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The single red rose from ‘W’ – Did Irene Adler visit Sherlock Holmes in the hospital?

I know this has already been discussed before, but I thought I might take a crack at it. 

To those who don’t know, there’s a deleted scene from Season 3 episode 3: His Last Vow, wherein Charles Magnussen visits Sherlock in the hospital. In this scene, we see Magnussen pointing out the flowers in the room, stopping in particular at a single red rose, with a card that says ‘W’ and a strange black stamp.

It is a clear indicator that it was Irene Adler who sent the rose. The ‘W’ (which stands for her professional name the Woman of course) is the same font and color (red) as the one from her website. The black stamp is from her website wallpaper as well as her own bedroom (Irene tends to have a black and red theme going, as evidenced from her website and the gift she gave Sherlock for Christmas)

Did Irene Adler send the rose herself? I’d like to think so. Stripped of her phone, her contacts, her connections and protection, I would think that the only way for her to get the rose to Sherlock was if she visited him herself (in a brilliant disguise I’d imagine), which wouldn’t be a stretch. After all, he did fly thousands of miles away to save her in Karachi. With him at death’s door, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine she’d pay him a visit as well.

Here’s another proof that Irene Adler was there. Now this may need a bit more imagination. In one disturbing scene in this deleted clip, Charles Magnussen takes Sherlock’s hands and begins to caress it:

“The musician’s hands…and an artist’s…” Magnussen kisses Sherlock’s hands, then inhales sharply.“A woman’s?” Magnussen asks. Sherlock pulls his hand away.

This may allude to Irene visiting. Perhaps while Sherlock was asleep, she’d sat down by his side, maybe held his hand as well, kissed it, who knows (note that Irene has been known to leave Sherlock a kiss while he sleeps, just like in ASiB). But Magnussen definitely smelled something on Sherlock’s hands, and the way Sherlock flinched at “A woman’s?” could be interpreted that he knew Irene visited and he didn’t want Magnussen to deduce that.

Finally, I’d like to discuss the meaning of a single red rose. While the others gave bouquets, the rose stood out because it was the only one (it was also focused by the camera several times). Doing a search, here’s what I got.

“Red roses are given to those who you want to show love and passion, people who you have great respect for, and those who have shown great courage. The quantity can also have a special meaning. A single red rose shows love.”

There is one other thing, and this may take a bit of imagination. The shape of the stamp on the card appears odd. Irene could’ve sent in something simpler, rectangular, circular, but she chose that particular shape to stamp on the card. My husband, who’s an equally huge Sherlock fan pointed out that it looked like an upside down chess piece, particularly a queen. Upside down chess piece indicates acceptance of defeat. As with Irene’s masthead on her website “Know when you are beaten”. Does this mean that she has long since accepted defeat in that she has given in to her feelings for Sherlock?

Well, there you go. Even though this scene never made it on television (maybe because it showed too much? Or stretched out the episode too long, I don’t know), it seems the writers still do think of Irene. Only time will tell when she’ll return.

@francesca-wayland @throughtheparadox @i-am-adlocked @nixxie-fic

@the-adler-vertu  @fuckyeahsherlockirene @adlockshippers @adlerites @mydearmoran @cheures @when-he-wins-her-heart

Arwel Wyn Jones, the production designer of Sherlock, confirmed this!

But let me add more to this… the part about Magnussen and the kiss. Just a little crazy idea from a crazy idea hamster.

Two years ago, I made this post where Magnussen’s listed pressure points for Sherlock lists Irene as the very first one, and that “[see file]” indicates that Magnussen knows more about Irene than we know.

Sherlock was thorough, so there is the possibility that Magnussen didn’t know that Irene Adler was alive. And the pressure point is about Sherlock grieving the death of Irene Adler.

But upon going through that hospital scene, and finding the card with the W and a single rose. Magnussen has that “[see file]” under Irene’s name. It’s not that hard for him to do the maths either. And there, presto, Magnussen is considering the possibility of Irene Adler is alive.

I mean, he immediately mocks Sherlock for it. 

“A woman’s?” he asks. But the scent is not what confirms it.

It was Sherlock’s flinch.

Because why would he flinch at the salutation? Why else would he flinch at the implication that a woman had held his hand? Who else would do such a thing that would make Sherlock Holmes move his hand despite having the lack of energy to move at all?

Because, oh! Irene Adler is mthrfckn alive.

And now Sherlock knows Magnussen knows about it. There is a possibility of Magnussen using that knowledge over his head forever. Of holding it over Irene’s head forever.

There’s already Mary’s identity, John’s marriage, and Mycroft’s operation at stake. Now he has Irene’s life compromised too.

And so he kills Magnussen.