Day 17 — A moment that made you cry
Scandal honestly made me more upset than Reichenbach, because Mycroft absolutely kills me in this episode. He’s doing so much behind the scenes, both for Sherlock and the public as a whole, and they make a point of showing he’s got no one to help him keep it together. His own brother basically hates him, Mrs. Hudson can’t stand him, John’s only putting up with him for Sherlock’s sake, and Anthea’s just an employee who clearly doesn’t pay much attention to anyone.
Seeing him look so sad and alone on Christmas basically broke my heart.
![ibelieveinmycroft:
sherlockcharacteranalysis asked you: I have a question about the scene in Scandal where Sherlock says “sex doesn’t alarm me” and Mycroft says “how would you know?” Every time I see that scene, my first thought is always, “but you do, Mycroft????” Mycroft seems even more devoid of actual relationships than Sherlock, so what do you think? Has Mycroft had sexual/romantic relations in his past?
Hello dear! I had the exact same thought when Mycroft delivered that line. Oh Mycroft, you devil!
M: Don’t be alarmed. It’s to do with sex.S: Sex doesn’t alarm me.M: How would you know?
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Sherlock had absolutely no comeback to Mycroft’s comment - he instead looked hurt, if not mortified. Evidentially, Sherlock knows that this is territory that his brother has explored, otherwise Mycroft’s snide remark would not have had this impact.
Some people have posited that Mycroft may use sex as a weapon or negotiating tool where the situation calls for it. While Mycroft can be a ruthless tactician, he is initially very dismissive of what Irene Adler does, which amounts to the same thing, so I’m not certain about that. Perhaps he does, perhaps he doesn’t. A more likely explanation would be that Mycroft has experimented with sex in order to fit in with his peers. Neither of the Holmes Brothers are particularly normal, but Mycroft is much better at sustaining the mask. Perhaps it was expected of him. However, the way that “How would you know?” was delivered hints at someone who is sexually experienced and is very comfortable with that side of himself.
The brothers do seem to know about each other’s sexual history - whether from deducing it about each other or whether they actually confide in each other. That this exchange comes right on the tail of the “Here to see the Queen?” jibe seems very telling. This may have been little more than an example of Sherlock’s quick, albeit cruel, wit, but the evidence seems to be mounting that Mycroft is indeed homosexual. Mycroft knows enough about Sherlock’s sexual experience (or lack thereof) to make unkind jokes about it - that Sherlock is able to do the same to Mycroft suggests to me that he has the same sort of knowledge about his brother.
Yet, as you point out, Mycroft does not seem to have any relationships to speak of, or any real ties to anyone, aside from his brother. In spite of what seems to be a long sexual history, it does not seem to have had any particular bearing on his personal life; his sexual relationships have not led to romantic ones.
And yet, Mycroft is prone to as much concealed sentiment as Sherlock. The brothers have a hard time with empathy, but that does not mean that they lack it. This is the troubling thing about Mycroft. Sometimes, especially when he is alone, he seems to be so like his brother - strange, vulnerable and very, very lonely. Though consistently even more brilliant than Sherlock, Mycroft also seems to lack his brother’s tacit ability to draw people towards him.The Christmas scene in Scandal was horribly illustrative of this - Sherlock was surrounded by people he considers his friends, in a room decorated with colourful Christmas lights, while Mycroft was alone in a dark house, staring into the fire. His genius doesn’t dazzle like Sherlock’s does, doesn’t draw people toward him. Instead, it thrums uncomfortably at the edge of a person’s consciousness, it chokes and intimidates, driving them away.
Mycroft does have relationships with a handful of people. I believe he is comparatively close to his brother, however complex that rivalry may be. He respects John. He is close enough to Anthea to muse aloud as to the dynamic of his brother’s new friendship with John. He is on first-name terms with Harry the Equerry. There is also his canonical friendship with his neighbour, Mr Melas, who may or may not show up in series. But, in spite of all that, Mycroft is still a man who is a member of (and, canonically, founder of) a club where the people not only are required to remain silent at all times, but are not permitted to take the slightest notice of one another. For a man who seems so lonely, he does elect to be alone a great deal.
In long and short, I really don’t know. It is one of the many unanswered questions about Mycroft. He knows more about people than Sherlock does - he understands their motivations and how to manipulate them - yet has far fewer people in his life. And I’m not entirely certain that this is by choice.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_macruqYwT51rnx4kko1_500.gif)
sherlockcharacteranalysis asked you: I have a question about the scene in Scandal where Sherlock says “sex doesn’t alarm me” and Mycroft says “how would you know?” Every time I see that scene, my first thought is always, “but you do, Mycroft????” Mycroft seems even more devoid of actual relationships than Sherlock, so what do you think? Has Mycroft had sexual/romantic relations in his past?Hello dear! I had the exact same thought when Mycroft delivered that line. Oh Mycroft, you devil!
M: Don’t be alarmed. It’s to do with sex.
S: Sex doesn’t alarm me.
M: How would you know?
Fear is the most elegant weapon. Your hands are never messy. Threatening bodily harm is crude. Work instead on minds & beliefs; play insecurities like a piano. Be creative in approach. Force anxiety to excruciating levels or gently undermine the public confidence. Panic drives human herds over cliffs. An alternative is terror-induced immobilization. Fear feeds on fear. Put this efficient process in motion. Manipulation is not limited to people. Economic, social and democratic institutions can be shaken. It will be demonstrated that nothing is safe, sacred or sane. There is no respite from horror. Absolutes are quicksilver. Results are spectacular.
- Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays
![ibelieveinmycroft:
It suddenly occurred to us that this is a moment where Sherlock and Mycroft are talking as brothers. There’s nobody else there, they don’t have to impress anybody else or talk through anybody else like they usually do. […] But at the same time what it exposes is that they both know that they’re freakish, that they’re different.
- Mark Gatiss, Scandal in Bohemia Commentary](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6r5neGT1j1rnx4kko1_500.jpg)
It suddenly occurred to us that this is a moment where Sherlock and Mycroft are talking as brothers. There’s nobody else there, they don’t have to impress anybody else or talk through anybody else like they usually do. […] But at the same time what it exposes is that they both know that they’re freakish, that they’re different.- Mark Gatiss, Scandal in Bohemia Commentary
“The Coventry conundrum. What do you think of my solution? The flight of the dead.”
You think Sherlock is as mad as he is brilliant? May I just draw your attention to the elder brother, who borrowed bodies, kept them in his freezer for months, and then filled a plane with them, so he could blow it up. This is mad brilliance, or brilliant madness, on a much grander scale.
“Neat, don’t you think?”
It even drew a small smile of admiration from Sherlock.
This - this - is Mycroft’s job! Who knows what else this man has up his sleeves…
Mycroft arrived at the Diogenes Club and headed straight for the Stranger’s Room… but then he seemed at least mildly surprised to see John there.
We know Mycroft doesn’t hang out in the Stranger’s Room by default:
So was he expecting to meet someone else that night?
#in which I carelessly throw out conspiracy fodder #because I’m out of caffeine #maybe I should run to the store instead of causing trouble #but then I’d have to put on pants #decisions decisions
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Casual!Mycroft.
These screencaps are from Scandal in Belgravia.
In the first we see Mycroft at Christmastime, in what Mark Gatiss says in the commentary is the Holmes ancestral home. Please note the colour (olive?), fit and fabric of the suit, not to mention the checked shirt.
The second are from later that same evening, when Mycroft escorts Sherlock to Bart’s morgue. It’s definitely the same evening - John is wearing the same jumper and Jeanette is still at 221b. He’s looking a good deal smarter - sharper tailoring, different tie, green scarf (love that green scarf!).
The first suit Mycroft was wearing is his country attire, and therefore as casual as Mycroft ever gets. When he returned to the city, even though it was just to visit a dead woman with his brother, he changed.
Conclusion: Mycroft isn’t very good at being casual, but looks damn fine in a suit.
The good people at Sherlockology have tracked down some of Mycroft’s wardrobe, the source of which has long been a mystery.
I’m not going to go update my Study in Suits, as that was more of a character study, but I will post about this here, because some of the details are nice to know.
The first suit we see Mycroft in, in A Study in Pink, (which also got another airing in The Hounds of Baskerville) is from Gieves and Hawkes, of Savile Row. How magnificently appropriate. I always suspected Mycroft of being a patron of Savile Row…wouldn’t a scene with Mycroft at his tailor be wonderful?
The suit from The Great Game was from Reiss. They have also identified the mystery tie that, sadly, is not covered in tiny umbrellas.. It is a Gieves and Hawkes one, featuring geese in flight. Dapper gent! Although he should be given an umbrella-print tie for the next series!
The suit from The Reichenbach Fall (and probably also from the morgue scene in Scandal) is from Paul Smith - a brand that surprised me as quite an unusual choice for Mycroft, but does explain that gorgeous pink lining!
Sherlockology have also identified Mycroft’s pocket watch, a vintage number from 1860, and have pointed to a slightly different Crombie overcoat than the one Wear Sherlock identified. By my count, the only suits left unidentified are Mycroft’s tweed number from Scandal and his pinstripe one (that appeared in every episode of Series Two!)
Go to their website to read more details about Mycroft’s suits, and the wardrobes of the other characters too.
I make no secret for my love for this man, or, indeed, for his impressive wardrobe. While conservative and proper, he’s also just that bit flamboyant, with his waistcoats, pocket watches, goose-print ties, sword-shaped tie clips and colourful suit lining. It says a lot about the character; while he can pretend to be the same as everyone else, he remains noticeably different. I can hardly wait to see what he wears in Series Three. I may just have to go hang round Savile Row in anticipation!
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve
In conclusion to this little study, I would like to talk about Mycroft as a modern day dandy for a while. There is a school of thought that canon Mycroft was, at least in part, based on Oscar Wilde. Arthur Conan Doyle met Wilde at a dinner at the Langham Hotel in the summer of 1889, after the publication of the first Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet. Wilde was at the height of his creative powers, and this dinner ended with both writers receiving commissions for novels – Wilde’s for The Picture of Dorian Gray and Doyle’s for the next Holmes adventure, The Sign of Four. Although Mycroft wasn’t to make his first appearance, in The Greek Interpreter, until 1893, it’s likely that the idea of an indolent genius had more than a little bit of Oscar Wilde about it. Wilde was, of course, a famous dandy and aesthete, once declaring “One should either be a work of Art, or wear a work of Art.”
The BBC Sherlock costume department, in reinventing Mycroft as a dandy for the modern age, beautifully turned out at all times, has given a lovely nod to this bit of history.
Allow me to close with a costume wish list for series three:
