Stupid CBS.
At first I thought that it would actually be nice to have a female version of Watson, because well, let’s face it: smart, bad-ass female characters are never enough. However, when you give it a second thought, the idea is not nearly as good or revolutionary as it seems. First of all, is almost a copy of what the BBC is already doing, the only difference being that Sherlock’s companion is a woman and that it’s setted in New York. New York. You are basing a television show on Doyle’s books and the difference you choose to make (of the many you could have chosen with a little more of imagination) is to set it in New York. And, of course, changing John Watson to a female character.
Now, it’s not that I don’t think that Sherlock Holmes’ characters couldn’t be women. No, never. What upsets me a little is the fact that they probably chose to portrait Watson as a woman just for the sake of romantic context, because hell, we’re not going to screw a good series by making two same-sex characters kiss or have sex. If what they intended was to sell romance, which is normally a better catch for audiences than a police show (let’s face it), it’s clear that they had to look for a woman companion for Sherlock, or at least that’s what they surely thought. The BBC managed to build a beautiful relationship between modern Watson and Holmes, which I think is really full of love and sincerity and it’s also kind of romantic, without one of them being a woman.
Also, I’m afraid that they’d make the “female version” of John as some woman that Holmes has to save, some kind of damsel-in-distress that can’t take care of herself and that would, of course, be nothing like the actual Watson. If they wanted women to play Sherlock Holmes, why would not make SHERLOCK a woman too? THAT would actually be a good plot-twist and something I think has never been done on screen before. Why? Oh, probably because they wouldn’t be able to have romantic context again, probably because… well… same-sex couple… wasn’t that probably the thing they were trying to avoid on the first place?
And why Watson, and not Holmes, was chosen to be the woman? Because he isn’t sometimes as clever as the detective is? I feel like they’re going to promote the idea of the woman as a companion, as the more vulnerable one. Probably just giving her the ability to kick someone’s ass now and then or insult a lot to make people think that she’s actually playing a “”“respecting”“” role (as if acting like the actual, horrible stereotype of man would make you respectable), when actually she’d probably be phisically strong but Sherlock would still be the clever one, the one that makes the deductions and is mentally more advanced.
Don’t hate me. I just have a lot of things to say.
