Elementary 5.06
In which we get the return of Clyde, and Joan quoting Shakespeare.
I liked this episode much more than the two previous ones. Including the case of the week, because poisoning by living snake and stopping the stock exchange as a fiendish distraction to cover an art robbery is the kind of complicated evil pot ACD would have served up. Also Sherlock's method of defeating it - getting a forger friend to fake the return of the paintings, thereby provoking the thief to rant on the internet about having the real ones - was both very him and a dead-on comment by the writers on our times.
Meanwhile, we got two subplots dealing with love affairs, the beginning and the ending of one, as Marcus' appearance at court turned out to be mostly to set up his romantic interest in the state attorney, and to enlighten Sherlock that if you don't talk about your or her work with your significant other, there might be a problem, which brings me to the other subplot: the end of the Sherlock/Fiona relationship. You know, I've seen the critique that the problem of the relationship was that the audience only saw it at the periphery and kept missing significant steps, as when we got from Fiona and Sherlock agreeing to go out in one episode to Fiona willing to break up in the next before the misunderstanding du jour was cleared up. To some degree I share said critique. Then again, I also appreciate something Joan points out in this episode - that this is the first "normal" romantic relationship Sherlock has had, and break-ups, not for terrible dramatic reasons (i.e. faked murder as with Irene/Moriarty, or, she could have added, real murder, as when Joan's fiance whom she intended to let go died right in front of her) but for every day reasons do happen. That you can say goodbye without being a supervillain. I also appreciate that the break-up isn't tied in any way to Fiona's condition, or for that matter Sherlock's issues, or to a villain kidnapping her, thereby triggering that well worn trope, "must break up to save my loved one". So it's handled maturely, and of course, it's the occasion for another good Holmes & Watson friendship scene. (BTW, aside from that, Joan's eagerness for Sherlock to share gossip on Marcus' love life amused me.)
Lastly: after lord knows how many episodes Clyde the turtle at least is spotted on screen again - and has to surrender his territory to a snake. Talk about home invasion.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1201514.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
I liked this episode much more than the two previous ones. Including the case of the week, because poisoning by living snake and stopping the stock exchange as a fiendish distraction to cover an art robbery is the kind of complicated evil pot ACD would have served up. Also Sherlock's method of defeating it - getting a forger friend to fake the return of the paintings, thereby provoking the thief to rant on the internet about having the real ones - was both very him and a dead-on comment by the writers on our times.
Meanwhile, we got two subplots dealing with love affairs, the beginning and the ending of one, as Marcus' appearance at court turned out to be mostly to set up his romantic interest in the state attorney, and to enlighten Sherlock that if you don't talk about your or her work with your significant other, there might be a problem, which brings me to the other subplot: the end of the Sherlock/Fiona relationship. You know, I've seen the critique that the problem of the relationship was that the audience only saw it at the periphery and kept missing significant steps, as when we got from Fiona and Sherlock agreeing to go out in one episode to Fiona willing to break up in the next before the misunderstanding du jour was cleared up. To some degree I share said critique. Then again, I also appreciate something Joan points out in this episode - that this is the first "normal" romantic relationship Sherlock has had, and break-ups, not for terrible dramatic reasons (i.e. faked murder as with Irene/Moriarty, or, she could have added, real murder, as when Joan's fiance whom she intended to let go died right in front of her) but for every day reasons do happen. That you can say goodbye without being a supervillain. I also appreciate that the break-up isn't tied in any way to Fiona's condition, or for that matter Sherlock's issues, or to a villain kidnapping her, thereby triggering that well worn trope, "must break up to save my loved one". So it's handled maturely, and of course, it's the occasion for another good Holmes & Watson friendship scene. (BTW, aside from that, Joan's eagerness for Sherlock to share gossip on Marcus' love life amused me.)
Lastly: after lord knows how many episodes Clyde the turtle at least is spotted on screen again - and has to surrender his territory to a snake. Talk about home invasion.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1201514.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.