Unfortunately, ffnet won't allow me to include images or outside links! But you can see them in the AO3 post of this at archiveofourown works / 616870 (just remove spaces).
So, new appreciation for Irene Adler as I rewatch ASIB carefully and see how quickly she gets under John and Sherlock's skins. Of course, there's the whole "We're not a couple"/"Yes, you are" scene, but it's all there way before that.
Fair warning-this is the kind of graduate literature seminar stuff that made me NOT want to go on and get a PhD, but somehow, when it's Sherlock, I don't mind one iota. And as any grad lit student knows, it doesn't matter what was intended; it only matters what you can successfully argue.
So who's doing what when? Who's where? Who's looking at whom?
Here we go.
When our boys first meet Irene, things are a bit uncomfortable.
Sherlock is puzzled. Irene's cool as a cucumber and enjoying herself. John makes a joke about having missed something.
You know what John doesn't miss? He doesn't miss that Sherlock's a bit off. He sees Sherlock trying to deduce Irene, then sees Sherlock turn to John and deduce him instead. So John's confused face?
John's making that face at Sherlock. That's a "what's wrong with you?" face. John reads Sherlock very well and he can see that Irene is throwing him off.
Skipping to the bit when Irene says "Somebody loves you"; right after that sentence, John looks directly at Sherlock. What's he thinking? "Who loves you? Why is she looking at your boo boo when she says it?" I suspect. (Okay, maybe not the boo-boo part). And when she explains she'd avoid hitting Sherlock's nose and teeth too, she looks directly at John.
And that's when John gets annoyed, gives her the fake laugh and asks her to put something on. She asks, "Why? Are you feeling exposed?" and yes, damnit, he is feeling exposed. They've been in a room together for 75 SECONDS and she's figured him out already.
Then, Sherlock interrupts, saving John from answering her, and simultaneously gives Irene his coat. Because Johnwants her to put something on. Then they have a little domestic bicker right in front of her (the laptop bit). They give her so much ammunition.
Now the part about "brainy's the new sexy." Irene is taking her shoes off, tucking up on the sofa. She mentions knowing what a policeman likes, and let's look at John, what he does. He sits on the sofa next to her, keeps his eyes on her, asks her, "And you like policemen?"
And where is Sherlock? He's standing up and away. Neither Irene nor John are looking at him. Irene had given Sherlock an excellent opportunity to show off by explaining the hiker's death, and Sherlock is not immediately complying. Why?
Maybe because Irene and John are sitting on the sofa together. And Irene is looking at John with sparkly eyes and red lips while she says, "I like detective stories. And detectives. Brainy's the new sexy." Is this her hitting on John? Is it her indirectly hitting on Sherlock?
Nope.
This is her knowing that John feels the same way. This is Irene saying, I like him. You like him. Let's bond over that. And damn if John doesn't give her the tiniest smile.
And what is Mr. Sexy Brain doing? He's observing Irene and John on the couch. When she leans forward, towards John, and says, "And detectives" in that suggestive way, Sherlock looks away from Irene and towards John.
And as soon as John starts to smile, even a fraction of a smile, Sherlock interrupts. And mumbles.
Sherlock is unsettled, off his game for a fraction of a second. It's easy to assume it's because of the naked woman saying she likes detectives, and he's the best detective ever, therefore . . .
But she's looking at John (we could even say flirting with John) when she says it, and John is on the verge of warming up to her. Irene is not only female and beautiful but also very, very clever, and could be serious catnip to our captain.
So Sherlock interjects. With mumbling. Because (says my shipper heart) that's unacceptable, John is his. Sherlock's the only one who gets to attract John with a big sexy brain. So NOW he shows off. Now he starts explaining about the hiker. To distract Irene and John from each other, and, I argue, to get John to remember the original, best, sexiest brain in the room (world).
They've completely, utterly exposed themselves as a couple (sexual or not) within THREE MINUTES of being around her, and she picked up on all of it and started using it to play them off each other.
(Minutes 24:00 to 27:00, if you're feeling an urge to rewatch it).
So, conclusion: Irene rocks. I love her big sexy brain all over again.
Happy to hear other theories as well, though! I would LOVE to take a seminar in Sherlock and sit around discussing all this, rewatching scenes, debating. Especially with wine and snacks.