Elementary: A View With a Room (4x12)

I'm so happy right now. So, so happy I can't even process it. This episode was absolutely brilliant. I had no idea I wanted this, but I'm so happy I got it. Let's jump in.

Cons:

The reasons this episode made me happy had very little to do with the actual case of the week, which I found to be pretty awesome in most respects, but lacking in others. The case was set up brilliantly, as Gregson introduced Sherlock to a captain from another department, who wanted Sherlock's help breaking in to a biker gang's headquarters to steal evidence. This setup made me really excited because it subverted the typical murder plot. But unfortunately, while a lot of great stuff did happen in this episode, the heist itself never took place. Somebody did get murdered, and a separated investigation grew out of that. I didn't mind what we ended up getting, but I think I might have liked what the setup originally promised even more.

This is a small thing, but it did rub me the wrong way... Sherlock uses a glitzy pony-themed playhouse toy to study the layout of the gang's headquarters and figure out how to get inside. Joan makes a quip about Sherlock having the childhood he always wanted, as a little girl. I'm all about abolishing gendered children's toys so it just bothered me that Joan assumed something that was pink and had ponies had to be for little girls.

There's this one moment where Sherlock moves all of the stuff from downstairs up into Joan's room and tricks her into thinking that the bed has been moved downstairs. First of all, that wouldn't work - Joan would surely recognize the shape and dimension of her own room fairly easily. Second of all, I always get a little bit annoyed when Sherlock invades Joan's personal space and privacy like that. It's turned into a recurring joke on this show, but since I know it annoys Joan, I sort of wish they would address this unfortunate tendency of Sherlock's with a bit more seriousness.

Pros:

The plot itself, while maybe not as awesome as it could have been, was still very interesting. I won't go in to the details all that much, but essentially an undercover cop was going to help break in and steal evidence against a gang. When that undercover cop turned up dead, they thought one of the gang members must have killed him. But no - turns out, it was a case of corruption in the police department. One of the undercover cop's accomplices was helping him to fake his death, but she turned on him. What I liked about this was that while it maintained a tight one-plot focus, it also thematically resonated with Joan's recent interactions with Cortez. Joan is hyper-sensitive to the idea of corruption in law enforcement right now. I'd love to see this continue to play out.

A small thing, and not something I normally comment on, but Joan's outfits in this episode were on point. I really liked her black and white skirt, especially. Lucy Liu really is an incredibly gorgeous woman.

My love for this episode is really all about the subplot, however. Joan gets a call from Fiona, the autistic (neuro-atypical) woman that they met on a case a few weeks back. Joan helps Fiona do a background check on her new boss, because Fiona is worried that he might be a criminal, just like the old one was. Joan discovers nothing untoward, and Fiona decides to work for the new boss. Joan also discovers that Sherlock got a book for Fiona of poetry about cats, since Fiona likes cats, and Joan therefore realizes that Sherlock has feelings for her. Fiona reveals she shares the sentiment, but Sherlock doesn't want to act on his feelings because he's afraid of hurting Fiona, who is easier to hurt or confuse than most women. Joan tells him that he shouldn't be planning for a painful breakup when they haven't even tried going out yet. Sherlock goes to Fiona and expresses his admiration for her. The two decide to go out for coffee to get to know each other better.

I don't even know where to start on what I love about this plot thread. First of all, there's Sherlock, whose connections with women in the past have either been purely platonic, like with Joan, purely sexual, like with his many contacts and hookups, or completely unhealthy and heartbreaking, like his relationship with Irene Adler/Jamie Moriarty ultimately became. To see him have genuine romantic feelings for someone, in the simple way of mere mortals, is so incredibly touching.

But, beyond that, you've got the woman in question. Fiona is a delight, and I'm really hoping that we will continue to learn more about her separate from her relationship with Sherlock. I'm praying that her character isn't just here to teach us more about Sherlock, but can actually grow and develop in her own right, much like Kitty did when she came into the story. (God, I miss Kitty. This show is seriously so good at writing female characters). The fact that Fiona is not "NT," (neuro-typical) as she says, is not the main reason to focus on her. But it is an undeniably important example of representation to see the protagonist of a show have genuine romantic interest in somebody on the autism spectrum. From what I can tell in my extensive media-watching, there are very few times when somebody with autism or another similar syndrome gets to actually be a romantic interest or play a function other than a side character without loving connections. I could be wrong, but I just haven't seen any such character before on TV. And that makes me so excited.

Also, there's the stuff between Joan and Sherlock here. She teases him a bit about his crush on Fiona, but once she realizes where his anxiety is coming from, she takes a more serious tack, reminding him that he can be vulnerable with somebody and grow to love them. Joan makes the excellent observation that even though Irene turned out to be Moriarty, that doesn't mean that Sherlock's own feelings for Irene in that relationship were a lie. Joan understands why it would be scary for Sherlock to try and open up to somebody else, but she gives him the tough love routine, reminding him that he can't give up on something before he even tries it. That's what's so great about their friendship - they really push each other to be the best that they can be. I think Sherlock and Fiona might be very good for each other, and Joan is going to be supportive, I'm sure.

I think I'll stop there. I could not be more thrilled about the possibility of a relationship between Sherlock and Fiona. I think it's one of the most unique and important things this show has ever done. It was so surprising to see it, since I had written off the possibility of Sherlock having an actual romantic connection with somebody. And now we have the chance for something really interesting, with an awesome new character to add some freshness to the show. I hope they keep up the promising beginnings of this plot thread!

8/10