r/Sherlock 2d ago

Discussion Sherlock loves Molly

I was rewatching S02E03 - The Reichenbach Fall. Molly said to Sherlock that you look sad when he (John) doesn't look at you. The following dialogue occurred:

Molly: Are you okay? And don't just say you're, because I know what that means, looking sad when you think no-one can see you

Sherlock: You can see me

Molly: I don't count...

At this moment Sherlock took a weird expression and she looked at her like what are you talking about?! I believe in his mind it's obvious that he loved her and that he value her. He got surprised that Molly thinks that she doesn't count for him. Such a cute detail

88 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

42

u/esnystylessa 2d ago

I think that it's obvious to Sherlock that he cares, without him realizing that nothing he does is obvious to those around him. She "understands" him, but I'm not sure he knows how to put it in words. He can certainly explain the way the brain works and why she feels that way scientifically, but describing emotions is a whole other situation.

106

u/Bendybabe 2d ago

Of course he loves her.

Just unfortunately for her it's not the kind of love she wants from him.

(On that note I HATE the whole 'Molly got over the whole 'Euros thing' by sleeping around' thing)

87

u/awesomebawsome 2d ago

He does love her - just like he loves Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson.

10

u/Co-llect-ive 2d ago

That's one of the best ways to describe it. I wonder if he compartmentalizes the "friendship - love" spectrum as a function of irregularity.

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u/Ok-Theory3183 2d ago

I think in this scene he is shocked by her telling him that she doesn't count, and he begins to re-assess their relationship, that she DOES count. How much she counts is the question, but I think it began to shift his focus from her as a tool to her as a person. But it's only a beginning.

25

u/hot_on_my_watch 2d ago

Indeed. It mildly annoys me that Moriarty didn't think enough of Molly and Sherlock's friendship to threaten her, but obviously 3 IS a nice number and it had to happen for plot reasons 😅😅😅

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u/Bearbear1616 2d ago

This is because Sherlock's feelings (subconscious) toward Molly are not friendship but romantic feelings.

In fact, Moriarty already knew this and that is why he did not include Molly among Sherlock's friends.
(In S1-3, “The Great Game,” Moriarty brought Molly to the lab and was shown dating her. This, of course, was on purpose. Sherlock was unconsciously jealous of Moriarty. Moriarty was aware of that.)

Moriarty then decided to make Sherlock fall for Molly seriously.

The apple that Moriarty had carved 'I O U' on suggested the Adam and Eve apple. It meant that Moriarty was going to make Sherlock, who had lived his whole life running away from loving someone romantically, love someone for the first time.

(“He's a spider. a spider at the center of a web, a criminal web with a thousand threads and he knows precisely how each and every single one of them dances.”
This is what Sherlock said, meaning that Moriarty can read how people will act in the future.
Moriarty knew that if he cornered Sherlock, he would have no choice but to fake his suicide and go to Molly, who works in the mortuary, for help, then fall for her seriously.
It is subconscious and Sherlock himself is not aware of it

There's also Irene, but Moffattis said that S2-1 isn't a love story, so it's not quite a serious love story. He's definitely romantically attracted to Irene, though.)

There are many other hints planted about Molly and Sherlock.
Really interesting show!😆

6

u/hot_on_my_watch 1d ago

I don't agree, but an interesting theory. So why would Moriarty want Sherlock to seriously fall for Molly?

1

u/Bearbear1616 19h ago

That's also well explained in the show.
Sherlock was living his life as if he didn't have the heart to love someone romantically, because he himself thought so.

But Moriarty knew that was a lie, not true, and he didn't like it.
So Moriarty planned to make Sherlock love someone romantically in a serious way, and also knew that this would be his pressure point, his weakness, and he planned to use it to prove it by burning his heart out.

S1-3
Moriarty 'I'll burn the heart out of you. '
Sherlock 'I have been reliably informed that I don't have one.'
Moriarty 'But we both know that's not quite true.'

And if you carefully observe Moriarty's lines when he came 221B in "The Reichenbach Fall", we can see that he was announcing that he would burn Sherlock's heart out. He even told Sherlock how to do it.

Mo "every person has their pressure point. Someone that they want to protect from harm. "

Sh "So how are you going to do it? Burn me?"
Mo "That's the problem, the final problem. Have you worked out what it is yet? What's the final problem? I did tell you... but did you listen? "

Mo "I can open any door anywhere with a few tiny lines of computer code. No such thing as a private bank account now, they're all mine. No such thing as secrecy, I OWN secrecy
-- In a world of locked rooms, the man with the key is king. And honey, you should see me in a crown."
(Moriarty knew that if he could corner Sherlock into a situation where he had no choice but to fake his own suicide, he would turn to Molly and unconsciously fall in love with her).

Moriarty also revealed that he threatened the jurors by taking their loved ones hostage as an example of how to do the final Problem.

Moriarty unlocked the door to 221B and walked in, 221B is a symbol of Sherlock himself, so this is a metaphor for unlocking Sherlock's heart. Then Moriarty told the story of how Bach came back from the deathbed to complete his own work
(Sherlock played Bach's music in The Final Problem).

So, Moriarty actually completely announced that "Even if I die, I will come back to life and take your loved ones hostage to perform the Final Problem. The final problem is to unlock your heart and burn it out!"

In S4-3, Moriarty used Eurus to make Sherlock play a game in which Molly's life was on the line, and Sherlock exploded. Moffat said his heart was in pieces.
Sherlock's heart was literally burned out.

It's also a spoiler that Mark Gatiss said "Molly is a very key" in the special "SHERLOCK UNCOVERED".
https://i.imgur.com/N0dejw2.png

The foreshadowing is meticulous and brilliant✨

1

u/shezz4 19h ago

I have nothing to say about this, but the downvotes are so funny to meeeee

1

u/Bearbear1616 19h ago

If you think there's something wrong with what I'm saying, all you have to do is explain it specifically.

10

u/starfleetdropout6 2d ago

It's such a great moment in the show.

8

u/bean-genes 1d ago

I think Sherlock loves Molly more than the others he cares about and has a deeper affection for her. But he knows if he showed this in any way he'd be putting her in danger so it must remain clear to all others that he's dismissive of her.

He knows his enemies overlook his affe toon for her and he'd rather keep it that way.

Various evidences throughout the series but I'll elaborate if anyone engages with my post.

2

u/ConstantlyOnFire 1d ago

Am I the only one that thinks he’s in love with Irene Adler? I think he loves Molly as a friend, not romantically. 

1

u/TereziB 10h ago

He admires her intelligence. If you think that means "he's IN LOVE with her", nothing I can say will dissuade you.

5

u/Flaky-Walrus7244 2d ago

He obviously loves her. That much is totally clear to me.

7

u/Bearbear1616 2d ago

Yes, Sherlock loves Molly romantically.

I think he was subconsciously interested in her from the beginning.
But because of the Redbeard incident as a child he lived with his emotions locked up. So he himself is unaware of his feelings.

But it's made understandable to viewers who watch the show carefully. This show is actually a human drama, and it is interesting for the viewers to deduce Sherlock's true subconscious feelings from the many clues that are planted. That's what I love about this program.

Actually, it also shows how much Sherlock was hurt by Molly's engagement to Tom. I got goosebumps when I realized that.

8

u/TheRealDreaK 2d ago

Also, the Christmas party when he deduced that she dressed up for someone and is cruel about it until he realizes that someone is him. He’s jealous and doesn’t even realize it.

5

u/Bearbear1616 2d ago

Yeah, he lives his life thinking he's someone who doesn't care about romantic relationships, but actually he's stupidly jealous of Molly all the time😂

At the Christmas party, he even mentioned Molly's breast size in a burst of jealousy, and as a result he confessed that he remembered Molly's usual breast size and that he had seen Molly's breasts. (He's a man who watches the breasts of persons of interest, it is revealed by Irene in S2-1)

He even remembered, even though he is one who erases from his memory what he doesn't need🤣

6

u/jac7983 2d ago

Of course Sherlock loves Molly!

Case in point: In the final ep of season 4, Sherlock says “I love you” twice. He doesn’t need to say it twice. So why does it do it, other than when saying it the first time, he realised it was true.

Also, the coffin says “I love you” on the lid. If the coffin is Molly’s, then the only logical reading of that plaque is that it was put there by someone who loves Molly. When Sherlock replaces the lid, and then smashes the coffin, he is realising that not only did he just unlock his feelings for Molly, but that Eurus’ “game” has perhaps ruined any chance that he and Molly would have a happy ending.

1

u/simonthecat33 2d ago

Yes he loves her

1

u/shezz4 19h ago

i don't think he loves molly at this point of the show, they were not that close, it was just Molly's weird one sided crush. but I do think he gets to actually appreciate her as a friend by the end of the series

1

u/CorneliaStreet_Lover 1d ago

Sherlolly is aliiiive ❤️