One Star to the Post-Eminent Mind | Sherlock
'One Star to the Post-Eminent Mind' is the unspoken story of John Watson in 'A Study in Pink'. It is constructed to be raw and impure to represent the real-life experience behind John and Sherlock's meeting, tainted by the insecurity and emotional desolation John was suffering.
This does not contain any key parts of 'A Study in Pink' or any other episode that are characteristically portrayed in edits - with the exception of that fateful first meeting, of course. It is trying to portray the real-life people behind John and Sherlock beyond their cases. John's life would not be comprised of jumping from case to case - the majority of it would, instead, be filled with everyday movements and lonely thoughts.
Moreover, this edit has no dialogue, and is silent aside from the music. It aims to represent John's thoughts visually; he does not speak of his personal experience, he merely absorbs it.
Essentially, this edit is about John and Sherlock, apart and alone, both feeling that something unknown is terribly missing. They feel unsatisfied with their lives, however silence this knowledge. Haunted by and yet missing the Afghanistan war in which he served, John remembers a life past of intellect, comradeship and overall vitality, and mourns his post-eminent mind.
Then they meet - and suddenly, Sherlock is all John can think about. His mystery and intelligence are a shining beacon in his underworld of mundaneness and suppressed post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sherlock begins to permeate even his flashbacks, as shown through his invasion of John's nightmares of Afghanistan combat. This aids John in shaking himself free of the emotional shackles brought by the war.
There is a scene in which John is running and searching rooms. This represents him seeking a resolution, some logical relief from the all-consuming defeatism of his life.
However, the final scene of John and Sherlock together in their flat shows John with a haunted countenance, even despite Sherlock there. Sherlock gives a small smile and turns away - he understands that John cannot be truly fixed, only assisted. Some things cannot be changed without uprooting something deep and fundamental, and that is always risky in the fragility of the human spirit.
And yet, that first meeting persists in returning to John's mind. It was the start of something new and hopeful, the one star in his post-eminent mind. Perhaps, he dares to dream, there is hope for him, in the years beyond 'A Study in Pink'.
A/N: This took about twenty hours to upload. Then I realised a mistake. I uploaded it again - and found another mistake. Then it was another twenty hours of uploading again. What a time to be alive.
Music: Hozier - From Eden
One Star to the Post-Eminent Mind | Sherlock