4. The Future of Mrs Watson
When we first met John in A Study in Pink, he was a mess. He had been invalided out of the Army because of wounds received in Afghanistan, he was seeing a psychiatrist, suffering from flashbacks and felt as though his life was going nowhere. But then he met Sherlock Holmes. In that episode, we saw John change over the course of an hour and a half, symbolised by him not needing his walking stick, because the adrenaline that came hand in hand with Sherlocks lifestyle replaced that which he had lost. He needed that action, that danger, that excitement to make living worthwhile. You made me better was what Watson said by Sherlocks graveside in that powerful monologue that brought many a tear to the eye. But what happens now that Sherlock is gone (for him anyway). It will be interesting to see how Johns lifestyle adapts to the absence of Sherlock, how he keeps himself going and moving forward. I said earlier about this being an ideal time to meet his future wife Mary, but we will still get to see that inner struggle that prevents Watson from moving on. There are tough times ahead for Martin Freeman, but judging from what he has accomplished as the character in the past, he will not disappoint. Now, coming to the other side of the coin, there is another aspect of Watsons future which we all want to see come season 3 and that is his reaction when he learns that Sherlock is alive! He poured his heart out to his supposedly dead friend and prayed for him not to be dead, but what will Johns reaction really be when he learns the truth. Will he be relieved; thankful that his prayers have been answered? Or will there be a lot of anger at being kept in the dark boiling up inside of him? Either way, that moment is going to be ripe with comic potential, something that Moffat and Gatiss are doing to have a lot of fun with when the time comes.