Shake It Out

Video

OKAY WAIT NO I HAVE SOME INSISTENT LESTRADE FEELS, PLEASE HOLD FOR LESTRADE FEELS.

Okay, so, the #WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY gif, above, that’s from the scene in Baskerville when they’re all exposed to that fear drug that responds to stimulus and emotional state, right? And, look, that whole episode was kind of a clusterfuck wash for me other than the Rupert Graves bits, but that moment, right there, is when I truly and properly fell in love with Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade. Allow me to tell you why!

Okay, first things first: when Greg shows up in Dartmoor, Sherlock comments about his tan and the fact that he’s just gotten back from holiday. In the shot where that’s going down, Greg takes off his sunglasses and we see his left hand, where there is a tanline where his wedding ring used to be.

The LAST time we saw Greg, it was at Christmas, when Sherlock was telling him that his wife was cheating on him. The fact that I wrote Greg going on a (failed) save-my-marriage holiday with his wife in that Molly fic was not me inventing shit—that happened. Canonically. They were just subtle about it.

It’s acknowledged that he is JUST back from this holiday. It is also acknowledged, through his behavior, that he’s maybe not in a great place—he’s tetchier than we typically see Lestrade (though one of the things I love about him, as a character, in general, is that he does get KIND OF BITCHY sometimes in a completely hilarious/justified way, like it’s clear that sometimes Sherlock goes past pissed-him-off and into hurt-his-feelings and it’s clear that that guy nearly being driven out of his mind REALLY UPSETS HIM and it’s adorable, ILU GREG).

Also, he is a Detective Inspector in the city of London. Even aside from the craziness with Sherlock, we are talking about a man who has seen some SHIT go down. Who has seen some seriously fucking terrible things. The stuff nightmares are made of. The stuff nightmares wish they were made of, and all right in his own backyard.

So, just to recap: at the time of the above gif, Greg Lestrade is just off the edge of discovering his marriage is over, in a strange city with none of his friends or family around save Sherlock “Your First Name Is Greg?” Holmes and John “Oh Hey Useful Scotland Yard Pal” Watson. He is upset and alone. He has, unquestionably, seen the worst of life. He is not nearly as aware of what is going on as either Sherlock or John, since, as is typical, they did not give him the full details.

And when he is exposed to a mind altering fear drug, in that mental place (seriously, god only knows what he’s seeing, can you imagine?) he is visibly—VISIBLY, LOOK AT THE GIF—terrified out of his mind, but he stands his ground and keeps his gun trained on the threat. He protects, y’all.

And THAT IS BRAVERY. Bravery isn’t the absence of fear, it’s restraining yourself from turning tail and running when you want to more than anything. It’s being fucking scared shitless and doing it anyway.

In summary: four for you, Greg Lestrade. You go, Greg Lestrade.