Sherlock was obviously going to be John's best man. He's John's best friend, and the two's relationship is the heart and soul of the show. If we got to see John's wedding, this is the role Sherlock would play in it. But it didn't even occur to Sherlock that John would want him as best man. He is so utterly oblivious that, when John brings up "the best man," he responds by describing of a serial killer he once met as "the best man I ever knew." When John does, finally, give up with the hints and subtlety in favor of actually asking Sherlock to be best man, Sherlock's brain freezes solid. He's left completely speechless. This is the man who will "outlive God trying to get the last word," and he just stands there with his mouth shut. Then he drinks the tea he dropped an eyeball into. This moment illuminates the gulf that still stretches between Sherlock and John, how strange Sherlock is and how relatively normal John is. John sees a wedding and a friendship as straightforward, but Sherlock is baffled by the very idea. He cannot imagine himself in a role like "best man" until John tells him straight, and trying to contemplate being a best man makes his 'hard drive' crash. Sherlock may be a genius, but the viewers should always keep in mind that he's a total idiot about other things.
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.
