First of all, kudos to the writers on the name for this episode... it made me chuckle. There were two plots in this episode, both of which I actually found very interesting. Let's take a look at each of them.
The case of the week involved a new Breathalyzer, nicknamed "the hound," which could identify cancer in patients. The scientist working on the drug was found dead, in a staged suicide. There are a lot of suspects for the crime. At first they're suspicious of one of the other people working on the drug, but then they find out about an anonymous tipper who was trying to discredit "the hound." They track down a woman who says she used to be partnered with the victim. The two of them wrote anonymous messages to discredit illegitimate scientific advancements. However, the woman assures them that it wasn't her that wrote this latest message. Someone was impersonating the anonymous tipper. In the end, one of their first suspicions proves correct, and they arrest one of the people funding the drug for the murder of the first victim, and also of his own wife.
Meanwhile, Bell asks Joan to help track down a young girl who agreed to testify against a drug lord, but then backed out and disappeared. Joan tracks the girl to the house of a teacher who is known in the community for protecting these disadvantaged kids. The girl is unwilling to testify now because she discovered that she's pregnant, and she doesn't want the drug lord and his men to put her baby at risk. Bell talks to the teacher and says it's okay if the girl doesn't step forward, because he wants her to feel safe. The teacher, however, doesn't think that what he's done in the neighborhood is enough. He wants to take this drug dealer down. He does in fact do so, but he gets himself killed in the process.
Bell is officially cleared for duty and is planning on having a party to celebrate. Sherlock is uncertain if he should go, given that it's his fault Bell had to go through recovery in the first place. Sherlock does end up attending, but Bell isn't in the mood to go to his own party. He's upset, because the teacher was something of a legend when he grew up, and now he's dead. Sherlock and Bell go off together away from the party, waiting for Bell to be ready to face the crowd.
Let's start with complaints!
The biggest problem I see with this episode is the fact that Joan was very sidelined. In the main case, she had very little input. She ended up being the one to track down the girl for Bell, which was all well and good, but when the teacher died, she never had any shown reaction to it. It became all about Bell. Similarly, Sherlock shared his anxiety about going to the party with Joan, but when it came time to go to said party, we didn't get to see her involvement. I just wish there had been a bit more for her to do.
Other than that, however, I enjoyed everything!
The case itself was very clever. I was totally fooled by who had done it, and when the truth came out, it made perfect sense. One of their very first suspects, who had a satisfactory alibi, ended up being the bad guy all along. That was a nicely executed twist.
Sherlock's hangups about Bell's party were very nicely explored. I liked that he showed up in the end and was a true friend to Bell.
The plot line with the teacher and the pregnant girl was surprisingly touching to me. I was very sad when the teacher died. Men like him make such a large difference in the world, even if it's hard to see it.
I hope in the next few episodes we get back to some A-plot stuff. I'd love to know what's going on with Mycroft...
7.5/10
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