The Unicorn Scale: Sherlock, "A Scandal In Belgravia"

By Jennie Roberson

December 17, 2020

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Photo credit: Image/BBC

I love a good mystery. I can still remember the first mystery book that was given to me — my dad gave me the full collection of Sherlock Holmes stories for Christmas when I was 15. I absolutely adored them and made sure to not only take a Detective Fiction class in college, but also chose, for the final paper, to create a detective short story myself. The art of deduction and its masters, either literary or the literary creations, are a source of comfort, fascination, and ultimately admiration. (To which, if I ever do get my first novel published and get an acknowledgment page, Sue Grafton will get a place of honor on the list if I have anything to say about it.)

Funnily enough, the first one of the Holmes tales that truly caught my attention, “A Scandal In Bohemia”, is also the source material for the episode in question, “A Scandal In Belgravia”. But to say that there were, ahem, departures from the original source material is an understatement. And it’s why I’m covering it today.

Sherlock and Watson standing side by side waring trench coeats and with serious looks.
Image/BBC

Before I dive any deeper into this episode, I should hand out a few disclaimers — but don’t worry, it’s nothing we can’t handle. First and foremost, there will be spoilers ahead as I pick apart the show. Also, if this is your first time around these parts of the site and/or you could use a refresher on the metric in question, you can head over to the original page here, so everyone is on the same page.

Sherlock (2010) is a wildly popular BBC show (which then hit PBS, and now can usually be found on Netflix) produced by Steven Moffatt and Mark Gatliss, based on the original stories and characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes), in a breakout performance, puts a modern spin on the O.G. detective, with his trusty soldier-cum-Doctor Watson (Martin Freeman) by his side as he cracks case after case in 2010s London. “A Scandal In Belgravia” centers on Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), a sexy but mysterious dominatrix who has come into possession of some secrets that could compromise the very fabric of Great Britain.

What I Liked:

I love that there was no shaming of Irene’s attraction to multiple genders, but rather that her business and contacts were merely stated as facts. We see her disappear into a room with a female client, and Sherlock’s brother Mycroft (Gatliss) explains that Irene has also had separate affairs with each member of a marriage. But it’s more specifically that, for all of her business as a sex worker and all the mind games she needs to play in order to hold the cards in her game of political intrigue, she has no problem using the term “gay” for herself, or for flirting with and finally admitting that she is attracted to Sherlock. (I read her use of the term “gay” as most non-straight members of the LGBTI community using it in a broad reclamation, not that she was specifically a lesbian.)

Irene dressed in a provocative dress opens her walk in closet showing a lot more clothes.
Image/BBC

I also really appreciate that there seems to be no sex-shaming going on throughout the episode — no one bats an eye at Irene’s line of work, and she freely alludes to her work and the joys of it without any (seeming) fear of retribution. It’s rather nice because it kind of bucks the stereotype of the English being sexually repressed. It allows Irene to be able to step into her power in more ways than one.

Not only that, but Irene gets more characterization than is normal with a case subject in a mystery. She’s clever (an intellectual match for Sherlock, outsmarting him several times), quick, resourceful, and darkly funny with razor-sharp wit. No wonder Sherlock and the others are intrigued by her.

What I Didn’t Like:

I know this will come as a surprise to no one who has read any of my reviews for a hot minute, but goddamn it, can someone please use the term “bi” or “queer” here? This was shot in 2012 and Irene is clearly a capable woman who has a lot of control over her sexuality. The word wasn’t exactly rare in those days, even on “telly”. And while we’re on the subject, why why why does the running joke throughout at least three of the series have to be poking fun at the idea that Sherlock and Watson are a gay couple? That isn’t an insult, as much as Watson seems to think it is, and that can set a dangerous precedent with the series being as high-exposure and successful as it is.

Sherlock looking over at Watson who is raising his eyebrow at the camera.
Image/BBC

I think it’s also important to point out that there are still a lot of bad bisexual tropes at play here. Irene is villainous, exploits her sexuality to get what she wants, and is lying and manipulative. It didn’t make me bristle as much in other forms of media but it still is holding up a bunch of stereotypes that I am so damn sick of seeing over and over again with queer characters. Also? The structure of the narrative almost seems to suggest that Irene was mostly gay until she met Sherlock, and we all know how eye-rolling that whole “on the turn” plot point is.

The Rating:

While Irene is full of character development and intrigue, sexual and otherwise, I wouldn’t say she is necessarily the most fully-fleshed out bi character I’ve seen in a while. Sure, she knows her way around a dungeon, and yes, she can outwit Sherlock a few times. But her romantic arc was sadly one of the biggest drives of her character, and I could see her doing so much more. There is an aftertaste of queerbaiting here that I can’t quite get out of my mouth.

I don’t know where she ran off to after Sherlock (sigh) saved this “damsel in distress”, but I hope she gets to have a storyline that is a bit more deserving of her. Now that is elementary.

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