Personality: Sherlock Holmes is a man of contradictions.
Sherlock considers himself above most things, emotional attachment especially. In "Study in Pink," he refers to himself as a "high-functioning sociopath." There was times when this seems true, too. He dismisses the idea that a murder victim might have scratched out the name of her still-born daughter as she was dying, feeling the fourteen years since the death should have been enough time to be over it. In "Great Game," a hostage is killed, John demands to know if Sherlock cares about lives being on the line. Sherlock replies, "Will caring about them help me save them?" John says no. "Then I'll continue not to make that mistake." In "Scandal in Belgravia," two little girls tell Sherlock they weren't allowed to see their grandfather after he died. One asks if it's because he went to Heaven. Without hesitation, Sherlock's answer is "People don't go to Heaven. They're taken to a small room and burned." When Sherlock concocts a theory of having been drugged during "Hounds of Baskerville," he uses John as a subject to test his idea without permission or warning. Reichenbach Fall sees him verbally rip apart a journalist. Sherlock has a habit, too, of enjoying his cases beyond what others would consider "decent." The more dangerous, the better, no matter who gets caught up in the wake. He refers to the hostage-taker of Great Game as "delightfully interesting" and tells John he's "starting to" have fun while investigating the kidnapping of two children in "Reichenbach Fall." He is dismissive of the people in his life, from his older brother to the police and morgue worker he assists and is assisted by on cases to John Watson. In "Hounds of Baskerville," he tells John, whom he has lived and worked with for probably a year, "I don't have friends."
Yet Sherlock cares deeply about what is close to him and attaches very quickly when something interests him. This can be a case or, in rare situations, a person. He seems to decide on John as a flatmate only seconds after meeting him. The next day, he shows John the intended flat. Sherlock has already moved his things in. Not an hour later, Sherlock invites John to accompany him to a crime scene he has been asked to investigate. Sherlock shows the same quickness to attach to Irene Adler, though it manifests differently and has other reasons. Irene baffles him whe he tries to read her (something that, we can assume from his reaction, has never happened before) and even bests him. He is visibly shaken by her death and when it is revealed that she is, in fact, still alive. He is also very fond of his landlady Mrs Hudson. When she is threatened by an intruder in "Scandal in Belgravia," Sherlock overpowers him with quick thinking. (Spray cleaning solution in the eyes.) He then calls Lestrade to report that the man fell out of a window. When Lestrade arrives and questions how many times he fell, Sherlock simply answers that he "lost count." Mycroft Holmes and James Moriarty seem particularly aware of this dual nature. When Sherlock refers to himself as heartless, Moriarty replies, "But we both know that isn't quite true, don't we?" Mycroft, in "Scandal in Belgravia," asks of John, "My brother has the mind of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he chooses to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" In "Reichenbach Fall," Moriarty uses Sherlock's attachment to force Sherlock into jumping off a building under threat of John, Mrs Hudson, and Lestrade being killed if he did not. Sherlock also devotes himself to the human element in all of his cases. When he is hired in Blind Banker to solve a break-in and finds a man killed, he relentlessly pursues the killer, desite his client's disinterest in the murdered man. While he dismisses the hostages during Great Game as unimportant, he tries to keep one woman from describing the man behind the puzzles so she will not make a target of herself.
Sherlock generally speaks and acts without regard for others. Whether he is callously telling Mrs Hudon that the man she is seeing is already married or talking about a man's low intelligence and undiagnosed health problems with a third party while the man is in the room, Sherlock divulges what he knows without even considering tact. He tells Irene, when she questions him about a case, "...you cater to the whims of the pathetic and take your clothes off to make an impression. Stop boring me and think." He has little concept of privacy or personal property. If it is closer, he uses John's laptop, despite having to guess the password. He has several badges belonging to Lestrade, with the explanation, "I pick his pocket when he's annoying." Sherlock also proves to be in possession of a government ID card belonging to Mycroft, which allows him access to a top secret military base and laboratory in "Hounds of Baskerville."
However, while Sherlock does not always realise where the boundaries in conversation lie, he can recognise when he has crossed one. On some occasions, he even demonstrates remorse. When Sherlock carelessly calls Molly out on having a serious boyfriend based on a Christmas gift, only to find that the gift was meant for him, he not only apologises to her but kisses her on the cheek. After having snapped at John in "Hounds of Baskerville," Sherlock tells him, "I meant what I said: I don't have friends. I only have one." John's involvement in Sherlock's life and particularly his physical presence has a noticable effect on Sherlock's conduct. He still says and does what he wants and what he thinks, but he seems more aware and apologetic of the unintentional offense he causes. The intentional never receives an apology.
On a case, Sherlock can be extremely manipulative. He will smile sweetly, take notice of a new hairstyle and compliment it, feign a childhood friendship with a missing man, or send John on a "date" with someone who has information. Nothing is off-limits when it comes to getting the answers he needs.
In his personal life, Sherlock rarely shows signs of manipulating others. While strongly craving cigarettes, he demands John produce the hidden stash. He offers the coming lottery numbers, but it takes only a second for him to say "Well, it was worth a try." He makes no emotional pleas or otherwise attempts to convince John to give in. The most manipulative he gets (in a mixing of personal life and a case but not directly relevant to solving a case) is just before his "suicide" in "Reichenbach Fall." He convinces John he does not care about an EMT calling to say that Mrs Hudson has been shot. The call is fake, and Sherlock knows it. John leaves, and Sherlock confronts Moriarty. Then, a short time later, Sherlock calls a returning John, directing his attention to the roof, where Sherlock is standing. He tells John he is a fraud and makes John watch him jump. However, Moriarty had made it clear that John (and Mrs Hudson and Lestrade) would be killed if Sherlock did not jump, and Sherlock is likely confirming the "story" of his being a fake because of the threat that someone is watching and/or listening and will kill John if he does anything else. In both cases, Sherlock's manipulation is to guarantee John's safety.
Sherlock Holmes, as much as he would like to pretend not to be, is very human. He may be annoyed by, disappointed in, tired of, and/or infuriated at other people, but he is never apathetic.
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Sherlock Holmes is a man of contradictions.
Sherlock considers himself above most things, emotional attachment especially. In "Study in Pink," he refers to himself as a "high-functioning sociopath." There was times when this seems true, too. He dismisses the idea that a murder victim might have scratched out the name of her still-born daughter as she was dying, feeling the fourteen years since the death should have been enough time to be over it. In "Great Game," a hostage is killed, John demands to know if Sherlock cares about lives being on the line. Sherlock replies, "Will caring about them help me save them?" John says no. "Then I'll continue not to make that mistake." In "Scandal in Belgravia," two little girls tell Sherlock they weren't allowed to see their grandfather after he died. One asks if it's because he went to Heaven. Without hesitation, Sherlock's answer is "People don't go to Heaven. They're taken to a small room and burned." When Sherlock concocts a theory of having been drugged during "Hounds of Baskerville," he uses John as a subject to test his idea without permission or warning. Reichenbach Fall sees him verbally rip apart a journalist. Sherlock has a habit, too, of enjoying his cases beyond what others would consider "decent." The more dangerous, the better, no matter who gets caught up in the wake. He refers to the hostage-taker of Great Game as "delightfully interesting" and tells John he's "starting to" have fun while investigating the kidnapping of two children in "Reichenbach Fall." He is dismissive of the people in his life, from his older brother to the police and morgue worker he assists and is assisted by on cases to John Watson. In "Hounds of Baskerville," he tells John, whom he has lived and worked with for probably a year, "I don't have friends."
Yet Sherlock cares deeply about what is close to him and attaches very quickly when something interests him. This can be a case or, in rare situations, a person. He seems to decide on John as a flatmate only seconds after meeting him. The next day, he shows John the intended flat. Sherlock has already moved his things in. Not an hour later, Sherlock invites John to accompany him to a crime scene he has been asked to investigate. Sherlock shows the same quickness to attach to Irene Adler, though it manifests differently and has other reasons. Irene baffles him whe he tries to read her (something that, we can assume from his reaction, has never happened before) and even bests him. He is visibly shaken by her death and when it is revealed that she is, in fact, still alive. He is also very fond of his landlady Mrs Hudson. When she is threatened by an intruder in "Scandal in Belgravia," Sherlock overpowers him with quick thinking. (Spray cleaning solution in the eyes.) He then calls Lestrade to report that the man fell out of a window. When Lestrade arrives and questions how many times he fell, Sherlock simply answers that he "lost count." Mycroft Holmes and James Moriarty seem particularly aware of this dual nature. When Sherlock refers to himself as heartless, Moriarty replies, "But we both know that isn't quite true, don't we?" Mycroft, in "Scandal in Belgravia," asks of John, "My brother has the mind of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he chooses to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" In "Reichenbach Fall," Moriarty uses Sherlock's attachment to force Sherlock into jumping off a building under threat of John, Mrs Hudson, and Lestrade being killed if he did not. Sherlock also devotes himself to the human element in all of his cases. When he is hired in Blind Banker to solve a break-in and finds a man killed, he relentlessly pursues the killer, desite his client's disinterest in the murdered man. While he dismisses the hostages during Great Game as unimportant, he tries to keep one woman from describing the man behind the puzzles so she will not make a target of herself.
Sherlock generally speaks and acts without regard for others. Whether he is callously telling Mrs Hudon that the man she is seeing is already married or talking about a man's low intelligence and undiagnosed health problems with a third party while the man is in the room, Sherlock divulges what he knows without even considering tact. He tells Irene, when she questions him about a case, "...you cater to the whims of the pathetic and take your clothes off to make an impression. Stop boring me and think." He has little concept of privacy or personal property. If it is closer, he uses John's laptop, despite having to guess the password. He has several badges belonging to Lestrade, with the explanation, "I pick his pocket when he's annoying." Sherlock also proves to be in possession of a government ID card belonging to Mycroft, which allows him access to a top secret military base and laboratory in "Hounds of Baskerville."
However, while Sherlock does not always realise where the boundaries in conversation lie, he can recognise when he has crossed one. On some occasions, he even demonstrates remorse. When Sherlock carelessly calls Molly out on having a serious boyfriend based on a Christmas gift, only to find that the gift was meant for him, he not only apologises to her but kisses her on the cheek. After having snapped at John in "Hounds of Baskerville," Sherlock tells him, "I meant what I said: I don't have friends. I only have one." John's involvement in Sherlock's life and particularly his physical presence has a noticable effect on Sherlock's conduct. He still says and does what he wants and what he thinks, but he seems more aware and apologetic of the unintentional offense he causes. The intentional never receives an apology.
On a case, Sherlock can be extremely manipulative. He will smile sweetly, take notice of a new hairstyle and compliment it, feign a childhood friendship with a missing man, or send John on a "date" with someone who has information. Nothing is off-limits when it comes to getting the answers he needs.
In his personal life, Sherlock rarely shows signs of manipulating others. While strongly craving cigarettes, he demands John produce the hidden stash. He offers the coming lottery numbers, but it takes only a second for him to say "Well, it was worth a try." He makes no emotional pleas or otherwise attempts to convince John to give in. The most manipulative he gets (in a mixing of personal life and a case but not directly relevant to solving a case) is just before his "suicide" in "Reichenbach Fall." He convinces John he does not care about an EMT calling to say that Mrs Hudson has been shot. The call is fake, and Sherlock knows it. John leaves, and Sherlock confronts Moriarty. Then, a short time later, Sherlock calls a returning John, directing his attention to the roof, where Sherlock is standing. He tells John he is a fraud and makes John watch him jump. However, Moriarty had made it clear that John (and Mrs Hudson and Lestrade) would be killed if Sherlock did not jump, and Sherlock is likely confirming the "story" of his being a fake because of the threat that someone is watching and/or listening and will kill John if he does anything else. In both cases, Sherlock's manipulation is to guarantee John's safety.
Sherlock Holmes, as much as he would like to pretend not to be, is very human. He may be annoyed by, disappointed in, tired of, and/or infuriated at other people, but he is never apathetic.