Elemenatary: The Woman/Heroine (1x23/24)

So... ahem... Elementary. Let's have a talk for a moment about how awesome you are. How above-and-beyond you are. Because in all honesty, I am blown away.

Obviously, I'm about so spoil something huge, so if by some miracle you haven't seen the episodes and you remain unspoiled, you're going to want to avert your eyes now.

Irene. Adler. Is. Moriarty.

I know, right? Like, what the hell! But it was brilliant. It worked far better than I ever could have expected it to. It was a gripping plot development and so heartbreaking to see how this played out for Sherlock.

I think one of my favorite parts of this whole episode was the subtlety of Natalie Dormer's acting. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but during the flashback scenes with Sherlock and Irene, I just knew there was something slightly off about their relationship. I saw how polarizing it was - when Irene is in his life, Sherlock can think of nothing else. This seems unhealthy, even for him, and it was so strange to perceive their relationship as a unhealthy romance from the start.

Then, her transformation into Moriarty was more than just a smirk and an accent change. You see how she makes the same mistakes that Sherlock does - she falls in love. She becomes interested in Sherlock, and it almost costs her the whole game.

Mini rant comparing this show to BBC, real quick. In most respects, I find BBC's Sherlock to be the superior show, but in terms of Irene Adler, Elementary wins, hands down. Rather than her weakness coming from her "feminine" trait of falling in love, we see Sherlock as the one who is defeated because of his love for another person. And in the end, Irene gets away. She is cunning. She does use her body to get what she wants sometimes, but it's part of her greater plots. Her body is not her greatest asset. Her mind is. This interpretation (Irene as Moriarty) is remarkably more true to the original stories than what BBC (read: Moffat) did with her character.

As you can tell, I was very pleased with this twist. It was surprising to the audience, and it was also very interesting to see how Sherlock and Joan both reacted to the changing events.

The flashback scenes were a gift I never expected to be given. I like how we never really saw any other people in these flashbacks. Like the world was really just centered around Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler, and no one else mattered. Sherlock's initial attraction to her was great, as he identifies which paintings in her apartment are actually the stolen originals. When you know that the entire thing is just a game that Moriarty is playing, each nuanced moment of Irene's character becomes unbelievably depressing and intense.

On the level of plot, Sherlock was far too busy worrying over Irene to be of much help in the case at first. Irene/Moriarty has a very clever plan to make money on Macedonian currency. It involves a man who used to go by the Narwhal, illegal animal smuggling, kidnapping, and more. The case was pretty interesting, but the most interesting part of it was Sherlock's mounting desperation and pain. At one point, he almost took very powerful pain killers (he had been shot) and only manages to stop himself by thinking of how Joan will react.

Joan, too, gets a chance to really shine on this case. She helps Gregson and Bell while Sherlock stays home, and Bell even goes as far as to say that it's like having Holmes on a case. She also does her best to help Sherlock in whatever way she can. One of the best moments of the episode came when Joan asks Sherlock if she should be looking for a new place to live due to Irene's presence. Sherlock immediately tells her no: "this is your home!" I liked this reaffirmation of their closeness, as well as Joan's insecurities coming out.

Later, when Sherlock tells Watson that he's leaving New York with Irene, she tries so desperately for him to see sense. He doesn't change his mind until he realizes that Irene isn't who she says she is. I liked this, too, because it shows that Joan is ultimately very concerned for Sherlock still, even if she is no longer his sober companion.

Sherlock's respect and pride in Joan is becoming more and more palpable. He seemed truly pleased when he was able to tell Moriarty that Joan Watson had bested her. The drug overdose fake-out, however, may have been my least favorite thing about this episode. To me, it felt like an obvious trick from the start, and it seemed a bit unrealistic that Moriarty would so easily fall into a trap like that. I may be nitpicking, but we've seen what this girl can do. She is a master of cruelty and a total genius. If she truly can read Sherlock so well, why was she fooled?

The scene at the end was of course adorable... Sherlock names a bee after Watson! This is one of the most precious signs of friendship I have ever seen. It was a nice gentle way to end the episode, too, as it shows us what this show is about at the end of the day - the friendship of two remarkable people. With the threat of his nemesis still hanging over him, Sherlock is in for an interesting adventure come Season Two.

My hopes for the future: Mycroft! And Sherlock's father, too. I'd be interested to see this behind-the-scenes figure.

My fears for the future: Did they play their cards too soon? Irene Adler and Jim Moriarty are arguably the two most recognizable figures from the original stories (other than Holmes and Watson). Now that they are the same person and they've already had their first big confrontation, is the rest of the show just going to be a big long chase between them? Are they going to attempt to retell Sherlock's death fake-out in this version, as well?

This was a very solid final two episodes (it showed up on my computer as one, which is why I'm reviewing it as such). I think it ended the season on an extremely high note and made a smart move by not ending on a cliffhanger and rather letting us settle in to something familiar. They will have to shake things up big-time come fall!

9/10