It was the slap heard across the Internet, as we all collectively realized that somehow, while we weren’t really paying attention, Molly Hooper became the best part and the coolest character on Sherlock. Move over Irene Adler, there’s a new Woman in town, and we’re all a little bit in love with her.
Real talk: Molly Hooper is awesome. She’s a strong, female character without being a STRONGFEMALECHARACTER. A real sweetheart and a clever little thing to boot, she’s kind and loyal, determined and patient; a tough cookie that’s handled whatever life has thrown at her. Basically, she’s the best friend any high functioning sociopath would be lucky to have.
The only real Sherlock original, Molly is the only character not originally created by a man in the 1800s, and she feels like it. She’s the human being that this re-imagined universe needs to feel fully real. Of all the characters on the show, Molly humanizes Sherlock by treating him like a man, not a mind. Beyond all the bravado and show, she sees Sherlock as another human being – someone to be loved, and to be cared for – and that allows us as an audience to see him that way too.
So, without further ado, here are 12 reasons why Molly Hooper is rocking our Sherlock world.
She works in a morgue.
How badass is that? She’s like a 21st century crypt-keeper. How gothic of you, Molly Hooper. You probably had some wicked fashion sense as a teen.
She bounces back.
How many times has this woman been humiliated by Sherlock? And she just keeps bouncing back, like ‘whatevs.’ Some might chalk it up to low self-esteem, but from the very first episode we learn that Molly is pretty confident in herself. She puts on the pants and takes charge, breaking social codes and asking out the totally hot but aloof guy who’s just walked into her office. And when he turns her down, instead of moping around like a sad vampire, she just helps him out the next time he comes around like they’re totally cool. How very Mr. Darcy of her. After all we know about Molly, we deduce that she bounces back quickly not because she doesn’t believe in herself, but because she ultimately believes in humanity.
She’s clever.
Guys, Molly is really smart. She’s so smart, she doesn’t even have to be an asshat about it like Sherlock is. She’s confident in her own brilliance. And she even makes Sherlock a little jealous sometimes…
She’s trustworthy.
That’s no small feat. It takes a lot for a man like Sherlock, for people in general, really, to let their guard down and believe someone to be so purely good as to be incorruptible. Sherlock put his life in her hands, and if we had to choose, we would too.
She has a pink blog. With kittens.
Molly is girlie. And that’s not only okay, that’s cool, because girls are cool.
Women of the world, it’s high time we stopped feeling like traditionally feminine attributes and qualities make us any less intelligent or strong. We can like whatever we damn well please. Pink kittens included.
She just gets it.
Molly Hooper knows how to listen. I mean, really listen, without relating what’s being said back on to her own hopes and problems. She not only hears what people are saying, but she sees why they are saying it. Like Sherlock, Molly notices the small things — the things nobody else pays attention to. She takes note of Sherlock’s sadness: predicting his “death” in season 2, and watching him slip out of John and Mary’s wedding reception in season 3. In some ways, Molly’s deductive skills rival Sherlock’s because she’s able to spot the things no one else does, including Sherlock’s loneliness.
Molly is the opposite of our beloved detective in so many ways: while he has so much trouble interacting with people, Molly always seems to perfectly understand what people need emotionally. Empathy is hard. It requires looking beyond oneself to understand the world through another’s experience. But it also takes the best part of our humanity to behave in a way that is so selfless. Loyal and accepting, Molly embodies selflessness within Sherlock, and proves to be the best kind of friend.
She has a type. And it’s sociopaths.
Sociopaths don’t break up with Molly, she breaks up with THEM. I have nothing to add to this except, once again: fearless badass.
She commits.
When Sherlock asks her to go to dinner solve crimes with him, she’s totally committed to playing the part of John. She takes notes, just like John! Watch her! She will be the best John!
But seriously though, Molly not only commits to the parts in life she’s asked to play, she also commits to her friends. This is one lady you can count on.
She’s quiet AND strong.
Irene Adler is cool, guys. She takes off her clothes to make unforgettable first impressions and blackmails royalty with a bat of her eyelashes. She threatens CIA operatives. She fools around with terrorists. She’s flashy. That’s cool.
But she doesn’t feel real. There might be an Irene Adler out there, and she certainly would be a fearsome thing to behold, but I’ve never met her. I have met plenty of Molly Hoopers.
To show restraint in life shows courage. It takes a different kind of strength to take the back seat and let others shine. It takes bravery to admits one’s faults, and it is even braver to put them on display where others can see. Molly Hooper is muted; she is not in-your-face, and she occasionally fades into the background. But she is strong when she feels it’s necessary, and she is brave when it is called for, and that is something we can all aspire to.
She keeps it real.
Like this.
Someone has to keep Sherlock in check.
Molly Hooper is the real deal. She’s genuine, and she speaks honestly, like, all of the time. The girl’s got some guts, and she lays it all out on the line. And because she always speaks the truth, Sherlock never really knows what to do with her. He doesn’t have to deduce: she just tells it like it is. Her plain attitude takes him back in a way no one else can. Even John can’t make him feel guilty the way Molly does. She literally makes him apologize without even really trying.
She’s ordinary.
You think my lipstick’s ugly? Cool, I’m taking it off. Dude, I bought you a Christmas present and you’re kind of being a dick about it. I swear that moaning sound wasn’t me! Sit down, you’re embarrassing yourself and me for agreeing to marry you. I mean it, I’m about to stab you with my fork. No, you’re not as smart as you think you are. But at least you’re all right in the sack.
Molly Hooper is perfectly ordinary. She reacts to the world around her the way we would expect a normal woman to react. She talks like us. She feels like us. She’s a little bit awkward. We don’t have to wish we could be like her; we are like her. We know she would gladly join us for cosmic bowling night. She is perfectly ordinary. And that’s what makes watching her on television so extraordinary.
She breaks all the rules.
Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss had a number one rule: do not introduce any new characters into the show outside of Arthur Conan Doyle’s cannon. Molly Hooper is the only character completely original to the reinvented series; perhaps that’s why she also feels the most human.
Find more great articles like this one at our ‘Sherlock’ celebration.