Elementary: The Grand Experiment (2x24)

Oh gosh. Feelings are happening. I apologize for my brevity with the plot summary, I'm in a rush.

Sherlock and Joan work to find the real mole inside MI6, meanwhile keeping Mycroft hidden away from prying eyes. Using the clues left on West's tattooed arms, they decipher secret phone calls between a bookshop owner and the mole. They are able to figure out when and where each of these calls came from. They discover that each place and time corresponds to somewhere Mycroft has been. They then realize that Mycroft's handler, who would have been with him in all those places, is the mole, and is setting Mycroft up to take the fall.

Joan and Sherlock are still working on a way to figure things out, but Mycroft goes to meet with his handler. His handler says that if Joan and Sherlock are successful in tracking him down, then he's going to tip off the French paramilitary, and Joan and Sherlock will be "collateral damage." Mycroft takes extreme measures: he contacts the NSA. He tells them to tip off their own contacts among these Frenchmen, and Mycroft's handler is killed. However, now Mycroft is in considerable danger. The NSA agree to fake his own death. Mycroft will have to disappear completely, probably never to be seen again. He says goodbye to Joan and Sherlock.

Joan declares her intent to move out of the Brownstone, even against Sherlock's protests. As Joan finds a suitable place, we see Sherlock take the hidden cocaine and put it in his pocket. He also accepts a job offer with MI6, even though Joan had insisted that she still wanted to work with him.

See? I told you I'd keep the plot summary short. I really want to go into discussing what I really liked/didn't like about this episode.

To start off with some complaints, I rather wish we could understand why Sherlock doesn't just talk to Joan about his possible relapsing. It makes sense that her leaving would trigger these feelings, but doesn't it seem like something he should mention to her? Obviously he's not being entirely rational in this moment, but it seems like Sherlock has gotten to a point where he would address what was going on with Joan, considering how much she's helped him in the past.

The second small thing is concerning the Mycroft/Joan relationship. I've made no secret of my distaste for it in the past, but at the same time, the resolution to this relationship was nonexistent. If they were going to build up the Joan/Mycroft thing, the least they could have done was treated the end of it with more weight and gravity. Joan was virtually discarded after Mycroft revealed he was leaving.

But let's not waste time complaining. Honestly, I enjoyed this finale much more than I expected to.

First and most importantly, Sherlock and Joan's relationship. The speech that Joan had about how Sherlock pulled people into his orbit was really beautiful and felt very true to the themes we've been exploring from the beginning. It's absolutely the right choice for Joan, as a person, to move out and try to establish herself as the center of her own universe. As a character, it's a good plot move to get Joan out of the Brownstone and try a new dynamic between them. It will keep things fresh.

Sherlock was very distressed when he found out that the MI6 mole had actually visited Joan at the Brownstone. Joan, of course, handled it like a total pro, but Sherlock was upset because, as he said before, she shouldn't have to deal with all of this danger and fearing for her life. I got the sense that while Sherlock's concern for Joan was genuine, it was also a product of his unshakable resentment towards Mycroft. At this point in the story, Joan reveals to Sherlock that Mycroft only worked with MI6 to get Sherlock out of trouble.

I know I've complained about Joan and Mycroft being a romantic pairing, but at the same time? You know what? These three characters do have an enormously complicated and fascinating dynamic between them. Sherlock is possessive of Joan, scared for Joan, scared for Mycroft, angry at Mycroft... it's really interesting.

I did say I was on a time crunch... so I'll just discuss the Mycroft/Sherlock dynamic briefly before I finish up. There were two key moments between them in this episode. The first is when Sherlock comes to talk to Mycroft. He's so confused as to why Mycroft would let MI6 use him like this. He's puzzled because Mycroft didn't owe Sherlock anything, and still did this for him. Mycroft seems shocked and sad for Sherlock, as he realizes that Sherlock truly doesn't understand how much his older brother would be willing to do for him.

The second exchange is after Mycroft tells Joan and Sherlock that he's gone to the NSA. Sherlock puts together that Mycroft is going to leave forever. His reaction is just so, so, perfect and in character. He gets angry. He falls back on the same insults he's always used with Mycroft: Mycroft is lazy, and selfish, and... and then Mycroft hugs him and says "I love you," and Sherlock says nothing. Just lets his brother embrace him for what he knows will be the very last time. You can tell he's so heartbroken, even if he would never say so. Sherlock's potential relapse isn't just because of Joan leaving. Even with all the drama and bad blood between them, Mycroft is one of the people who knows Sherlock the very best. And, as Sherlock is only just starting to realize, Mycroft is one of the few people in the world who would do anything for him. And now, in that very act of helping Sherlock, he's disappearing for good - something Sherlock had asked for, just a few episodes back.

This finale didn't have a big cliffhanger or anything. It had a quieter moment of tension - of the possibility of extreme change, and what that's going to mean for the future of our two leads. I can't wait for Season Three.

8/10