CBS's Elementary has had an exemplary third season. The crime procedural kicked off more than a month after the start of the 2014/2015 fall television season, but will finish in line with the rest of CBS's lineup this coming Thursday.
The season's finale is titled "A Controlled Descent", and is written by series creator Robert Doherty with John Polson in the director's chair. It's a captivating hour that will change the course of the series heading into the fourth season which was given the green light a day ago.
Unusually, the episode kicks off with a flashback sequence, with some clips originating from the freshman season. It sets the scene for the hour, which, as the press release describes, centers around the disappearance of car thief and sponsor Alfredo Llamosa, played by Ato Essandoh. It probably won't come as a surprise for you to learn that a car theft kicks the case off.
First seen in the 16th episode of the season, "For All You Know", Oscar Rankin, played by Michael Weston, returns. Without giving too much away, Weston has a part to play in the disappearance of Alfredo. Weston and Holmes did not part ways on the best of terms when they last interacted, so it's safe to say that things are much the same this time around also.
Holmes operates with a large degree of autonomy in this hour, but that predicament is not his own making. Nevertheless, Watson, Captain Gregson and Detective Bell are backing him every step of the way.
As with any season finale, there are often more questions than answers, and Elementary's finale is no different. The term "happy ending" is subject to interpretation, but either way, the episode paves the way for a new line of storytelling and character development heading into the new season, in which we may see the man known as Holmes's father for the very first time.
The episode employs some excellent filming locations, set design and camera work, along with the usual superb performance by lead actor Jonny Lee Miller and beautiful script from creator Robert Doherty. Keaton Henson's "Beekeeper" closes the episode in the audio department, though no bees are present. In all, this episode is a game-changer in more ways than one, but is a satisfying and intriguing way to wrap the series' third season, and a must-watch among the barrage of season finales that rain down every May.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below and I'll have a crack at answering them.
Elementary's Season 3 finale, "A Controlled Descent", airs Thursday, May 14, 10|9c, on CBS.
The term "Game-changer" always make me wary. It is one of the least delivered upon pieces of hype about every season finale.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that I am very excited for this one.
The term "Game Changer" isn't hype right? you really felt that way?
ReplyDeleteFair call. I don't use the term lightly but it's definitely applicable in this case.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I am letting others opinions/guesses influence me, but it is starting to sound more and more like Sherlock is actually going to relapse. I still do not really believe that will happen, as I do not see the events of the season leading to this, and believe that all the "hints" are misleading, but I am now considering it as an actual possible thing. (If it happens, then I believe this time he has Watson & others there for him, and he "gets help" right away, and it will be a "one time thing") But I still think there is something else going on. And that that is not the game changer. I cannot wait to find out what is happening in the s3 finale, and what future storyline will it set up...
ReplyDeleteAs I said to someone else before, I don't use the term lightly. And we've seen a couple of impostors try to play Sherlock's father - would be a good excuse to bring back Mycroft in S4
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts. Like I said, it's a game changer in more ways than one!
ReplyDeleteOkay, then I'll trust you with this one. But if it doesn't deliver? Oh, there will be frowns. Fear the frown.
ReplyDeleteLike anything in television fandom, it's all subject to interpretation!
ReplyDeleteOkay cool, Mycroft's a hard character for me, I'm not a fan. If we DID meet his father, who would want to play him? Timothy Dalton for me.
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ReplyDeleteOh wow "more ways than one"? you didn't mention that, awesome.
ReplyDeleteCheck the last big paragraph!
ReplyDeletei don't think Sherlock is going to relapse, i just listened to the interview of elementary showrunner Rob Doherty and he said that someone is coming in the season finale (apart from Oscar) and going to have a guest role in the 4th season as well (just like kitty did). and this person is going to impact fractionally on friendship of Holmes and Watson. only papa Holmes comes to my mind (i mean who else??). anyway i seriously feel nervous about next episode, as last episodes seemed so peaceful and smooth, i guess that was just a calm before the storm.
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ReplyDeleteYou got my interest when you said "game-changer". I honestly thinks the show needs it. It hasn't been very compelling since Kitty left the show.
ReplyDeleteOh my bad! LOL
ReplyDeleteI like this show and have since the beginning but I gotta say that when the biggest plot development issue is whether or not Sherlock will relapse, then the writers have a problem.
ReplyDeleteThis particular issue has been played out. Its been ongoing since the start and although yes, as a personal obstacle for the hero of the show to overcome: it is an important thing. But is that it? An ever recurring threat of relapse? Its getting tedious. None of what I'm saying of course should be taken as making light of the real struggles real people have with substance abuse. That goes without saying but as a work of TV fiction: the writers need to give the viewers more to be worried about other than whether Sherlock's going to get high.
If there's a game changer then great! The first one should be: lets have a game.
Thanks for the great preview. I love Jonny Lee Miller and I enjoy his version of Sherlock especially. I'm definitely excited for this episode!
ReplyDeleteYeah Kitty was a great addition to the cast - it was a shame the arc was as short as it was but there's still next season when things could change
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it :-) there's no one better at playing Holmes than Miller. He's one of the best actors on television
ReplyDeleteI read this suggestion somewhere else so I am not making it, merely seconding it--Tom Baker!
ReplyDeleteAll the episodes directed by John Polson, have all been beautiful to watch. I except nothing less even if the story might fall short.
ReplyDeleteOH MY! Game Changer,gah!!!! It would take something extraordinary for Sherlock to relaspe,but it happens more often than not so i wouldn't be surprised if he did.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Captain is safe? With certain people wanting him out i'm wondering what lengths they would go to? And oh man,i love to see what kind of havoc dear ole dad to create!
Last but not least i hope Alfredo is found alive,that's all Sherlock needs is losing another friend...
Thanks Jimmy for a great preview! Can you believe how fast this season went!
No family problems in this one. I'm guessing you'll be pleased to hear that
ReplyDeleteThis season sure has flown by but they still gave us a full 24 episodes despite starting a month late
ReplyDeleteThanks - good to know- figured the mystery of who was manipulating the strings to get him out of the picture would be coming instead
ReplyDeleteI am probably the only one hoping for a relapse, but it would spice things up nicely! Plus I'd love to see that other side of Sherlock.
ReplyDeleteAll will be revealed very soon :-)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind if they went there either. especially since his sobriety has been a bigger topic this season.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I think the season left us with WAY more questions than answers when it came to the huge -- but then largely abandoned -- upheaval that bridged seasons two and three: Sherlock's move to MI5 and then the apparent devastation he suffered when his plans and intentions for his London stay -- whatever the hell they were -- all went awry.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this season promisingly set up some big story there and then, up to now, anyway, and, crap, we're 23 episodes in, has all but completely ignored that story -- which appeared so dramatic and important to him. I've been very disappointed with the lack of sustained attention they've given to that story, which were highlighted in two big teases -- first, with Holmes' obviously fragile state when he returned to New York and then with a further glimpse into his London-induced fragility and devastation in the Kitty event -- and literally never mentioned, alluded to or touched upon in any way throughout all the rest of the episodes. I am assuming -- hoping against hope, actually -- that they'll finally do something with that in this finale.
But WTF were the showrunners thinking to leave such a huge and -- one would think -- important -- loose end dangling completely for at least 20 of the season's episodes? How could Watson not want to know what the heck happened to Holmes in London? Did she not notice his terrifyingly brittle state when he first returned? Do they not expect viewers to remember? Are we supposed to just forget and ignore his promises to Mycroft to fix things? They set up what seemed to me to be an extremely important arc there and then proceeded to pay it no mind whatsoever in procedural episode after procedural episode until I finally concluded that they really did intend just to drop it. Makes absolutely no sense to me that then they haven't woven that thread throughout the season, at least in subtle and small ways, because of its obvious importance to Holmes. But, nope, we've gotten a bunch of other stuff introduced, and straight procedural after straight procedural, including in the past two episodes -- the ones that one would expect to subtly lead into a season finale with resonance for the big themes of Holmes' life, which I can't imagine not including his bitter London disappointment, whatever it was. Was that CBS's doing? Did they spend the season scolding them into full-on procedural mode? Or are the showrunners themselves willing to drop big important threads or were they unable to figure out what to do with this one?
This is going to have to be one heck of a finale to make me feel as if the whole season had a good dramatic arc. And I say this as someone who was completely on board with the Kitty Winter story, the bad blood between Watson and Holmes at the beginning of the season, and so on. Despite liking a lot of individual things they did this season, though, I've really felt that the season's overall rhythm has been way off and that they've dropped threads that they never should have dropped. And now with talk of a "game-changing" finale, I get the feeling that instead of building on the Holmes story that they set up in in mid-2014 through early 2015, they might just have opted for introducing a bunch of new elements and completely ignoring the story they already had going. And I can't believe that Sherlock Holmes (or Watson, for that matter) would forget that story.