Was Sherlock in Love with John?

One of the biggest mysterious in the modern version of Sherlock, was the true sexuality of Sherlock Holmes. He did harbor a sort of romantic admiration for Irene Adler and did get with a woman named Janine to break into her boss's office, but we never actually knew if Sherlock was straight or gay. He even had a friend named Molly, that I thought would have been perfect for Sherlock, but he only saw her as a friend. Sherlock truly had a lot of options to choose from, but he chose to stay single.

He did mention that only the work mattered to him, but out of everyone in the show, the only person he was truly himself was John Watson, his best friend. Upon first meeting, we can slowly see Sherlock start to change throughout the show. He goes from a cold human being to a person with a good soul once we reach the final season. He even states that John is his family and the show literally ends with Sherlock and John living together, raising John's daughter.

Sherlock looked so happy in the final moments of the show, and the way that he was acting with John and his daughter honestly came off like he was spending time with his own family. Seriously, if you were to show this ending to anyone who was unfamiliar with Sherlock, they would assume this was a couple that was going to raise their child together.

Every time I watch this ending, I can't help but ship these two characters.

I know that everyone says that they are friends, but man, I do blame the actors for having amazing chemistry with each other. Especially Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Sherlock, and man, during so many scenes, it really looked like he was giving John a 'romantic look.'

What I mean by this, is that during a lot of scenes throughout the show, Sherlock would look at John with such tenderness. There was even one scene where Sherlock looked at John one last time, before he made the choice to murder a dangerous man, so that John could live happily with his wife and child. I thought the look was rather strange, because surely a best friend wouldn't look at his friend like that?

John never notices the look at all during this scene, because he was panicking over the thought of the dangerous man Sherlock killed going after his wife and child. It only lasts for a second, but it really came off like a romantic farewell from Sherlock, and it's honestly one of my favorite scenes they share on screen together.

And let's not forget one of the most important episodes in the entire show, where John and Mary are getting married.

There are several scenes in this episode that caught me off guard, and for a quick moment, I was starting to think that the show was actually going to confirm that Sherlock was in love with his friend.

The Sign of Three in season 3 is probably one of the best episodes in the show. We truly get Sherlock at his most human yet, because he realizes that his friend is now starting a new chapter in his life, and he is going to lose him. This should be seen as a happy moment for Sherlock, right? His best friend is going to get married, and now they are going to have a kid together. But Sherlock appears to be quite sad over this realization.

In the very beginning of the episode, we get the first moment of Sherlock looking bothered. Mrs. Hudson, his landlady, states that Sherlock would never understand marriage, because he always lives alone. For a second, he looked so bothered by that statement, but he shrugged it off. Then we get another moment of Sherlock looking at his friend's chair in the apartment, knowing that he won't see his friend sit in that chair again.

Then we get another huge scene toward the end of the episode.

Sherlock tells John and Mary they are going to have a child, and at first, they are both freaking out over this realization, but he assures them they are going to be great parents. Then the couple doesn't notice that Sherlock's smile fades away so fast, but he tells the couple to go ahead and dance. They do, and after that, Sherlock looks so lost. Even though he is trying to mingle with people, he looks so uncomfortable. He does attempt to spend time with Janine, but she is dancing with someone else.

He decides to leave the wedding early, and it makes me wonder if John and Mary ever brought this up to Sherlock later. I really wish this had been mentioned, but we never hear about John's reaction to his best friend leaving the wedding early. It was such a significant moment in the show, and I truly started to believe that we were going to get confirmation that Sherlock was in love with his best friend.

And yes, I know that Sherlock did state that he wasn't interested in John in the very first episode when he thought he was flirting with him, but what if Sherlock later accepted that he was in love with his friend later?

I get that it's open to interpretation what Sherlock's true sexuality was, but I truly do think he always had secret feelings for his best friend.

For the fans who have seen the show, what are your thoughts on Sherlock's feelings toward his best friend?

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn