Although John Watson, and while he isn’t a genius detective like him, Watson is very important to Sherlock – and here’s why. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular and beloved literary characters in history, and it continues to be quite popular thanks to its countless adaptations to other media and, of course, the books that tell the stories of his most notable cases.
Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes made his debut in 1887 in A Study in Scarlet and became widely popular after the first batch of stories was published in The Strand Magazine, beginning in 1891 with “A Scandal in Bohemia”, and in total, he appears in four novels and 56 short stories. Most of Sherlock’s stories are told from the perspective of his friend, partner, and biographer Dr. John Watson, who accompanied him on various adventures. Sherlock and Watson met when, due to financial difficulties, they shared a flat at 221B Baker Street in London, and though in some adaptations it took them some time to get used to each other’s company and ways, Sherlock and Watson ended up becoming best friends.
Watson became Sherlock’s most significant relationship, but some readers and viewers have questioned their partnership. Sherlock is known as “The Great Detective”, and many people sought his services due to his unbelievable intelligence, deduction skills, and wide knowledge of many topics, such as chemistry, anatomy, and botany, and he’s also an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman. Watson, on the other hand, while also intelligent, isn’t at Sherlock’s genius level, and though in the books he tried to solve crimes on his own a couple of times (and always did his best to apply his friend’s deduction methods and follow his train of thought), he was never able to solve a case. Still, while some question why Sherlock even needs Watson around if he doesn’t seem to do much sometimes, Watson is important to Sherlock as he not only brings balance but also offers knowledge that the Great Detective lacks.
Sherlock, the detective’s ignorance on the solar system was made into a joke), and there are some areas where Watson can actually provide knowledge that comes in handy for the detective. Sherlock actually sees Watson as an excellent doctor and surgeon, to the point where, on one occasion, where he came up with a plan to pretend he was deathly ill, he kept Watson far as he knew he would notice it was all a lie. Watson also provided medical assistance to Sherlock on different occasions, further proving why he’s an excellent complement to the Great Detective.
Of course, there’s also the fact that both characters are so different and in some aspects even opposites that, narratively, they need each other to bring balance to the stories. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are some of the most popular duos in literature and pop culture in general, and it’s fair to say that The Great Detective and his many cases wouldn’t be the same without the help (and the narration) of Dr. John Watson.