Elementary: Their Last Bow (7x13)

Oh my goodness what the heck I'm crying! That was so lovely!

Cons:

It sure would have been cool to get Natalie Dormer back as Jamie Moriarty, but I understand why they couldn't. A part of me wishes that a bit less of this episode had been focused on her, because it kind of set up expectations that she might make an appearance after all. Next to the looming specter of Jamie Moriarty, the random NSA guy just didn't pack much of a punch.

I absolutely loath the narrative device of showing a coffin and trying to fake out the audience as to who has died. They've done it on Arrow, they've done it on pretty much every procedural show I've ever watched... I'm sick of it. This one was particularly annoying because it dragged on for a while, with Sherlock and McNally talking about a nameless "she" who had died. Obviously we're supposed to think it's Joan, but it turns out it's Jamie Moriarty in the end. Sigh. This was obvious and they dragged it out way too long.

Elementary: Reichenbach Falls (7x12)

I can't help but feel that this episode was slightly anticlimactic. Let's talk about it.

Cons:

Anybody who knows anything about Sherlock Holmes knows what "Reichenbach Falls" means. So honestly it's a little insulting that they tried to fool us for even one second with the idea that Sherlock might really be dead. When they did the "reveal" that he had fled the country, I sighed and rolled my eyes. They did that thing where they kept him off-screen for as long as possible so we'd all be "surprised" at the last second. But like I said, was there really a single person watching the show who was surprised by that twist?

It's also patently obvious that Joan was in on the plan. There's that moment when Sherlock says they have to "plan a murder of their own" and it's supposed to be a trick, like we think Sherlock and Joan are planning Odin's murder. But obviously he's talking about the plan to fake his own death in order to frame Odin for killing him. I just don't want to waste any time in next week's finale hashing out the details of this ridiculously obvious plan.

Elementary: Unfriended (7x11)

I was not at all surprised that this happened, but it still punched me in the gut.

Cons:

This is something I mention periodically, but the script for this show sometimes leaves something to be desired, when it comes to exposition. There are several clunky moments in this episode. For example, Sherlock explains what's going on to Gregson, with Reichenbach, and why he got shot, all of that. Gregson then summarizes it back, as if to remind the audience succinctly of the bad guy's plan and why we don't like him. There's no subtlety there. There's also some back-fill, with Sherlock recognizing a company name that has never been mentioned before on the show. Hints could have been built into earlier episodes, you would think, especially since this clue ends up being so integral to figuring out what Reichenbach is up to.

Elementary: The Latest Model (7x10)

I thought this episode was perfectly average and run-of-the-mill, but not hugely problematic or anything. Let's talk about it!

Cons:

One weakness was that I felt the separation between the case of the week and the over-arching Reichenbach plot more than I usually do. While Joan and Sherlock are working on figuring out who killed a model, they are also dealing with Reichenbach coming to them with a potentially dangerous man, and asking for their confirmation. Both stories on their own have a lot going for them, but they connected so very little that you could have lifted either one and plopped it down in a different episode with no issue. I know that's been true of other episodes this season, but I just really noticed it this time around. I think, despite the shorter length of the season, we're still getting some of that mid-season drag that seems to come in every season of Elementary.

Pros:

The case of the week wasn't anything remarkable, but I did like the escalation of the murders. First, there's a Jane Doe in an alley. As they discover who this woman is, they find that she had a sister who died of a drug overdose ten months previously. But wait - turns out, that was a murder, too. And then in the course of the investigation, they find a private investigator who was trying to figure out how the first victim's sister really died - and he winds up dead, too. As a consequence, the case gets bigger and bigger as it goes. I also liked that the murderer was a clear and present character in the story, who we had set up earlier, and as more evidence came to light, it made sense to point the blame back at her. It was a good mix of mysterious and yet still solvable.

Elementary: On the Scent (7x09)

Some more motion on the A-plot! Yay! This season is going to be over before we know it, and I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye.

Cons:

I really liked the fake-out with the case this week, with one key exception. See, for the first chunk of the episode, our team thinks that they are hunting down a serial killer, but then half way through the episode they discover that contaminated evidence has accidentally created a serial killer who never existed. My only issue with this is that they never really explained why everyone was so convinced that it was a serial killer. I mean, sure, there was DNA evidence that matched at two different scenes. But was there no attempt to find a connection between the victims? It just feels like everyone accepted the premise a bit too easily.

I also think Sherlock got let off the hook a little too easily for lying to Joan. I'm glad she's annoyed with him, but she seemed more bothered that he wasn't going after Reichenbach, than that he'd lied about the NSA. He needs to be taken to task.

Elementary: Miss Understood (7x08)

I like Cassie. I was always a big fan of Sherlock mentoring Kitty, and now it seems that he might just have an affinity for this kind of relationship!

Cons:

There was this really weird little sub... well, I was going to say subplot, but it didn't even reach that level. Apparently there was a case from London that Sherlock and Joan were going to work on. Their client flew in to New York, but then off-screen he got arrested and implicated in a crime. Joan just narrates this at us in a couple of brief asides. If this is a setup for a later episode, then I guess that's okay. But for this episode, it felt incredibly out of place.

I also didn't love the fact that this episode once again had very little to do with the A-plot. Instead, we're adding in yet another new piece. Cassie is super interesting, and I want her to stick around. But with the end of this show right around the corner, it feels odd to throw in another new interesting piece. Are we starting to establish character end-games here? Is Sherlock going to keep finding exceptionally brilliant yet troubled young women to help? I guess I feel like this aspect of the story is interesting on its own, but maybe out of place as part of a larger whole.

Elementary: From Russia with Drugs (7x07)

This episode was the first one all season that felt a little bit filler-ish. Not necessarily bad, or anything... just not as gripping as what we've been seeing so far.

Cons:

To start with, we get something of a conclusion to the odd little subplot with Gregson's replacement as Captain. Gregson is back on the job, which is great, but it turns out that he isn't exactly Captain Dwyer's biggest fan, as there have been reports of him harassing female cops. When one of Gregson's best cops suddenly quits, Gregson suspects that Dwyer did something to drive her off. Sure enough, he did, but the woman, Bree Novacek, is nervous about reporting it because of what that will mean for her career. Eventually, though, she does report it, and Dwyer is out.

I like it when Elementary gets political, particularly about the police, and so I'll praise that in a second below. But what a weird way to use Captain Dwyer as a character. He stuck around and did nothing, and then Gregson comes back and we get a one-off story about sexism in the police force? I guess I was waiting for this character to have more of a point. As an individual story, this was fine. As a larger part of the season, it was distinctly odd.

Elementary: Command: Delete (7x06)

Sherlock... WTF.

Cons:

I'm really enjoying all of this stuff with Reichenbach, but I am seriously miffed that Sherlock is keeping the truth from Joan. This is the second time this season that Sherlock has been controlled by someone through threats against Joan, and both times, he's decided to conceal the truth. It's a tired, predictable trope, one I thought this show had moved past. It's obviously sweet that all of Sherlock's enemies know that Joan is so important to him. But if they are supposed to be partners, equals in their work, then where does Sherlock get off, hiding this kind of information from her? Haven't they been down this road before? It feels like a lazy way to stir up some drama.

Pros:

The temporary captain character is still a bit of a mixed bag for me, but I like that he seems impatient with Bell wanting to check in with him. Is he lazy? Or is his work style effective, just different from Gregson? As much as I've complained that there doesn't seem to be a point to this character yet, I'll admit to some curiosity as to where they're going with him.

Elementary: Into the Woods (7x05)

They kept not saying that one guy's name out loud, and I had no idea who it would be... and then... Odin Reichenbach. Okay, then. Not a character from the original stories, but a pretty chilling and pretty pointed reference, all the same!

Cons:

I'm thrilled that this Reichenbach character is connected to the A-plot, but I'll admit I'm kind of frustrated about the Gregson of it all. I was touched to see Gregson and Sherlock patch things up, but annoyed that we didn't get to see Joan's conversation with him. And then now? I'll admit, it's a bit frustrating that things seem to be patched up on that front with so little effort. We haven't seen Hannah all season. The only drama to come out of Gregson's daughter murdering someone, and Gregson covering it up, is that a bad guy has some blackmail on Joan now. That seems a bit disappointing.

The new captain guy has turned into an incredulous exposition machine. At one point in this episode, he literally regurgitated the plot of the case-of-the-week to Joan and Bell, like he was summarizing it for the audience. He seems more skeptical of Joan and Sherlock's methods, but he hasn't actually posed an obstacle for them yet, so he's feeling pretty pointless to me right now.

Elementary: Red Light, Green Light (7x04)

This week, we had a case-of-the-week format, and also a continuation of the season's A-plot, with some delicious new complications added in.

Cons:

I feel like the new captain character is somewhat clumsily integrated into the story here. There's a moment where Sherlock and Joan pull a big stunt by gathering a terrorism task force together and accusing them of sabotaging traffic lights, and the captain is alarmed by their behavior, but not too alarmed, and then it all works out, and it just felt like a really obvious way of reminding us that there's this new guy here who isn't going to be happy with Sherlock and Joan's shenanigans. I would have rather done without this, or if they were going to do it, I'd want it to be more extreme.

I know I said this last week, but I still think that Sherlock getting to be back in New York is a little too easy. I know they're setting it up for consequences later, maybe more so for Joan than Sherlock, but it's still annoying that we were able to get back to the status quo right away.

Elementary: The Price of Admission (7x03)

Ooooh interesting. Not where I thought this was going.

Cons:

There's an issue with this season that is unfortunately just a legacy of the extra-diegetic realities of the show. Since they thought the show was going to be over when they wrote last season, they wrapped up the stuff with Michael very quickly, and sent Sherlock and Joan off to London. I thought this season would keep them in London for a while, but instead the show has had to bend over backwards to get them back in New York so we can return to something like the status quo of a procedural cop show. That's really a shame, because I was looking forward to the story being pushed in new directions. Sure, we've got some interesting developments what with Joan still potentially culpable for Michael's murder, but the setup is now such that we can shove this interesting plot into the background for most of the season and just pop it out again for the final few episodes. That's a return to form that I could have done without.

Sherlock coerces a confession out of the bad guy by making him think his life is in imminent danger. There's no way that confession holds up in court. I know we see Sherlock cross lines all the time to get the bad guy, but it sometimes makes me wish we could follow these cases through their criminal trials. There's simply no way this pans out well for the NYPD, given what Sherlock did.

Elementary: Gutshot (7x02)

Hmm... I'm not sure how to feel, honestly. I liked this episode, but I had some big structural problems too.

Cons:

Obviously I knew Joan and Sherlock were going to have to come back to New York at some point, and while I was a bit surprised when I realized it was going to happen so soon, I really figured this would be just a short visit. Now, it looks like Joan is going to stay, and Sherlock is turning himself in for the murder of Michael. So... they're back for good? Their time in London was summed up all in one episode? I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt, here, and believe that we'll get to see them spend more time in London before the season is up. But I still feel like it's an odd choice to force them back to their familiar setting so quickly.

I do rather like the fact that the case of who shot Gregson was solved, insofar as we know the guy who shot him... but the circumstances surrounding the attack are still shrouded in mystery. It makes for a different kind of mystery to solve. Instead of discovering who committed a murder, we're discovering why. That's all well and good. But I have to be honest: so much about solving this crime felt even more contrived and convenient than usual. Finding the baseball field where Gregson got shot seemed way too easy. And then the security footage showing the guy's face? It all just felt a little too neat and tidy for me. Usually Elementary is better at making the investigative stuff feel real, even if the crimes themselves are over the top. This week, I feel like I noticed the silliness more than I was supposed to.

Elementary: The Further Adventures (7x01)

We're back! Joan is blonde! Let's get talking.

Cons:

This was a stellar opening episode, but I think anything would feel a little underwhelming after last season's finale. When a show thinks it's going to end, and creates a really satisfactory ending, and then suddenly has to keep going? There's something a bit dissatisfying about the results. The idea that Joan ends last season saying that they're exactly where they need to be, but when we find her here, she's dissatisfied with London... I don't know. It doesn't gel with me. I like the idea of Joan struggling in London. That's fine. But she talks about how she misses her family and friends in New York, and that rings really hollow, since we don't really spend any time with Joan's life outside of Sherlock and her work anyway. The show has always wanted to do more with that, but never quite manages to stick the landing.

Pros:

I like the plethora of cases and mysteries this week. We get little nods to other cases going on, and then the main case has a good number of red herrings and interesting side-avenues going on. I was able to guess that the plastic surgeon had something to do with it, as soon as I realized that the victim hadn't been posting new pictures on social media. I like being able to figure out at least part of the mystery ahead of time, even if this one wasn't exactly the most complex mystery in the world.

Elementary: Whatever Remains, However Improbable (6x21)

When they wrote this episode, they thought it was the finale, you guys. I'm emotional.

Cons:

I've got to say, I'm glad there's going to be a Season Seven. Not just because I like this show, but because there are a number of pretty essential dangling threads that I wouldn't be all that thrilled about leaving alone. Namely, Bell and Joan didn't really get a goodbye scene, Sherlock and Bell got barely anything, and things with Gregson fell completely apart. Now, don't get me wrong, the Gregson stuff was excellent. But if this really was the last we were going to see of him, then that would suck majorly. It felt unfair to his character to leave so much unresolved.

I recently learned that when the show-runners were plotting out this season, they thought they had a shorter episode order. That explains why Michael is missing from so much of the season. Unfortunately, just because I understand the reason now doesn't mean it fixes the structural issues of this season. Michael was so interesting, and then he was dead and this final episode was about something else entirely. Had they known they were getting a Season Seven, and had they known the season would be longer, I think the Michael stuff would have felt a lot more satisfying.

I never really understood why this FBI agent had such beef with Joan and Sherlock. Sure, I can see how they would be the FBI's worse nightmare what with all of their cutting corners, but this woman seemed to have something of a personal vendetta against Joan in particular, and that is not born out in the show we are being presented. What is her problem?

Elementary: Fit to be Tied (6x20)

Well then. Some stuff has happened.

Cons:

I thought the reveal about the judge killing the victim and making it look like Michael was kind of weird. If you think about it, it's pretty much just a plot cul de sac. It doesn't teach us anything new about Michael, or Sherlock, or anything. It's just a weird happenstance that the first new "victim" of Michael's wasn't really his killing at all. The apprehension of the murderous judge is treated as an afterthought, because there's a much meatier story going on in this episode.

I've often praised Elementary for taking a more measured approach than a lot of procedural shows would, but I must admit I wanted maybe a bit more from Sherlock after Joan got attacked. I feel kind of duped that we didn't get to see the moment when Sherlock arrived home and found her injured, and I would have liked to hear Joan trying to explain things to him as he works to get her to a hospital. It's not like I need to see these things to know that Sherlock was worried and scared and angry, but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of that angst sprinkled in.

Elementary: The Geek Interpreter (6x19)

Let's dive right in to this one.

Cons:

Something in the pacing of the main case was a little bit off. We learn late in the game that the motive for kidnapping has to do with flood zones for insurance/property value purposes. This comes out of left field and is a much less exciting reason to kidnap a mathematician than I would have expected from this show. Not that everything needs to be wacky all the time, but this was a little mundane, especially for something that was brought up so late in the episode.

I'm also a little miffed by the lack of development in any of the existing subplots. No further mention of Michael's return, no forward motion on Bell's career or Joan's quest to become a mother. Instead, we introduce another subplot that I found quite interesting. But despite my interest, I find it odd that we're only a few episodes away from the finale of the season, and we're introducing new ideas instead of further exploring the handful of subplots still left dangling.

Elementary: The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz (6x18)

I'm always pretty proud of myself when I figure out a good mystery ahead of time.

Cons:

I often praise Elementary for avoiding unnecessary melodrama, and I stand by that. But this episode starts with a premise that Sherlock Holmes is going to be shot on a given day, and that idea is not explored whatsoever. I'm not saying it should have happened, or we should have had weepy worried friends refusing to leave Sherlock's side... but I wanted a bit more concern, a bit more paranoia, maybe a bit more drama.

If I could pinpoint the biggest problem overall with Elementary, I'd have to say it would be the fact that this show is on CBS, and has more than twenty episodes a season. The pacing always gets wonky. There's always a mid-season slump. There's always a lack of momentum. We've just introduced the return of a serial killer, which is all sorts of exciting, but this episode contains none of that. It also contains nothing of the season's other subplots, like Joan's quest to adopt a child, or Bell's career advancement. This episode could be dropped in at any point in the season, or even in previous seasons, and you wouldn't be able to tell. That's a shame.

Elementary: The Worms Crawl In, the Worms Crawl Out (6x17)

This was a bit of an uninspired episode, if I'm being totally honest. Not the worst, or anything, but... not much to be going on.

Cons:

I thought the main case was just a touch too silly. It involved rare worms, new scientific innovations, and a lot of twists and turns that initially dismiss the murderer, and then come back around to her by the end. There were actually two murderers, one who shot the bad guy and failed to kill him, and then another who swept in with a blunt object to finish the job. This whole thing felt odd and wholly unnecessary.

Pros:

I'm not trying to be super negative about the whole thing, but I'm honestly struggling to find positives to say about the case this week. It's not that it was so bad I was miserable watching it or anything, but I just didn't... care. I suppose it is always a little fun to see really obscure fields and types of knowledge coming through to save the day. Sherlock figures out key clues by noting the naming patterns that this scientist used when naming new species of worms, and he reminds Joan, and the audience, of the delightful time he named a type of bee after her. So... that's adorable.

Elementary: Uncanny Valley of the Dolls (6x16)

Sherlock is hilarious!

Cons:

At one point we find out that the murder victim used the physical characteristics of his ex-girlfriend to make a hyper-realistic sex robot. Not just for himself, but for mass production. This is such a gross violation, and I feel like we didn't get enough of a resolution. The woman in question is briefly a suspect, but she has an alibi and she quickly drops out of the story. That rubbed me the wrong way, because I feel like she should have gotten retribution, or some sort of affirmation that her image would not be used in this way any longer.

Pros:

The case is just the right mix of funny and serious. I love Sherlock's unabashed delight every time he's faced with some bizarre new piece of technology or the illusion of an AI, or anything like that. He banters with the sex doll in a way that the others don't, responding to offers of fooling around with good cheer. It's also funny to me that Sherlock was the one who found this case, and he found it interesting precisely for the novelty of having a sex robot as a potential witness. Also, the scene at the end was HILARIOUS. Sherlock programs the sex doll to talk to Bell directly, asking for his help in getting away with the grizzly murder. Bell is taken in for a moment, and then calls for Sherlock to come out of his hiding place. Sherlock then requests that Bell send Joan down on his way out, and Bell counters with a better offer, as he sees Gregson coming around the corner! I love the two of them having some fun together. It's always nice when we can see Sherlock have a genuinely fun time, especially when it's not at anyone else's expense, really.

Elementary: How to Get a Head (6x15)

It's always hilarious to me when a show like Elementary has a recognizable guest star playing a small role, because inevitably, they're playing the murderer!

Cons:

Well, kind of what I just said. The villain was pretty transparent from the first second, which was a bummer. And the case itself was slightly too random. The occult aspect was pretty much just a red herring, which is what Sherlock said at the beginning of the episode, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised. I guess maybe because it felt like the obvious solution, and I was waiting for some sort of surprise twist. Not a bad case of the week, but nothing too great either.

Pros:

The subplot is where all the meat is at, as always. I want to start, though, by discussing my favorite thing about the show, which is the relationship between Joan and Sherlock. I'm obsessed with the way this show details their domestic intimacy, the way they fill space in each other's lives and accommodate each other's routines. Sherlock isn't so good at it, but it's fun to watch him fail. These two often work in seamless harmony, but they also often squabble like siblings forced to share a bedroom. There's a great moment where Sherlock sees a detective leaving the brownstone in the morning, and then accosts Joan in her bedroom, accusing her of "returning to the scene of the crime." He's snippy with her, angry that she'd have sex with a guy they were considering as a replacement for Bell. Joan says she's not going to call Sherlock every time she has sex, and Sherlock replies that she shouldn't worry about inconveniencing him, it's just one phone call every three years. Ha!