Here’s Why Sherlock Won’t See A Fan Service Romantic Relationship

For once, thank god, the creators of a modern cult series are standing up to fan pressure. Culturally we've fallen victim to the voices of the fans being heard far too loudly. Just think back to last year's The Force Awakens, which was hailed critically despite being little more than a greatest hits collection of legitimately amazing moments from the original trilogy. Sure, it's great to see Luke pull the lightsaber from the snow to cut an arm off the Wampa, but Rey doing the same isn't doing anything other than providing the stop-loss of a hit of Suboxone. So it's a relief that Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss is going to tell the story he wants to tell, and not the story the internet would like him to tell. Gatiss told a fan that he had no plans to explore the possibility of a romantic connection between Sherlock and Watson during a Tumblr Q&A. "Of course we're not against it. But as we have explained many times, that's not the story that we want to tell. Obviously as a gay man myself, I have no problem with the notion that a Sherlock Holmes and a Doctor Watson could be in a relationship together, but ours aren't," Gatiss wrote. "It's as simple as that. Sherlock is clearly capable of feeling emotion and of falling for someone, but that someone is not John Watson, despite his love and great affection for him." Of course, we should note that the original Sherlock Holmes series fell victim to fan service. Arthur Conan Doyle killed Sherlock, having him fall into a waterfall with Moriarty, only to make his triumphal return when the writer figured out that nobody gave a damn about anything he did but Sherlock. Even having said that, we're glad that Gatiss and creative partner Steven Moffat is going to tell the story he'd like to tell. Fans, it should be said, are generally not the best reporters of their own desires. Sure, we could live in a world in which every fan impulse is satisfied. How much do we really enjoy J.K. Rowling dive-bombing in to change her stories in response to social pressures? Like, do we honestly derive satisfaction from Dumbledore being declared gay ex-post-facto? But that leaves an open question: Who is Sherlock telling, "I love you" to in the teaser? "His mum, obviously. He doesn't ring home often enough and usually forgets her birthday," Gatiss said. "He's a very naughty boy." Cheeky.