Elementary: A Study in Charlotte (4x13)

Well... honestly I think the subplot in this episode far outshone the main plot. That seems to be happening a lot in this season of Elementary. Let's jump in.

Cons:

The main plot, like I said, had some weaknesses when compared to the subplot. It wasn't terrible, but it got a bit too twisty for my taste. The murder victim was killed by a poisonous mushroom. Several other people died too, because before the victim died she inadvertently passed the poisoned mushrooms off to a friend, who used them in a drug party. There were some twists and turns involving the victim and her boyfriend creating counterfeit erectile dysfunction pills, altered tattoos, a corrupt company looking to cover up its bad practices, and finally a simple romance gone wrong between old lovers. I guess one of the big problem was that the murder victim herself didn't seem particularly interesting or nuanced. If anything, she came across as a bit of a jerk.

The other thing is that this main plot didn't really reveal anything to us about Sherlock or Joan. The subplot had some character work, but Sherlock and Joan were about the least interesting thing in the main plot. Now that I say that, I think that's my problem with a lot of Elementary's case-of-the-week plots. They generally don't tell us anything new about Sherlock and Joan as people.

Pros:

That being said, there were a few things in the main plot to praise. This show often portrays villainous representatives of big corporate companies as unambiguously evil. It was interesting to see the spokesperson for this particular evil company be a woman of color who was not actually involved in the corruption of her company. She is willing to turn on them at once when she realizes their wrongdoing. I've got to say, that's pretty refreshing.

This episode had very little to do with the Arthur Conan Doyle original, "A Study in Scarlett," upon which the title is obviously based. I did enjoy the punny title, and the other detail from the canon that was borrowed. The word "rache," meaning "revenge" in German, was written on the wall in the original story. Here, it was tattooed onto Charlotte, and did indeed provide a hint as to the killer's identity in the end. I enjoyed how the references to the original didn't overshadow the new story they were trying to tell, but still made the connection clear.

The subplot was the best part, though. Basically, Joan is getting more and more annoyed by the loud and obnoxious behavior of the next door neighbors. When she goes over there to confront them, she finds that the place is actually a "StayKay," and the owner rents it out to different people. Joan then finds the owner, and accuses him of purposefully drawing troublesome and loud people to stay at his home and disrupt the peace. The neighbor says it's revenge for the fact that he was forced to leave his own home due to the extremely loud and troublesome behavior of Sherlock and Joan. Apparently this man emailed Sherlock time and again, begging him to be more considerate, but Sherlock never answered and the man eventually moved out.

When Joan confronts Sherlock about the noise being all his fault, Sherlock realizes that the neighbor had been emailing him all those times on an email address that he never checked. He had still been on drugs at the time, and had not encouraged friendships. When the neighbor's StayKay is subjected to an arsonist, Joan helps the neighbor sort out a difficulty with the insurance and convinces the neighbor to allow them to help him install soundproofing as a welcome back gift. It looks like the neighbor will be moving back in and they can make a fresh start.

This was one of those subplots that could have come across as so silly, but it worked really well for whatever reason. I loved the humor here. When Joan told Sherlock that their old neighbor had been afraid of him, Sherlock responds "did I threaten him?" Joan, exasperated, says "you don't even remember if you threatened him?" And Sherlock answers "I was on drugs!" I loved that exchange. In the end, Joan is the one who does all the talking with the neighbor, but Sherlock tries to make amends in his own way too. He provides a jar of honey, and has Joan tell the neighbor that "bees can be good neighbors too." That was oddly sweet in a very Sherlockian way.

I also liked the part where Joan thought Sherlock started a fire to get rid of the noisy StayKay people. When Sherlock assures Joan that he didn't do it, Joan apologizes for suspecting him of arson, and Sherlock replies that he was the most likely suspect, and therefore can take no offense. Ha! It was refreshing to see Joan handle a bit of investigating, however slight, without Sherlock's input, as she helps the neighbor uncover the true arsonist and get his insurance to pay for the damages. Sherlock and Joan may be very unconventional neighbors, but that doesn't mean they can't be good ones!

That's all I've got. I don't think this episode deserves extraordinary praise, but it certainly wasn't bad either. I enjoyed the subplot a lot, and the main story had some good things to offer as well!

8/10