Elementary: The Illustrious Client (3x11)

Oh goodness. Now this is a two-part episode, right? They aren't going to fake me out again like they did with that AI episode, are they? Let's get straight to it.

Basically, Kitty's rapist is in the area, and Joan, Sherlock, and Kitty all desperately want to find this guy and get the whole thing taken care of. Joan was supposed to start her job at the insurance company, but she asks her boss if she can deal with the Kitty situation, so she gets a couple of days off. Sherlock isn't sure if Kitty should be involved in this case, given how personal it is for her, but Kitty insists.

I won't go into too many details, but basically they are able to find the place where this guy is keeping his victims. They rescue several girls, but they find the rapist's partner dead. They manage to track the man, Simon de Merville, to his sister, who says she doesn't know anything. Kitty later goes and confronts this sister, hurting her physically and intimidating her into giving up info. They are therefore able to track Simon to a boat where he has been staying. However, when they get to the boat, somebody has burned it up, and Simon de Merville's body is found inside.

Kitty doesn't think that this man is the one who hurt her, however. Sherlock tries to tell her that he knows how she feels - he's felt denial over his own substance addictions before, but he has now learned to realize that there's never going to be "closure" - it's just a part of his life now. Kitty says that Sherlock doesn't understand - somebody hurt her, while Sherlock hurt himself.

Kitty goes over to Joan's house, where she overhears Joan talking on the phone with her new boss, Del Gruner, at the insurance agency. This boss seems to be a nice guy, and he actually helps Joan out on the case by getting her a list of people with a certain blood disorder. This was necessary earlier, because Simon had stolen medication from his sister's hospital that treated this disorder, and it helped lead them to where he was hiding. When Kitty hears Del's voice on the phone, she suddenly panics - she didn't know if she would recognize the voice of her rapist (she never did see him properly) but now that she's heard it, she knows - Del Gruner is the man who hurt her.

I don't know that there's anything to complain about. This was... this was amazing. Maybe I could gripe about how little this had to do with the source material, but honestly I don't mind it. Kitty is a really interesting character - miles away from anything ACD did with her. I don't see it as a problem that the adaption is so far from the source.

Let's just go through some of the best things about this episode.

Joan called Kitty "family." I think this is so lovely, and so fitting. Both Joan and Sherlock were clearly worried about Kitty in this episode, and they both showed it in characteristic ways. Sherlock uses headphones playing the sound of bees to distract himself from his compassion for Kitty, as he tries to work on the case. As Joan says, "You brought in the bees to drown out caring." He also encourages Kitty to go to a meeting, and, although the attempt fails, he tries to connect with her and tell her he understands. Joan takes time away from a new and exciting job to be there for Kitty, and she's willing to push boundaries in this new job to help her out.

There was a good level of subtle commentary about rape culture and the horrors of human trafficking. While the case of Simon de Merville is rather extreme, there's still the sad fact that a large portion of women are indeed raped in their lifetimes. Joan, while searching for clues in an upscale bar where the victim was seen shortly before her death, comes across a bartender who is skeptical that any of the fancy clientele could have roofied someone. Joan replies, with a bite to her tone, "Right, 'cause rape is only committed by poor people."

I must give particular praise to Ophelia Lovibond for her acting skills this week. Kitty was such a mess, understandably, but she basically hovered on the razor's edge of control for most of the episode, so you're not sure how bad it really is until she shows up at Simon's sister's apartment and reveals a weapon. Gregson and Sherlock are concerned about this too - after Simon's sister helps them find her brother, she later comes back in and shows Gregson her injuries, clearly inflicted by Kitty's hand. Since we still don't know who set fire to the boat that killed Simon, we're left with an uncomfortable question: just how far will Kitty go for revenge?

I must say - what a great great plot twist. I figured that Simon wouldn't be Kitty's attacker, because it just felt too neat and tidy, but I wasn't expecting an answer to present itself in this manner. It's too much of a coincidence, so clearly this Del guy has orchestrated this whole thing to get closer to Kitty. It explains why he was so understanding of his brand new employee's asking him to break the law for her. Del has ulterior motives of the most sinister kind. I have very little doubt that Kitty is right about Del - for one, the bad guy in ACD's original story was named Adelbert Gruner, so that seems pretty clear. I love the implications of this twist - now Sherlock has to help both of these close friends as they struggle against being the victim, in one way or another, of such a terrible man.

Gregson and Bell didn't have a ton of stuff to do, and I know that's been one of my major complaints all season. However, I liked what they did have in this episode. Gregson has to do his job and bring up Kitty's behavior, even going so far as banning her from continuing to work with the NYPD. Still, he cares about her in a weird way, and he regrets the necessity of turning her away. Bell had a nice quiet moment with Kitty, where he reminds her that she's helpful just by being alive. She got away.

I think that's all I have to say. I'm dying to know how this new twist is going to change things next week!

9.5/10