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| Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes |
After a couple of particularly weak
episodes, Elementary makes a rare comeback. This episode is not great by any
stretch of imagination, but is not the mediocre fare that I have become used to.
A supposedly uncrack-able bank vault called “The Leviathan” is breached and Sherlock is hired by Micah Erlich (Reg Rogers) to catch the culprits. A bunch of clues and some customary character development scenes and Sherlock has solved the case successfully!
A supposedly uncrack-able bank vault called “The Leviathan” is breached and Sherlock is hired by Micah Erlich (Reg Rogers) to catch the culprits. A bunch of clues and some customary character development scenes and Sherlock has solved the case successfully!
The problem with this episode (and the
show in general) is not that it is terrible. It is just that it is not terribly
exciting and is in fact quite predictable … and these factors
do not bode well for a mystery based show, least of all one that is supposed to
be based on a certain Bohemian English detective.
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Canonical references
- The bank theft by 4 guys reminded
me of the story - The Resident Patient, which had a similar
plot.
- “When you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” –
This is hands down my all-time favorite Sherlock Holmes quote. Elementary
is on to this secret somehow as the quote was repeated at least 3 times!
- Miller’s
Holmes quotes the following line almost verbatim from The
Red-Headed League: “I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of
all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of
everyday life.”
- Miller’s Holmes displays his
knowledge about a certain species of flies that feeds on corpses - A nice
nod to A Study in Scarlet where Watson makes a list about
the topics on which Holmes either displays astonishing levels of expertise
or is just plain ignorant.
- Joan Watson is fast asleep on the
bed and is roused out of her sleep by Holmes. In the Canon, it has
happened in many cases – either due to the sudden visit by a client (The
Adventure of the Speckled Band) or after Holmes has had a sudden
brainwave (The Man with the Twisted Lip).
- Miller’s Holmes is not sure about
the rates for a job that he estimates will take 2 hours to complete.
In The Problem of Thor Bridge, Holmes states: “My professional
charges are upon a fixed scale... I do not vary them, save when I remit
them altogether.”
- Miller’s Holmes notices some
expensive paintings when waiting to meet a suspect. In The Valley
of Fear, Holmes mentions to Inspector MacDonald about noticing a
very expensive painting in Professor Moriarty’s study. I agree that this
is quite far-fetched, but still stuck out to me strongly enough that I
decided to put it down. May be, it is the hopeless fan inside me, trying
my best to find something exciting in an admittedly dull show.
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| Lucy Liu as Joan Watson |
We also learn some new
things about Miller’s Holmes:
- He hires consultants with highly specialized skills, such as lock picking or decrypting code written in Malbolge, an esoteric programming language.
- He plays piano with considerable level of expertise.
- He does not drink.
As we have seen in the
previous episodes, we have a customary subplot: A dinner meeting with Joan
Watson’s family – her brother Oren Watson (Steve Park) and his girlfriend
Gabrielle Harper (Jennifer Kim) and Joan’s mother, Mary Watson (Freda Foh Shen). As readers familiar
with the Canon will remember, Watson’s brother is mentioned briefly in
The Sign of Four.
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| Jennifer Kim as Gabrielle Harper |
Holmes praises Joan’s contributions to his work and his recovery
from drugs. Later we come to know that Holmes was actually being economical
with truth and was just telling things that Joan’s family wanted to hear.
The mystery element had a good twist in the end. On the whole, a
passable way to spend one’s time.
Trivia
Holmes plays the song “Scenes of Childhood: I. of Foreign
Lands and People” by Robert Schumann on the piano.
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Reg Rogers as Micah Erlich
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Image Source: CBS
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