One thing I love about this scene so much is the fact that Sherlock knows how to KICK ASS. We’ve seen him literally fight his way out of many a situation, and in original canon, I believe he dabbled in boxing. So, in this scene he’s getting beat down, not because he can’t fight, but because he won’t. All his motions towards John are defensive: pushing him off, grabbing his hands. But he never retaliates. It shows how he doesn’t want to hurt John and also–I think he knows on some level that he deserves it.
