Oh dear, fandom.

[rosiedoes]

I find myself most amused that fandom is DESPERATE for Molly to be the real Moriarty.

Honestly, people are absolutely killing themselves that this poor fangirl should be evil and not just a poor bystander manipulated by both Sherlock and Moriarty. I can't tell you that she won't ever be duped into acting for Moriarty against Sherlock and I can't tell you she won't ever snap and do the sort of thing a spurned woman does (in this fandom, it'd probably involve fitting him up for a crime).

But I simply cannot buy into Molly being 'the real' Moriarty. They've handed us Moriarty already. Is he the person we expected? For most of us, yes. Was he characterised the way we expected? No, almost certainly not.

That said, he's a bratty evil genius, and who does that remind us of? They could have gone for an older version of Mycroft, with more looming, predictable presence, but instead they've given us a genuine loose canon who you can never be certain won't snap.

I do wonder if we're going to see Daddy Moriarty appearing with an equal loathing of Sherlock (and John), but for now people need to trust Mark and Steven because they haven't done bad by us so far. They're fanboys, they've thought this through. Let it roll out.

As much as it pains us to imagine that anyone could come between Sherlock and John, wishing that they were actually evil/doomed to an untimely death isn't going to change affect the plan of the writers.

Comments

[moondarri.livejournal.com]

They could have gone for an older version of Mycroft, with more looming, predictable presence, but instead they've given us a genuine loose canon who you can never be certain won't snap.

YES YES YES

i was trying to explain to someone why i thought THIS moriarty was a great character but couldn't quite put my finger on it. predictable looming vs loose canon, that's exactly it.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

It's the Old Man On The Hill Syndrome.

There's always a crotchety old scientist who is power-hungry and ruthlessly devoted to destroying the nemesis he is jealous and yet fascinated with.

They've totally gone against that, which is what makes it awesome. This isn't a man you can rationalise or reason with so he's much scarier than the bitter old dude who will, ultimately, die of natural causes long before someone of Sherlock's current age.

There's also the fearless and recklessness of youth to factor in, which makes him even bigger a threat. It doesn't matter how evil an older person is, a younger person has much more potential to be destructive.

[vinylsigns.livejournal.com]

My god, THIS. THIS SO MUCH. I've been discussing this with my friend Sean and been unable to explain to him why this Moriarty was good other than "Well he's like Sherlock." Sean gets hung up on little annoyances and turns them into gigantic annoyance, though, so I don't know if I'll be able to change his mind, but I'll take this route :)

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to find the character annoying in the long run, but I understand why they've gone for this rather than the unimaginably rich old man.

People need to give this a chance and see where they take it, because I think it'll grow on them.

[miscellanny.livejournal.com]

This isn't a man you can rationalise or reason with so he's much scarier than the bitter old dude who will, ultimately, die of natural causes long before someone of Sherlock's current age.

I definitely like that part of the character - like I said, I think that much of it was a controlled performance, that he was enjoying the showmanship of it. I've seen a lot of people commenting negatively about his bizarre vocal choices, but I quite enjoyed it, thought it played well to the impression he was trying to give; when he let the mask slip and showed real anger the loss of control was scarier. Er... if that made any sense. XD

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that does make sense.

I think he was having fun with it because he thought he had the upper hand on Sherlock and John and we all know baddies love to grandstand.

This Moriarty is probably going to be much scarier than he would have been as a dastardly old gent, the way people expected him to be. He's essentially Sherlock's equal, which is going to be why he's so difficult to beat.

[miscellanny.livejournal.com]

Moriarty is very much who Sherlock could be, if he didn't take more delight in thwarting people than in material gain. Obviously he has a stronger moral compass (thank you, John. XD)

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

He could, but I think it's the solutions which fascinate him, not the destruction. He can certainly be destructive, but it's when he doesn't have something to keep his mind turning over - something to unravel.

Sherlock doesn't seem to want to create chaos, but more to put things in order, whereas Moriarty delights in it.

[vinylsigns.livejournal.com]

The need for rationalization on this subject is pretty astounding, gotta say. I clearly didn't hate it as much as some people, but I don't find myself grasping for a completely unassuming character to be the "real" Moriarty on the grounds that who we got wasn't who we expected (with reference to how he was played & characterized, not that we didn't see who Moriarty was from a mile away). Molly is who she is unless she's a really great actress who's been able to fool Sherlock for months or years. I doubt that.

Molly-as-Moriarty is great crackfic material, though XD

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

The other thing is that this Sherlock needs someone who is as tech-savvy as he is, otherwise he'd run rings around them.

What @CumberHolmes said - that if Moriarty signed up for FourSquare finding him would be a piece of piss - may have been satire, but it's also true. If they went for a man in his mid-sixties, it would be less believable.

Molly wouldn't be a believable Moriarty, for me, either. But it's less about whether she could or she couldn't and more about the fact that she isn't and yet people aren't prepared to let it go.

[vinylsigns.livejournal.com]

The youth of the actor they cast plays to that advantage then. I'd have a hard time believing even a man in his forties could work at computers as fast as Sherlock could unless he was a very modern man. The two of them as contemporaries puts them on an even foothold so that the game between them is outsmarting each other

What is it about this that people won't let die? I know the theory got built up quite a bit, but this is ridiculous.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I've been told they were of a similar age in the books, and it was probably for similar reasons.

With Molly, I think that people dislike her because they see her as a love interest who may come between Sherlock and John. They just want any excuse to ensure that doesn't happen.

[vinylsigns.livejournal.com]

Um. There's practically no reason it'd ever happen anyway O__o I think she has fine potential as a character if she ever decides to stop being manipulated and waiting around for Sherlock. I can't see any avenue for her being set up as a legitimate love interest, however.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Does this not feel a bit like bandom, to you?

I'm seeing a bit of delusion in this fandom, with people seeming to believe that one day It Will Happen. Whereas in bandom, it was meeting Patrick and having him falling in love with them, and here it's the big gay kiss becoming canon.

I'm reasonably certain it won't. At least not as anything but a ploy or joke.

[sassygirl.livejournal.com]

Finally watched the last episode tonight and like you, I'm weirded out that people actually think that Molly may be Moriaty?

Anyway, as you're in Brighton, I wondered if you were going to see Mark Gatiss on Thursday evening? I wish I could but timing/cash, argh! His Lucifer Box novel is amazing.
http://www.thespace.me.uk/#/mark-gatiss/4539522717

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Already booked my tickets. :) Thanks, though, hon.