Friday, December 12, 2014

Elementary Season 3 Episode 7 "The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction" – Recap and Review

Joan Watson in Elementary Season 3 Episode 7 The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) is approached by Sally Holder (Kate Arrington), an attorney whose sister Jessica has been missing for the past five years. Sally suggests that Jessica might have been the victim of a serial killer, who always leaves an olfactory signature at the crime scene.

Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) takes an interest in the case, based on the the case details sent by Kitty Winter (Ophelia Lovibond).

Sherlock, Joan and Kitty meet Agent Blake Tanner (Peter Benson) of the Behavioral Science unit. He is reluctant to share details about the “The Pumpkin” case, which has claimed five other victims in addition to Jessica.

Sherlock deduces that each crime was committed by a different individual and there there is no serial killer involved. However, there is a common element to these murders - the cleaner who worked on the crime scenes in each of these murders.

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Sherlock observes that Jessica has three keys (one of which is unmarked) and assigns the task of finding the key's purpose to Kitty and Joan.

The key is meant for Dan Kramer’s (Lewis Cleale) apartment. Dan is a defence attorney and has been having an affair with Jessica. Joan discovers that Dan had revealed details about one of his clients, Raymond Carpenter (Kevin Geer), a gangster to Jessica. Jessica was about to reveal the details to the police, when she went missing.

Raymond is currently imprisoned in Sing Sing prison. He informs Sherlock and Joan that he had hired Danny Tacelli, a contract killer to take care of Jessica. Working on the case, Sherlock and Joan investigate a construction site riddled with bullets and reeking of nutmegs.

We meet yet another Baker Street Irregular, “
The Nose” (John Horton). As his name implies, he has an extraordinary sense of smell that surpasses even that of Sherlock. The Nose deduces that Sodium Hydroxide has been used and the nutmeg was used to hide this odor.

Sherlock Holmes in Elementary Season 3 Episode 7 The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction

To track down this elusive cleaner, Joan suggests looking up institutes providing cleaning courses. Sherlock and Joan narrow down their search to one Conrad Woodbine (Jon David Casey), graduate of Spaulding Technical Institute.

Sherlock, Joan and Kitty pay a visit to Conrad at his apartment and discover that he has stored nutmeg concoctions. He is arrested and interrogated by NYPD. He refuses to co-operate and is let go.

Sherlock devises a strategy to make Conrad confess. He prepares a list of Conrad's clients in the hopes of pressurizing him. One such client is Artem Dedekian (Tom Mardirosian), head of a Armenian criminal gang.

Soon Conrad is killed as well and the individual cleaning up copies Conrad's style at the crime scene. Sherlock is at his wit's ends and is helped by Kitty, who identifies the murderer as Jeremy Carpenter (Harris Doran). Jeremy is Raymond's son and the Superintendent of Conrad's apartment. Raymond had made him Conrad's apprentice and had him kill Conrad after Jeremy informed him about Sherlock's visit to his mentor's apartment. 

Chris Santos Joan Watson past boyfriend in Elementary Season 3 Episode 7 The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction
 
The secondary plot involves Sherlock offering unsolicited advice to Joan about her relationship with her current boyfriend Andrew Paek (Raza Jaffrey). Her former boyfriend Chris Santos (Christian Carmago) asks for her help. She helps him out and informs him that one Ermel Janic stole his identity.

This was one of the better episodes of this season. I liked the twist involving the cleaner being the common factor among all the cases.

The episode had a strong sense of humor. Sherlock comparing Joan to a female baboon advertising her availability with a bright red posterior was hilarious. Also amusing was his comment about Joan skipping her training on Speed reading.

Candis Cayne Ms. Hudson in Elementary Season 3 Episode 7 The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction

Sherlock keeps assigning menial tasks to Joan and Kitty and Ms. Hudson (Candis Cayne). Yes, Ms. Hudson makes her return to the show after appearing in just one episode, “Snow Angels. Sherlock asks Ms. Hudson to listen to the police scanner for any mention of “Pumpkin” or “Nutmeg”. Interestingly, she appears only in one scene and promptly disappears. The writer could have included her in at least one scene to provide a closure and explaining what she has been doing with her life so far.

Kitty Winter Sherlock Holmes apprentice in Elementary Season 3 Episode 7 The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction

We do know that Andrew is returning from Copenhagen and Joan prepares a special feast to celebrate this. I also liked Sherlock's comment on Joan being being attracted to a life of adventure. Dr John Watson mentions in The Hound of the Baskervilles: “The promise of adventure had always a fascination for me,...”

Another interesting aspect that caught my attention was the name: Spaulding Technical Institute. This could be a possible reference to Vincent Spaulding, the alias used by John Clay in The Adventure of the Red-Headed League.

Trivia 

1. Kitty Winter hums the Clarinet part of Beethoven’ Symphony No. 6, when she and Joan are working on Jessica's mysterious key.

2. Kitty Winter is listening to the song “Titus Andronicus”, when Sherlock Holmes walks in.

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Friday, December 5, 2014

Elementary Season 3 Episode 6 "Terra Pericolosa" – Recap and Review


Sherlock Holmes sunglasses in Elementary Season 3 Episode 6 Terra Pericolosa

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) has returned from Denmark and is catching up on the latest developments with Kitty Winter (Ophelia Lovibond).

Kitty receives a text from Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and is dispatched to help Rafael (K.Todd Freeman), a curator with a theft. Rafael suspects one of his security guards, Gerald Vogel of stealing maps. The surveillance cameras were deactivated. 

Rafael's suspicions are laid to rest when Kitty discovers Gerald's corpse. Sherlock deduces that the thief wanted to steal one particular map and stole some others just to mislead the investigation.

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Sherlock determines that one particular map was the actual target of the robbery. That one turns out to be The County of King James, Virginia, 1794”, of which only one copy exists in that very library.

Sherlock contacts the granddaughter, Margaret Bray (Mamie Gummer) about the significance of the stolen map. Sherlock works with Margaret to get more details about the map.

Sherlock initiates a correspondence with one Austin Cornblatt (David Adkins). A person of interest, Stuart Zupko (Gabriel Hansen) is found dead. Sherlock theorizes that Stuart killed Gerald after stealing the map, but the question now is: Who murdered Zupko?

Sherlock and Joan pay a visit to William Hull (Skipp Sudduth), a real estate magnate offers to pay Sherlock for retrieving the original copy of the map. Sherlock figures that William wants the information hidden in the map.

Elementary guest star Eric Schweig as Leon Moody in Elementary Season 3 Episode 6 Terra Pericolosa

On further scrutiny, Sherlock deduces that a river depicted in the map has changed course and this could disrupt plans to construct a Indian Casino. The trio then question Leon Moody (Eric Schweig), who occupies a high position in the Gaming Commission and has vested interests in Indian Casino,

Joan is able to figure out the identity of Zupko's murderer, based on the observations she has made so far. 

Joan Watson returns in Elementary Season 3 Episode 6 Terra Pericolosa

The secondary plot involves Sherlock and John quarreling about his interference in Kitty's personal life. Kitty has a new acquaintance, Zachary and Sherlock is wary of his influence on his protege.

He finally relents and informs Kitty that Joan has offered to play a larger role. In turn, he offers Kitty the freedom to spend her time as she wishes.

After two strong episodes, this was a weak episode. The mystery component was good, but somehow the episode on the whole, lacked the excitement.

Elementary guest star Mamie Gummer as Margaret Bray with Aidan Quinn and Ophelia Lovibond in Elementary Season 3 Episode 6 Terra Pericolosa

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Friday, November 28, 2014

Elementary Season 3 Episode 5 "Rip Off" – Recap and Review

Sherlock Holmes Jonny Lee Miller in CBS Elementary Season 3 Episode 5 Rip Off

A business woman (Paige Patterson) discovers by accident a severed hand in a pool of blood on the road side.

Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) wants Kitty Winter (Ophelia Lovibond) to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA), to safeguard his interests. Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) is still in Copenhagen.

Sherlock and Kitty arrive at the spot where the severed hand was discovered. Sherlock deduces that the hand's owner is already dead and that the dead body will be in a parking lot. He is proved right shortly.

Captain Thomas Gregson (Aidan Quinn) finds himself in a tough spot after physically assaulting Chris Stotz (Derek Grabner), a fellow cop. Turns out that he did so to retaliate against that Stotz's abusive behavior against his daughter Hannah Gregson (Liza J. Bennett), who is a police officer herself.

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Dr Grannis (Nadia Dajani), who performed the autopsy on the dead man concludes that he was attacked with a blunt instrument and had fought back hard. She also informs Sherlock that the deceased person was making a good recovery from an unknown ailment.

Sherlock deduces that the deceased was a devout Jew by observing his clothes. Sherlock and Kitty visit synagogues and track down the victim's brother, Josef Shapiro (Stuart Zagnit).

Josef confirms that his brother, Moshe Shapiro was recovering from bone cancer. Moshe owned a Postal Unlimited and was murdered within a block from his office.

Sherlock and Kitty visit Moshe's office and question one of his employees, Amit Hattengatti (Rafi Silver). Amit confirms that Moshe was a very kind human being, without whose help it would have been hard for him to get through graduate school.

Sherlock Holmes and Kitty Winter in CBS Elementary Season 3 Episode 5 Rip Off

While working together on the case, Sherlock refuses to lend his laptop to Kitty. We soon find out the reason for Sherlock's lack of trust: He has discovered a 474-page transcript titled “The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes” written by Joan.

Joan has not properly deleted her draft and Sherlock is not sure if she has any more copies lying elsewhere. He is determined to ensure that she destroys all other copies (if any exist).

Sherlock figures out that Moshe was involved in the diamond smuggling trade. At the NYPD, Sherlock does some lip reading and is able to recover the diamonds.

Kitty Winter Sherlock Holmes new apprentice in CBS Elementary Season 3 Episode 5 Rip Off

Sherlock further deduces that a yet to be identified strong individual has ripped off Moshe's arm. He hopes to find that person in Ritchie's gym, which is very close to Moshe's murder site.

At the gym, Sherlock has his eyes set on one Dana Kazmir (Michael DeMello). He challenges him to an arm wrestling contest. He does this in order to get Kazmir's DNA and accomplishes his goal successfully.

Realizing the possibility of facing legal consequences, Dana makes a full confession that he was hired by an unknown man (known only as “Mencius Blackbag”) to kill Moshe Shapiro. He was told to deposit the bag containing the diamonds in a dumpster.

Dana has not met his employer, but could make out a Dutch accent over the phone calls. Dana's attorney Cynthia Kerr (Leslie Hendrix) provides a list of three more persons who were supposed to have been killed by him. The third individual on the list is Moshe's employee Amit.


Sherlock Holmes cooking in the kitchen in CBS Elementary Season 3 Episode 5 Rip Off


Amit informs Sherlock that one Leonard Oosthuizen (Daniel Abeles) had threatened Moshe at his office in front of Amit and two other customers. Sherlock and Kitty realize that these three eye witnesses are the names on the list.

Leonard is taken in by the NYPD for interrogation. He denies any involvement in the murder of Moshe Shapiro.

Kitty proposes that Amit is the mastermind behind Moshe's murder. She is proved correct. Amit was working for Moshe in the diamond smuggling trade.

He bribed Kerr to make Dana make the false confession and provide the fake list of targets (including his name) to mislead the investigators. Amit intended to take over from his boss and at the same time get rid of his competitor, Leonard.

Elementary turtle Clyde Sherlock Holmes pet

Canonical References

1. The name of the manuscript written by Joan Watson: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes is a direct reference to the final set of twelve Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle.

2. Elementary Sherlock refers to Joan Watson's prose as prosaic - The Canonical Holmes often complained about Dr John Watson's writing style:

Sherlock Holmes writes about Dr Watson's writing style in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “..since I have often had occasion to point out to him how superficial are his own accounts and to accuse him of pandering to popular taste instead of confining himself rigidly to facts and figures.”

Sherlock Holmes tells Dr John Watson in The Adventure of the Abbey Grange: “Your fatal habit of looking at everything from the point of view of a story instead of as a scientific exercise has ruined what might have been an instructive and even classical series of demonstrations. You slur over work of the utmost finesse and delicacy, in order to dwell upon sensational details which may excite, but cannot possibly instruct, the reader.” 

This is easily the best episode in this season and one of the best episodes in all three seasons combined. I did suspect Amit, but still the episode managed to surprise me with the twist. This is one of the best plots.

Credit to Jason Tracey, the writer for this episode. The director, John Polson has also done a great job. It is no coincidence, that he has also worked on some of the other episodes I have enjoyed so far:  “M.”  and “The Deductionist.


Sherlock Holmes and Kitty Winter in CBS Elementary Season 3 Episode 5 Rip Off

Jonny Lee Miller and Ophelia Lovibond share a good chemistry as a mentor and his protege. Despite being initially apprehensive about Joan writing about the cases, Miller's Holmes finally acknowledges that she did have the right to do so. He cancels the Non Disclosure Agreement and even encourages Kitty to publish her own memoirs about their cases.

Ophelia finally comes into her own. She shows her trust in Sherlock's judgment by destroying the laptop containing Joan's draft. Being a victim of abuse, she can empathize with Gregson's daughter Hannah and plays a crucial role in resolving the conflict between Captain Gregson and Stotz. 

Sherlock Holmes Detective Marcus Bell in CBS Elementary Season 3 Episode 5 Rip Off

I also enjoyed Elementary Holmes' comment about prosecuting Mencius Blackbag” for his crimes against the English language.

The best compliment I can pay is that Joan Watson was completely absent and the episode still managed to hold my attention till the end.

Hopefully, the show will manage to keep up the quality for the rest of the season.

Click here to read all my posts about CBS Elementary.

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© 2018 - www.buddy2blogger.blogspot.com. All rights reserved. No part of the content or the blog may be reproduced without prior written permission.

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