The first season of Sherlock is about the early stages of one of the greatest pairings in all of literature: the friendship of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. In the original 60 stories, with only three exceptions, the entire characterization and voice of Holmes is filtered through the pen of Watson. On more than one occasion, Holmes complains about Watson romanticizing of their adventures together, arguing that Watson’s careful crafting creates a specific story, whereas in the hands of another writer the tale would be very different. Watson’s writing is often self-deprecating, setting up Holmes as the superior mind and himself as the guy who’s just along for the ride. In many subsequent adaptations, the depiction has been exactly that — Holmes as the calm, careful genius, with the bumbling Watson by his side sticking up for him every step of the way.
But a careful reading of the stories shows something very different. Watson is often annoyed by Holmes. In The Valley of Fear, he refers to himself as “one of the most long-suffering of mortals.” When Holmes lies to him in The Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson is very upset, and he bitterly tells Holmes that he’s wasted his time and shown nothing but distrust of him. There are more subtle hints as well, as when Watson describes Holmes in unseemly ways, pointing out his sexism or quoting deplorable comments, as if these are his tiny acts of revenge for having to put up with a friend who, at times, can be a bit of a dick. Holmes might mock Watson on occasion, pointing out his mental inferiority (and, again, Watson includes this information in the stories as if only to point out the boorishness of his pal), but Holmes values Watson, opens up to him in ways he doesn’t to anyone else, is calmed by him, and when Watson’s life is in danger, Holmes shows more fear than at any other time. A careful reading, like the one Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss would have done, shows the intimacy between these two men — that they are not a genius and bumbling sidekick, but two men on an adventure, side by side.
From the momentous meeting of the two men in “A Study in Pink” to John saving Sherlock’s life at the end of the episode, to the two helping each other solve the case in “A Blind Banker,” to facing death together at the end of “The Great Game,” this first season evolves their relationship from its birth to its maturity, the moment where Sherlock realizes that John is as important to him as he is to John. John pulls Sherlock out of solitude and makes him less of a social outcast, and Sherlock puts the danger and excitement back into John’s life, which is exactly what John needed. Sherlock has the mind of a genius, but John has the social skills and humanity that Sherlock lacks.
This is not the story of a great detective and his sidekick, but of two men: John Watson, a man who is missing something in his life and who finds it in Sherlock Holmes, a man who doesn’t realize he needed someone until he finds John. Ultimately, over the first three seasons, the show’s focus will shift to Sherlock as we see his various strengths and flaws reflected in his foes, but John will always be there, shaping the man that Sherlock becomes.