Elementary: The Illustrious Client Review

Remember when this season of Sherlock began and how I’d start off every review by stridently proclaiming that they’d better be going somewhere with Kitty or I’d be just incensed?

Well it has happened and I couldn’t be more delighted. It occurs to me that I am talking about the hunt for a serial rapist and murderer and that to use the “delighted” makes me sound fairly sort of…monstrous. That said, I will trust you, gentle reader, to be hep to my jive, dramatically speaking. Elementary delivered a five star episode this week, using each of its principal players to the best of their ability and proving that even one of literature’s greatest duos can do with a third being lobbed in every now and again.

This week Elementary went all Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on us! Only, it was better, because no brand names were mentioned and the entire story did not stink of an old man’s fetish for overly pierced ladies who take no nonsense from dudes. The end of last week’s episode revealed that a murder had been committed that bore a striking resemblance to the kidnapping and rape Kitty suffered years ago in London. This week, Sherlock and Watson broke the news to Kitty that her attacker was in New York and sending a message.

All three parties (with an assist from Aidan Quinn’s unspeakable articulate eyebrows) spent the episode channeling their fear, hatred, and concern in the modes you’d expect. Sherlock worked tirelessly to crack the case and even worked hard to communicate feelings of empathy to Kitty. Meanwhile Joan took a leave of absence from her brand new insurance job while still managing to use her connections there to gain info to help solve the case. Finally, Kitty herself opened up in bits and pieces to the friends she’s slowly begun to make — and also she brutally beat the sister of her presumed-assailant in order to get information crucial to cracking the case. It was a veritable symphony of procedural television. I feel like if Christopher Walken had been watching, he was doing it in a robe, with a Scotch, gently conducting with one hand as though he was listening to beautiful music. 

There were only (in keeping with my musical analogy I guess) a few sour notes this week. The first is Watson’s oblivious ease and happiness at accepting the job at Leda. We’ve all been there I know, merrily marching into the jaws of a job that will be our undoing, but come on — Joan is a detective and highly intelligent. Isn’t “massive insurance company” just code for “very very evil shit”?

That officially made Kitty’s end-of-episode revelation about her attacker’s true identity less of the bomb-drop it could have been for me, anyway. Finally, I have it almost impossible to believe the characterization of Sherlock Holmes that we’ve been presented with here courtesy of Jonny Lee Miller would EVER under ANY circumstances try to relate to a rape victim by talking about…his own issues. No. Tone. Deaf. That said, Kitty’s rousting of the dude after the deed was done almost makes up for it. Almost.

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