Mycroft: A Study in the Most Dangerous Man

Mycroft is an oft misunderstood character. Certainly he’s not misunderstood by all, but there is a larger number of fans than I would have expected that feel some negativity towards the elder Holmes. I dare say he’s seen by some as an uncaring, cold fish. After great thought, I’ve put together an analysis in defense of the Queen Mycroft and in attempt to shed light on some of his words and actions throughout the show thus far.

[NOTE: This post could be considered a tad spoiler-y as it includes some bits that tie in with my own personal Reichenbach theories.]

Misconception: Mycroft Doesn’t Care.

In A Study in Pink, our first encounter with Mycroft is a bit like meeting a Bond villain in a lair. He’s stolen away our dear Watson and has gone to dramatic lengths to interrogate him while revealing nothing about his own identity. He knows far too much about John to seem trustworthy and his syrupy, deliberate words are dripping with hints of a threat.

While we can’t initially know this, upon reflection it’s easier to see that yes, Mycroft is indeed concerned for his little brother. Certainly he has abducted his brother’s new flatmate and all but threatened him. Then to take the cake that Mycroft can’t have on his diet, he attempts to bribe him into spying on Sherlock for him. That’s just awful! Isn’t it? Perhaps not. Let us remember the following line in A Scandal in Belgravia:

JW: You don’t trust your own Secret Service?

MH: Naturally not. They all spy on people for money.



Mycroft is a man with power and access to any number of spies, surveillance cameras, and, hell, the entire British government to keep tabs on Sherlock. He hardly needs John, a man he has only just met, to do the spying for him. What he does need is a means of testing John. He needs to be sure he can trust this new person who materialized seemingly from nowhere. Sure Mycroft can dig up plenty of biographical facts on John though his many connections, but to know what’s in John’s heart, to know his nature and intentions, for that he must devise a small test. And thus, he offers a poor, invalided soldier an easy and presumably well-paying opportunity. That’s concern for the safety of his brother, I think you’ll find.

MH: Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock.

In what is perhaps my favorite scene of A Scandal in Belgravia, our Holmes brothers have met to identify the body of Irene Adler. Mycroft stands with Sherlock in the darkened empty hall outside Bart’s morgue and imparts that unforgettable warning after offering Sherlock a single cigarette.

This scene scores two points for my argument in favor of Mycroft’s heart. The simplest being that he has offered Sherlock a cigarette to test whether that night may be a “danger night”. I won’t patronize you, as I hardly need to explain why Mycroft’s concern for his brother’s potential substance abuse relapse constitutes caring.

That which resounds with me most strikingly are Mycroft’s words: “Caring is not an advantage…” Mycroft is a man of great contradiction in this episode. A man who professes that caring is not an advantage but he can not help but care for his brother’s well-being anyway. He worries about him, constantly, you know. I would argue that Mycroft is not suggesting Sherlock avoid caring altogether, but he is merely reminding him of the dangers of doing so. He’s not wrong about the disadvantages of caring, of course: Moriarty ultimately uses the people Sherlock cares about to control him. I would argue that Mycroft sees the value in appearing not to care, appearing cold, as caring could be considered a weakness to be preyed upon by people such as Irene Adler and Moriarty.

This entire episode is quite revealing as to the nature of Sherlock and Mycroft’s relationship and is easily misinterpreted if one simply listens, but does not observe. We hear Mycroft say that caring is not an advantage, so we think he must not be caring, but he later apologizes for having driven Sherlock into Irene’s path, believing he is partially to blame for Sherlock having been duped into decoding the email for her. Even more revealing is Mycroft’s final appearance in the episode: his conversation with John inside Speedy’s. In order to protect Sherlock’s feelings, he suggests that John lie to Sherlock regarding Irene’s “death”. At John’s insistence that it wouldn’t matter to Sherlock, Mycroft drops a fan favorite quote:

My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?

His heart. That about which Mycroft is concerned. That which he is seeking to protect by enlisting John in this lie.

Now consider The Reichenbach Fall.

JW: What about Mycroft? He can help us.

SH: Big family reconciliation? Now’s not really the moment.

John and Sherlock race through the dim alleys of London, handcuffed and newly fugitives. Moriarty has carefully planted doubts in the minds of the Yard’s finest regarding Sherlock (or not so finest, depending on your personal opinion of Sally – my defense on her to come in the near future…) Later, after John and Sherlock have separated, our dear soldier confronts Mycroft for his loose lipped conversations with Moriarty. Mycroft tells John that he gave him Sherlock’s life story, which we find to be the nail in the coffin that is the tell-all by “Richard Brook” - and thus Sherlock’s disgrace.



The inference from the above quote is that Sherlock believes he can not rely on Mycroft’s help in this most significant hour of need due to their petty sibling rivalry. John hasn’t the time to argue, and the audience barely the time to think too hard about that, as the race to freedom continues, Sherlock’s mind and mouth working a mile a minute and John trailing half a step behind him, as always. I take issue with that implication. What’s more, I take greater issue with Mycroft’s supposed err in judgment vis-à-vis revealing Sherlock’s life details to Moriarty.

First, let’s address the sibling rivalry bit. Yes, they have petty arguments, but Sherlock still takes cases from Mycroft. “You don’t think I’d give up on a case like this just to spite my brother, do you?” (The Great Game) What’s more, Sherlock isn’t above asking favors of Mycroft. In Hounds, he calls Mycroft for help in returning to Baskerville for a case of importance to Sherlock, but certainly less important than his being a fugitive.

Secondly, let’s address Mycroft’s supposed revealing conversations with Moriarty. Canonically, Mycroft is smarter than Sherlock. I could provide some demonstrative evidence from the show, but it hardly seems worth it. For if one finds Mycroft even only AS or nearly as smart as Sherlock, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce that he shouldn’t divulge his brother’s secrets to a murderous madman. If anything, Mycroft could have simply told Moriarty lies, not truths, about Sherlock’s life. All that said, I simply can’t accept that Mycroft would have sold his own brother out in such a way, much less felt like he HAD to do so in order to extract information from Moriarty.



In further support of my argument that Mycroft only appears heartless, and did not betray Sherlock, I offer that Mycroft is in on Sherlock’s faked death. As Mycroft is smarter than Sherlock, it can be inferred that he may have caught on to Moriarty’s plans even before Sherlock, especially if Moriarty was asking obsessive personal questions during interrogations. Further, who better to help fake a death than a government official with many years of experience in keeping top official secrets - as well as access to the Secret Service who could act as bystanders to the “suicide”? Not to mention, canonically, Mycroft knew that Sherlock had survived the fall. So yeah, there’s that I suppose.

In summation, while caring isn’t an advantage, and he doesn’t exactly wear his heart on his well-tailored sleeve, Mycroft is indeed Big Brother in every sense. He loves Sherlock. He cares for his reputation, about who he befriends, whether he stays clean, and about his safety. Mycroft cares. That’s what I’ve deduced about his heart.