Discussion Post: The Three Students

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Welcome back, and happy Sunday. Hope it is a good one! So, what did you all think of The Three Students? As always, here are a few random thoughts and questions of my own. Please add your own!

- Watson introduces this case as a "small but informative adventure". It's barely informative, hardly an adventure, but it certainly is small. The "crime" is nominal and the villain is one of three minimally characterized people all confined in a single building. The interaction between Holmes and Watson is sparse and prickly. Other than the well-laid trap set for the butler, The Three Students has little to recommend it. It may be the dullest story in canon. Maybe it's just me. It's been a bit of a rough week, maybe that colored my reading. Did you like it?

- What was Holmes doing investigating early English charters? Seems like perhaps it was for a case and not for a monograph, since Watson considers writing up the "remarkable results" himself. Any guesses what was going on?

- "Not one of your cases, Watson — mental, not physical." Holmes doesn't bring Watson in only for his muscle. Why the discouragement here? Are they having some kind of an off-screen argument or something? I have to say, I wish he had been wrong about the case. We needed some (or any) action in this story.

- Okay, well, I'm a bit at a loss for more questions this week. So let's talk instead about SH in other media. Have you seen any of the trailers for Elementary, the coming American Sherlock Holmes? It's an American adaptation, but still a British Holmes. Watson is a woman, no longer a soldier, only formerly a doctor, and she has been hired by Sherlock's father to mind him as his "sober companion". That last bit... oh, dear. I don't know if I can deal with that. I love adaptation and I love creativity with beloved characters, but this seems so wrong. Doesn't it inherently change the entire dynamic between Holmes and Watson? She gets paid to deal with him? Part of what usually makes Watson Watson is that he (or she) is extraordinarily brave, loyal and kind enough to stay with Sherlock Holmes and see the goodness inside him. Even if she renounces the money in the first episode, they never become friends on their own naturally as in most tellings of their story. That is a very sad loss for the characters and the viewers as well, I think.

The Three Students: Unappreciated

[ennui-enigma.livejournal.com]

Canon: The Adventure of the Three Students (3STU)

Title: Unappreciated

Author: ennui_enigma

Rating: G

Warnings: none

A/N: Poor Watson is back to being relegated to invisible sidekick

 

“What do you think, Watson?”

 

“Why me? My answer is sure to be disproved.”

“Not one of your cases – mental not physical.” He’d condescended earlier.

Am I just a comfortable habit, like his pipe, violin, or reference books?  My faithful hand that safeguards him with a trusty revolver wields with equal aptitude and devotion the pen, or even a pencil.

The Three Students: Evidence of Greatness

[methylviolet10b]

Author: methylviolet10b
Rating: PG
Character(s): Sherlock Holmes, John Watson
Summary: Watson reflects on the evidnce
Warnings: Spoilers for 3STU, including several quotes from the text.
Word Count: 60, plus quotes from 3STU in italics.
Author's Notes: 60 words of my own inspired by one of the canon stories.
Disclaimer: I don't own them.

3STU -- The Adventure of the Three Students

“Your friend isn’t an easy man, is he?”

Soames’ words sparked a flurry of memories.

He shrugged his shoulders in ungracious acquiescence.

“Not one of your cases, Watson — mental, not physical. All right; come if you want to.”

“This is of interest, Watson.”

“Watson, I have always done you an injustice. There are others.”

"Well, Watson, what do you think of it?"

“So he did me. That's the puzzling part.”

"Yes, my dear Watson; I have solved the mystery."

Holmes’ muscles twitching in the throes of withdrawal as he laid an apologetic hand on my shoulder. His barely-audible confession, as I tucked his fevered body into bed: ‘I am glad you came with me, Watson.’

“No, he’s not,” I agreed. “Great men seldom are.”

The Three Students: 'Mental, not Physical", G

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

The Adventure of the Three Students

Title:“Mental, not physical”

Author: tweedisgood

Rating: G


You are mistaken if you think only the thrill of the chase, the gathering of scattered, seeming-random clues, is of interest to me.

I am not my readers, Holmes. For their sake I write of moonlight and masks, of footprints in the clay.

My pleasure is your grey eyes alive with excitement, your great mind at work and at play.

The Three Students: Offer

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Three Students
Title: Offer
Author: spacemutineer
Rating: PG
Author's Note:3STU was published in 1904, the first full year of Holmes' retirement in Sussex. I liked the jovial insults at play here in these telegrams.


YOUR TALE OF THE THREE STUDENTS IS DREADFUL STOP
PERHAPS RETIREMENT IS IN ORDER FOR YOU AS WELL STOP

NOT ALL BATTLES ARE WON STOP
MY NEMESIS THE DEADLINE CANNOT BE TOSSED OVER A WATERFALL STOP

THERE IS ONE WAY TO RELIABLY DEFEAT YOUR NEMESIS STOP
OFFER STILL STANDS STOP
I NEED A DOCTOR FOR ALL THESE STINGS ANYWAY STOP

The Three Students: University

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Three Students
Title: University
Author: hisietari
Rating: G

Watson was certainly right in his assumptions that I would not enjoy the stay, however necessary. What surprised me though was that he understood the reasons. I was not troubled over some uncomfortable memories, or I would certainly have gotten rid of them, if there had been any.
I wonder… Has Watson ever told me about his time of studies?