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Elementary 3.01
A great season premiere. S2 had been a mixed affair, not least because as opposed to s1, where you had individual cases but also long term developments (from sober companion and client to friends and partners, Joan's decision to change jobs permanently, Sherlock dealing with the Irene matter, to put it unspoilery), in s2 what long term developments there were had to do with Mycroft and that wasn't the best of arcs, Joan except for the last ep as in something of a standstill, and not coincidentally the standout s2 episodes were all either one shots independent from ongoing developments (the Philip Seymour Hofmann inspired one comes to mind, as does the one with Sherlock's old pen pal) or continuing fallouts from the previous season (the one with Moriarty). Wait, I take it back, there was also the Marcus Bell mini arc which WAS good. But you'll notice none of these, except the Moriarty one, had much to do with Joan (and even the Moriarty one only a little - yes, the thing with the portrait was fanfic inspiring fun, but they didn't really interact in this episode). And part of the charm of the show is the equal partnership, so not a few viewers during s2 often asked in frustration "where's the Joan of it?".
So the s3 opener had quite a lot to prove. Which is why it was a very clever decision to do what they did - make it Joan-centric, and in a way that was thematically relevant. Also, the time jump was good. It got rid of the s2 tag scene introduced "I'm going to join MI6" plot elegantly, which is good because spy shenanigans isn't what I watch this show for - I have other shows for this! It presents us with a new status quo - Joan's been working as a solo consultant with Gregson, Bell & Co. for six, then eight months on her own. (And we see her in action doing just this for a good while before the show reintroduces Sherlock.)
It also made something inevitable which I wanted to avoid because I know how much it annoys me when other fans do it in other fandoms (see also: endless Moffat versus Davies posts). But, well: Holmes, having been absent for considerable time, returns into Watson's life. It does beg to be compared to another s3 opener. And of course to the ACD original. The most obvious difference being that this Holmes didn't fake his death (didn't have to, I hasten to add: no supervillain's network threatening Watson around, but since Elementary's Sherlock experienced first hand what a faked death felt like via Irene/Moriarty, it would have been very ooc for him to put Joan through the same experience); he did tell Watson - and the cops - that he was going. Via note, not person, which I'll get to in a minute. But first: the other big difference is in Joan's and Gregson's reactions to the return. This Watson finds her Holmes in an supposedly empty house (ahem) after having figured out the clue he left. She's angry, not so much for the manner of the return but because he responded to her decision to move out and get her own apartment in the s2 finale by bailing out of their partnership altogether. Which is not something you do to your partner. She's also doing well on her own both professionally and emotionally; there is no desperate need to have him back. As for Gregson, his cooly amused reaction was perfect. As was the general "yes, you're very helpful, but Joan is actually a reliable consultant and I'm not risking working with her for working with you, so it's her decision" argument.
Like his BBC counterpart, Elementary's Sherlock does some game playing in return, but not of the cruel "tricking Watson into a confession of friendship by pretending they're about to die" type. It's also, and I appreciate that, not sure how much he believes his own claims. At first I thought Kitty the new protege (not partner, and of course Sherlock trying to rewrite his relationship with John into mentor/protege is typical, tooo) was simply a ploy to make Joan jealous, and she's that, but it really is a lot like Sherlock to believe what he says when telling Joan he figured out what he was missing was not her per se but training her as a detective, and that this could be replicated. Also, Kitty didn't leave at the end of the episode - so presumably she'll stay on as a recurring character - and had a scene with Joan establishing her as an individual, not a plot device; I'm intrigued.
During her time as a solo detective Joan also aquired an arch nemesis in the best evil overlady mode, and their shared lunches were golden fanfic inducing material. No opinion on Joan's boyfriend of two months yet; that thing with the lizard could have been a fake, and he a minion of the nemesis, but then I think he'd have shown up in more than just two scenes. (Also I appreciate the show didn't make Sherlock jealous of him, or vice versa.) Joan rebuffing Sherlock's first attempts to work together on the locked room mystery (which btw was a clever updating - I don't watch this show for the mysteries, but just how this murder was done was a rare exception, I really wanted to know) but also making no great fuss when he provides the solution of how the murder was accompished, using the information instead to figure out the rest, was just the right mixture of professionality and understandable hurt feelings. What was really important to me was that he didn't lie to her, because then I wouldn't have been able to root for them as a team anymore. And I think the fact he didn't is also what enables her at the end to say she'll be okay with working together via the NYPD in a non-partner way. I mean, obviously since they're Holmes and Watson they'll end up together again sooner or later, the audience knows that, but he'll have to earn it, and she isn't emotionally blackmailed into it but has ample space (both literally, with her apartment - btw, great Clyde cameo, but what became of the bees? - and emotionally) to consider how much she does, or doesn't, want him into her life.
So the s3 opener had quite a lot to prove. Which is why it was a very clever decision to do what they did - make it Joan-centric, and in a way that was thematically relevant. Also, the time jump was good. It got rid of the s2 tag scene introduced "I'm going to join MI6" plot elegantly, which is good because spy shenanigans isn't what I watch this show for - I have other shows for this! It presents us with a new status quo - Joan's been working as a solo consultant with Gregson, Bell & Co. for six, then eight months on her own. (And we see her in action doing just this for a good while before the show reintroduces Sherlock.)
It also made something inevitable which I wanted to avoid because I know how much it annoys me when other fans do it in other fandoms (see also: endless Moffat versus Davies posts). But, well: Holmes, having been absent for considerable time, returns into Watson's life. It does beg to be compared to another s3 opener. And of course to the ACD original. The most obvious difference being that this Holmes didn't fake his death (didn't have to, I hasten to add: no supervillain's network threatening Watson around, but since Elementary's Sherlock experienced first hand what a faked death felt like via Irene/Moriarty, it would have been very ooc for him to put Joan through the same experience); he did tell Watson - and the cops - that he was going. Via note, not person, which I'll get to in a minute. But first: the other big difference is in Joan's and Gregson's reactions to the return. This Watson finds her Holmes in an supposedly empty house (ahem) after having figured out the clue he left. She's angry, not so much for the manner of the return but because he responded to her decision to move out and get her own apartment in the s2 finale by bailing out of their partnership altogether. Which is not something you do to your partner. She's also doing well on her own both professionally and emotionally; there is no desperate need to have him back. As for Gregson, his cooly amused reaction was perfect. As was the general "yes, you're very helpful, but Joan is actually a reliable consultant and I'm not risking working with her for working with you, so it's her decision" argument.
Like his BBC counterpart, Elementary's Sherlock does some game playing in return, but not of the cruel "tricking Watson into a confession of friendship by pretending they're about to die" type. It's also, and I appreciate that, not sure how much he believes his own claims. At first I thought Kitty the new protege (not partner, and of course Sherlock trying to rewrite his relationship with John into mentor/protege is typical, tooo) was simply a ploy to make Joan jealous, and she's that, but it really is a lot like Sherlock to believe what he says when telling Joan he figured out what he was missing was not her per se but training her as a detective, and that this could be replicated. Also, Kitty didn't leave at the end of the episode - so presumably she'll stay on as a recurring character - and had a scene with Joan establishing her as an individual, not a plot device; I'm intrigued.
During her time as a solo detective Joan also aquired an arch nemesis in the best evil overlady mode, and their shared lunches were golden fanfic inducing material. No opinion on Joan's boyfriend of two months yet; that thing with the lizard could have been a fake, and he a minion of the nemesis, but then I think he'd have shown up in more than just two scenes. (Also I appreciate the show didn't make Sherlock jealous of him, or vice versa.) Joan rebuffing Sherlock's first attempts to work together on the locked room mystery (which btw was a clever updating - I don't watch this show for the mysteries, but just how this murder was done was a rare exception, I really wanted to know) but also making no great fuss when he provides the solution of how the murder was accompished, using the information instead to figure out the rest, was just the right mixture of professionality and understandable hurt feelings. What was really important to me was that he didn't lie to her, because then I wouldn't have been able to root for them as a team anymore. And I think the fact he didn't is also what enables her at the end to say she'll be okay with working together via the NYPD in a non-partner way. I mean, obviously since they're Holmes and Watson they'll end up together again sooner or later, the audience knows that, but he'll have to earn it, and she isn't emotionally blackmailed into it but has ample space (both literally, with her apartment - btw, great Clyde cameo, but what became of the bees? - and emotionally) to consider how much she does, or doesn't, want him into her life.
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Yes! I was genuinely expecting Sherlock to say, as his justification for returning to NYC, "well, the bees are here".
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