CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode # 11 "Internal Audit" - Review

The opening scenes offer a quick recap of the previous episode “Tremors”.

Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill) is back to work, though he is relegated to doing mostly desk work.

Alfredo Llamosa (Ato Essandoh) is teaching Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) about breaking into a car without setting off the sensors.

Donald Hauser is being accused in the media of running a Ponzi scheme. Hauser tries to shoot himself to death, but is shot by an unseen intruder.

Miss Chloe Butler (Heather Burns), Donald's personal chef discovers her client's corpse and informs the police.

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Chloe is revealed to be a former client of Joan and informs Joan that the last person to meet Donald was Jacob Weiss (Richard Masur).

The aforementioned TV anchor/reporter, Rosalie Nunez (Kristine Johnson) who exposed Hauser's pyramid scheme is also killed.

Nelson Maddox (Lucas Hall), former lover of Chloe is observed in the police security tapes in skateboarding area near Rosalie's apartment.

Chloe is fighting a custody battle over her son, Shane and is desperate to keep her past a secret from her husband and the court. Chloe first pleads and then holds Joan to her client confidentiality agreement.

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Alfredo wants Sherlock to become the sponsor for another addict, Randy (Stephen Tyrone Williams). Sherlock is hesitant and is temporarily saved by a phone call from Joan. 

Sherlock and Joan's investigation takes them to an art gallery, where they run into Fabiana (Rebecca Dayan). Fabiana claims not to know Nelson.

Deputy Commissioner Frank Da Silva (Peter Gerety), head of demographics unit tries to convince Detective Bell to work for him.

I recommend the viewers to check out the episode to find out the resolution to the mystery.

Canonical References

1. The writing of the word “THIEF” on the wall - In A Study in Scarlet, the killer leaves the word “RACHE” written in blood on the wall.

2. Miller's Sherlock Holmes expressing his frustration at having to solve the murder lonesome, as Joan leaves to meet Chloe Butler - Sherlock Holmes writes in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “The good Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife, the only selfish action which I can recall in our association. I was alone.”
 
3. Elementary Sherlock making deductions about the killer based on the deducing about the killer's whereabouts based on the scent of Osage orange - Sherlock Holmes mentions in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “I have, as my friend Watson may have remarked, an abnormally acute set of senses, and a faint but incisive scent was apparent.”

4. Miller's Holmes remarking to Alfredo: “You know my work. It is all consuming” and “Duty calls. It always will.” - Sherlock Holmes states in The Adventure of the Red-Headed League: “L’homme c’est rien–l’oeuvre c’est tout,..”. This French saying roughly translates as “the man is nothing, the work is everything”

5. Elementary Holmes asking Fabiana if she saw “anything out of the ordinary” - In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes tells Sir Henry Baskerville: “I think anything out of the ordinary routine of life well worth reporting.”

After a strong episode, this is an OK episode. Not bad, but not one of the best either.

Jonny Lee Miller gets some laughs with his quip about Randy's name. The discussions between Elementary Holmes and Joan about disclosing their findings about Maddox to NYPD in the light of Joan's agreement with Chloe was good.

The next episode of CBS Elementary “The Diabolical Kind” airs on Jan 02 2014, with the return of Natalie Dormer as Irene Adler/Jamie Moriarty.

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Jonny Lee Miller and Aidan Quinn in Elementary

The least explored character in the show has been without a doubt, Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill). Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn) has had his share of fame in some of the previous episodes. Detective Bell, on the other hand, has remained a non-entity. He has remained the token member of the official force who bears the brunt of Sherlock’s sarcasm.

This episode seeks to rectify this situation and Bell gets to hog the limelight.

Bell is attacked by an unknown assailant in a car. Bell’s car flips, leaving him bruised. Bell suspects that Curtis Bradshaw (Anwan Glover), a powerful drug peddler from one of his earlier cases is behind the attacks. The case takes a new direction when Curtis himself is murdered.

The suspicion next falls on Bell’s brother, Andre Bell (Malcolm Goodwin) who is an ex-convict and out on parole.

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In the episode’s customary subplot, Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) has grown apprehensive about Joan’s safety since the incidents of the last episode. Holmes in his search for a martial arts trainer for Joan zeroes in on Bell’s colleague Paula Reyes (Paula Garcés). Holmes has deduced that Paula is good at boxing.

Continuing the show's downward trend, this episode is another weak one. Many of the attempts at humor fell flat. It felt like Miller was trying too hard to be funny.

His guerilla style attacks on Joan to test her reflexes reminded me instantly of the same antics employed by Cato (Burt Kwouk) on Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) in A Shot in the Dark, the second in the Pink Panther movie series.

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes

I did like Holmes’ usage of the British term “Water Closet”.

Canonical References

1.   Holmes' attempt to get information from Curtis by placing a bet – Reference to The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, in which Holmes places a bet with the salesman to obtain information about the goose.

2.   Holmes conducting a Ballistics exam inside his apartment – Reference to this line from The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual: “ … Holmes, in one of his queer humours, would sit in an armchair with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V. R. done in bullet-pocks,..”

3.   Holmes remark about catching the scent of recently used firearms in Bell’s apartment - Holmes states in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “I have, as my friend Watson may have remarked, an abnormally acute set of senses, and a faint but incisive scent was apparent.”

4.   Holmes commenting that Bell was not stupid enough to conceal the gun (used to commit a crime he is accused of) in his apartment – Reference to The Problem of Thor Bridge, in which Holmes deduces that the discovery of the revolver on the floor of the governess’ wardrobe was meant to frame her.

5.   We see the set of locks on the wall in a couple of scenes - The Canonical Holmes is an expert in lock picking. He even mentions in The Adventure of the Retired Colourman: “Burglary has always been an alternative profession had I cared to adopt it, and I have little doubt that I should have come to the front.”

6.   Holmes treating Bell as just another resource for getting information – I think this is an indirect reference to this statement by Holmes in The Sign of the Four: “A client is to me a mere unit,—a factor in a problem. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.”

Jon Michael Hill as Marcus Bell and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson

Trivia

The song “No Man is an Island” (Losers Theme) by Losers is played when Holmes is conducting his ballistics exam.

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