3. Making John Think That He Was Going To Die On The Tube
As if he hadn't put John through enough lately Sherlock returns from the dead and ruin's John proposal, all before John gets almost torched alive in a bonfire because he was caught in Sherlock's dispute with Magnussen - Sherlock takes John with him to investigate a bomb in the underground. He defuses the bomb, obviously. But again, there's a distinct lack of communication with John to tell him of this fact. John's whole life flashes before his eyes. He realises that he's going to leave Mary alone; he wished so much that Sherlock would return, and now they're just going to die together. The man he placed so much trust in has let him down, again, when he most needed it, and he has little more than a minute to live. So, in his final moments, he forgives Sherlock. What else is there to do? It's then that Sherlock reveals that John's been set up. He could have defused the bomb at any point, but he just wanted John to say he'd forgive him. There are easier ways of doing that. Ways that don't involve putting your best friend through an emotional wringer, as he comes to terms with how his death will affect his fiancee and his family. That's a risky game to play just to get someone to say something: he's lucky he wasn't punched again.
