Elementary - Recap: Teeth of Mammals

I often note that one of the strongest procedural relationships on TV right now is between Sherlock/Watson, and I don't think tonight's Elementary has done anything to disprove that. "The Many Mouths of Aaron Colville" is an episode that actually has less to do with the relationship between Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and Joan (Lucy Liu) than most, but it centers their relationship comfortably within the context of a bigger mystery. Essentially, their relationship isn't defined by those moments in the brownstone, but rather by their moments together on the field. And as the series rolls on, Joan is becoming more of a detective in her own right.

Credit: CBS

it isn't just that she has her own cases with their own backstories, but rather that she has her own methods of approaching those issues, completely separate from Sherlock. This episode basically featured her facing a traumatic incident from her past and finding a way to deal with it, even though the incident in question wasn't really her fault. Joan is a put-upon character, but that isn't her sole, defining characteristic. She has so much more going on beneath the surface in any given episode, just like Sherlock is irreducibly complex in his own right. "The Many Mouths of Aaron Colville" isn't my favorite episode of the season, but I thought it was a really strong entry into the Season 2 canon.

Credit: CBS

I know it's probably a cliche to say this is a case you could sink your teeth into, but it really is. The case of the week centers on the reemergence of a serial killer known for the bite marks he leaves behind. Of course, it's really not that simple a case, as Colville isn't exactly alive or anything. Turns out, this is the work of a copycat killer, which is all the creepier since no two pairs of teeth are the same. And so Sherlock and Joan have to basically go through the prison dentistry system to figure out who the hell made molds of Colville's teeth, and who's using them to commit the murders now. It's the kind of ridiculous, over-the-top case we got in "Ears To You", although the solution here isn't nearly as fitfully ridiculous, even if a lot of the story is predicated on Joan deciding to exact justice on her own terms.

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Apparently, in the character story we get this week that is meant to relate the procedural case to the larger context of the show's more serialized characterizations, Joan was on hand for Colville's death, which was complicated by the presence of a colleague named Fleming who allowed the killer to die on the suspicion that he was the man the police were looking for. In essence, Fleming was judge, jury, and executioner, and the guilt of possibly having allowed the wrong man to die has weighed heavily on Joan ever since. However, I kind of feel like the story doesn't entirely work, if only because this is the first we're hearing about it. Granted, this wouldn't normally be an issue, except that Joan has long been established as a character who internalizes her failings, as was the case with the patient she lost, whose grave she still visits. It's hard to imagine that, criminal or not, Joan wouldn't have felt some measure of quantifiable guilt over this death. I also find it hard to believe this wouldn't have come up at some point, given Joan's generally lousy ability to hide her true feelings. I just think Sherlock would have picked up on it, and long before now.

Credit: CBS

That said, I did mostly enjoy the episode for what it was. Sure, the case was a bit on the melodramatic side, with Colville's mother being revealed as the killer, presumably as a way of using her son's own teeth to exonerate him from the murders he actually committed. But even then, it wasn't as silly as "Ears to You,: and I found myself generally enjoying the ride, which isn't always the case on procedurals, especially on ones as serialized as Elementary. As much as it might try to be accessible, I'm not sure Elementary is the kind of series you can just drop in on like a CSI or a Law & Order. Sure, you can enjoy them for the cases, and for the independent merits of the writing and performances, but there's a lot more going on in any given episode than is necessarily shown. So much of how Sherlock and Joan respond to each other is couched in the evolving relationship they have as sober companion to consulting detective, from roommates to friends, from partners to straight-up confidantes.

Credit: CBS

"The Many Mouths of Aaron Colville" is far from the best that Elementary has had to offer, but it's still immensely entertaining. And really, as a serialized procedural, I think the show is really flourishing in its second season, and episodes like this are going a long way in illustrating as much.