CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode # 8 "Blood Is Thicker" - Review

The episode opens with the Holmes brothers, Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and Mycroft Holmes (Rhys Ifans) indulging in a bout of single stick fighting with each other.

Haley Taylor (Kersti Bryan) is killed and her corpse lands on top of a parcel services truck.

Holmes deduces the location of Haley's murder. Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill) informs him that the apartment where Haley was murdered belongs to business tycoon, Ian Gale (William Sadler).

Ian's lawyer informs Sherlock and Joan that he is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia overseeing the plans for a new chip processing plant. Sherlock observes and deduces that Ian is using a stand-in and is in hiding.

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Sherlock and Joan track down Ian Gale to his private room in a posh hotel. His wife, Natalie Gale (Margaret Colin) is taking care of him, in addition to the doctors attending on him. Ian reveals that Haley was his daughter.

Ian has had a heart transplant recently, but his body is rejecting it. 

In the customary subplot, Sherlock is avoiding Mycroft after making appointments. Mycroft wants to hand over the keys to 221 B to Sherlock Holmes.

Mycroft Holmes informs Sherlock that their father (yes, Holmes Sr does exist) is expecting Sherlock to return to London and show some gratitude.

Haley's mom, Maureen Tyler (Johanna Day) reveals that she and Haley had an argument before her death.

When Joan and Bell interrogate Natalie, they discover that she was a pediatric surgeon and had the necessary medical knowledge.

Detective Bell informs Sherlock that the fingerprints of Ray McKibben (Kieran Campion) were found at the place of Haley's murder.

I recommend the readers to watch the episode to find out the resolution to the mystery.

Canonical References

1. Sherlock Holmes gets the better of Mycroft Holmes in their single stick fight - In A Study in Scarlet, Dr John Watson notes that Sherlock Holmes “is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.”

2. Mycroft Holmes referring to his restaurant, “Diogenes” as his creation and being proud of it - Sherlock Holmes explains about Mycroft Holmes to Dr John Watson in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “The Diogenes Club is the queerest club in London, and Mycroft one of the queerest men...My brother was one of the founders,.. ”

3. Sherlock's statement to Joan: “My wants in life are simple: a loaf of bread and a clean collar.” - In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes tells Dr Watson: “I brought Cartwright down with me—you remember the little chap at the express office—and he has seen after my simple wants: a loaf of bread and a clean collar. What does man want more?”

4. Sherlock's line to Mycroft Holmes: “Well, I have many passions. Work being first amongst them” - 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. Sherlock's line: “I have not had a paying client for a while. I have been approached on numerous occasions of course, but the interests have not been mutual” - Sherlock Holmes often takes cases in the Canon, purely for the intellectual challenge, without any concern for monetary considerations.
 
Interestingly, the plot of this episode too involved horse racing, similar to previous episode, “The Marchioness” (based on Arthur Conan Doyle's story, The Silver Blaze).

Jonny Lee Miller gets to show some of the characteristic dry humor possessed by the Canonical Holmes. Joan Watson gets to do some of the main deductions (both medical and non-medical).

Margaret Colin gives one of the best performances in Elementary in a long time. This marks her second appearance in a CBS adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. She previously played Jane Watson (a descendant of Dr John Watson) to Michael Pennington's Sherlock Holmes in the 1987 TV movie “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”. (Credit to an anonymous commenter for this trivia)

Rhys Ifans' Mycroft Holmes is beginning to take on a more sinister nature, as he makes a last phone call to someone, I am guessing to be Jamie Moriarty/Irene Adler (Natalie Dormer).

Trivia
The song “Unofferable” by Half Moon Run can be heard in the final scenes between Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes
 
Not a bad episode, but not one of the best either. Hope the upcoming episodes will be better.

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Step Nine

CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode # 7 "The Marchioness" - Review

Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is in an alcoholics recovery session. Mycroft Holmes (Rhys Ifans) visits New York with his ex fiancee Nigella Mason (Olivia d'Abo).

Mycroft Holmes has been diagnosed with leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. He was able to find a match, thanks to Nigella. He wants to return the favor by enlisting Sherlock's help to solve the mystery behind the murder of Nigella's current boyfriend, Dalton Ladd.

Dalton Ladd is the overseer of horses for his master, Robert Suffolk, Duke of Marquess. Though Nigella is married to Robert, his infidelity causes her to focus her affections on Dalton.

Dalton has been shot dead by an intruder trying to break into the stables with the intention of poisoning the champion, Silver Blaze with concentrated potassium.

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El Mechanico (Andrew Samonsky), an assassin for the Robles drug cartel is the suspect in the case as well as 13 others. But when he is apprehended by the NYPD and has his fingerprints taken, they do not match the ones on the police record.

I recommend the readers to watch the episode to find out the solution.

Canonical References

1. Miller's Holmes's line in the opening scene: “My senses are unusually keen” - Sherlock Holmes himself states in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “I have, as my friend Watson may have remarked, an abnormally acute set of senses,...”

2.Elementary Holmes is seen listening to radio transmissions in search for a case - Sherlock Holmes searches the agony columns in the newspapers for prospective cases in the Canon.

3. Elementary Sherlock's statement: “A lingering meal in the midst of an investigation is a hindrance.... A conversation is an annoyance.” - Sherlock Holmes often skips food (and sleep) when he is working hard on a case. He is also known to avoid human company and any conversation for long stretches of time, when he is concentrating hard on a solution to a case.

4. Miller's Holmes remarks about Mycroft: “He means less work.” - Sherlock Holmes remarks in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “But he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to prove himself right.”

5. Miller's Holmes waking up Joan Watson with his single stick - Sherlock Holmes often wakes up John Watson from his sleep in many cases. Further, Sherlock Holmes is a single stick expert.

This episode is Elementary's attempt at adapting Arthur Conan Doyle's original story The Silver Blaze. The opening scene in the alcoholics recovery session, where Miller's Holmes explained his desire to be born in earlier times was a nice touch.

Then the episode takes a nosedive with Sherlock Holmes discussing about his bouts of sex in the past with Nigella.

Not to be outdone, it is revealed that Mycroft Holmes and Joan Watson have had sex as well during Sherlock and Joan's visit to London in the episode “Step Nine”.

They now join the equally horrendous pairing of Miller's Holmes and Dormer's Moriarty.

Thank you, CBS.

Recommended only to die-hard fans of the show. The lesser your knowledge of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Canon is, the more will be your enjoyment.

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Step Nine

CBS Elementary Season 2 Episode # 1 "Step Nine" - Review

 

A private ceremony of Warren Pendry in London, England is interrupted by Gareth Lestrade (Sean Pertwee).

Back in NY, Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is on the pursuit of a criminal by following his pigeon (Don't ask).  Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) gets to flex her martial arts skills on the unsuspecting fellow and ensures his arrest.

Soon, Sherlock and Joan are off to London to help Lestrade, who has gone into hiding.

Sherlock and Joan arrive at 221 B and are surprised to find that Mycroft Holmes (Rhys Ifans) currently resides there, after inheriting it from their father.

Sherlock has slept with Mycroft's fiance to prove her materialistic intentions to their family fortune and this causes a rift between the brothers.

Mycroft seems to be taking a strong interest in Joan, which Sherlock takes to be the former's ploy to get even with his brother.

I recommend the readers to check out the episode to find out the resolution.

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Canonical References

1. Sherlock's statement about Gareth Lestrade: “He was the best of the bad bunch” - Holmes remarks about Lestrade in The Hound of the Baskervilles: “He is the best of the professionals...”

2. Sherlock points out that Mycroft Holmes has neither energy nor ambition. Sherlock further states to Joan that Mycroft is lazy. - Sherlock Holmes mentions about Mycroft in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “But he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to prove himself right. ”

3. Sherlock never mentioning his brother to Joan – Dr Watson states in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “During my long and intimate acquaintance with Mr. Sherlock Holmes I had never heard him refer to his relations, and hardly ever to his own early life... had come to believe that he was an orphan with no relatives living; but one day, to my very great surprise, he began to talk to me about his brother.”

4. Miller's Holmes more than once points out how Gareth Lestrade takes credit for his work. In the ending scenes, Joan also mentions about Lestrade calling Holmes' bluff about not claiming credit to the case – Sherlock Holmes often takes cases for the sake of mental simulation and is always happy to pass on the credit to the official force.

5. The character of DCI Hopkins is a possible nod to Inspector Stanley Hopkins

6. Miller's Holmes refers to 221 B being full of odd experiments, texts in different languages and articles from previous criminal cases - Dr Watson states in The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual: “Our chambers were always full of chemicals and of criminal relics which had a way of wandering into unlikely positions, and of turning up in the butter-dish or in even less desirable places.”

7. Miller's Holmes leaving 221 B to check out his theory to find Lestrade, while Joan stays back due to jet lag – Sherlock Holmes often works continuously on cases, skipping food and sleep.

 

8. Miller's Holmes mentions about working with Lestrade on the Norwood Builder case – Direct reference to The Case of the Norwood Builder

9. Mycroft speaking French and Sherlock saying “Bon appetit” to Joan – Sherlock Holmes mentions in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “But, none the less, my turn that way is in my veins, and may have come with my grandmother, who was the sister of Vernet, the French artist. ”

10. Mycroft mentions about Miller's Holmes never making his bed, after sleeping in it – John Watson mentions about Holmes in The Adventure of the Dying Detective: “His incredible untidiness, his addiction to music at strange hours, his occasional revolver practice within doors, his weird and often malodorous scientific experiments, and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in London.”

11. Mycroft remarking that Miller's Holmes does not have friends – Sherlock Holmes says to John Watson in The Five Orange Pips: “"Except yourself I have none,...”

12. Miller's Holmes passes off Joan Watson as a top home security expert to confirm his theory – Sherlock Holmes is prone to using Social Engineering tricks in many cases

13. Miller's Holmes deduces that acetone was used to get rid of the murder weapon – In A Study in Scarlet, Dr Watson states that Holmes has “Profound” knowledge in Chemistry. Stamford also describes Sherlock Holmes as a “first-class chemist”.
 

14. Miller's Holmes takes help from a certain Langdale Pike – Direct reference to the character of the same name, described by John Watson in The Adventure of the Three Gables: “I saw no more of Holmes during the day, but I could well imagine how he spent it, for Langdale Pike was his human book of reference upon all matters of social scandal. …. Holmes discreetly helped Langdale to knowledge, and on occasion was helped in turn.”

15. Miller's Holmes picks the lock to enter Nicholas Ginn's apartment – Sherlock Holmes is an expert in picking locks

16. In his televised interview, Inspector Gareth Lestrade quotes the classic Sherlock Holmes quote from The Sign of the Four: “...when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? ”

17. Mycroft Holmes refers to the US as “the colonies”. - Possible reference to Sherlock's description of Mycroft Holmes in The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans: “You would also be right in a sense if you said that occasionally he IS the British government ”

18. “Art in the blood, Watson. Takes the strangest forms” - Sherlock Holmes states in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms.”

Coming to the performances, Lucy Liu's Watson continues to be the best part of the show. 

Miller continues his usual routine of grimacing and pouting. This is one of the least enjoyable versions of the iconic detective.

Rhys Ifans makes a fleeting impression as Mycroft. He is no longer the British Government, but a wealthy businessman, who owns restaurants. May be, he will be revealed to be in the service of the British Government in the future.

Sean Pertwee's Lestrade is a letdown. Similar to the changes to Miller's Holmes, Gareth Lestrade is miles away from the Canonical version. Perhaps, we will get to see a better Lestrade in the future episodes, if he does return.

I liked the resolution to the mystery. Elementary has not had this level of quality for a long time.

Trivia

1. The song "London Calling" by The Clash is used in the episode.
2. The song "Hello" by Oasis can be heard, when Miller's Holmes visits Scotland Yard
3. The song "The Village" by Tunng is played in the final scenes between Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes

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CBS Elementary - Episode # 24

CBS Elementary - Season 2 Teaser "London Calling"

Dear Readers,

Check out the latest teaser for the second season of CBS Elementary.

We get out first look at Sean Pertwee's Gareth Lestrade and Rhys Ifans' Mycroft Holmes.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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