Friday, November 8, 2013

CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode # 7 "The Marchioness" - Review

Rhys Ifans as Mycroft Holmes with Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson in CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode 7 The Marchioness

Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is in an alcoholics recovery session. Mycroft Holmes (Rhys Ifans) visits New York with his ex fiancee Nigella Mason (Olivia d'Abo).

Mycroft Holmes has been diagnosed with leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. He was able to find a match, thanks to Nigella. He wants to return the favor by enlisting Sherlock's help to solve the mystery behind the murder of Nigella's current boyfriend, Dalton Ladd.

Dalton Ladd is the overseer of horses for his master, Robert Suffolk, Duke of Marquess. Though Nigella is married to Robert, his infidelity causes her to focus her affections on Dalton.

Dalton has been shot dead by an intruder trying to break into the stables with the intention of poisoning the champion, Silver Blaze with concentrated potassium.

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El Mechanico (Andrew Samonsky), an assassin for the Robles drug cartel is the suspect in the case as well as 13 others. But when he is apprehended by the NYPD and has his fingerprints taken, they do not match the ones on the police record.

I recommend the readers to watch the episode to find out the solution.

Canonical References

1. Miller's Holmes's line in the opening scene: “My senses are unusually keen” - Sherlock Holmes himself states in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “I have, as my friend Watson may have remarked, an abnormally acute set of senses,...”

2.Elementary Holmes is seen listening to radio transmissions in search for a case - Sherlock Holmes searches the agony columns in the newspapers for prospective cases in the Canon.

3. Elementary Sherlock's statement: “A lingering meal in the midst of an investigation is a hindrance.... A conversation is an annoyance.” - Sherlock Holmes often skips food (and sleep) when he is working hard on a case. He is also known to avoid human company and any conversation for long stretches of time, when he is concentrating hard on a solution to a case.

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode 7 The Marchioness

4. Miller's Holmes remarks about Mycroft: “He means less work.” - Sherlock Holmes remarks in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “But he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to prove himself right.”

5. Miller's Holmes waking up Joan Watson with his single stick - Sherlock Holmes often wakes up John Watson from his sleep in many cases. Further, Sherlock Holmes is a single stick expert.

This episode is Elementary's attempt at adapting Arthur Conan Doyle's original story The Silver Blaze. The opening scene in the alcoholics recovery session, where Miller's Holmes explained his desire to be born in earlier times was a nice touch.

Then the episode takes a nosedive with Sherlock Holmes discussing about his bouts of sex in the past with Nigella.

Rhys Ifans as Mycroft Holmes with Lucy Liu as Joan Watson in CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode 7 The Marchioness

Not to be outdone, it is revealed that Mycroft Holmes and Joan Watson have had sex as well during Sherlock and Joan's visit to London in the episode “Step Nine”.

They now join the equally horrendous pairing of Miller's Holmes and Dormer's Moriarty.

Thank you, CBS.

Recommended only to die-hard fans of the show. The lesser your knowledge of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Canon is, the more will be your enjoyment.


Rhys Ifans as Mycroft Holmes with Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode 7 The Marchioness

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16 comments:

  1. *headdesk* This... Had Olivia D'Abo in it? Dang it! She was a voice ocony favorite cartoon once as a character I liked. I'm kinda depressed she was on here.

    What is it with this show and pairing up gender swapped canon characters with unswapped canon characters? My brain is trying to deduce psychological implications of this. It also just... Doesn't sit well with me...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Loveable Freak.

      I agree with your thoughts about Elementary taking such liberties with iconic literary characters. As a long time fan of Arthur Conan Doyle's genius, I too have a tough time wrapping my head around this...

      B2B.

      Delete
  2. I agree with you one hundred percent on this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks John. Glad that we are on the same page.

      B2B.

      Delete
  3. Mycroft and Watson's affair was horrible! I liked Mycroft's first episode because it was clear that Mycroft and Watson had nothing to do with each other romantically, plus the whole idea is stupid. At first I thought Watson was lying to Sherlock to let him hear what he wants since the first episode made it mostly clear that nothing happened between Mycroft and Watson. Except for that majorly annoyance, seeing Mycroft again was good, Ifans does an excellent job in the role, even if the material given him could be a lot better.

    -James

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks James.

      I agree about the Mycroft-Joan affair. Unnecessary and was just in poor taste.

      B2B.

      Delete
    2. The what?! Okay, now I am REALLY glad that I stopped watching the show. Unthinking this is already difficult enough.

      Delete
    3. You made a very wise move.

      Thanks for stopping by.

      B2B.

      Delete
  4. I really loved this episode. Especially for the opening scene. For me it wasn't just a nice twist. It was a beautiful explanation of how highly sensitive people see and feel the world. Jonny Lee Millers acting is superb. I'm so grateful that in Elementary the matters of giftedness and high sensitivity are treated with so much accuracy and respect.

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    1. I agree about the opening scene. I would even say that this was Jonny Lee Miller's finest acting as Sherlock Holmes in the show so far.

      I wish I could the same about the rest of the episode.

      Thanks for stopping by.

      B2B.

      Delete
  5. My favorite adaptation of Sherlock Holmes adventures is BBC Sherlock which I do think makes an excelent job at keeping loyal to the canon as well as putting a whole new vibe to the so many times told stories of the genius Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but even being a fan of the original Holmes does not make me dislike the less loyal versions or adaptations of this great detective, like Elementary, though they do take WAY too many liberties with both the characters as with the episodes. Focusing on how the tv show storyline has being evolving I do not dislike the match of Joan with Mycroft; I actually saw it happening from the first episode that Mycroft was introduced, I just thought "this guys gonna paired them up" and I think they did it, God knows if they are gonna make them an item or just a one time thing, to make Joan´s and Sherlock´s relationship a little deeper than before and see how Sherlock reacts to such thing. I´m able to enjoy the show because I´m able to ignore the canon Holmes that I so dearly love for a minute when I watch Elementary. Even though I always gonna prefer the original Holmes and the BBC´s version more than Elementary, I kind of like the liberties they take here and there, just to see what would happen if... since I knew Elementary was an american show about Sherlock Holmes I said to myself "if you´re gonna watch this you gotta open your mind completly, ´cause they are americans and they have a way of doing their shows" the only thing though is, like a typical american show, it gets predictable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the detailed comment.

      I wish I too could ignore/forget the genius of Arthur Conan Doyle and enjoy the CBS show.

      Have you seen the Russian series with Vasily Livanov as Holmes. That is my favorite adaptation.

      B2B.

      Delete
  6. who did mycroft call at the end of the episode?

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    1. I believe he called Jamie Moriarty/Irene Adler. Odds are that He might have called some other character (created just for the show). My bet is on Moriarty.

      Thanks for stopping by.

      B2B.

      Delete
  7. Joan and Mycroft pairing was a poor choice. I was hoping to see her in a meaningful relationship, but that pairing was just sloppy writing. Also, having her in a relationship with someone else means Sherlock would have to come to terms with the possibility of her leaving one day.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Agree with your thoughts. Wish the writers had done a better job on that aspect. But then, writing was never a strength of the CBS show, whether it is the characterization of Joan or even Holmes himself.

      Thanks for stopping by.
      Arun.

      Delete