.) . I also added extra commentary about the usage of blood and timeline stuff/BGC vs BaR here. (I can say I did like the animation usage in episodes 19 and 20 though)

...btw at this point, can we say the Carolina vs Reds/Tex battle was ridiculous not just because of Temple but also Jax being an unreliable narrator? (I know it was stated what we saw was what happened but I'm taking that with a grain of salt. Basis of the events? Yes. Details, like fighting styles and stunts? Fuck no, that can't be how it went.)

*Also includes my thoughts on how canon handles hypothetical Carwash. Btw that's another thing that surprisingly didn't go anywhere yet???? Would have liked some continuation to it actually

Now then the positives

While there are the very obvious and somewhat detrimental pacing and plot thread issues, I think most of that is because this is Nicolosi's first season. That's something time should eventually fix if he continues writing more, which I'd be more than happy to see.

It's a good thing for him that RvB is a very character driven show (although bigger plotlines have been done fantastically earlier which I ranted about here almost a year ago) because he nailed it in the character interactions department.

Aside from constantly writing off Wash and Donut that is. One thing that makes me thirst for more is to see Nicolosi get better with writing these two. Goddammit he did so well with the rest I know he can manage these two with some more practice and I swear I will be there to see that day.

BUT LIKE

THE GRIMMONS INTERACTIONS queerbaiting aside Joe why The way Simmons dealt with Grif's departure, the way Grif reacted to being alone, the "Why are we here?" scene MMMMM That's the Good stuff

But wait, there's a lot more: Carolina's affection towards all her boys, Wash having caught the BGC's silliness, the trust between Wash and Tucker, Tucker defending his friends, TUCKER AND CABOOSE and how they deal with the loss of Church, SIMMONS AND CABOOSE WHAT, GRIF AND TUCKER, LOCUS AND GRIF

JUST. YES. YES TO ALL.

Also hugs.

Personal high points for this season include episodes 1,5, 6, 10, 15, 16,17, 19 and 20, 5 and 20 in particular. Very strong and fascinating start, I loved Dylan and actually wanted to see more from her, and again, when pre-established characters interact on screen it was pure beauty.

Aside from a little low in the middle and a pretty flat finale, the whole season kept me engrossed with ease. I couldn't wait to see what would happen, even though a good amount of plot threads were dropped. 

I have no idea what's next, if anything, but I would very much be willing to see more. I'm, cautiously optimistic about possible improvement in writing plotlines and there's still some stuff to expand on. 

How did the crew's reunion with Wash go? Where did Locus go? What did he do after Chorus? What's going to happen on Chorus now? Did Kaikana rejoin the BGC roster? What did Grif do when he was alone? What the fuck was that thing with Donut and the time machine? Has there been any talk about a future season? Main story or another anthology? I wanna knoooooooowwww

.... Boy if you had told me of three years ago that I'd be invested enough to write basically essay length things about a Halo related thing I would have considered you insane. If you actually read this whole thing then congrats, come blabber about this series with meeeee

[phenomenalcosmicpowers]

MIRROR MAGIC (EQG SPECIAL 3/3) THOUGHTS

Once we found out what all the EQG Specials were going to be about there was no doubt it was the 3rd and final one that created the most buzz and just from two things alone:

The first of course being that at least for a brief time Sunset would return to Equestria. Something that the fandom has wanted dearly for a long time now, especially after hearing that was a subplot that was entirely cut out of Friendship Games. So many fans wanted to see the now reformed Sunset return to Equestria, and have a emotional reunion with Celestia. However though, it appears those who wanted the latter thing especially will still have to wait at least a little longer. Because the only reason Sunset really goes back is to get a new magic journal since the one she's had since Rainbow Rocks ran out of pages. Though upon going back to Equestria comes the 2nd major thing that caused buzz for this EQG special.

And that of course was the news that Starlight Glimmer would be involved in this one. And unlike the desperately wanted scene of Sunset returning to Equestria, the response to this was… mixed to say the least. As I said in the Royal Problem thoughts there was so much Starlight things going on at the time we found out about the synopsis of that episode cause we have already had 3 out of the first 4 Season 7 episodes star (no pun intended) Starlight in some way. And then we find out she's involved in one of the EQG Specials too. It isn't just the fact it seems everything seemed to have been involving Starlight all of a sudden, that was two things that fans have desperately wanted to see (A royal sister episode and Sunset returning to Equestria) that in their own minds felt like Starlight has been hijacked into. Again i take the more fair route that it's fine to include Starlight, but I do understand the frustration of those who aren't a fan of Starlight at all. When it comes to putting Starlight in those highly anticipated events it's like finally getting a long requested food only for the inside of it to have some undesired flavor that you were familiar with and didn't like before.

I guess another thing to consider that people would get worried of any canon implications of it if possible. But it's nothing that isn't that new to the EQG series. The main show is obviously canon to EQG but when you get to the other way around that's kind of sketchy. We never see the mirror, and none of the events of the EQG movies are ever referenced in the Main show. The closest we got are the Flash Sentry cameos during Season 4, but that isn't enough. It would of taken Twilight having some kind of reaction to seeing Pony flash for something like that. One situation where that could of happened was Three's a Crowd but he literally was just a guard there, Twilight completely ignores Flash in favor of being happy Cadence is there. I don't think Starlight's going to mention what happened in the EQG special either. So I think I can still stand on the belief that this is on purpose as to you can watch the show without ever seeing EQG so that EQG can be its own thing. Because the catch about making EQG really canon to the show you have to have the exposition in case people coming in watching haven't watched any of the movies. And after 4 movies, that'd be a lot of exposition to go over. I do not think Sunset will come into the main show as a result of this, so any reunion with Celestia would have to take place in an EQG involved thing. So if you're worried about Starlight's appearance at all confirming completely any canon status for EQG, based on past trends I don't think it's something to worry about much. Barring a Sunset appearance episode in the main show in a Season 7 or even Season 8 episode it shouldn't mean much.

But enough about a few things that we could of talked about just knowing the synopsis for the thing how did the episode itself hold up? Well I've already stated that Dance Magic was my favorite of the 3, and Movie Magic was my least. So this turned out to be the middle-of-the-road one. I think the plot alone makes it more interesting and certainly some nice things make it better then the Scooby-Doo tribute Movie Magic. But obviously some things went down that the most interesting episode synopsis wise couldn't beat an episode that was just a dance competition episode for me.

For what it's worth the scenes of Starlight and Sunset together play out fine. We get to have them forge a friendship of their own between 2 characters that are often compared to each other. I don't think it's entirely unfair to compare the two because there are glaring similarities. But the differences are there that some degree of interaction could be interesting. I just don't think if this one episode could really share everything of the potential between the two because of course this isn't the only big part of the episode.

Because besides Starlight and Sunset's plot we also have Juniper seeking revenge and using that mirror. One note before I get to the episode's events for this. As the one who runs the genie blogs it is a little amusing that the mirror Juniper uses happens to be activated whenever she says something after "I Wish". I could easily make some sort of connection with genie magic in my thing. Though I decided to opt out of doing episode responses to the EQG Specials. And a magic mirror is not really something to make me do an exception. Only thing is I think if it happened where Genie Sci-Twi happened. While they were in the mirror they could of wished from Genie Sci-Twi to get themselves out soon after and then stop Juniper from there.

But anyway as for Juniper's character, I'm not really too sure how to feel. She was a Scooby-doo antagonist in the previous special but the events of that episode motivates her to doing something on par with the other characters that had to been reformed in some fashion in the EQG series. Though Sunset and Starlight both started out as villains, while Sci-Twi was only a straight-up villain when she was taken over by Midnight Sparkle. Though I suppose she is similar to Starlight in the events she does are caused by a rather petty thing. Starlight's course towards evil started with Sun Burst moving away and getting his Cutie Mark. While with Juniper, they just stopped her dreams of being the actor to play Daring Do in what would be an in-universe live action adaptation. Though Juniper's motive mostly seems she wants to be famous by any fashion and there's more ways to become an actor then decided to try to go as the starring role in your favorite book series. Sure it hurts to miss out on the role you wanted, but if Juniper wanted to be a famous actor she needs to build herself up to the role. Take auditions for other things, practice acting. They's all still high school students right? Just get as far as you can in a Drama class and sign-up for all the school plays to show your stuff. It just seems to be particularly more petty of a motive then a lot of the rest. Perhaps even more petty then Starlight's reasoning because we can understand if she had been lonely ever since Sun Burst left how that could effect her (Though it's still be nice of the show to explain that eventually). Perhaps Juniper was particularly obsessive with wanting to be Daring Do since she was such a big fan of the series, but again the mirror didn't show she just wanted to be Daring Do. It looked like she just wanted to be famous. And there are other ways Juniper could of tried to get there. If it was specifically focused on Daring Do that much, I'd think the mirror would of shown her in a Daring Do costume.

As a result of all this, Mirror Magic is a bit of a mixed bag It has some fun parts with Starlight and Sunset. But this being put in the same 22 minute plot as Juniper's thing made it incredibly hard to balance. I think this needed a little more time then it got. I'm not going to say it deserved to be the plot of EQG5 or anything, I feel making it 66 minutes would be a little too long. But I do think if it had been made a two-parter it may have gotten a much better pace then it did. Have the first 22 minutes to perhaps give a little more time of Sunset visiting Equestria and of course Starlight seeing the EQG world. And maybe a little bit of Juniper here and there. But then upon the 2nd part you could have all that time to go more into Juniper's motivations to get a more clear understanding of her character.

All-in-all it's an alright episode as is. But it being only 22 minutes does give that rushed feeling, perhaps even more so compared to some of the other endings of EQG related things. I think it's something that could of benefited with a 2nd part. I don't know if any of the specials will have anything that bodes for anything coming up for EQG unless Starlight plays a part. But I'll still be awaiting where they go next, the specials didn't really solve the cliffhanger of EQG4's ending after all.

Anyway, I don't know when Season 7 comes back. But that'll be when I share more episode thoughts. BTW I have seen the Australian releases for both Episodes 12 and 13 of the season. But I'm going by the same rule with all the others and waiting for the official US release before giving the episode response and thoughts. But I will say that of course Episode 13 of the season was no doubt a fantastic episode and can't wait to give my thoughts about. If you've seen it already yourself I think you know why. Right now all we have right now is some Summer stuff, and for me in particular I'll be going to Trotcon this weekend. So that's sure to be exciting

[bassfanimation]

The Final Problem: Eurus’s crash therapy session

I've written one post talking about how my husband viewed the “I Love You” scene in The Final Problem.  I wanted to write some more, as we’ve discussed TFP in depth together.  We talk a lot about the media we consume because A) we're nerds, and B) our views are usually quite different.  

It's also nice to have a male perspective on things, as it sometimes can shed some light where my female brain just bumbles around in the dark and stubs it's toe on the Feels Dresser.  My husband views things very textually, but he is also fantastic at thinking about stuff on a meta level.  It’s nice because he has no ulterior motives either, no shipper goggles or anything.  I'm going to write a bit about his theories about TFP and what it all meant in his eyes.  I'll add my own views as well, for comparison.  This is going to be a long af post, so strap in!

(Disclaimer: this post may contain more shippy talk than you want, because I am a major Sherlolly/Molly Hooper lover, but you can also disregard my feelings and read for the hell of it.)

My hub said he views The Final Problem as the final case for Sherlock, which is essentially, solving himself.  I remember when Mary's video appeared, and she said she was giving him the toughest case of his life.  I seriously thought it was going to be for Sherlock to solve himself, which is the hardest thing for any person to do...to know yourself.  Instead we got something equally wonderful, but a bit easier to solve: how to mend Sherlock's friendship with John and save him from eternal despair.   Thankfully, Sherlock was a rousing success. He solved it.

"The next one won't be so easy." -Eurus Holmes, The Final Problem

The Final Problem, as my dude talked about it, is about the Holmes family, but mostly Eurus.  It was about Eurus trying to go 'home', only she couldn't.  She had to unlock the one person who could "save her soul", as the song puzzle went.  In order to do that...she had to literally break down Sherlock's walls.  Each major emotional wall he'd built was because of Eurus, so only she could break them down.  Only she was smart enough, and ruthless enough, to accomplish this.  

“You know the problem with disguises? No matter how hard you try, it’s always a self portrait.” -Irene Adler, A Scandal in Belgravia

It's very fitting that Eurus chose to reveal herself while she was disguised as a therapist, because TFP was in essence, a crash therapy session for Sherlock.  Each room in Sherrinford was a self discovery trap.  Now, someone was corresponding with me over the "I Love You" meaning and said it wasn't real because it was manipulation.  That is correct in that it was manipulation...but that is what all therapy really is.  It is someone very skilled manipulating you into understanding your own true feelings.  As a person going through intensive therapy currently, let me tell you, this is exactly what TFP was.  A very elaborate therapy session.  

Room One: Sherlock, John, Mycroft and the Governor.

My hub sees this test as about Sherlock facing the fact that sometimes his actions will hurt his friends and family. Eurus gave Sherlock the choice of giving the gun to Mycroft or John so they could kill the Governor.  He was choosing whether to hurt John or hurt Mycroft. Either of them would be hurt by being forced to kill an innocent man.  Mycroft absolutely could not do it. John thought he could, but he couldn't either.  In the end, their inaction killed two people, but Sherlock was directly responsible for that.  He hurt John AND Mycroft without meaning to.  The consequence was real...the Governor and his wife were killed.  Sometimes your actions will hurt others, sometimes your innaction is just as dangerous. It will happen, and it will hurt you too.  I actually 100% agree with this reading.  My eyes popped out in amazement.

Room Two: Sherlock, John, and Mycroft.

My hub feels this test was to confront Sherlock with his arrogance.  Three brothers, all hanging by ropes, one of them having killed their fourth brother, but which one?  Sherlock solved the crime, but Eurus dropped the two innocent brothers, leaving the guilty one still hanging. The guilty man was eventually dropped as well, but it held a mirror up to Sherlock.  How many times did he blithely solve a crime with no thought as to who might be hurt by that? It never mattered to him. Like Eurus said, "Innocent?  Guilty? Punishing either feels the same."  This is Eurus throwing Sherlock's arrogant disregard for real justice back in his face.  He solves crimes to be "right", no matter what the consequence, no matter who he hurts.  He's confronting his arrogance and his selfishness.

Room Three: Sherlock, John, and Mycroft.  (This one may take some paragraphs, so bear with me.)

The coffin with the words "I Love You" on the lid.  Me and my hub actually diverge a bit here, but I found his reading of it very interesting.  Also, a man's perspective on love is great to have, considering Sherlock IS a man, and this whole episode is about a man’s love.  

My hub was very passionate about discussing this one, which surprised me.  Something he talks about quite often with me is how he feels female fandoms think they understand the minds of guys.  "100 travel brochures do not equal a single trip."  To understand a man’s feelings about love, you really need a man’s perspective.  I can respect that, as I’d want the same kind of respect as a woman with my own feelings.

First and foremost, he thinks Sherlock's words were genuine.  He said Sherlock's reaction was not that of a man who did not mean what he said...in fact it's the opposite, he meant it and it scares the shit out of him, hence the reaction we got.  He said when you like someone, and they like you back but, for whatever reason, you refuse to pursue a relationship with that person.  Often it's feelings of inadequacy.  Sometimes you just don't really know how you feel about that person.  Often, strong friendships can feel like love and if you are friends with a member of the sex you are attracted to, it can be easy to wonder if those feelings are love or not.  The last thing you want to do is pursue those feelings and jeopardize that friendship.

If anything, the "I Love You" test showed JUST (he typed that in all caps in his chat to me) how amazingly important Molly is to Sherlock. He "humiliated" himself just as much as she did. By finally openly admitting that he might have feelings for her, he knows that he has essentially forever altered the nature of their friendship.  Maybe it could grow into something more, but he could have easily destroyed it too. We see in the epilogue that they obviously got past it, but had we not gotten that scene it could easily have been the last time Molly ever answered his calls.  That's why he has been so afraid to even broach the subject before now. The hub added to this that once you understand that Sherlock isn't a "high functioning sociopath" like he claims, then his actions all click and you realize he is a man who is seething with emotions and desperately trying to channel them in order to keep them contained.  

"Sherlock is not all about thinking and rationality. He gets emotional, he lashes out, he shoots the wall. And when he can’t figure something out, he stabs it." -Mrs. Hudson, The Lying Detective

My hub continues on by saying that for someone as obviously traumatized by the loss of a close friend then it makes that scene with Molly so much more meaningful than just a guy telling a woman that he loves her.  Imagine how traumatic it is to force someone like that to risk losing another close friend through their own actions.  Sherlock actually doesn't consider John a friend at this point, he considers him family. They are brothers in arms. There's a special kind of relationship that guys share when they've fought alongside each other. That's what Tolkien was trying to show in LOTR. It's different from a romantic relationship. In some ways it's more intimate and closer. I think Mary saw that.  It's why a lot of cops and soldiers end up divorced. Their wives see that bond that the guy has with his comrades and it puts a heavy strain.  The fact that Mary was able to get past that and even encourage it is a testimony to just what an amazing woman she was. John was INCREDIBLY (his typed caps, again for emphasis) lucky to have her. (yay Mary Watson love)

To dovetail back to how this relates to Molly, my hub believes Molly would also be the kind of woman to be just like Mary.  She would want him to be himself, to be with John, solving cases, being Sherlock and Dr. Watson.  But again, he thinks Sherlock was just so afraid of losing Molly that he never even entertained the idea of being able to have a relationship with her, for fear of losing what they have.  He is really surprised female fans don't understand this. He's heard so many women say that they couldn't imagine pursuing a relationship with a close friend because they didn't want to jeopardize that friendship. Even when you bring up that they are essentially already in a relationship with that person in everything but name.  I actually agreed here, 1000%, because I've been in this situation myself...it is so, so, so painful...and you are always filled with regret over words that weren't said.

The last thing my husband said about the coffin test was that, to him, the coffin symbolized the death of Sherlock and Molly's current relationship, as it’s been throughout the show. It couldn't go back to the way it was, not after what was said.  There is no more unspoken feelings hanging in the air.  Everything is out in the open.  There's only two outcomes now: either Sherlock did pursue a romantic relationship with Molly, or he simply couldn't bring himself to actually commit to her, but the words being said freed Molly of her unspoken, unrequited love, thus allowing her to actually move on.   He thinks they did pursue a relationship, btw.  He wasn't sure until our last viewing, but more on that later.

Lastly, I want to add that I view the coffin as an entirely different symbol. The coffin had the words "I Love You" on it.  Where do we equate love coming from? The heart.  When young Sherlock's best friend was killed, it effectively killed his heart.  It was broken, shattered, dark, put away into a box....dead.  The coffin represents the death of Sherlock's heart. It is the box containing all the love he used to feel inside it.  The coffin test was by far the hardest test...it's the one that had the most harrowing effect on him.  Opening your heart is the hardest thing for us, as human beings, to do.  But Sherlock Holmes did it, even if it confused and frightened him to do it.  Eurus forced it open, in front of John and Mycroft no less!   Sherlock gently touching the lid of the coffin, he is feeling his heart, the heart he has missed for so, so long.  He wants to break it out of that coffin...so he smashes it to bits, screaming while he does it.  He is breaking his love free of death, out of that coffin.

"So many complicated emotions. I lost count!"- Eurus Holmes

Love is also confusing as hell for Sherlock.  It's going to take a while for him to solve that particular one, for Molly.  He can't solve it completely while in that room, so of course...he does what Mrs. Hudson said he does...he stabbed it...or rather, he dismantled it soundly. That's how strong his feelings were.

Room 4: Sherlock, John, Mycroft.

My hub felt this test was simple.  It was to demonstrate to Sherlock that there will always come a time where he will have to choose between friends and family.  He didn't have much else to say, but I have some feelings on it myself.  I think Sherlock actually managed to turn the tables on Eurus during this one.  Remember, his heart is wide open now. He busted it out of that coffin. It is confused and scared, but it is raw and beating like thunder.  He cannot, will not choose between friends and family, because his friends ARE family. They are HIS.  Their love is HIS.  He cannot choose because there is no choice to make.  He would rather truly destroy himself than dare hurt the people he loves any more. We saw this with the Culverton Smith case as well, so this one is no surprise.  It was no surprise to Eurus either, which is why she was prepared.

Room 5: Sherlock.

Finally, the last bit of really amazing symbolism I want to talk about is when Sherlock was in the fake room, just outside Musgrave.  The walls inside there were littered with photographs of the Holmes family.  Sherlock, Mycroft, Eurus, Mummy, and Daddy.  Sherlock's family.  He is forced to look at those pictures...forced to look at who he used to be.  Who Mycroft used to be.  Who Eurus used to be.  The love that existed there, the love he felt, the happiness he so briefly knew.  He had made a prison inside himself...but suddenly he realizes it...all he has to do is push, one last time.  The walls of the fake room literally fall down around him.  His prison is no more.  He's solved himself...now he must solve Eurus in order to save his family.  He could only save John, and the little girl high above, if he solved The Final Problem: himself.

At last, we hear Sherlock say to Eurus when he's holding her in her burnt childhood bedroom that she got lost last time, but this time she can do it right.  He's here now, here for her.  He begs her to save his best friend this time...not let him die like last time.  Sherlock effectively brings his little sister down to the ground again, and he did it with love.  The entirety of The Final Problem represented unlocking Love.  Love for his best friend, his inseparable partner: John.  Love for his family, his big brother: Mycroft, who isn't as strong as he thinks, and Eurus, a little girl who was lost inside her own lonely, cold brilliance.  Love for the quietly strong woman who's love for him was unbreakable: Molly Hooper. Love unlocked Eurus' prison, just as it unlocked Sherlock's.  They brought each other 'home'.

And that is the long ass tale of me and my husband's discussing of this incredible, frustrating, tragic, beautiful, brilliant, messy episode of my favorite show of all time.  I'll admit to you here, I cried in front of my hub when he compared the coffin to the state of Sherlock and Molly's relationship.  He felt so bad, poor guy.  I had also spent the day so upset over Moffat and Gatiss's flippant responses about the "I Love You" scene.  Upon our final viewing at the theater though, walking out, my hub says, "I have a new theory.  I'm almost positive Sherlock and Molly did pursue a relationship.  When she walks into 221B, she's smiling really brightly, and she's heading in the direction where Sherlock was standing in the room." He is right.  Molly could have walked in and simply stood gaping at the miracle of 221B's resurrection, or she could have stood alongside Mrs. Hudson.  But nope.  She went in the direction of the man she's loved for so, so long.  She was going to Sherlock, who is now the good man everyone knew he could be.

Louise Brealey tweeted just before the final series aired that "Molly was back where she belonged." Molly belongs with Sherlock, just as much as John Watson, Rosie Watson, and Mrs. Hudson. She's a permanent part of this Sherlock Holmes's Baker Street. Forever.  <3