This is a spoiler heavy review. I recommend the readers to skip this review, if they have not seen the episode yet.
Click here to read the review of previous episode, "The Woman".
Click here to read the review of previous episode, "The Woman".
Irene Adler (Natalie Dormer) revealed herself to be Moriarty at the end of previous episode, "The Woman". She warns the injured Holmes to let her win to avoid further pain.
Holmes being Holmes, puts all his efforts to tracking Moriarty down. His investigation leads him to one Christos Theophilus (Arnold Vosloo), a Greek businessman with a shady past. Moriarty has abducted Christos' daughter and forces him to assassinate Andrej Bacera, another prominent personality to ensure his daughter's safety. Holmes is unsuccessful in his attempts and goes on a drug overdose. Holmes lands in hospital and receives a surprise visitor.
Canonical References
- "I know how much pride you take in your uniqueness" - Holmes states in A Study in Scarlet: "Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only one in the world. I'm a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is."
- Miller's Holmes comments that he had stopped one of Moriarty's crime when he was still working at Scotland Yard - In the Canon, Sherlock Holmes was always an unofficial consulting detective.
- Moriarty remarks about Miler's Holmes: "Here at last seemed to be a mind that rivaled my own..." - Holmes states about Moriarty in The Adventure of the Final Problem: "You know my powers, my dear Watson, and yet at the end of three months I was forced to confess that I had at last met an antagonist who was my intellectual equal."
- Miller's Holmes complimenting Captain Gregson on grasping the fact Irene Adler is a criminal mastermind " Very good captain, You have it all straight" - The Canonical Holmes had a habit of having fun at the expense of Scotland Yarders regularly.
- Miller's Holmes mentions that he can break the code sent by Moriarty to his agents - In The Adventure of the Dancing Men, Sherlock Holmes solves the case by decrypting similarly coded messages
- Miller's Holmes is seen skipping food while on the lookout for Christos Theophilus - The Canonical Holmes is known for skipping food and sleep when working hard on a case
- Holmes is able to listen to the voice on the other end of Joan's phone call and comments that he is not an any pain medication that might dull his senses - Reference to the Canonical Sherlock 's acute sense of hearing
- One of the kidnappers have a tattoo on his arms in Cyrillic alphabet - Possible reference to the story The Valley of Fear, in which the members of the secret society, The Scowrers have the design of a triangle inside a circle tattooed on their forearms as part of the initiation ceremony
- Natalie's Moriarty conspires to reap profits by changing the value of a nation's currency - Sherlock states about Professor Moriarty in The Valley of Fear: "...a brain which might have made or marred the destiny of nations—that's the man!"
- Moriarty tells Joan during their meeting in the restaurant: "Surely by now you appreciate the scope of my organization" - Holmes states about Professor Moriarty in The Adventure of the Final Problem: "You stand in the way not merely of an individual but of a mighty organization, the full extent of which you, with all your cleverness, have been unable to realize."
- Moriarty informs Joan: " I have eyes and ears in the most fascinating of places" - Holmes states about Professor Moriarty in The Adventure of the Final Problem: "But his agents are numerous and splendidly organized."
- Moriarty meets Christos Theophilus face-to-face to hand him the weapon to murder Andrej Bacera - This is contrary to the Canon. Holmes states about Professor Moriarty in The Adventure of the Final Problem: "He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans. Is there a crime to be done, a paper to be abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled, a man to be removed -- the word is passed to the professor, the matter is organized and carried out. The agent may be caught. In that case money is found for his bail or his detence. But the central power which uses the agent is never caught -- never so much as suspected."
- The closing scene has Sherlock and Joan discussing about bees - In the story His Last Bow, Sherlock mentions he is writing a book on Bee Keeping entitled “Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen”
- Moriarty addresses Joan as "My Dear Watson" in the restaurant - The Classical Holmes often addresses Dr Watson in that manner
Natalie Dormer steals the show as Moriarty. She outperforms Miller and pretty much everyone else in the cast. Only Lucy Liu as Joan makes an impression in this episode, thanks to Dormer's charisma.
Moriarty has some of the best lines in this episode - "... as if men had an monopoly over murder" and "You proceeded to prove you were inferior by disappearing into a syringe" being couple of them.
Miller's Holmes remains "inferior" till the end as it is Joan's idea to trap Moriarty. Interestingly, Holmes himself had used a similar strategy in episode # 2 "While You Were Sleeping". Moriarty also taunts Miller's Holmes over his "legendary powers of observation" that have never been displayed on this show so far. Perhaps, Moriarty is privy to the display of those powers!
Arnold Vosloo makes a guest appearance as Christos Theophilus, the ill-fated father who gets manipulated by Moriarty into becoming a pawn in her master plan
Arnold Vosloo makes a guest appearance as Christos Theophilus, the ill-fated father who gets manipulated by Moriarty into becoming a pawn in her master plan
The episode is OK till the resolution, which is just a big letdown. A criminal mastermind who can alter the fate of nations, getting caught by visiting Sherlock in the hospital is just ridiculous. But then, Elementary has never impressed with the quality of the scripts. A fitting finale to a mediocre show.
Trivia
- "Osmia avosetta" is the name of the rare species of bees, that Holmes receives as a gift from a previous client
- The song "Dreaming of Some Space" by Beady Eye is played in the final scene, when Miller's Holmes names his new species of bees "Euglassa Watsonia" to honor Joan Watson
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Image Source: CBS
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