The Crooked Man

[mightymads]

It was pointed out before, but the frame narrative of this story is rather curious. After a long and exhausting day, Watson stays up until a quarter to twelve for some reason. He is married just recently, but instead of joining his wife upstairs he reads a novel. Why? Then we find out that there are bachelor quarters for one in his house. This spare room isn’t called a guest room or something, but bachelor quarters. Does he keep this room especially for Holmes if Holmes chooses to visit and sleep over? Weird. Then it gets better still: Holmes tells Watson about his current case, and voila, Watson is lively and wide awake whereas before Holmes’s visit he was tired and sleepy. His practice is busy, as Holmes observes, yet Watson agrees to accompany Holmes the next day at once, without any second thoughts. “I’m sure my neighbour will be happy to take over,” says he.

Watson also reminds us that he can see through Holmes’s unemotional veneer despite Holmes’s “composure which had made so many regard him as a machine rather than a man.” So first Watson creates the machine myth himself and then goes like, but I actually know how sensitive and emotional Holmes really is, wink, wink.

Miss Morrison. The previous story left us perplexed as to who Annie Morrison was. This one also features a Miss Morrison. This name must have persisted in ACD’s imagination until he created an actual character, not a loose end.

I agree with other Holmes scholars—Granada handled this story much better in comparison with the original. It gave Watson something to do and made him an active participant instead of treating us to a double flashback (Holmes’s narrative and Henry Wood’s narrative). It made much more sense for Watson to help Holmes navigate through the aspects of military life than to be a passive listener.

A few words about Henry Wood. One wonders about his fate afterwards. Was he reunited with Nancy? Or was it that he didn’t have much longer to live? He was crouching by the fire on a warm day and mentioned that he came to see the old country before he died. In the Bert Coules adaptation Watson gives him advice to go to Nancy. I’d like to hope that Henry Wood followed it, and that he and Nancy could be together and relish the time which was left for them.

Comments

[smallhobbit]

I can understand how Watson feels at the beginning. He's tired from an exhausting day, presumably because he's had difficult cases, but he won't be able to sleep as his mind is still busy. So he reads his book to help him both mentally and physically relax. Then, when Holmes presents the problem, it's as if the engine which had been idling is kicked back into life. I'm sure it would have been the same had it been a patient, only this looks to be less emotionally draining than a patient requiring overnight care.

I too hope Henry Wood gets his Nancy back.

[mightymads]

I suppose I can’t help looking at it from a shipper’s POV :) Once seen, it can’t be unseen. But I do understand being so tense after a hard day that sleep doesn’t come. Happens to me quite often, actually. But I find it more relaxing to take a bath and lie in bed, even if I can’t sleep, whereas staying up late proved to be not a good choice for me as it tends to exhaust me even more.

Yes, I think a patient would also chase away Watson’s sleep, and yet Watson was not that excited at the prospect of a night-long vigil at a patient’s bedside. Whereas when Holmes told him half of the story, Watson demanded the other half, no matter how late the hour.

[luthienberen]

Reading this reminded me of how much I perceive this story through Granada's version. I must declare that I prefer Granada's version. The flashbacks here turned Watson into such a passive participant that it made it hard to be enthused about the story.

Instead, bringing in Watson's military service helped usher in life to the tale and highlight the tragedy of the story and the wickedness of Colonel Barclay.

Watson is quite a tease! He creates the mythos of the cold unthinking machine then spends numerous cases abolishing this myth, to only in this story to admit that he can pry through these supposed layers of coldness. It is amusing how Watson bascially has Holmes wriggling in his seat, laughing and flushing when thrilled he has nearly caught his prey (or at a compliment!) or caring for others yet pretend Holmes is merely governed by logic.

I like your take on Miss Morrison. At last a real character and not a loose end! (BUT...I'm guilty like ACD of reusing names lol.)

I do hope Mr Wood had a happy ending and spent whatever remained of his life with Nancy. In fact, my personal headcanon is that Nancy and Henry found peace and joy together and Watson was able to help cure many of Mr Wood's ailments so his life was extended so he could enjoy his life with his lady.

[mightymads]

I too prefer the Granada version, besides, Jeremy and David are superb there.

Watson is a devious, devious narrator, and it makes interpreting the canon so much fun!

And I love your headcanon about Watson helping Wood to feel better and live longer. Surely Henry and Nancy deserved it. They must have been only in their fifties.

[luthienberen]

Yay for us both preferring the Granada version! Oh yes, Jeremy and David were superb. Also, on a more shallow level I did enjoy how David was dressed in this episode (apologies for lowering the tone).

I adore Watson the devious devious narrator! That ought to be a tag! It makes canon and fic so much fun.

Thanks, I'm so happy you like my headcanon. Nancy and Henry deserve a happy ending. I agree with you on their ages :x}

[earthspirits]

I really enjoyed the Granada version of this tale.

Interesting subtext in the actual ACD story.

[mightymads]

It's so great that Granada made Watson an intelligent and capable companion to Holmes. Perhaps one of the very few where Watson isn't a bungler.

[natrix_natrix]

Seconding the sentiment of apparently everyone else in the comments: Granada definitely handled it better. On another note, I was actually looking for that mention of the "bachelor quarters"! Michelle Birkby mentions it in her pastiches as Mary and Watson's attempt to keep Holmes involved in their lives, even after Watson has moved out of Baker Street, and I was wondering where she got that idea. I know and admire the tint the more realistic H/W goggles give to the expression "bachelor quarters", but I will be sitting here in the back, waving my little ot3 flag too.

[mightymads]

Such things in the canon make one wonder time and time again what ACD was thinking. And if we look at it from a ménage à trois POV, it must have been brutal for Watson to lose them both roughly at the same period of time. Poor Watson.