Elementary: Just a Regular Irregular (3x03)

Great episode! This show has really hit its stride this season. I'm still loving Kitty. And I actually really loved this exploration of Sherlock's character, and how he handles his relationships. Let's start with a plot summary!

Harlan Emple, who previously appeared in the Season Two episode "Solve for X," discovers a dead body while working on a mathematician scavenger hunt/puzzle thing. The team try to solve the case by looking for other mathematicians who were probably solving the puzzle. Turns out, there's a huge monetary reward for being the first to solve the puzzle. However, as the case unfolds, we learn that this isn't the motivation after all. Harlan Emple has actually become an online crusader, revealing to the world instances in which math has been used to exploit the system. Specifically, Harlan revealed a flaw in a certain type of scratch ticket that meant that people could guess which number combos would be winners. A man who has been exploiting this system decide he must kill Harlan. Of course, Harlan goes by a pseudonym on the internet, so in order to track him down, the killer sets up the math puzzle to lure math geniuses out in the open. Sherlock calls the man he suspects of being the murderer and tells him where to find Harlan. When the guy shows up to kill Harlan, he instead finds himself in an apartment with the police. He is arrested.

Meanwhile, Joan asks Kitty for help with a case. It's just a simple one, no murder involved, but Joan wants to give Kitty something to work on. Sherlock encourages Joan to continue forging this relationship with Kitty. Joan worries that Kitty needs more help than Sherlock can give her. Maybe she should be talking to a therapist or going to a support group. Sherlock suggests this to Kitty, even though he's asked her in the past, and Kitty finally agrees to go. We see Joan go with her to the meeting.

I know I left a lot of detail out of that summary, but I'll be sure to cover the important bits below. To start with... complaints?

Well, I'm about to talk about how much I loved Kitty in this episode, but I do have one complaint. And it's not Kitty's fault at all. It's just... thus far, she's only a subplot. I didn't really notice it until this episode, but the fact is, she's not being integrated into the main plot of the show very well. We see how Sherlock and Joan are concerned for her, and yet Kitty is never involved in the main case of the week, but rather shunted off to the side so that Sherlock and Joan can be partners in all but name, and then maybe have a conversation about her between the two of them. It seems like she's continually sidelined. On the one hand, I understand. This is still ultimately Sherlock and Joan's story. I just hope Kitty can take center-stage soon.

Now for the good stuff!

First of all, Phil Simms is an expert knife-thrower. Sure. While this cameo was obviously there as a promotional tactic for CBS, since they're hosting the NFL, it was still really funny. It wasn't a shoe-in cameo, and it actually managed to make me giggle. Especially given Sherlock's insistence on calling him "Phillip," and the way that Kitty didn't even know who he was.

The case itself was really great. It had a lot of intrigue, and it took a couple of twists and turns I was not expecting. At first it made sense that the murder was motivated by money, but then it turns out that the murderer was the one offering the money. His own motivation was also monetary, with a big dash of mental instability thrown in for good measure. Joan, Sherlock, and Harlan were all important in solving the case, which was nice.

Let's talk about Harlan, shall we? His relationship with Sherlock in this episode was one of the most fascinating things going on here. In a weird way, he represents Sherlock's fans. He's in awe of this man, and he feels so unbelievably flattered that Sherlock needs his help. And so he goes a bit overboard, but in all honesty he doesn't do anything too overzealous. He just reaches out and tries to be Sherlock's friend. And for that, he's cut off. Sherlock has to learn to put up with people who have different needs than he does himself. He tries - by the end of the episode he has made a point of telling Harlan how much he values him.

Sherlock and Joan didn't really move towards their old friendship in this episode, but we did see a few moments that hint at how hard this is for them. In particular, when Sherlock comes over to Joan's apartment, he has this to say about it: "Your home is utterly pleasant." Being Sherlock, he means this as an insult. He doesn't understand how Joan can want this basic, boring life after everything she learned while she was working with Sherlock. There was also a very funny moment with Joan's new boyfriend, where Sherlock gives him an awkward compliment about Joan being "adequately sexed." Oh, Sherlock.

Kitty and Joan went to a support group together! For the briefest moment, I wondered if this was suggesting that Joan had been sexually assaulted too, but I think she was ultimately just there for Kitty's sake. Kitty says that she's only going to the meeting because it's important for Joan, and she knows that Joan can help her become a great detective. However, hopefully Kitty will end up getting something out of the experience. I complained earlier that Kitty keeps getting pushed aside to make room for other plot points, but I think eventually the relationship between Kitty and Joan could be one of the strongest things on this show. They just have to find a way to bring it into the limelight.

For now, that's where I'll stop. Is anyone else wishing for more Bell and Gregson? They've barely done anything so far this season!

8/10