Elementary 2.22
May. 2nd, 2014 10:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakLast but one episode of the season.
May I say: ha, I knew it! Because ha, I knew it. (See earlier reviews.) Mind you, there wasn't pretty much any other way to go, especially since the whole thing was structured as a reverse of the Irene = Moriarty reveal. I.e. last season, after an episode of Irene-as-victim-of-Moriarty you had the last minute reveal that no, actually, she IS Moriarty; this season, after an episode of making Mycroft look both complicit with the villains and as bad as them, the last minute reveal that no, he's British Intelligence. For which the episode dropped clues earlier, notably the line about the list - which it was Mycroft's specific suggestion to go after and then trade - being of interest to governments all over the world as well as crime organisations, and of course the NSA guy's admission of spying on the Swiss. (Don't bother qualifying this with "Switzerland is neutral, not a friend", NSA guy. Couldn't we just for once have the admission that the US has no "friends", it has minions deluding themselves of being more on occasion? *has read today's papers about our government openly admitting it won't let Snowden testify because it would antagonize the Americans, hasn't expected anything else but is extra bitter - looks like Brazil is still the only nation actually standing up to the US on this matter*) Anyway: I am assuming that maintaining his cover is also why Mycroft pretended to be extra clueless when with Sherlock. What I don't know yet is whether his main mission was to infiltrate Le Milieu or to get the list, but either way, while he hadn't expected the Joan abduction, he used it once it happened.
Unfortunately, my other hope - that Joan would get to save herself - was not fulfilled. While the episode didn't paint her as intimidated or helpless but active and taking the initiatve - and unless I'm forgetting something, wasn't that the first surgery she's done since stopping to be a surgeon? -, it didn't allow her to escape on her own, or have many scenes at all, which would confirm what one of my commenters last week has speculated, i.e. that the abduction plot was mainly because Lucy Liu was directing this episode.
Re: Sherlock threatening the Swiss security chief with torture in order to get to the list - am not impressed. When this happened last season with Moran, the episode in question made a point of a) using it as a sign Holmes had gone seriously of the rails and b) didn't reward it with positive results; instead, we found out Moran had not killed Irene at all, not to mention that Moran was given characterisation and personality, figuring out Moriarty had set him up with Holmes and immediately changing sides, whereas Mr. Caricature Swiss was treated simply as a ploy to show how desperate Sherlock was to save Joan. I really dislike this type of 24 posturing and want the show to be better than that.
Hopes for the finale: Joan having actually something to do, and the NSA guy not ending up with the list. I don't care who does, as long as it's not the NSA. My real life issues, they burn.
Trivia: for some reason, Mycroft apparantly being a Rolling Stones fan amuses me.
May I say: ha, I knew it! Because ha, I knew it. (See earlier reviews.) Mind you, there wasn't pretty much any other way to go, especially since the whole thing was structured as a reverse of the Irene = Moriarty reveal. I.e. last season, after an episode of Irene-as-victim-of-Moriarty you had the last minute reveal that no, actually, she IS Moriarty; this season, after an episode of making Mycroft look both complicit with the villains and as bad as them, the last minute reveal that no, he's British Intelligence. For which the episode dropped clues earlier, notably the line about the list - which it was Mycroft's specific suggestion to go after and then trade - being of interest to governments all over the world as well as crime organisations, and of course the NSA guy's admission of spying on the Swiss. (Don't bother qualifying this with "Switzerland is neutral, not a friend", NSA guy. Couldn't we just for once have the admission that the US has no "friends", it has minions deluding themselves of being more on occasion? *has read today's papers about our government openly admitting it won't let Snowden testify because it would antagonize the Americans, hasn't expected anything else but is extra bitter - looks like Brazil is still the only nation actually standing up to the US on this matter*) Anyway: I am assuming that maintaining his cover is also why Mycroft pretended to be extra clueless when with Sherlock. What I don't know yet is whether his main mission was to infiltrate Le Milieu or to get the list, but either way, while he hadn't expected the Joan abduction, he used it once it happened.
Unfortunately, my other hope - that Joan would get to save herself - was not fulfilled. While the episode didn't paint her as intimidated or helpless but active and taking the initiatve - and unless I'm forgetting something, wasn't that the first surgery she's done since stopping to be a surgeon? -, it didn't allow her to escape on her own, or have many scenes at all, which would confirm what one of my commenters last week has speculated, i.e. that the abduction plot was mainly because Lucy Liu was directing this episode.
Re: Sherlock threatening the Swiss security chief with torture in order to get to the list - am not impressed. When this happened last season with Moran, the episode in question made a point of a) using it as a sign Holmes had gone seriously of the rails and b) didn't reward it with positive results; instead, we found out Moran had not killed Irene at all, not to mention that Moran was given characterisation and personality, figuring out Moriarty had set him up with Holmes and immediately changing sides, whereas Mr. Caricature Swiss was treated simply as a ploy to show how desperate Sherlock was to save Joan. I really dislike this type of 24 posturing and want the show to be better than that.
Hopes for the finale: Joan having actually something to do, and the NSA guy not ending up with the list. I don't care who does, as long as it's not the NSA. My real life issues, they burn.
Trivia: for some reason, Mycroft apparantly being a Rolling Stones fan amuses me.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 10:25 am (UTC)Oh! This is a good point. And would have made those scenes much more interesting - as they were, they didn't amount to anything bar giving Joan something to do, which wound up being entirely futile.
Although actually escaping or making a serious attempt would have been unlikely in the situation, it would have been good to see Joan deduce some information or try to psychologically get one over on the guy and his minions.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 11:40 am (UTC)And I'm with you in general about the 24-style antics.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 01:01 pm (UTC)Although Joan doesn't save herself, I did like the way that she focused on doing what she could to help while captive, perhaps as a way to deflect her own fear and panic, but also just because she's that kind of person.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 04:02 pm (UTC)re: Joan, oh, I thought doing what she could, saving a life (for a while) via her skills, was great and very her. But I still wish there had been more to that subplot.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 04:04 pm (UTC)I feel like a double POV fic contrasting the two of them could be a good fixit for this ep but I'm not sure I'm QUITE motivated enough to write it.