Elementary: The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction (3x07)

Okay! Another good one! Lots of Kitty character development! And Joan character development! And nutmeg. So, all in all, good stuff!

Joan is asked to investigate the disappearance of a girl that happened five years ago. Sherlock gets involved when he's interested by a strange detail in the case: at the scene of this woman's disappearance, people noted the smell of nutmeg. This same smell has connected several crimes over the years. Joan, Kitty, and Sherlock go to talk to the man in charge of the case, and Sherlock quickly deduces from the man's files that the "olfactory signature" is not from the murderer, but rather from someone who is called in to help clean up after crimes. Long story short, it was a man who used to work for the police to clean up crime scenes. He went rogue. They catch the culprit and all is well.

Meanwhile, we learn that Kitty used to play clarinet at an expert level. At the end of the episode, Sherlock praises her progress with her detective work, since she was the one who found a key clue to help them solve the case. As a reward, Sherlock tells her that she can play her music as loud as she wants instead of shutting it down. Kitty decides to put in some classical music, apparently reminiscing about her past.

Joan meets up with an old boyfriend who wants her help as a detective because his medical ID badge was stolen. Joan asks Kitty to take care of it, which she does, quickly. All of this makes Sherlock notice that maybe Joan isn't that happy in her current relationship with Andrew. It's true - Joan is getting frustrated because she and Andrew are basically in a long-term relationship for the time being. Sherlock notes that maybe Joan doesn't really want a normal relationship, and that she might be happier with some other arrangement wherein she only has casual sex or is free to pursue other partners. As Joan prepares a fancy dinner for her and Andrew, she laments that maybe Sherlock has a point.

Complaints? Sometimes I get a little bit uncomfortable with how often Sherlock brings up Joan's sex life. They've made it very clear that there's no romantic or sexual tension between them, which I love, but at the same time I think Sherlock might want to butt out a little bit. Or, if he's incapable of butting out, maybe Joan could put her foot down?

I'm so happy that Miss Hudson is back, but she was really only there for two seconds. If they were going to bring the actress back, why couldn't they have done something with her? It was a bit odd seeing her, really, even though I've been wanting this for a while. Hopefully they have more plans in the future for her? I don't know.

Those are really the only complaints I have, though. This was a really fun hour of television, and I found it really insightful.

The case itself was clever. I liked the idea of the murders being connected not by the murderer, but by the clean-up that came afterwards. Sherlock asks one of his Irregulars, called "The Nose" to come in at one point and sniff out a crime scene, which was pretty funny.

As always, though, my focus for this show is on the character development, not on the case of the week.

I love that Kitty was a big part of solving the case! They're doing such a good job with showing her progress and her skills. Also, we're starting to get more about her back story. The idea of Kitty as a musician is a lovely one, and the fact that she's starting to show that side of her might be a sign that she's settling in to her life in New York and starting to feel more comfortable with Joan and Sherlock. Sherlock is also doing a much better job with Kitty than he did with Joan, in being a teacher figure and telling her when she's improving. I love these two and their relationship so much.

As far as Joan's character goes... At the beginning of the episode, Joan is the one who gets the assignment to try and find the missing girl. When Sherlock starts butting his head in, Joan insists that he's either in or out. He can't just volunteer to do the fun parts and then back out for the busy work. I love that she doesn't let Sherlock get away with that kind of stuff anymore. Also, despite my slight discomfort about Sherlock's meddling, I do like the idea that Joan isn't cut out for a monogamous relationship. Sherlock is very careful not to make a moral judgment about that - it doesn't mean that her way of finding intimacy is any better or worse than another, but it might mean that keeping things status quo with Andrew is a mistake.

There's one thing that should remain constant with the character of Watson, and that's that he or she is drawn to adventure. This Joan Watson doesn't need Sherlock Holmes to draw her in to that world of adventure, which is one of the reasons I like this version so much. Even so, maybe a standard monogamous relationship is not for her, and that's okay.

I think that's where we'll leave things this week. The promo for next week is scaring the hell out of me, so that should be fun!

8.5/10