Elementary: The Five Orange Pipz (3x02)

We learned some new things about Kitty this week, and continued to explore the dynamic between Joan, Sherlock, and Kitty. Toss in a decent case of the week, based on a ACD original story, and you've got a solid episode of Elementary!

I'm going to be rather brief about the plot. I don't think this is news to anybody, but I'm not typically all that interested in the actual case of the week aspect to this kind of show.

The gist is this - there's a double homicide of a man and his lawyer, all due to the fact that these beads, called "pipz" ended up being poisonous, causing the death of several children. As the case progresses, initially it looks like the father of one of the dead children is the killer. He even confesses. But, Sherlock and Joan believe he is lying. Turns out, he is. Things get more complicated when they meet the investigators who were searching for the dead man (he was on the run before being murdered). Turns out, the whole thing was a case of someone taking advantage of the situation by using the poison in the pipz as a drug to sell on the streets. The case is solved, rather anticlimactically, but satisfactorily all the same.

The real meat of the episode comes in the continuing development of Kitty. She makes a mistake early on, costing Sherlock and Joan the opportunity to examine valuable information. Sherlock yells at her, but it seems that Kitty is jealous of Joan. Whereas before, Sherlock made real use of Kitty on cases, now he seems to be giving her busy work and working with Joan instead. Sherlock says he wanted Kitty to observe him with Joan so that she could learn.

Joan does a background check on Kitty and discovers something alarming - she doesn't exist beyond just a couple of years, according to all records. Joan and Bell are both worried, because Kitty seems like a destabilizing influence on Sherlock's life. Joan asks Sherlock about it. He eventually shows Joan a file, which reveals that Kitty has gone through a trauamtic past experience. She doesn't like to talk about it, because she doesn't want to be thought of as a victim. Kitty working with Sherlock is a way for her to take some of the pent up feelings that she still has, and put them towards something productive.

Joan goes to talk to Kitty. She reveals that she hasn't looked in the folder, but Kitty says that she should look. Kitty wants her to. Joan does, but we don't get to see the details of her past.

I'll admit, this episode didn't pack as big of a punch as last week's. But to be fair, last week's episode was so awesome, that it would be hard to compete.

I guess my only complaint is that they could be pushing this whole Joan/Sherlock estrangement thing a bit further. I'm glad they're being cordial, but a part of me was hoping we could see Joan do some more work on her own, without Sherlock around to steal the thunder. I'm sure we'll get more of this rather complicated dynamic as we move forward, but for now we're sort of back to status quo. Things are tense between them, obviously, but they aren't arguing, and they're working a case together, so it feels similar to old times.

A nitpick-y complaint: at one point Bell asks Joan when he's going to get to meet Joan's boyfriend, and Joan says that her boyfriend is still jealously hoarding all of his time with her, because of how busy she is with work. This moment was extremely awkward, and it didn't do anything except for intrusively remind us that Joan has a boyfriend. She didn't mention him or see him or talk to him on the phone for the rest of the episode, so it felt really strange, and sort of sloppy to include this reference here.

But mostly, I really enjoyed what this episode had to offer.

The case of the week, which is never something that interests me particularly, was actually a pretty solid one. I enjoy Elementary moreso than some of the other procedural cop shows I watch, in that their cases are usually pretty simple. They feel like they could potentially be real, and there are never too many twists and turns.

Bell had a few great moments, here. I loved the beginning, when he was just staring at Sherlock, letting it sink in that he was really back. I forgot how much I liked their relationship dynamic, and I'm happy to see it come back.

Kitty was the real highlight here. It seems as if some of the fandom has already turned against her, but for my money, I like her a lot. She's a bit acerbic and difficult, but she's not totally unlikable. It's easy to be fed up with her for her jealousy, but at the same time, it's impossible to deny that Sherlock can be a real pain to work with. The resolution here is a lot more than "tragic back story excuses present behavior," because Kitty, while sometimes annoying, is ultimately a motivated learner. Her conversations with Joan prove that. She's jealous of the lost opportunities to learn from Sherlock, but not of Joan herself. I think these two could end up cultivating a good relationship.

This isn't the longest review, but I think I've said what I needed to. I'm actually getting excited for the possibilities of this coming season. Kitty is a great addition!

8.5/10