Canon Discussion Post: A Case of Identity

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

It's canon discussion time, everybody! What did you think about A Case of Identity? As always, I've written up a few of my own random thoughts and comments, which are behind the jump. Add your own in the comments!

Note: There is no Granada version of IDEN for us to watch this week, unfortunately. But next week is The Red-Headed League, so look forward to that!


- There are so many lovely touches in this story, but man, if the central case doesn't make me want to punch every man in the face. No one helps poor Miss Mary Sutherland. Her parents are using her and Holmes, knowing this, leaves her with them anyway. Even Watson insults her, deeming her face "vacuous" and comparing her to a boat. At least we do get the initial H&W romantic (in whatever sense you like) fantasy of the two of them hand in hand, flying through the window, out into the sky and the across the London rooftops.

- "Your position of unofficial adviser and helper to everybody who is absolutely puzzled, throughout three continents" - So Watson has an experience of women which extends over three continents and Holmes has this instead. Interesting. The comparison caught my eye.

- Is there any reason for Holmes to be so ostentatious with his new jeweled accessories? And when did he get the snuffbox from the King of Bohemia? He turned down the snake ring during A Scandal in Bohemia, favoring Adler's photo instead. And does he really need to keep the Holland events such an absolute secret? I have a theory this is all a show to impress Watson during a brief visit back from his home with his wife. Look at all the excitement and wonders you're missing, Doctor.

- The plot against Mary Sutherland is a particularly cruel one, but what really kicks it up that gut-churning notch for me is that her mother was in on it. "We never thought that she would have been so carried away," Windibank says. *shudder*

- And after learning all of this, Holmes still resigns Mary to her fate with her parents, even after he admits he thinks her "cold-blooded scoundrel" of a stepfather "will rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a gallows." She'd never believe him, he says, giving some inane Eastern proverb about the supposed danger of "snatch[ing] a delusion from a woman." So because it would take too much convincing and maybe a bit of trouble, Sherlock Holmes leaves his client in the clutches of a man he believes is using her for her money and who will likely be a violent felon someday. Disturbing. And what about Watson? Is he comfortable with the close of Mary Sutherland's case? If he isn't, he never expresses it here.

Comment away, and join us next week for The Red-Headed League!

Comments

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

Once more, the only sound explanation I have for this is that Holmes and Watson (subsequently) know something else that's about to happen to Miss Sutherland, something Watson couldn't write about. But it's quite a gut-turning story in total, full of discrimination and arrogance. I would expect Holmes at least to be above that, but maybe even he's not modern enough.

Also, flying over rooftops? Has he caught a fairy or something and is doing Peter Pan experiments with it? I feel sick now.

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

I'm sure he's thinking of some chemical he could brew (there's a magical realism fic in that). Don't forget this is set years before Barrie wrote Peter Pan :-)

I've always found this to be one of the weak links in ACD's chain. The story is totally unbelievable even if Mary Sutherland is as naive and dim as she is portrayed (and of course stupid women, as stupid men [think Jabez Wilson], do exist) - probably one reason Granada didn't take it up.

Holmes believes, I suppose, that he knows it would be no use, or harmful, to take the scales away from Mary's eyes. It's of a piece with his "I know what's good for people" arrogance, perhaps.

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

Who's Barrie if Holmes keeps fiddling with his iPhone6? ;P

I can imagine that this would be a hard one to bring to television, though I must admit I do think it manageable. There's a lot of if-sentences in that, but it's not completely out of reason. However, for entertainment reality's unbelievable-but-true stories are never a good choice.

Perhaps, yes. Or perhaps Watson didn't like what Holmes actually did, or wouldn't record it for some reason or other. There's a bunch more plots in this, I'm sure.

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

Who's Barrie if Holmes keeps fiddling with his iPhone6? ;P

Sorry, I don't get the joke?

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

My lame try of joking about how far ahead Holmes is of his (and our) time.

[debriswoman]

Yes, leaving the poor girl with a set of parents who giver her own health and happiness such low priority seems callous indeed. And to dismiss the option of telling her the truth seems quite arrogant. An interesting tale, though Holmes seems more entertained by his client's situation rather than truly driven to help her.