1. "A High-Functioning Sociopath. With Your Number" 'The Sign Of Three'
The entire 'Sherlock Holmes: Wedding Planner' sequence is a piece of comic genius. Youtube-ing napkin folds, I ask you... The genius in these scenes is the juxtaposition of the ordinary a wedding and the mess of relationships that comes with it with the extraordinary, namely Sherlock. John and Mary put a sociopath in charge of negotiating the complicated histories that come up between wedding guests. Sherlock, faced with the stuff of romantic comedies, cuts through it all with intellect and threats. The funniest moment comes when Mary reaches to hug a friend who responds by leaping backward in terror. We then flashback to see Sherlock applying his skills at deduction to accuse Mary's friend of having a crush on her. Sherlock puts the man on trial, running through his social media activity and demanding a defence. When the man doesn't offer one, he explains the new rules that social situations with Mary will follow from now on. It's a yet another example of Sherlock entering a 'normal' situation and doing something only he would do. And it's best for "normal people" not to cross him, because he's "a high-functioning sociopath with your number."
Rebecca Kulik lives in Iowa, reads an obsence amount, watches way too much television, and occasionally studies for her BA in History. Come by her personal pop culture blog at tyrannyofthepetticoat.wordpress.com and her reading blog at journalofimaginarypeople.wordpress.com.
