Elementary: Poison Pen (2x04)

Eh. I don't have anything to dislike strongly about this episode, but ultimately there wasn't much to be all that excited about. The case was a bit complicated and there were a few too many false leads and suspects.

Basically, a corpse is found by a dominatrix, and this dominatrix is a friend of Sherlock's, so she calls him in to help. The police determine that the victim was poisoned with nitroglycerin. While questioning the victim's wife and his children, Sherlock meets the nanny, a woman he recognizes from a murder trial several years earlier. Some prying from Joan reveals that Sherlock wrote letters back and forth with Abigail Spencer, who had been accused of murdering her abusive father. Although Sherlock never said as much in the letters, he grew to believe she was guilty, and relished the opportunity to learn the mind of a killer.

Abigail's father had died due to nitroglycerin poisoning as well, so she becomes the prime suspect. However, as time goes on, we learn that the victim's wife and the victim's oldest son both also learned of Abigail's past, and therefore both also would have had a good reason for using that method to murder someone, in that they could frame the nanny.

There were a lot of suspects. Abigail, although the MO fits from the earlier crime she was accused of, seemed to have no real reason to have killed the victim. The wife, however, was trying to find a good time to divorce her husband and take him for all he was worth. That seems to give her a good reason, but she has an alibi. Joan and Bell find video evidence that the victim was sexually abusing his son, and therefore the son becomes the suspect.

However, in swoops Abigail, ready to take the blame. Although it's clear that she wasn't the one who murdered the guy, she wants to save the poor kid from going to jail and being known for the rest of his life as a murderer. She knows what that feels like. The episode ends on an oddly defeated note, therefore, as Abigail is put away for a crime she didn't commit, and Sherlock goes to talk to the victim's teenage son. Sherlock says that he'll be available if he ever wants to talk, since he had been bullied in school, and he knows what it's like to let that sort of thing eat you up inside.

Ultimately, this episode was weak because it was a study in extremes. The dominatrix thing was ultimately a silly detour, and the victim's abuse of his son was also very extreme. There was an attempt to show some morally grey characters, but I had nothing but sympathy for Abigail and for the kid. They both murdered their fathers, which was more than understandable given what was happening to them.

Then there's Gregson, who lately has been a useless character. I wish we could see him being a bit more active in the cases. Even Bell basically had nothing to do this week.

Things I did like? I liked learning more about Sherlock's past, and the interesting fascination he had in Abigail. I also enjoyed the fact that he chose to confide in Joan about all of this. And I thought the girl playing Abigail did a good job with the part.

6/10