If I'd ever had any doubt that they're both brilliant actors, that episode would have extinguished them. Holy crap. I was moderately spoiled via the internet but I had to go read a reasonable synopsis of the ep before I could make myself watch it. Thank goodness I did. That was brutal. Knowing he didn't die didn't make it any less so. Whoa.
I had to pause it right at the beginning with the first scene with John in the therapist's office because he is SO BRILLIANT and believable and that was when I knew I had to read a proper episode description so I wouldn't get my feet knocked out from under me as the episode went on. I watched the grave scene at the end twice. Part of me wants to watch it a million more times and part of me wants to NEVER WATCH IT AGAIN. Martin Freeman is spectacular. He's so, so talented.
Oh God, that scene! I can never make up my mind whether that or the graveyard scene are the worst/best of the whole episode but I sort of dread how I will cope with watching them again when I can stop at any time (the first time I watched the episode was with a friend and so I had no choice but to watch it all in one go). Freeman's acting is just so lovely and understatedly heartbreaking!
Absolutely gutting even though you "know" how it turns out. (after watching it I went back through emails from last summer when my friends and I were speculating things and I was all "what if it's a metaphorical fall; what if one of them is falsely accused of murder or something and it takes 3 years to clear his name; what if it's a Snuffleupagus situation!" which is, like, my biggest bad thing that can happen in a story... at the time I think I said "I won't be able to STAND it!" and that's about been true -- I haven't watched again, even though I have it on lovely BluRay. But it is so very, very, very well done.)
I've ingested almost enough Empty House fic to sooth my soul for a rewatch.
Yesssss. You put this beautifully, that's so accurate. Sherlock is just stunning in a can't-take-my-eyes-off-him way, like he's somehow exuding pheromones through the screen, but John is quietly, understatedly broken and the fact that I can't hug him is what's hardest, I think. Someone needs to hug him!!!!!
I watched it back in February with some friends and I knew the story going in. (Well, the original Conan Doyle story. ;-)) And from the time Sherlock stepped out onto the rooftop (possibly even before), I was clutching a pillow and quietly whimpering because I knew how things were going to have to play out. And even though I knew how it was going to ultimately turn out, the acting, writing, directing, all of it was amazing. Even now I have trouble watching songvids that deal with it. (And I haven't even gone near any fic yet.)
On a lighter note, I remember not long after that, fans started calling Martin Freeman Martin. Fuckin'. Freeman. :-P
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wesleysgirl
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Date: 2012-05-03 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-04 02:19 pm (UTC)What did you think of the episode? That last scene of John at the grave just always BREAKS me.
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Date: 2012-05-04 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 02:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 08:44 pm (UTC)I've ingested almost enough Empty House fic to sooth my soul for a rewatch.
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Date: 2012-05-04 02:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 11:18 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-03 11:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 02:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 04:23 am (UTC)On a lighter note, I remember not long after that, fans started calling Martin Freeman Martin. Fuckin'. Freeman. :-P
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Date: 2012-05-04 02:19 pm (UTC)