ELEMENTARY SEASON 5: THE FULL COLLECTION, EPISODES 1-24
Elementary - 5x01 "Folie a Deux"
"The famed Bensonhurst Bomber returns after six years - but his target area has drastically altered. The timings between the two bombing sprees suspiciously match a couple of ex-cons recently released from prison."
"The most consistently intelligent and well-acted of the broadcast network crime dramas…”- New York Times on Elementary
The Elementary writers prove once again why they are among the best in the business. Not only did they give me a near heart attack when an unsuspecting citizen, picking up a football which had rolled off the park onto the pavement, suddenly blew up, but they turned the shocking murder into one of the cleverest plots I've seen in a long while. Every detail was inch-perfect.
It didn't make sense their suspect in the original bombings, a construction worker named Nathan Resor, would wait 13 months after his release to start bombing again if he was the Bensonhurst Bomber - but that timeframe was considerably shortened if the bomber was in fact the friend he met in prison, who was released after Resor. Were they working in tandem now? If so, which one is the original bomber and who is the student? As it transpires, they weren't in fact working together: Resor hired his old friend, Fielder - the actual Bensonhurst Bomber - to blow up things in an area named Flushing, in order to scare off a rival company vying for the building contract of a multi-million dollar entertainment complex. The new bombings were not about compulsion, as Fielder's original ones were, they were monetarily motivated. But the depiction of a compulsive bomber was organic, and the often forgotten argument from suspects that they don't need an alibi if they're innocent (all right, Resor wasn't, but that argument is rarely made in TV anyway), actually made the interrogation more interesting.
I'm a little sceptical about the direction Joan Watson may be taken - after the Kitty Winters calamity in season 3 we certainly don't want her and Sherlock splitting up again - but the point of the argument (that her wonder-lust waned on a five-yearly basis) was accurate. Also supreme was the new character of Shinwell - a shady ex-con Joan saved years ago when she was a surgeon - and the trivia, which included references to Ted Kazinsky, and a study about how chewing gum can improve focus for short periods of time.
VIEWERS: 6.33m (Beats out the overnights for all but two of the 24 episodes the previous season. Superb)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8 (However, this miniscule figure being barely above the 0.7 that typically dooms shows means TV By The Numbers is worried, which means I'm worried too.)
VERDICT: Although not written as a high-octane premiere it was one of the best so far (and there have been many superb premiere episodes). Discounting the silly inclusion of Sherlock touching a man in the middle of being tased and somehow not getting electrocuted himself, this might even count as one of the best Elementary episodes period. 9.5/10
Elementary - 5x02 "Worth Several Cities"
"The boss of a violent street gang kidnaps Sherlock and forces him to identify the person who killed his smuggler. Meanwhile, Shinwell enlists Joan to help find his young daughter."
The one thing I am finding with Elementary this season is it is very easy to review. It makes its positive and negative aspects simple to spot, the plots are intricate but easy to follow and the characters are phenomenal. In this episode, the guest stars more so than the characters are fantastic: Ron Rifkin (of Alias) plays a billionaire trying to secure a land deal in China and Jon Huertas (of Castle) plays the street gang boss Halcon. Even Michael Mulheren (who had a small recurring role in Person of Interest) shows up.
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| Jon Huertas as Halcon |
Unfortunately, this episode wasn't as well-written as the premiere. The opening with Sherlock already captured by Halcon was just jarring: since there were no stakes before this scene, they were not raised by the reveal Sherlock had been kidnapped. It's also worth mentioning that some of the episode's early editing was a bit sharp: some lines were barely finished before the next scene had begun. And Sherlock receiving aid from the hacker group Everyone fell flat when he was not asked to humiliate himself in exchange.
VIEWERS: 5.30m (A big, worrying dip from the premiere)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7 (Replacement level. Matches a series low and puts Elementary in the cancellation hotspot. Maybe sooner than we'd like)
VERDICT: The negatives were again clear, but they weren't so huge as to affect the whole episode. Superb guest stars elevate a decent episode from an 8 to a 9/10
I didn't come out of watching "Render, and then Seize Her" feeling let down by the writers, but there's no doubting that this week's concoction left a bitter taste. A rather clever plot about the murder of a man who had spotted a kidnapped woman nearby culminated in the disappointing reveal that she had in fact engineered the whole thing to allow her pre-nup to expire, in order to divorce her husband and make off with a large percentage of the proceeds from her co-conspirator's revolutionary CGI app. Because people kidnapping themselves isn't done enough in TV.
The problem is that the plot was so strong the disappointments don't pack so heavy a punch. And by disappointments plural I am now referring to the second: the subplot, in which Captain Gregson's girlfriend tasks Sherlock with finding out if her neurologist is committing fraud using prescriptions - and using that opening Sherlock insinuates himself into Gregson and Paige's relationship and implants the idea of marriage as a solution to Paige's financial straits. Because proposing can be a thing in only Paige's second on-screen appearance.
Shout-out to the incredibly smart use of a CGI company as a base setting for this plot, allowing for clever manipulation of CGI graphics to misdirect both the audience and the characters. Top notch writing, proving that even when Elementary is bad it can still outfox everyone.
Elementary - 5x03 "Render, and then Seize Her"
"The NYPD investigate a murder with connections to a kidnapped woman. Meanwhile, Gregson's girlfriend Paige hires Sherlock for an off-the-books task."
I didn't come out of watching "Render, and then Seize Her" feeling let down by the writers, but there's no doubting that this week's concoction left a bitter taste. A rather clever plot about the murder of a man who had spotted a kidnapped woman nearby culminated in the disappointing reveal that she had in fact engineered the whole thing to allow her pre-nup to expire, in order to divorce her husband and make off with a large percentage of the proceeds from her co-conspirator's revolutionary CGI app. Because people kidnapping themselves isn't done enough in TV.
The problem is that the plot was so strong the disappointments don't pack so heavy a punch. And by disappointments plural I am now referring to the second: the subplot, in which Captain Gregson's girlfriend tasks Sherlock with finding out if her neurologist is committing fraud using prescriptions - and using that opening Sherlock insinuates himself into Gregson and Paige's relationship and implants the idea of marriage as a solution to Paige's financial straits. Because proposing can be a thing in only Paige's second on-screen appearance.
Shout-out to the incredibly smart use of a CGI company as a base setting for this plot, allowing for clever manipulation of CGI graphics to misdirect both the audience and the characters. Top notch writing, proving that even when Elementary is bad it can still outfox everyone.
VIEWERS: 5.39m (Decent, but it won't matter)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8 (*Sigh* Watching a show die is not fun)
VERDICT: Despite some frustratingly obvious errors in plot, the strength of the build-up lifts this episode's rating to a generous 8/10
This might have been Elementary's 100th episode but you wouldn't have known it, as the writers ignored the opportunity to show gratitude for the show's lengthy run by treating the milestone like any other day at the office. (And if this is how Elementary wants to thank CBS for its renewal to 100 episodes and beyond, then it can enjoy the payback in about eight months when CBS cancels it.)
Of course, I don't want Elementary to get cancelled (even though it will), I'm simply very angry that the show didn't take the opportunity to make their 100th episode a standout episode of the entire series. I could have forgiven it if the episode had been a decent offering, but it was just one of those dull, uninspired episodes that every show invariably creates. It wasn't funny, there were no amazing guest stars and the murder itself was just a bit naff. In fact, the only part I enjoyed was Sherlock's point blank refusal to be given credit by an honourary committee for the work he had done alongside the NYPD: it was one of those subplots that tie up well when a character misunderstands normal human behaviour, which is Sherlock through and through. Beyond that, this episode really had nothing going for it, which is why I'm not even going to bother explaining the murder plot.
Elementary - 5x04 "Henny Penny the Sky Is Falling" - 100th episode
"A Wall Street investor is killed, but it transpires the motive for his murder was due to a paper that would discredit the current method of determining asteroid size."
This might have been Elementary's 100th episode but you wouldn't have known it, as the writers ignored the opportunity to show gratitude for the show's lengthy run by treating the milestone like any other day at the office. (And if this is how Elementary wants to thank CBS for its renewal to 100 episodes and beyond, then it can enjoy the payback in about eight months when CBS cancels it.)
Of course, I don't want Elementary to get cancelled (even though it will), I'm simply very angry that the show didn't take the opportunity to make their 100th episode a standout episode of the entire series. I could have forgiven it if the episode had been a decent offering, but it was just one of those dull, uninspired episodes that every show invariably creates. It wasn't funny, there were no amazing guest stars and the murder itself was just a bit naff. In fact, the only part I enjoyed was Sherlock's point blank refusal to be given credit by an honourary committee for the work he had done alongside the NYPD: it was one of those subplots that tie up well when a character misunderstands normal human behaviour, which is Sherlock through and through. Beyond that, this episode really had nothing going for it, which is why I'm not even going to bother explaining the murder plot.
VIEWERS: 4.98m (series low)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6 (series low)
VERDICT: A bad episode looked worse because it failed to meet milestone expectations, but it didn't discredit itself too much to merit equalling Code Black's 5.5. So I'll give it a 6/10
After a below-average episode that ignored the momentousness of its positioning, "To Catch a Predator Predator" worked its magic to rejuvenate my faith in the writers. It was, for all its cleverness however, quite hard to follow the episode through all the suspects, since the murder plot wasn't a typical one. The victim, Novak, was stalking and identifying sexual predators, but the motives for his murder expanded far beyond simple revenge on the part of said sexual predators, growing so far as to be too complex for me to explain here (also partly because the ambiguity surrounding each suspect doesn't answer anything).
In the end, the killer was a victim of one of the sexual predators, Shane Fitzhugh, who Novak exposed. She had finally come forward about the abuse and a case against Fitzhugh was being built, before Novak took matters into his own hands, causing Fitzhugh to flee to Bali. Cue the woman being so furious with Novak for ruining her justice that she went to confront him and ended up killing him. Her identity hinged on her statement to police admitting she was now on an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety cocktail, which Sherlock had spotted at the desk of a woman earlier on in the episode. And it created that great moment where Sherlock realised who the killer was - and in that same moment so did I as a viewer. That kind of moment is rarely created in TV, and for all the episode's over-complex narrative, creating that moment creates forgiveness.
What I can't forgive is the unsurprising and boring reveal that Shinwell is somehow still involved in criminal activities, however willingly or otherwise that may be. Or the throwback mention of the appalling Kitty Winter, Sherlock's apprentice from season 3. She's gone. Thankfully. Let it lie.
VIEWERS: 4.68 (series low)
Elementary - 5x05 "To Catch a Predator Predator"
"A man who catfished sexual predators online and forced them to admit to their crimes is shot in a seedy motel room right before he could shame the next predator he had stalked."
After a below-average episode that ignored the momentousness of its positioning, "To Catch a Predator Predator" worked its magic to rejuvenate my faith in the writers. It was, for all its cleverness however, quite hard to follow the episode through all the suspects, since the murder plot wasn't a typical one. The victim, Novak, was stalking and identifying sexual predators, but the motives for his murder expanded far beyond simple revenge on the part of said sexual predators, growing so far as to be too complex for me to explain here (also partly because the ambiguity surrounding each suspect doesn't answer anything).
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| Sherlock realises who the killer is |
What I can't forgive is the unsurprising and boring reveal that Shinwell is somehow still involved in criminal activities, however willingly or otherwise that may be. Or the throwback mention of the appalling Kitty Winter, Sherlock's apprentice from season 3. She's gone. Thankfully. Let it lie.
VIEWERS: 4.68 (series low)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6 (equals series low)
VERDICT: A stunning reveal cancelled out an over-complicated episode - but one that was a giant step up from last week and probably still the second-best episode of the season so far. 9/10
Elementary was back with another ridiculously complex episode: this time an art heist hidden behind the evacuation of the New York Stock Exchange incited by the mass murder of seven men, six of whom (the seventh being the restaurant's Head Chef) were part of a group that held parts of an algorithm that verified the legitimacy of website domain names. Every step was cleverly interconnected, but the whole thing just felt odd. A mass murder via poisoned food is a huge way to kick off an episode, as is the reveal that six of those who died held individual portions of an algorithm that had an important role in protecting public safety online. This concept gave Elementary a chance to follow an unexpectedly high-stakes and unique storyline, but somehow the episode spun away from that and the opening sequences became overkill (pardon the pun) in a plot to evacuate the Stock Exchange so art on show inside could be nicked. Don't get me wrong, as a nefarious plan it was quite efficient, but given the episode's starting point it's hard to view this as anything other than an opportunity squandered.
Speaking of squandered opportunities, the episode's inference that Sherlock, due to some idiotic Sherlock reasoning, broke up with his girlfriend Fiona (who is an amazing character and added a previously unexplored dimension to Sherlock's character), was an absolute pisstake. And even though Bell appeared to be getting a love interest, who really believes that will be relevant by next week? That ADA he likes will probably get mentioned maybe once more before Elementary is cancelled.
At least the coroner, Eugene, was back. I like Eugene.
After fluffing a good premise the previous week, Elementary tried to make up for it with another interesting one: a base jumper killed by two different people. The show managed to earn forgiveness by sticking to the original premise the whole way through the episode, I'm just not sure it pulled off the episode perfectly. The first killer's identity hinged on three hereditary traits to do with hair (or lack thereof) on the body - and it was, unsurprisingly, the wife. I wasn't shocked, as I'd called her at the very beginning, but her motive surprised me. Husband, Nerely, had a burner phone which he used to cheat on her. I can accept it, even if I find it a bit of a stretch that someone would have a burner phone to cheat, since that would by definition not be a "burner" phone, and leaving a second phone lying around the house is hardly stealthy. That's what passwords are for on main-use phones.
The second killer was the son of a suspected terrorist, who had been flown across the country illegally by Nerely in the airplane he bought with money given to him by an ex-army buddy which had been looted from an army fund in Afghanistan, because Nerely's affair had been with his sister. So the successful sniping was an honour killing. I think the show left it late to get to this climax, but at least the reveal of the wife being the killer was very cunning on the writers' part.
Meanwhile, Shinwell returned. He's either back to his criminal ways or just doesn't want Watson's help anymore (could this arc get any more predictable?) but I thought his scene playing chess in the park with Sherlock was brilliant and I'd like to see more of that.
Elementary - 5x06 "Ill Tidings"
"The Head Chef of a renowned restaurant is found dead, after ingesting foie gras laced with fibreglass and snake venom."
Elementary was back with another ridiculously complex episode: this time an art heist hidden behind the evacuation of the New York Stock Exchange incited by the mass murder of seven men, six of whom (the seventh being the restaurant's Head Chef) were part of a group that held parts of an algorithm that verified the legitimacy of website domain names. Every step was cleverly interconnected, but the whole thing just felt odd. A mass murder via poisoned food is a huge way to kick off an episode, as is the reveal that six of those who died held individual portions of an algorithm that had an important role in protecting public safety online. This concept gave Elementary a chance to follow an unexpectedly high-stakes and unique storyline, but somehow the episode spun away from that and the opening sequences became overkill (pardon the pun) in a plot to evacuate the Stock Exchange so art on show inside could be nicked. Don't get me wrong, as a nefarious plan it was quite efficient, but given the episode's starting point it's hard to view this as anything other than an opportunity squandered.
Speaking of squandered opportunities, the episode's inference that Sherlock, due to some idiotic Sherlock reasoning, broke up with his girlfriend Fiona (who is an amazing character and added a previously unexplored dimension to Sherlock's character), was an absolute pisstake. And even though Bell appeared to be getting a love interest, who really believes that will be relevant by next week? That ADA he likes will probably get mentioned maybe once more before Elementary is cancelled.
At least the coroner, Eugene, was back. I like Eugene.
VIEWERS: 5.45m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
(Both rise)
(Both rise)
VERDICT: Wasted a good plot premise and wasted a good opportunity for character growth in a Person of Interest-esque break-up that wasn't at all necessary. 6/10
Elementary - 5x07 "Bang Bang Shoot Chute"
"A base jumper and ex-army parachutist is shot in mid-air by a sniper; it is later found his chute was also sabotaged, leading to the belief that there were two separate killers."
After fluffing a good premise the previous week, Elementary tried to make up for it with another interesting one: a base jumper killed by two different people. The show managed to earn forgiveness by sticking to the original premise the whole way through the episode, I'm just not sure it pulled off the episode perfectly. The first killer's identity hinged on three hereditary traits to do with hair (or lack thereof) on the body - and it was, unsurprisingly, the wife. I wasn't shocked, as I'd called her at the very beginning, but her motive surprised me. Husband, Nerely, had a burner phone which he used to cheat on her. I can accept it, even if I find it a bit of a stretch that someone would have a burner phone to cheat, since that would by definition not be a "burner" phone, and leaving a second phone lying around the house is hardly stealthy. That's what passwords are for on main-use phones.
The second killer was the son of a suspected terrorist, who had been flown across the country illegally by Nerely in the airplane he bought with money given to him by an ex-army buddy which had been looted from an army fund in Afghanistan, because Nerely's affair had been with his sister. So the successful sniping was an honour killing. I think the show left it late to get to this climax, but at least the reveal of the wife being the killer was very cunning on the writers' part.
Meanwhile, Shinwell returned. He's either back to his criminal ways or just doesn't want Watson's help anymore (could this arc get any more predictable?) but I thought his scene playing chess in the park with Sherlock was brilliant and I'd like to see more of that.
VIEWERS: 5.01m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
VERDICT: I'll buy the reveal even if I'm not convinced by it. Did OK as an episode, but wasn't a big improvement. 7/10
The first thing I noticed about this episode was how short it was. 39 minutes something, including the full theme tune just to try and buff it out a bit. That's a remarkably short episode, but it didn't feel like too much was missing. Eugene the coroner appeared again briefly; I always love to see Eugene about. He's a great character.
The whole genetically modified meat plotline was interesting (the methods of murder recently have been nothing short of brilliantly unusual) and the furore over its classification (if it was classified as actual meat the company couldn't sell it to those who practice Islam or Judaism, whereas if it was classified as in between they could) was a smart and unpredictable way to reveal the killer's motive. The killer himself, the company head Platts, was a good villain, but his accomplice, Farley, was a highlight of the episode. I did a double take when I realised Farley was played by Fran Kranz (probably best known for his role as Topher Brink on Dollhouse), and loved his portrayal. Word to some good editing: the final scene where Sherlock and Joan confront Farley and Platts framed the former pair in each shot to imply unity, whereas Farley and Platts were always in separate shots to imply separation, as Sherlock tried to convince Farley to sell out Platts.
It was good to get back to Sherlock's drug abuse as a side plot when he stopped going to meetings, and the mention of hacker group Everyone in aiding Sherlock's investigation was great. In return he was to perform a short set of observational comedy for Everyone's amusement. Usually we do not see the humiliating tasks Everyone have Sherlock perform due to time constraints, but with the episode's spare 4 minutes of space, I think it was an oversight not to include a scene with Sherlock performing his comedy set.
After watching the 20-second promo for this episode, I went into it thinking I'd come out and write two words here: generic muck. The recurring character of a recently released ex-con who falls back into his life of crime but rushes to his friends to help prove he didn't commit a fresh crime is a trope so tired it's practically doing night shifts with me. Luckily, Elementary added enough verve to the episode that it surpassed my (admittedly very low) expectations. And that was, in the end, enough to satisfy me.
Shinwell obviously didn't commit the murder, but a gun with his prints found at the scene was just waiting to be scanned for prints and unfortunately he did help cover up the murder by moving the body. He did this to try and deflect suspicion that the gang murdered one of their own, but his deeper motive was that he was a confidential informat for the FBI working to bring down his old gang, the South Bronx Killers. Plot twist: so was the victim. That's around about where the episode's surprise turns stopped being surprising and went back to the usual, predictable humdrum: of course the FBI agent, Whitlock, had a shady secret (he was banned from recruiting CIs) and therefore of course he killed his first CI to prevent that from getting out and ruining his career.
In the end, Sherlock made everything all right by wiping Shinwell's gun of prints, effectively getting rid of the one thing that could tie Shinwell to the crime. Happy days! Where does Shinwell go from here? Does he continue being a CI or does his arc change? I'd like to see it change (that would be unpredictable and interesting) but I don't think it will.
Quick word to the lack of Gregson and Bell. Aidan Quinn (Gregson) may have been directing the episode and thus was absent from the acting side of things, but adding Bell as a 40th minute afterthought to help Sherlock justify the need to act on Shinwell's behalf? Horse poo. Nice guest star from Debi Mazar though, who I'd seen just 5 minutes prior to this episode in her regular role on cable sitcom Younger.
Elementary - 5x08 "How the Sausage is Made"
"NYPD search for the killer of a man who was sedated and literally ground into sausage meat."
The first thing I noticed about this episode was how short it was. 39 minutes something, including the full theme tune just to try and buff it out a bit. That's a remarkably short episode, but it didn't feel like too much was missing. Eugene the coroner appeared again briefly; I always love to see Eugene about. He's a great character.
The whole genetically modified meat plotline was interesting (the methods of murder recently have been nothing short of brilliantly unusual) and the furore over its classification (if it was classified as actual meat the company couldn't sell it to those who practice Islam or Judaism, whereas if it was classified as in between they could) was a smart and unpredictable way to reveal the killer's motive. The killer himself, the company head Platts, was a good villain, but his accomplice, Farley, was a highlight of the episode. I did a double take when I realised Farley was played by Fran Kranz (probably best known for his role as Topher Brink on Dollhouse), and loved his portrayal. Word to some good editing: the final scene where Sherlock and Joan confront Farley and Platts framed the former pair in each shot to imply unity, whereas Farley and Platts were always in separate shots to imply separation, as Sherlock tried to convince Farley to sell out Platts.
It was good to get back to Sherlock's drug abuse as a side plot when he stopped going to meetings, and the mention of hacker group Everyone in aiding Sherlock's investigation was great. In return he was to perform a short set of observational comedy for Everyone's amusement. Usually we do not see the humiliating tasks Everyone have Sherlock perform due to time constraints, but with the episode's spare 4 minutes of space, I think it was an oversight not to include a scene with Sherlock performing his comedy set.
VIEWERS: 4.95m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
(Take a bow my comments on Elementary ratings as the violins sound its impending doom much like they do for Conviction and Pure Genius)
(Take a bow my comments on Elementary ratings as the violins sound its impending doom much like they do for Conviction and Pure Genius)
VERDICT: The episode had pretty much everything and a very season 1 feel to it. Perfect 9/10
Elementary - 5x09 "It Serves You Right to Suffer"
"A member of Shinwell's old gang is murdered, and with Shinwell firmly in the crosshairs he comes to Sherlock and Watson for help."
After watching the 20-second promo for this episode, I went into it thinking I'd come out and write two words here: generic muck. The recurring character of a recently released ex-con who falls back into his life of crime but rushes to his friends to help prove he didn't commit a fresh crime is a trope so tired it's practically doing night shifts with me. Luckily, Elementary added enough verve to the episode that it surpassed my (admittedly very low) expectations. And that was, in the end, enough to satisfy me.
Shinwell obviously didn't commit the murder, but a gun with his prints found at the scene was just waiting to be scanned for prints and unfortunately he did help cover up the murder by moving the body. He did this to try and deflect suspicion that the gang murdered one of their own, but his deeper motive was that he was a confidential informat for the FBI working to bring down his old gang, the South Bronx Killers. Plot twist: so was the victim. That's around about where the episode's surprise turns stopped being surprising and went back to the usual, predictable humdrum: of course the FBI agent, Whitlock, had a shady secret (he was banned from recruiting CIs) and therefore of course he killed his first CI to prevent that from getting out and ruining his career.
In the end, Sherlock made everything all right by wiping Shinwell's gun of prints, effectively getting rid of the one thing that could tie Shinwell to the crime. Happy days! Where does Shinwell go from here? Does he continue being a CI or does his arc change? I'd like to see it change (that would be unpredictable and interesting) but I don't think it will.
Quick word to the lack of Gregson and Bell. Aidan Quinn (Gregson) may have been directing the episode and thus was absent from the acting side of things, but adding Bell as a 40th minute afterthought to help Sherlock justify the need to act on Shinwell's behalf? Horse poo. Nice guest star from Debi Mazar though, who I'd seen just 5 minutes prior to this episode in her regular role on cable sitcom Younger.
VIEWERS: 4.91m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: Surpassed my low expectations, but regardless of how low they were they were still surpassed. Credit to Elementary, even if the episode wasn't one of their better ones. 6.5/10
Elementary's fifth season is proving to be up and down more regularly than a child's behaviour during the Christmas period, but "Pick Your Poison" was one of the up moments. It began with a hilarious scene where Shinwell presented Sherlock with a Christmas gift: a restored chess table he found in the basement. The intention was there, but unfortunately for Shinwell that chess table was evidence in a 1938 murder that Sherlock was still trying to puzzle out. The awkwardness was brilliant.
After that it was on to the two main focuses of the episode. Firstly, the plot. Watson's false prescriptions transpired to be written by a Dr. Krieg who worked in the Rheumatology department at her old hospital; Dr. Krieg was running a pill mill, using Joan's and 3 other identities to deal prescription drugs. She, along with the mother of a patient, were shot dead. The killer: the son, whose mother, using drugs from Dr. Krieg, was poisoning him in a case of reverse Munchausen Syndrome. Dr. Krieg discovered there was nothing wrong with her son and tried to explain her crimes in order to save him, but the son wound up killing both of them instead. Lovely, lovely twist.
And in Plot B, Shinwell continued his efforts to work as a CI bringing down the South Bronx Killers. I'm finding Shinwell to be a thoroughly underwhelming addition to the cast, and although this arc has taken some unexpected twists, it still seems to be heading down a dull, trodden path towards an uninspired endgame. And lo and behold, where today Sherlock tried to block Shinwell's attempts to become a CI, he ended up offering to train him himself. Well, who better, I suppose?
A short cold open-esque "here's how we caught you" scene with a murderer had Sherlock's mind wandering, until they landed upon a man, Ryan Decker, looking less than pleased at the police presence; Sherlock proficiently read Decker's lips enough to suspect a crime, but was less proficient at stealthily stealing Decker's phone, although in doing so he did learn of a kidnap victim.
That cold open-esque way of stumbling onto another serious crime was a structural treat, and the rest of the plot delivered as well. But it was a much darker episode in tone than Elementary is used to, with the villains' crimes stemming from a past involving disturbing pornography and a traumatic childhood. I say villains plural - the disappointing element of the reveal was that Decker's long-assumed accomplice was actually his ex-wife, who had the same criminal tendencies as he and, while they were nemeses and held separate victims, they also took care of each others' victims. ("Took care" as in quite literally, rather than the dark subtext which is the natural assumption, which Elementary played on well.)
Joan was more removed from the investigation than usual as Shinwell's deflated attitude to practising the skills she and Sherlock were teaching him kept her sidelined, as she ensured he did actually start to bother. Shinwell again proves to be the weakest part of a plot, and in sidelining Joan Watson he was even unhelpful to the show's primary dynamic.
Word to Sherlock's almost flawless recollection of details pertaining to each case: although his ability to identify any brand of tobacco is accepted canon, the process of elimination by which he identified a body of water was a little too unbelievable, giving the feeling that the writers feel secure enough in Sherlock's character that whenever they need him to know trivia, it will pass by the audiences because ... you know ... it's Sherlock. Not so my writing friends, not so.
VIEWERS: 5.15m
Elementary - 5x10 "Pick Your Poison"
"Joan is accused of medical malpractice for filling illegal prescriptions when the body of a drug addict winds up in the morgue, but NYPD's investigation uncovers more than just identity theft."
Elementary's fifth season is proving to be up and down more regularly than a child's behaviour during the Christmas period, but "Pick Your Poison" was one of the up moments. It began with a hilarious scene where Shinwell presented Sherlock with a Christmas gift: a restored chess table he found in the basement. The intention was there, but unfortunately for Shinwell that chess table was evidence in a 1938 murder that Sherlock was still trying to puzzle out. The awkwardness was brilliant.
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| Shinwell gifts Sherlock a restored chess table |
And in Plot B, Shinwell continued his efforts to work as a CI bringing down the South Bronx Killers. I'm finding Shinwell to be a thoroughly underwhelming addition to the cast, and although this arc has taken some unexpected twists, it still seems to be heading down a dull, trodden path towards an uninspired endgame. And lo and behold, where today Sherlock tried to block Shinwell's attempts to become a CI, he ended up offering to train him himself. Well, who better, I suppose?
VIEWERS: 5.08m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
VERDICT: Shinwell continues to add nothing of substance, but the murder plot was great for unseemly twists. 8/10
Elementary - 5x11 "Be My Guest"
"Sherlock stumbles onto a kidnapper, but NYPD struggle to find the location of his victim. Meanwhile, Shinwell struggles to stick at his confidential informant training."
A short cold open-esque "here's how we caught you" scene with a murderer had Sherlock's mind wandering, until they landed upon a man, Ryan Decker, looking less than pleased at the police presence; Sherlock proficiently read Decker's lips enough to suspect a crime, but was less proficient at stealthily stealing Decker's phone, although in doing so he did learn of a kidnap victim.
That cold open-esque way of stumbling onto another serious crime was a structural treat, and the rest of the plot delivered as well. But it was a much darker episode in tone than Elementary is used to, with the villains' crimes stemming from a past involving disturbing pornography and a traumatic childhood. I say villains plural - the disappointing element of the reveal was that Decker's long-assumed accomplice was actually his ex-wife, who had the same criminal tendencies as he and, while they were nemeses and held separate victims, they also took care of each others' victims. ("Took care" as in quite literally, rather than the dark subtext which is the natural assumption, which Elementary played on well.)
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| Decker restraining his victim |
Word to Sherlock's almost flawless recollection of details pertaining to each case: although his ability to identify any brand of tobacco is accepted canon, the process of elimination by which he identified a body of water was a little too unbelievable, giving the feeling that the writers feel secure enough in Sherlock's character that whenever they need him to know trivia, it will pass by the audiences because ... you know ... it's Sherlock. Not so my writing friends, not so.
VIEWERS: 5.15m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
VERDICT: Sherlock and Joan were separated for most of the episode (especially some crucial points of it) leaving that critical dynamic wanting. Even with that, they somehow managed to forget Bell is a main cast character. 8/10
Elementary's fifth season, now at its halfway point, is a head spinner. There is a general lack of episode-to-episode consistency: one week the episode will be very good and then the next it will be dizzyingly poor. Fortunately, "Crowned Clown, Downtown Brown" (say that drunk; mind you, say that sober) was one of the better episodes. I had worried that the concept of a creepy clown as the victim would get washed away by the premise of a super virus, but in actuality it added a little bit of flavour to a plot that was informative (if you ever wanted to know about New York's water systems) and shocking.
And by shocking I don't mean out of this world murder spree level shocking. I mean the twists were exceptional, the key example being that the superbug engineered and added to the New York water supply wasn't some murderous anthrax synthesis, but a diarrhoea bug. Sounds harmless, but perhaps it's even more effective: as stated in the episode, if everyone is made ill by the water at once, becomes dehydrated and drinks more water, hospitals will go into overdrive and people WILL die. But also, whoever wins the bid to build a water filtration system in NY will make lots and lots of monies. But it would take years to build in which the water wouldn't be clean, so in the meantime (since NY homes apparently don't have filtration systems) whoever held the patent for the best type of home water filter would make even more money. Step in Wendell Hecht, a pretty bad dude who tried poisoning New York's water whilst working as a public servant, since he has the patent.
The subplot surprised me. I called earlier that Bell's love interest wouldn't reappear, so I was pleasantly surprised that she did. Unfortunately, the whole plot of Bell's bar fight causing damage to her reputation being resolved by him producing evidence that her ex (who started the fight) had left the force on disability - which was a fabrication - was so forced and left a bad taste in my mouth.
No pun intended.
Elementary - 5x12 "Crowned Clown, Downtown Brown"
"The death of a clown leads to the discovery of a superbug that has been added to New York's water supply."
Elementary's fifth season, now at its halfway point, is a head spinner. There is a general lack of episode-to-episode consistency: one week the episode will be very good and then the next it will be dizzyingly poor. Fortunately, "Crowned Clown, Downtown Brown" (say that drunk; mind you, say that sober) was one of the better episodes. I had worried that the concept of a creepy clown as the victim would get washed away by the premise of a super virus, but in actuality it added a little bit of flavour to a plot that was informative (if you ever wanted to know about New York's water systems) and shocking.
And by shocking I don't mean out of this world murder spree level shocking. I mean the twists were exceptional, the key example being that the superbug engineered and added to the New York water supply wasn't some murderous anthrax synthesis, but a diarrhoea bug. Sounds harmless, but perhaps it's even more effective: as stated in the episode, if everyone is made ill by the water at once, becomes dehydrated and drinks more water, hospitals will go into overdrive and people WILL die. But also, whoever wins the bid to build a water filtration system in NY will make lots and lots of monies. But it would take years to build in which the water wouldn't be clean, so in the meantime (since NY homes apparently don't have filtration systems) whoever held the patent for the best type of home water filter would make even more money. Step in Wendell Hecht, a pretty bad dude who tried poisoning New York's water whilst working as a public servant, since he has the patent.
The subplot surprised me. I called earlier that Bell's love interest wouldn't reappear, so I was pleasantly surprised that she did. Unfortunately, the whole plot of Bell's bar fight causing damage to her reputation being resolved by him producing evidence that her ex (who started the fight) had left the force on disability - which was a fabrication - was so forced and left a bad taste in my mouth.
No pun intended.
VIEWERS: 4.44m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: Bell-centric, but his subplot was subpar. The murder however, was fantastic. 8/10
At first glance of the promo, this looked sickeningly close to the Bull concept last week, so imagine my pleasant surprise when the overriding issue for the characters was the statute of limitations rather than Brunelle being unstable. He had come to force this issue, but not to harm anyone. It was last-chance saloon, not only because the statute of limitations on his deceased son Connor's assault five years ago ran out that evening (his son died a year later following addiction issues), but because Brunelle himself had skin cancer and very little time left.
The episode opened showing Brunelle at least twice in the preceding years coming to ask Sherlock for help and being refused because his case wasn't big enough, so he took to keeping hostages. It was a tired concept done well, but untimely since it kept the crucial Sherlock-Joan dynamic out of play for the second consecutive episode.
But, in trade, there was a significant amount of Bell for the second consecutive week, as he and Sherlock worked hard to figure out that Brunelle's son, a night guard for a truck company, had been assaulted so that a ruthless drug gang could steal tankers and purchase ... maple syrup? Wait. Really? That was another unexpected twist in a myriad of unexpected twists, and they didn't stop there. When Sherlock and Bell found the man who assaulted Connor Brunelle (Frank Trimble, the truck company owner), they were too late and the statute of limitations had run out. Or had it?
Step in hacker collective "Everyone", who found footage of Trimble leaving to Canada for a hockey match for 27 hours. And fun fact: if you hop a country, the time on the statute of limitations pauses until you return, meaning Trimble could in fact be arrested after all. This was far too much for me: it would have been nice to see Sherlock and Joan deal with losing a case like this but noooooooo. The writers had to have a diabolical copout.
Everyone's return came with a fun head-shaving demand for Sherlock. If he's not bald in the next episode I'll throw a temper tantrum!
Elementary - 5x13 "Over a Barrel"
"Repeated rebuffs from Sherlock to help him solve his son's assault leads Jack Brunelle to take Joan and 20 diners hostage."
At first glance of the promo, this looked sickeningly close to the Bull concept last week, so imagine my pleasant surprise when the overriding issue for the characters was the statute of limitations rather than Brunelle being unstable. He had come to force this issue, but not to harm anyone. It was last-chance saloon, not only because the statute of limitations on his deceased son Connor's assault five years ago ran out that evening (his son died a year later following addiction issues), but because Brunelle himself had skin cancer and very little time left.
The episode opened showing Brunelle at least twice in the preceding years coming to ask Sherlock for help and being refused because his case wasn't big enough, so he took to keeping hostages. It was a tired concept done well, but untimely since it kept the crucial Sherlock-Joan dynamic out of play for the second consecutive episode.
But, in trade, there was a significant amount of Bell for the second consecutive week, as he and Sherlock worked hard to figure out that Brunelle's son, a night guard for a truck company, had been assaulted so that a ruthless drug gang could steal tankers and purchase ... maple syrup? Wait. Really? That was another unexpected twist in a myriad of unexpected twists, and they didn't stop there. When Sherlock and Bell found the man who assaulted Connor Brunelle (Frank Trimble, the truck company owner), they were too late and the statute of limitations had run out. Or had it?
Step in hacker collective "Everyone", who found footage of Trimble leaving to Canada for a hockey match for 27 hours. And fun fact: if you hop a country, the time on the statute of limitations pauses until you return, meaning Trimble could in fact be arrested after all. This was far too much for me: it would have been nice to see Sherlock and Joan deal with losing a case like this but noooooooo. The writers had to have a diabolical copout.
Everyone's return came with a fun head-shaving demand for Sherlock. If he's not bald in the next episode I'll throw a temper tantrum!
VIEWERS: 5.42m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
VERDICT: A truly fantastic murder investigation was marred by a lack of Sherlock and Joan and a truly horrible copout. Still, it was good enough for an 8.5/10
Wait, didn't we just have an eSports episode recently? Once again, Elementary and Bull show that their writers are oddly in tandem, but also prove that that tandem isn't as whole as it always appears; "Rekt in Real Life" (heh, I finally get the episode title) was miles from Bull in plot type. And eSports is a relatively untapped premise that will start weaving its way into a lot of shows; I'm enjoying it right now before it becomes too trope-heavy.
Shine a spotlight on somewhere usually unseen in all the New York/Los Angeles/Gotham City-centred cop procedurals - like an Inuit town being pressured by shipping companies to give up their ancestral land in order for those companies to gain access to shortened shipping routes that would save them billions in fuel costs - and stick on the "reverse butterfly effect" and what you have is a very different, very interesting way of melding two uncommon plot strands together. Which, when the Elementary writers are on their game, they do with ease.
On the other hand Shinwell showed up, but do I care? It seems like less and less the writers know what to do with him; if there's an endgame it's not easy to figure out and not in the good, mysterious way either. His road to redemption might lead to some big gang showdown close to the end of the season, but at this point I'm more excited for Kitty's return than seeing any more of Shinwell - and that's no easy thing to confess.
Elementary - 5x14 "Rekt in Real Life"
"NYPD investigates the murder of an eSports gamer who was assaulted during a live stream."
Wait, didn't we just have an eSports episode recently? Once again, Elementary and Bull show that their writers are oddly in tandem, but also prove that that tandem isn't as whole as it always appears; "Rekt in Real Life" (heh, I finally get the episode title) was miles from Bull in plot type. And eSports is a relatively untapped premise that will start weaving its way into a lot of shows; I'm enjoying it right now before it becomes too trope-heavy.
Shine a spotlight on somewhere usually unseen in all the New York/Los Angeles/Gotham City-centred cop procedurals - like an Inuit town being pressured by shipping companies to give up their ancestral land in order for those companies to gain access to shortened shipping routes that would save them billions in fuel costs - and stick on the "reverse butterfly effect" and what you have is a very different, very interesting way of melding two uncommon plot strands together. Which, when the Elementary writers are on their game, they do with ease.
On the other hand Shinwell showed up, but do I care? It seems like less and less the writers know what to do with him; if there's an endgame it's not easy to figure out and not in the good, mysterious way either. His road to redemption might lead to some big gang showdown close to the end of the season, but at this point I'm more excited for Kitty's return than seeing any more of Shinwell - and that's no easy thing to confess.
VIEWERS: 5.05m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
VERDICT: Shinwell continuing to show up keeps putting the dampers on strong Elementary episodes, but if you take him out of the equation this was a fantastic 40 minutes. I'll cover my bases then and give it an 8.5/10
Elementary - 5x15 "The Wrong Side of the Road"
"Kitty Winter returns with the news that she believes people involved in an old case she and Sherlock investigated in London are being murdered."
Elementary's publicity stunt two-part recall of the Kitty Winter character followed an almost trope-like genesis: drag up a previously unmentioned case that she and Sherlock worked on which occurred in a timeframe outside that depicted by the series, a case which is now causing mayhem in the present. Sprinkle the murders with a coroner who is either corrupt or incompetent, throw in some predictable twists (ie the man supposedly orchestrating the murders is thrown off his balcony), and you have a very standard, formulaic reunion episode.
Of course, Elementary managed to do a little more to up the ante. The murder of the barrister on the case in London 3 years ago, Cy Durning, leads Sherlock, Joan and Kitty to Eli Kotite, the man they prosecuted years ago for murder who has seemingly returned for revenge; the episode calls for Kotite to be potentially innocent and they only get one more suspect - a vain, red-haired man - before the episode ends. But it comes with a slightly better twist: that this man is a government agent, and ready to arrest Sherlock after government officials begin ransacking the brownstone.
As for Kitty, her return was nowhere near as bad as I expected. Giving Kitty a baby brought the character out of her boring doom-and-gloom I-hate-you-all-and-I'm-also-a-really-shit-character lack-of-personality crisis that was so pervasive in her 12-episode stint in season 3 (and allowed for some hilarious reaction faces from Sherlock), and looks to bring a bit of closure to her character, as Kitty promises to quit detective work to raise her child, Archie.
I'm all behind this. It's just a shame this happy ending required such effort to achieve.
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| Kitty reveals she is back |
As for Kitty, her return was nowhere near as bad as I expected. Giving Kitty a baby brought the character out of her boring doom-and-gloom I-hate-you-all-and-I'm-also-a-really-shit-character lack-of-personality crisis that was so pervasive in her 12-episode stint in season 3 (and allowed for some hilarious reaction faces from Sherlock), and looks to bring a bit of closure to her character, as Kitty promises to quit detective work to raise her child, Archie.
I'm all behind this. It's just a shame this happy ending required such effort to achieve.
VIEWERS: 4.25m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: The all-too-formulaic structure of the episode bogged down a fairly decent, intriguing entry. Kitty wasn't bad either. Was going to give an 8.5 initially, but I'm not sure the excellent final moments were actually enough to deserve the extra half point. So a respectable 8/10
So that's it: Kitty Winter is no more. She's not dead, of course, but her character and Sherlock have both received their closure, and despite disliking Kitty I must admit to enjoying her brief visit. She confronted Sherlock over his anger about her having a child and he admitted his issue was that she never contacted him when she left; happily, they made up and Kitty's story is concluded. This is what the writers should have done in season 3, because a focus on her and Sherlock's relationship and not her boring traumatic past is actually quite interesting to watch. (And of course, who doesn't like Ophelia Lovibond?)
Cleverly titled "Fidelity" was actually nothing of the sort, but it takes a bit of simplification to understand why. The case drove us all into a million obstacles as Sherlock was warned to back off, but this only led to the presumption the murders were only indirectly linked to the Kotite manslaughter trial; cleverly, rogue DIA agent Anson Gebhart's plan had been set in motion 3 years ago when he decided he wanted to provoke the US into war with Iran. He ordered a top attorney to help, and that attorney then confided in a close friend, Cy Durning, who turned out to be a paranoid schizophrenic: when he went off his meds during the Kotite trial he blabbed about Gebhart's plan for a Venezuelan toilet bomb which, only 2 days prior, had exploded, nearly killing the Venezuelan President. The sympathy vote then helped the President improve his poll position, and he thanked Gebhart by giving him the "Fidel Files", a treasure trove of intel on Castro's regime; Gebhart then released them online with a video he faked of Iran building nuclear weapons, in order to trigger World War 3.
I'm not one for two-parters that wind up as some elevated government conspiracy just to get through the full 85 minutes, but this one was above average: the link between the Kotite trial and the current murders of everyone involved with it being one of the lawyers going off meds and blabbing that there was a plan to blow up the Venezuelan President was a clever way to spread out the opening episode as a focused murder investigation and the second as a giant conspiracy. It was fantastically intricate writing.
VIEWERS: 4.50m
Elementary - 5x16 "Fidelity"
"Sherlock investigates after receiving a warning to back off the case from a rogue DIA agent with a shady motive for the murders."
So that's it: Kitty Winter is no more. She's not dead, of course, but her character and Sherlock have both received their closure, and despite disliking Kitty I must admit to enjoying her brief visit. She confronted Sherlock over his anger about her having a child and he admitted his issue was that she never contacted him when she left; happily, they made up and Kitty's story is concluded. This is what the writers should have done in season 3, because a focus on her and Sherlock's relationship and not her boring traumatic past is actually quite interesting to watch. (And of course, who doesn't like Ophelia Lovibond?)
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| Kitty leads Sherlock to Archie's christening |
I'm not one for two-parters that wind up as some elevated government conspiracy just to get through the full 85 minutes, but this one was above average: the link between the Kotite trial and the current murders of everyone involved with it being one of the lawyers going off meds and blabbing that there was a plan to blow up the Venezuelan President was a clever way to spread out the opening episode as a focused murder investigation and the second as a giant conspiracy. It was fantastically intricate writing.
VIEWERS: 4.50m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: A little lowkey (Gebhart's warning never amounted to any actual threat), but thrilling, clever, intricate, emotional and closed off Kitty's story satisfactorily. 8.5/10
The title of this episode seemed like a reference to some Arthur Conan Doyle short; imagine my chagrin, therefore, when it was actually to do with the theft of a legendary guitar belonging to Eric Clapton, apparently named the "Lady Frances". Also, to the Elementary writers I'd just like to point out that their new and appropriately-named "BulletPoint" system is moot: Person of Interest had ShotSpotter and ShotSeeker in New York before you lot came along. Keep up.
Unfortunately the murder, which was as clever as it was convoluted, didn't reach a conclusion half as interesting as it hoped, with a record mogul ordering the first murder and John Doman's Senator Slessinger orchestrating the second one - in which he used the Lady Frances as the murder weapon - in order to keep his nephew quiet that he had been rigging the crime statistics to get elected. Also, to the Elementary writers I'd just like to point out that their Senator Slessinger played by John Doman is moot: Person of Interest had Senator Garrison played by John Doman in New York before you lot came along. Keep up.
Meanwhile, Shinwell becoming the target of a drive-by was used as an uninteresting lead-in to the next episode, because the writers, after an episode earlier in the season where Sherlock and Joan had to prove Shinwell hadn't killed someone in the present, have apparently decided that wasn't enough filler and now Sherlock and Joan have to prove, presumably, Shinwell didn't kill someone a decade ago.
What a bore.
Elementary - 5x17 "The Ballad of Lucy Frances"
"A gunshot identification system picks up on a man being murdered, and the recording suggests this is because he has kidnapped someone. Meanwhile, Shinwell is targeted in a drive-by."
The title of this episode seemed like a reference to some Arthur Conan Doyle short; imagine my chagrin, therefore, when it was actually to do with the theft of a legendary guitar belonging to Eric Clapton, apparently named the "Lady Frances". Also, to the Elementary writers I'd just like to point out that their new and appropriately-named "BulletPoint" system is moot: Person of Interest had ShotSpotter and ShotSeeker in New York before you lot came along. Keep up.
Unfortunately the murder, which was as clever as it was convoluted, didn't reach a conclusion half as interesting as it hoped, with a record mogul ordering the first murder and John Doman's Senator Slessinger orchestrating the second one - in which he used the Lady Frances as the murder weapon - in order to keep his nephew quiet that he had been rigging the crime statistics to get elected. Also, to the Elementary writers I'd just like to point out that their Senator Slessinger played by John Doman is moot: Person of Interest had Senator Garrison played by John Doman in New York before you lot came along. Keep up.
Meanwhile, Shinwell becoming the target of a drive-by was used as an uninteresting lead-in to the next episode, because the writers, after an episode earlier in the season where Sherlock and Joan had to prove Shinwell hadn't killed someone in the present, have apparently decided that wasn't enough filler and now Sherlock and Joan have to prove, presumably, Shinwell didn't kill someone a decade ago.
What a bore.
VIEWERS: 4.37m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: There's only one important question after this episode: is Sherlock's hair going to grow back before the series is cancelled? 3/10
Once again, Elementary is proving that when it has a bad central arc to a season, that weighs down the quality of not just the season but the individual episodes. With "Dead Man's Tale" we had another excellent murder plot - one more convoluted and twisty than usual - but one which was unfortunately throughlined with regular sidebars about Shinwell who Sherlock and Joan suspected of murdering his friend years ago. The climax of this was Shinwell beating up Sherlock in order to make the point that Sherlock needs to leave him alone, but while this does accelerate the arc towards the impending finale, it doesn't build any real sense of thrill. Elementary has never been known to produce great finales in the odd seasons (seasons 1 and 3 were awful whilst arcs for seasons 2 and 4 were fantastic), and with another awful character, this time one whose ambiguity isn't intriguing, driving us in that direction I don't imagine Elementary can do this right.
That being said, I can't complain about Shinwell all day. There was some excellent stuff here, especially the murder plot. It involved a good old treasure hunt, replete with pirate lore, sunken gold bullion, a captain's logbook and ... Saudi billionaires and fourteen-year-old Dark Web antiques brokers? I guess things have been updated, but both elements provided a fresh diversion from the typical treasure hunt tropes in what was one of the most brilliantly convoluted plots of the season.
Elementary - 5x18 "Dead Man's Tale"
"Sherlock continues investigating Shinwell's guilt. Meanwhile, he and Joan investigate the murder of an amateur treasure hunter."
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| Shinwell walks away after beating up Sherlock |
That being said, I can't complain about Shinwell all day. There was some excellent stuff here, especially the murder plot. It involved a good old treasure hunt, replete with pirate lore, sunken gold bullion, a captain's logbook and ... Saudi billionaires and fourteen-year-old Dark Web antiques brokers? I guess things have been updated, but both elements provided a fresh diversion from the typical treasure hunt tropes in what was one of the most brilliantly convoluted plots of the season.
VIEWERS: 5.16m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
VERDICT: Shinwell manages to bring down every episode he's in, but "Dead Man's Tale" was one of the better episodes he's visited. 8/10
Appropriately named "High Heat" saw another convoluted murder mystery, this time centring around a terrible PI who had been burned alive in a crematorium. The murder plot quickly expanded when it became clear this PI was investigating a 30-year-old mass shooting case where a crazy gunman shot up a courthouse full of citizens being naturalised. Further twists took us into Chernobyl conspiracy theories, a degenerative muscle disease and, eventually, major league baseball. I liked the plot and the number of valid twists and turns it took (I especially liked the Hail Mary moment that proved the killer's guilt, wherein Sherlock, in cleaning his own blood spatter experiment, accidentally discovered the banging sound heard by witnesses on the night of the crime), but it was just lacking a little kick.
The episode's subplot was interesting however: Sherlock set his sights directly on the New York Order of Private Investigators (N.Y.O.O.P.I.), for whom the dead PI worked, as he believed the lack of suitable qualifications within their ranks made them poor detectives. Therefore, Sherlock assumed control, transformed it to the Empire State Order of Private Investigators (E.S.O.O.P.I.) and created a standardised test for all members to pass in order to become certified. This I had not expected: ruthless Sherlock would have dissolved the company altogether. Perhaps this is a mark of the distance he has come as a person since the beginning.
A much more subtle thing to note was the "fallout" from Shinwell's actions, and Sherlock and Joan acting out in their individual ways: Sherlock engaging in a series of meaningless sexual encounters, and Joan in obsessively tidying her brownstone workstation, since neither knew quite how to process his betrayal. Shinwell wasn't here today in person, but his smell lingers on nonetheless.
Elementary - 5x19 "High Heat"
"Sherlock attempts to take down an organisation of private investigators when a member is found cremated alive."
Appropriately named "High Heat" saw another convoluted murder mystery, this time centring around a terrible PI who had been burned alive in a crematorium. The murder plot quickly expanded when it became clear this PI was investigating a 30-year-old mass shooting case where a crazy gunman shot up a courthouse full of citizens being naturalised. Further twists took us into Chernobyl conspiracy theories, a degenerative muscle disease and, eventually, major league baseball. I liked the plot and the number of valid twists and turns it took (I especially liked the Hail Mary moment that proved the killer's guilt, wherein Sherlock, in cleaning his own blood spatter experiment, accidentally discovered the banging sound heard by witnesses on the night of the crime), but it was just lacking a little kick.
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| Sherlock performs a blood spatter experiment in Joan's bedroom |
A much more subtle thing to note was the "fallout" from Shinwell's actions, and Sherlock and Joan acting out in their individual ways: Sherlock engaging in a series of meaningless sexual encounters, and Joan in obsessively tidying her brownstone workstation, since neither knew quite how to process his betrayal. Shinwell wasn't here today in person, but his smell lingers on nonetheless.
VIEWERS: 5.15m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
VERDICT: Convoluted and interesting, though a little less so than last week. B-plot at the very least equalled A-plot. 8/10
My want to continue watching Elementary was non-existent prior to this episode, but I decided that so close to its (likely series) end it seemed pointless to throw in the towel now. Unfortunately, that resolution was severely tested with "The Art of Sleights and Deception", as once again the quality of a very good, convoluted main murder mystery was soured by the atrociousness of its sideplots.
Bell's DA girlfriend and her violent, benefits cheat ex weren't exactly interesting in the one episode they appeared in earlier in the season, but Elementary took the level of disinterest to unimaginable levels by having Chantal's ex Roy hire someone to lie about Bell drawing a gun on him during a driving feud, and then when Roy was exposed he (presumably) killed Chantal in revenge. Of course, she could be alive yet, but the sight of her bloody hand by her phone as Bell rings her doesn't bode well. I knew something like this was going to happen when Bell arrived at her house in the final scene, but what Elementary needs to learn is it isn't Quantico. Bloody hands suggesting dead bodies don't work unless we care about the characters and at this point there's not a-one in this show, main character or side, who I care about anymore.
The murder plot was very good though but ... meh.
Elementary - 5x20 "The Art of Sleights and Deception"
"A magician is murdered using a bullet catching trick."
My want to continue watching Elementary was non-existent prior to this episode, but I decided that so close to its (likely series) end it seemed pointless to throw in the towel now. Unfortunately, that resolution was severely tested with "The Art of Sleights and Deception", as once again the quality of a very good, convoluted main murder mystery was soured by the atrociousness of its sideplots.
Bell's DA girlfriend and her violent, benefits cheat ex weren't exactly interesting in the one episode they appeared in earlier in the season, but Elementary took the level of disinterest to unimaginable levels by having Chantal's ex Roy hire someone to lie about Bell drawing a gun on him during a driving feud, and then when Roy was exposed he (presumably) killed Chantal in revenge. Of course, she could be alive yet, but the sight of her bloody hand by her phone as Bell rings her doesn't bode well. I knew something like this was going to happen when Bell arrived at her house in the final scene, but what Elementary needs to learn is it isn't Quantico. Bloody hands suggesting dead bodies don't work unless we care about the characters and at this point there's not a-one in this show, main character or side, who I care about anymore.
The murder plot was very good though but ... meh.
VIEWERS: 4.47m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.5
VERDICT: Season 5 challenging to out-rubbish Season 3. If this is the end of Elementary, it's forgotten to retain its dignity. 5/10
"Marcus, is she OK?" Gregson asks.
In truth, I don't personally care, although I have to admit Bell was quite heartbroken on behalf of a woman he'd only spent three scattered episodes with. I'd like now to hark back to my point about how Bell (and Gregson) are generally one-dimensional due to the writers' hard-ons for the Sherlock and Joan dynamic (which they are ironically forgetting this season).
In fairness, the writers did try to make Bell a bit more rounded in this episode, by throwing out that his dad used to beat his mum and thus Bell hates hospitals - this tactic was also meant to elicit a little more sympathy from the audience re Bell's feelings for Chantal given her situation, and an explanation for his overwhelming thirst for vengeance. Only it didn't work: Sherlock would have realised this part of Bell's life ages ago; also, the writers are forgetting Bell didn't hate hospitals in season 2 when he was shot protecting Sherlock and suffered a debilitating hand injury, which, by my calculations, sits neatly between Dad-beats-Mum and Chantal's assault. Character continuity at its finest.
The investigation into Chantal's assault (and Booker's eventual murder following a frame-up), was well-structured, which was a positive for such a poor, trope-laden, boring episode. The solve was even better: Booker had been working as a PI and the lawyer who hired him, Winthrop, had been conducting drugs tests on his employees. Thus, an explanation for urine matching Booker's DNA at the scene of Chantal's assault, and a clever one to boot - although there's still the burden of actual proof, since that sample is the only tenuous link to Winthrop.
And as a final remark, anyone else fancy a trip to that insect-cuisine restaurant with Sherlock and Bell?
Elementary - 5x21 "Flying into a Rage, Make a Bad Landing"
"The NYPD investigate Chantal's vicious assault, with her ex-husband Roy Booker as the prime suspect."
"Marcus, is she OK?" Gregson asks.
In truth, I don't personally care, although I have to admit Bell was quite heartbroken on behalf of a woman he'd only spent three scattered episodes with. I'd like now to hark back to my point about how Bell (and Gregson) are generally one-dimensional due to the writers' hard-ons for the Sherlock and Joan dynamic (which they are ironically forgetting this season).
In fairness, the writers did try to make Bell a bit more rounded in this episode, by throwing out that his dad used to beat his mum and thus Bell hates hospitals - this tactic was also meant to elicit a little more sympathy from the audience re Bell's feelings for Chantal given her situation, and an explanation for his overwhelming thirst for vengeance. Only it didn't work: Sherlock would have realised this part of Bell's life ages ago; also, the writers are forgetting Bell didn't hate hospitals in season 2 when he was shot protecting Sherlock and suffered a debilitating hand injury, which, by my calculations, sits neatly between Dad-beats-Mum and Chantal's assault. Character continuity at its finest.
The investigation into Chantal's assault (and Booker's eventual murder following a frame-up), was well-structured, which was a positive for such a poor, trope-laden, boring episode. The solve was even better: Booker had been working as a PI and the lawyer who hired him, Winthrop, had been conducting drugs tests on his employees. Thus, an explanation for urine matching Booker's DNA at the scene of Chantal's assault, and a clever one to boot - although there's still the burden of actual proof, since that sample is the only tenuous link to Winthrop.
And as a final remark, anyone else fancy a trip to that insect-cuisine restaurant with Sherlock and Bell?
VIEWERS: 4.79m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.5
VERDICT: Wait, we still have three episodes left? And we still have to close off Shinwell's story. Ugggggh. 5/10 including 2 extra points for the clever reveal.
Elementary - 5x22 "Moving Targets"
"A police chief involved in a reality TV show is found murdered."
Shinwell's dead!!!
This is just good on a base level, since it gets rid of a character who has been exceedingly poor throughout the season. On a plot level, it makes sense too: Shinwell's death would totally spur Sherlock and Joan into helping bring down the gang he was infiltrating; in fact, in retrospect it's really the only way they would actively get involved and do that. However, it's hard to even care at all: Shinwell has never been an interesting character and nor has his storyline with SBK, which has been background noise at most. Bringing it front and centre as a way for Sherlock and Joan to exact revenge doesn't have the same weight as if Shinwell had been interesting and the whole SBK storyline had had any weight to it previously.
But that's that. In the episode's murder mystery we see a police chief competing in a reality TV show for a million dollars. The story is a very simple one, with few twists and turns compared to normal plots. The child soldier turned doctor was a nice touch, if his importance as a prime suspect was overstated; the gun company bribing cops to use their guns was an interesting line of thought. It's worth noting, too, that this episode had oddly garrulous suspects: the child soldier turned doctor was happy to admit to stalking the dead police chief in an effort to study his competition and win the reality show, while the big gun company head was happy to admit to his bribery since he'd already gotten away with it.
Elementary
In the end, the murderer was one of the reality show producers, who had also taken bribes from the gun company due to a past as a Texas ranger. Not a bad idea, I suppose, although I feel that Sherlock and Joan would have picked up on his Texas ranger past way earlier in the episode.
VIEWERS: 4.22m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: An episode of real filler to carry us towards the final reveal of Shinwell's death. 6.5/10
Even in a season you could definitely argue has been its most inconsistent (although will war for that title with season 3), Elementary has not struggled to create complex plots - and "Scrambled" may be the best of them all. How do you cut off the head of one of New York's biggest gangs when the head doesn't leave his apartment and seemingly never communicates with his gang members?
The answer to that lies in social media meme sharing, where the file names have been encoded using a World War 2 Enigma code encryption device, and four folded window slats to signify the settings to which the device must be set in order to correctly decrypt each day's message. That's one hell of a way to send secret messages, and therefore it's completely believable that police wouldn't have understood this until Sherlock discovered the Enigma device in gang leader Bonzi Folsom's apartment when Bonzi invited police in to taunt them.
On top of that, there's a twist: Bonzi's brother Tyas, well-respected businessman and seeming enemy of SBK, may actually be running things instead. The episode leaves this question hanging, and I like that. I like Tyas's current ambiguity (although they're obviously setting him up to be the big bad); also, I can't help but see David Ramsey whenever I see the actor who plays Tyas. Hmm.
On a side note, Sherlock's reminiscences on a past case where he may have ensured the incarceration of an innocent man who later killed himself were phenomenal, and his guilt was cleverly represented by his actually sleeping, where Sherlock usually sleeps very little.. But the final scene was a little confusing: does the NA meeting head love Sherlock, like love love? Or was it metaphorical? It seemed weirdly sinister for a character we've never met before, as did her muscling in on Sherlock's case.
But putting that question aside, what "Scrambled" really proved is this whole gang storyline could have been attempted from a non-Shinwell angle, and might have been a lot, lot better.
VIEWERS: 4.52m
Shinwell's dead!!!
This is just good on a base level, since it gets rid of a character who has been exceedingly poor throughout the season. On a plot level, it makes sense too: Shinwell's death would totally spur Sherlock and Joan into helping bring down the gang he was infiltrating; in fact, in retrospect it's really the only way they would actively get involved and do that. However, it's hard to even care at all: Shinwell has never been an interesting character and nor has his storyline with SBK, which has been background noise at most. Bringing it front and centre as a way for Sherlock and Joan to exact revenge doesn't have the same weight as if Shinwell had been interesting and the whole SBK storyline had had any weight to it previously.
But that's that. In the episode's murder mystery we see a police chief competing in a reality TV show for a million dollars. The story is a very simple one, with few twists and turns compared to normal plots. The child soldier turned doctor was a nice touch, if his importance as a prime suspect was overstated; the gun company bribing cops to use their guns was an interesting line of thought. It's worth noting, too, that this episode had oddly garrulous suspects: the child soldier turned doctor was happy to admit to stalking the dead police chief in an effort to study his competition and win the reality show, while the big gun company head was happy to admit to his bribery since he'd already gotten away with it.Elementary
In the end, the murderer was one of the reality show producers, who had also taken bribes from the gun company due to a past as a Texas ranger. Not a bad idea, I suppose, although I feel that Sherlock and Joan would have picked up on his Texas ranger past way earlier in the episode.
VIEWERS: 4.22m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: An episode of real filler to carry us towards the final reveal of Shinwell's death. 6.5/10
Elementary - 5x23 "Scrambled"
"Sherlock and Joan attempt to finish Shinwell's work bringing down the South Bronx Killers gang."
Even in a season you could definitely argue has been its most inconsistent (although will war for that title with season 3), Elementary has not struggled to create complex plots - and "Scrambled" may be the best of them all. How do you cut off the head of one of New York's biggest gangs when the head doesn't leave his apartment and seemingly never communicates with his gang members?
 |
| Sherlock talks of his guilt during an NA meeting |
On top of that, there's a twist: Bonzi's brother Tyas, well-respected businessman and seeming enemy of SBK, may actually be running things instead. The episode leaves this question hanging, and I like that. I like Tyas's current ambiguity (although they're obviously setting him up to be the big bad); also, I can't help but see David Ramsey whenever I see the actor who plays Tyas. Hmm.
On a side note, Sherlock's reminiscences on a past case where he may have ensured the incarceration of an innocent man who later killed himself were phenomenal, and his guilt was cleverly represented by his actually sleeping, where Sherlock usually sleeps very little.. But the final scene was a little confusing: does the NA meeting head love Sherlock, like love love? Or was it metaphorical? It seemed weirdly sinister for a character we've never met before, as did her muscling in on Sherlock's case.
But putting that question aside, what "Scrambled" really proved is this whole gang storyline could have been attempted from a non-Shinwell angle, and might have been a lot, lot better.
VIEWERS: 4.52m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6
VERDICT: Fascinatingly complex and filled with brilliant character dynamics; it's just a shame this episode's greatness exemplifies why Shinwell was such a weak character. 8.5/10
My first inclination upon seeing the promo for "Hurt Me, Hurt You" was that this would be a very good episode. I do like Jon Huertas (who returns to play gang leader Halcon, who appeared in episode 5x02). and Halcon is a good character - having his and his gang's return not only provide a complex attempt for SBK leader Tyas Wilcox to escape prosecution, but be the single clue that unravels Tyas, was incredibly rewarding. Tyas remains one of the most interesting bad guys of Elementary's entire five-season run so far, which is great until you remember he's appeared - and stolen the show - in only two episodes.
But the rest of the episode was less than pleasing. Firstly, the writers have managed to twist Shinwell's plot back to Joan, and conveniently forgot that for the middle part his involvement was mostly with Sherlock, making the attempted payoff of Joan's grief about as weak as an attack with a feather.
And then there was Mystery Random Woman from the NA meetings, who transpired to be a hallucination of Sherlock's dead mum. The point of involving this hallucinatory sidebar is immediately diminished by the fact that the episode included far more interesting proof that Sherlock is losing his cognitive capabilities, and it was also about as clear as a foggy day. Dear Mum is a hallucination, but the fire she set in the brownstone was real? Yeah makes sense.
Kind of like Elementary's renewal.
Elementary - 5x24 "Hurt Me, Hurt You"
"The NYPD's attempts to bring down SBK grow more dangerous when an old foe is drawn into the battle."
My first inclination upon seeing the promo for "Hurt Me, Hurt You" was that this would be a very good episode. I do like Jon Huertas (who returns to play gang leader Halcon, who appeared in episode 5x02). and Halcon is a good character - having his and his gang's return not only provide a complex attempt for SBK leader Tyas Wilcox to escape prosecution, but be the single clue that unravels Tyas, was incredibly rewarding. Tyas remains one of the most interesting bad guys of Elementary's entire five-season run so far, which is great until you remember he's appeared - and stolen the show - in only two episodes.
But the rest of the episode was less than pleasing. Firstly, the writers have managed to twist Shinwell's plot back to Joan, and conveniently forgot that for the middle part his involvement was mostly with Sherlock, making the attempted payoff of Joan's grief about as weak as an attack with a feather.
And then there was Mystery Random Woman from the NA meetings, who transpired to be a hallucination of Sherlock's dead mum. The point of involving this hallucinatory sidebar is immediately diminished by the fact that the episode included far more interesting proof that Sherlock is losing his cognitive capabilities, and it was also about as clear as a foggy day. Dear Mum is a hallucination, but the fire she set in the brownstone was real? Yeah makes sense.
Kind of like Elementary's renewal.
VIEWERS: 4.10m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.5
VERDICT: Sideplots detracted from a very good episode. That will be all, else I'll rage forever. 7/10
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
WEEK EIGHT --- Sherlock: "He is an expert manipulator of perverts. Baits them with ease. I'd go so far as to call him a master baiter."
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