Elementary Season 3 Episode 4 "Bella" – Recap and Review

Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is hired by one Edwin Borstein (Michael Chernus). Edwin owns a software company specializing in Artificial Intelligence. Someone has stolen a copy of Bella, an AI program.

Sherlock is so intrigured by Bella's thoughts about love, he takes the case without any pay. He is more interested in beating Bella, rather than catching the culprit. He leaves that part to Joan Watson (Lucy Liu).

Joan and Kitty Winter (Ophelia Lovibond) strike a working relationship. They notice a similar case involving theft of a human genome. They narrow down the list of suspects to a single individual, based on a match in fingerprints.

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Sherlock and Joan conduct investigation at Edwin's office. We learn that only Edwin and Melinda Yee (Condola Rashad) had access to Bella.

Sherlock has already identified the aforementioned suspect as Mr Raffles, the legendary criminal. He also discovers that Mr Raffles has recently started working for Robert Burnett (Bill Winkler), Edwin's competitor in AI field. 

Sherlock deduces that Burnett used Mr Raffles' skills to illegally obtain a copy of Bella. He threatens Burnett into destroying the stolen copy, failing which Sherlock will reveal his misdoings to the authorities.
 

Before Sherlock can inform his client about the latest developments, Edwin is found dead. Melinda thinks that her employer has died from an epileptic attack.

Sherlock believes that his client has been murdered. Sherlock has a theory: Members of Existential Threat Research Association (ETRA) killed Edwin to gain more credibility for their message about the threat posed by AI to human survival.

Since Edwin was a fan of Death metal music, Sherlock listens to a CD (formerly in his client's possession) real loud in the NYPD office. He notices some anomalies in the track.

Sherlock's conjecture about ETRA is proven correct when another suspect, Michael Webb (Jonathan Judge-Russo) identifies Halley Feiffer (Ellen Rabin) as the person who entered his house under the disguise of a professional cleaning company worker.

Halley adores her mentor Isaac Pike (Michael Cristofer) and makes a quick confession. Sherlock deduces that she is covering up for Isaac.

He devises a less than ideal way to make Isaac confess to his crimes - by using his drug-addicted brother Joshua as a trump card. But Isaac has already done some research on Sherlock's addiction problems in the past. Isaac knows that Sherlock would not send a fellow addict to prison and calls Sherlock's bluff.

This is probably the best episode of this season. I liked the final chat between Sherlock and Isaac. There were some genuinely funny moments involving Mason (Robert Capron), the irregular hired by Sherlock for his AI skills to take down Bella.

This is the first time that Sherlock gets to do most of the detective work. Unlike the previous episodes, Joan enters the scene only at the sixth minute.

Speaking of hogging the limelight, it is Clyde (supposedly the breakout star of the show) whose face looms large at a very close range in the first scene. Sherlock is watching him eat lettuce, while delegating tasks to an understandably vexed Kitty. 

The secondary plot involved Joan Watson's boyfriend Andrew Paek (Raza Jaffrey) helping out Sherlock, after the latter explicitly seeks his help. Initially, Joan is not happy with this interaction, but Sherlock convinces her of his benign intentions.

In the end, Andrew is off to Copenhagen on a new business venture with Magnus, one of Sherlock's friends. Joan accompanies him on his flight trip, giving her interest in exploring Copenhagen as a motivating reason for her action.

Ophelia's Kitty Winter is relegated to the background this time.

But the episode did have a jarring moment: In an earlier scene featuring Edwin explaining his case to Sherlock, Jonny Lee Miller delivered a line off screen as the camera cut him off. Hopefully, such glaring lapses will not recur.

On a side note, there was mention of Turing Test: this test measures a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to or indistinguishable from that of a human.

This somehow reminded of the soon-to-be-released picture The Imitation Game starring the other Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) as Alan Turing.

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Anthony Horowitz Sherlock Holmes Short Story "The Three Monarchs" - Book Review

 

Having enjoyed Anthony Horowitz's previous Sherlock Holmes pastiche “The House of Silk”, I had high expectations for his next effort. The book under review is not a full length novel, but a short story that makes a quick and a very enjoyable read.

Readers familiar with the Sherlock Holmes Canon will be familiar with the line spoken by Sherlock Holmes to Scotland Yard Inspector Lestrade in The Adventure of the Six Napoleans: “You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day..”

This short story by Horowitz deals with this aforementioned incident.

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Dr Watson has moved out of 221 B Baker Street with his recently married wife, Mary Morstan. Memories of his adventures with the Bohemian detective still haunt him. On Mary's advice, he pays a visit to the old rooms and most importantly, his former roommate and friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes.

He finds Holmes listening to a case from another Scotland Yard detective Athelney Jones. As readers might be aware, Athelney Jones has appeared in the novel The Sign of the Four.

Jones needs the Consulting Detective's help to solve the mystery behind the break in at the Abernetty's house. The intruder is shot dead by the elderly Abernetty.

The thief has stolen three china figures from the Abernettys and others. I will leave it to the readers to discover the solution for themselves.

The author is good at imitating Arthur Conan Doyle's tone and style of writing. Like most of the original stories, this one begins with Dr John Watson's voice.

Canonical References
1. Sherlock Holmes refers to the Trepoff murder - In A Scandal in Bohemia, Dr Watson states: “From time to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so delicately and successfully for the reigning family of Holland.”

2. Holmes mentions the strange behavior of Dr Moore Agar - In The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, Dr Watson writes about Dr Agar: “In March of that year Dr. Moore Agar, of Harley Street, whose dramatic introduction to Holmes I may some day recount, gave positive injunctions that the famous private agent lay aside all his cases and surrender himself to complete rest if he wished to avert an absolute breakdown.”

3. The Abernettys have inherited their house from one Mrs Matilda Briggs - In The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire, Sherlock Holmes explains: “Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson,...It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.”

Despite the brief length of the story, Sherlock Holmes' powers of observation and deduction are on full display. Credit to Horowitz for making this an enjoyable experience.

Recommended read for fans of Sherlock Holmes. 



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Elementary Season 3 Episode 3 "Just a Regular Irregular" – Recap and Review

The episode opens with a quick refresher of the second episode of the second season, “Solve for X”. We had met Harlan Emple (Rich Sommer), the mathematician who was solving a mathematics puzzle being completely naked in the brownstone.

Harlan is back. He is playing a mathematics game “Belphegor's Prime” and encounters the corpse of a man over the course of the game. He calls 911 and is taken into custody as the main suspect.

At the brownstone, Kitty Winter (Ophelia Lovibond) is practicing single stick fighting. Yes, the people behind Elementary clearly love showing this over and over again.

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There is a knife thrower in the apartment and Sherlock is taking his help in solving the mystery behind a circus accident in the 50s. This talented individual is none other than NFL Legend Phillip Simms playing himself.

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) offers a chance to Kitty to spy on one Keswick. Kitty claims to work only for Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and refuses to help Joan, despite being offered a share of Joan's commission.

Sherlock comes to Harlan's rescue and takes up the responsibility lf clearing his name. Harlan informs Sherlock that there were a total of nine competitors, including himself, in the game.

One of the other players is Beka (Audrey Lynn Weston). She corrects Harlan that there were totally sixteen players. Next on the list is Paul Ladesma (Jacob Pitts). Paul explains about an anonymous mathematician who has been exposing government secrets.

Sherlock deduces that Harlan is the person Paul is after. I can go on with the rest of the plot, but this is the bottom line: This is hands down the weakest episode of the third season.

The mystery component was OK. The initial setup was interesting, but the rest of the episode did not live up the expectations.

 

The worst part was the handling of the conclusion. Readers familiar with Elementary know that the murderer/culprit is usually the character who is introduced and disappears shortly. By this rule, I had guessed the killer to be either Beka or Paul. 

Sherlock anonymously calls Paul and gives him Harlan's address. In the next scene (after the commercial break), we see Sherlock meeting Harlan at his place.

While Sherlock explains to Harlan, an unseen person is seen approaching. I was hoping that this person would turn out to be Beka. But it is none other than Paul, whom we just saw being contacted by Sherlock in the previous scene.

I was just dumbfounded by this revelation. What was the use of building up so much suspense when the resolution is so certifiably anti-climactic.

The subplot has Joan patching things up with Kitty Winter. Readers might remember that Joan accosted Kitty and engaged her in a single stick fight in the first episode.

Though Kitty initially refuses to work on Joan's case, she agrees to do so on Sherlock's instruction. With Kitty's help, Joan is able to solve the case.

In addition, Joan suggests to Sherlock that he have Kitty admitted to some kind of counseling session. Kitty is revealed to be a rape victim. Kitty acknowledges Joan's help and starts attending counseling.

Any readers out there seeking counselling can check out BetterHelp. As of April 2017, more than 1,500,000 people signed up to BetterHelp and over 2,500 counselors provided services through the platform.

Acting wise, it is the same story. Lucy Liu as Joan Watson gives the best performance. Ophelia is adequate as Kitty Winter. She seems to be going through the motions.

Guest star Rich Sommer is good as the mathematician obsessed with solving puzzles. But his habit of going barechested is quite jarring. Speaking of which, he is not the only character to display male nudity. Joan's boyfriend Andrew Mittal (Raza Jaffrey) also goes shirtless after an unnecessary scene showing him and Joan in bed. 

It seems nudity is the norm when it comes to the recent Sherlock Holmes adaptations. In the first Guy Ritchie movie, both Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) both bare their skin. In the sequel, it is the turn of Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry).

Again in the BBC show Sherlock, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) similary showed some skin.

The only difference being, unlike this show, the other two adaptations are much better in terms of production values, acting leads, music and pretty much every conceivable aspect. 

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Elementary Season 3 Episode 2 "The Five Orange Pipz" – Recap and Review

 

In the previous episode, Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) returned to New York with a new apprentice Kitty Winter (Ophelia Lovibond). Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) is initially angry with him, but reluctantly agrees to let him consult again for the NYPD.

As this episode opens, a unidentified man arrives at his house. Checking his mail, he opens an envelope containing five Pipz orange plastic beads. He calls Theodore Fordham, who is already dead. 

Captain Thomas Gregson (Aidan Quinn) is already at the scene and answers the call. The man assumes he is speaking to Theo and informs him that someone has found about him.

The man is shot dead, even as Gregson tries to help him. The dead man turns out to be one Elias Openshaw (John Rothman), former owner of a toy company. Theodore was the company attorney.

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Sherlock deduces that there have been earlier attempts on Elias' life. Some children were killed by the poisonous substances found in the toys sold by Elias' company. Elias has been on the run for some time now.

Sherlock sends Kitty to the Theodore's crime scene and observe Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill). Sherlock sends her the list of the addresses of the families whose children were victims of Elias company's products.

She discovers that the orange pipz that Theodore received were sent from the same zip code where Gabe Coleman (Zak Orth) lives. He lost his son Dylan, after which his wife Amy left him holding him responsible for not bringing justice for their departed son.

Special Agent Boden (Chris McGarry) was shadowing Fordham and meets up with Sherlock and Joan.

In the meantime, Gabe confesses to Joan that he murdered Elias and his lawyer. Sherlock is convinced that someone is framing Gabe.

Sherlock, Joan and Kitty visit Angela White (Sonya Walger), Assistant U.S. Attorney to get more details. The jealous Kitty insults Angela and unintentionally causes a roadblock for the investigation. 

A witness, Azeem (Shayan Shojaee) has seen Angela and Fordham running into each other. 

 

Armed with this information, Angela is questioned by the NYPD. Angela confesses that she was being blackmailed by Fordham, but asserts that she was not involved in the murders.

Sherlock deduces that Boden is the killer. 

Canonical References

1. The episode title refers to Arthur Conan Doyle's original story: The Five Orange Pips. A young client, John Openshaw has lost his uncle and father. Both of them received a letter with the initials “K.K.K” and contained five orange pips. Soon after, they passed away in what seemed to be natural causes, but Sherlock deduces the real cause. 

2. The character Elias Openshaw - In the original story, The Five Orange Pips, Elias Openshaw is the uncle of Sherlock Holmes client, John Openshaw. He is the first member of the Openshaw family to fall victim, followed by John's father Joseph Openshaw.

3. Elementary Holmes remarks to Kitty: “I never guess. It is a shocking habit, destructive to the logical faculty.” - In The Sign of the Four, Sherlock Holmes remarks to Dr John Watson: “No, no. I never guess. It is a shocking habit, - destructive to the logical faculty.”

4. Elementary Sherlock's remark to Kitty: “Genius is an infinite capacity to take pains. That is a bad definition, but applies to detective work.” - In A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes makes the observation: “They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains,....It's a very bad definition, but it does apply to detective work.”

This was an OK episode.

The focus this time is on Ophelia Lovibond's Kitty Winter. We learn that Kitty has been the victim of a terrible crime five years ago. Kitty does not want to be identified as a victim and this is the reason for her aggressive behavior.

In the end, she does reconcile her differences with Joan and encourages her to read her personal file.

The attempts at humor were uneven with the one about Openshaw/Osamashaw being the least successful.

The show's attempt to give a modern update to a Canonical story is much better than the previous one, Dead Man's Switch.

Trivia 

1. Kitty Winter is listening to the song “Weatherman” by Dead Sara, when Sherlock Holmes walks in.

2. The song “Every Time the Sun Comes Up” by Sharon Van Etten is heard in the closing scenes, when Kitty Winter asks Joan Watson to read her file. 

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