Elementary - Season 1 Episode 2 - Recap and Review - While You Were Sleeping
Elementary isn't struggling nearly as hard as I expected it would in finding the balance between "case of the week" intrigue and the developing bond between Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu). I probably shouldn't be that surprised, since Sherlock Holmes is such well-worn territory, but "While You Were Sleeping" seems like much more of a Holmesian story than last week's premiere, utilizing the talents of both Holmes and Watson in a murder mystery that's a real doozy, dealing with a sibling conflict surrounding a mult-million dollar inheritance. The twist at the end, and the keenness of Jonny Lee Miller's delivery of another classic Holmesian "parlour room speech," are enough to count this week's installment as a staggering success.
First, can I just talk about the opening title sequence? The Rube Goldberg device is amusing in its own right, but beyond that, it does what any good title sequence should do, which is orient the viewer in the show's world, giving some sense of what the tone of the show they're watching will be. The circuitous device is a pretty succinct analog to Holmes's mind, which operates on similarly networking processes. If nothing else, it made me remember how much I loved Mouse Trap as a kid, even if I never got to catch the damn mouse at the end.
As for the episode itself, the case follows a man who is shot when entering his apartment. Holmes traces the suspect to a hospital bed, where she's lying in a coma. The investigation leads to the suspect's fraternal twin sister, a subsequent murder in which the victim is revealed to be related to our first victim, and a far-reaching plot in which biologically-related bastards of a recently-deceased millionaire are being knocked off to prevent them from laying claim to their share of the inheritance. In the fashion of Holmes's greatest mysteries, the case keeps the viewer guessing - and independent of that, the case illustrates the ingenuity of Holmes in his massive gambit to draw out the killer, which is as ambitious as it is likely to fail. Yet it turns out in Holmes's favor, and leads to a reveal I know I certainly didn't see coming. It's rare that a single case tends to be the strongest part of a procedural's episode, yet that's nearly the case with "While You Were Sleeping."
Credit: CBS/John Filo
The only reason it isn't, ultimately, is because Holmes and Watson are back at each other's throats again, and it's a lot of fun to watch. That said, I'm no Holmesian (still not sure that's a word) scholar, but was Holmes ever really this much of a dick? It's one thing to send Watson's ex-boyfriend a prank email that leads to his canceling drinks with the District Attorney under the pretenses of a private dinner for two, but it's another thing altogether to deride the personal tragedies of a grief-stricken addict by playing "the world's tiniest violin" in response to her sob-soaked story. Of course, Holmes was merely goading Watson with the violin bit, since she pried around his apartment earlier and discovered a violin with his initials, surmising that he once played quite a bit. Holmes, offended at her having rooted around in his private space, sets the violin on fire. His bitterness, in part, originates from Watson confronting Holmes all that he's withheld from NYC Police Captain Tobias Gregson (Aidan Quinn), the closest thing Holmes has to a friend.
Credit: CBS
Apparently, Holmes only called ten days earlier to let Gregson know he was in town, and available to provide assistance, neglecting to mention his time spent in rehab for the past six months. Holmes rationalizes that it was best to withhold this information from Gregson since the Captain isn't likely to allow a former addict to root around private files and assist in investigations, yet at some level, it stands to reason that some part of Holmes has yet to completely reconcile his addiction. For his part, Holmes tries to stay on the straight and narrow, and he has a pretty great character moment when he blackmails a lawyer friend of Gregson's by threatening to expose the man's obvious drug habit unless he allows them to see his restricted client files. Holmes, in the gentlest tone he's adopted thus far, recommends the rehabilitation center at which he recovered, for when he wants to get his life back on track. Sure, it's not necessarily a paragon moment, but Sherlock Holmes has always been a fairly complex character, where morality is concerned.
Watson, however, is still not entirely over the loss of her patient on the surgical table, and her new career as a sober companion has her parents worried, leading to the interjection of her ex-boyfriend, Ty Morstan (Bill Heck), to see assess the trajectory of Watson's presumed downward spiral. Lucy Liu does good work with her character's arc, rationalizing that her work as a sober companion isn't self-imposed penance for losing a patient, but instead a career choice made because it's something she's actually good at (which is essentially the same as what she just denied, since it implies that she wasn't a good surgeon; it stands to reason that she still blames herself, on that score, although time will tell as to how much). She's getting more accustomed to the quirks of Holmes, and is even recognizing subtle changes in him, such as his attentiveness at the addicts meeting. There's development in their relationship, and it's incremental at the moment, but it's still rewarding to watch, even if their dynamic doesn't immediately scream "Holmes/Watson."
Elementary seems to have a pretty good grasp on the show it wants to be: a procedural that's darker than your average "case of the week" investigation, and far more character-oriented. That's a good thing, even though the promotion and hype behind the show likely means they don't need to try terribly hard at all. It's heartening to know, at least, that the series values its audience enough not to phone it in. Quite the opposite. Elementary is a fresh, engaging approach to the paint-by-numbers crime drama, and though the Holmes/Watson dynamic is still in the development stages, it makes for a richly entertaining hour every Thursday night (well, except next Thursday. See you in two weeks!).
Credit: CBS