Spoilers below.
I was pretty sure, from the opening few minutes, that this was going to be a very good episode indeed, and I'm happy to report that I was right. Show creator Robert Doherty cowrote this one with Christopher Hollier and Craig Sweeny, who is also executive producer and author of numerous other episodes, while Saana Hamri directs for the third time. Unsurprisingly, given the involvement of the creator and other figures with a history on the show, this episode is not merely a murder of the week one but also an episode that carries the characters forward significantly. Indeed, the murder dovetails with the personal, as Mycroft Holmes (guest star Rhys Ifans) seeks Holmes's (Johnny Lee Miller) help when his former fiancee Nigella Mason (guest star Olivia d'Abo) loses her lover, and almost loses her prize race horse, to murder.
(Just as an aside, last week's episode offered a shout-out to the classic Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes story "Silver Blaze" by using the "curious incident of the dog in the night time" clue from that story. This episode includes several more overt echoes of that story, notably the fact that the race horse here is also named Silver Blaze, that the murder occurs surrounding skulduggery involving the horse, and that dye is used in the story to disguise Nigella's horse, as Silver Blaze was also disguised in the original story. Perhaps Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn) also owes his origins to the police officer, Gregory, in this story, since Gregory is that rarity in the original Holmes stories, a competent policeman, and given the similarity of their names. Given Mycroft's presence, as well, this episode is particularly rich in echoes of the Doyle stories--though Mycroft has no role in the original "Silver Blaze." Nor is the show's Mycroft particularly like the original, who was clearly presented in his few appearances as even smarter than Sherlock; I suppose it it possible that Elementary could go there, but so far there is little indication that it will.)The mysteries on Elementary are generally entertaining, but this one is particularly satisfactory. Not only does Nigella Mason make for an intriguing figure as the woman who came (as it were) between Sherlock and Mycroft and whose moral fiber is of dubious quality--thereby complicating the question of who might have wanted to kill her horse and her, and why--but Holmes is in especially fine form figuring out the clues and apparently catching his man, only to discover that the supposedly guilty party, despite his obvious similarities to the murder, notably a missing finger, has fingerprints that don't match the killer's. Veteran mystery fans will no doubt recognize that this apparent ironclad proof of innocence is by no means as reliable (in the world of fiction, anwyay) as we might think, but the episode nevertheless plays this particular conceit very well. The solution to the problem is handled with a sufficient degree of plausibility.
As usual though--and even moreso than normal--the real heart of the episode is the characterization. The opening scene gives us key moment in Holmes's progress in dealing with his addiction, as we see him for the first time (unless I'm forgetting an instance) open up at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, in a revealing speech about how he wonders whether he might have fared better had he been born in an earlier age. Fans of the original Conan Doyle stories can of course evaluate this question somewhat differently than can fans familiar only with Elementary.Miller is especially impressive here.
Mycroft's appearance cuts short this introspective moment, though, and opens up other facets of Holmes's character, notably his feelings about Watson, which become troubled when we learn that Watson did in fact sleep with Mycroft in the aftermath of the season two opening episode, "Step Nine." This leads not only to some delightful passive-aggressive behavior from Holmes (in full Sheldon Cooper mode)--including his questioning of each about the sexual skills of the other--but also, and more significantly, to some acknowledgements from him of the intimate nature of his own partnership with Watson.
Clearly, despite their professional relationship, Holmes is jealous of his brother in this instance. Watson's comment to holmes, that he's sleep with her sister if he had the chance (as he did with her friend), underscores the sexual undercurrents in their relationship. (So does Holmes waking Watson by poking her with his stick, for that matter!) That the episode also involved Nigella, Mycroft's former fiancee whom Holmes seduced (ostensibly to prove to Mycroft that she wa s awoman of low character), Mycroft's sexual relationship with Watson resonates with the brothers' past--tit for tat, as it were. Mycroft even cooks for Watson, as Holmes has been doing repeatedly in recent episodes, subtly representing a rival for Holmes in Watson's affections.We pick up here on themes raised in last week's episode, as the show carefully builds up its central relationship. Whether Holmes and Watson will become lovers remains a tantalizing possibility, one about which I confess some ambivalence. I hope not.
Also significant is how the episode seems to begin to move towards a rapprochement between Holmes and Mycroft. Both Miller and Ifans are a pleasure to watch; even their body language in some scenes helps convince us that they are brothers. By the end of the episode, some hope of the rift between them being, if not healed, at least closed somewhat is held out, though we are left to speculate as to what will happen, when Mycroft's final line--and the final line in the episode--is a question to Sherlock: "What do you want to talk about?" Short pause, hard cut to black. This is far from a conventional cliff-hanger, but in a character-driven show such as this one, in sweeps month, it more than serves. I for one look forward to seeing more of the Holmes brothers--Mycroft is indeed back next week--and how they will progress.
How did you like this episode? Any Conan Doyle fans out there spotting other shout-outs to the original stories? And where do you think things might go next? Let me know in the comments below!
