Elementary: Worth Several Cities (5x02)

This was a fairly competent, standard episode of Elementary. It was solid in every way that matters. Let's jump in!

Cons:

On the complaint side, I guess I'd say that the stakes felt a little low at certain points. Sherlock begins this episode as a hostage, and the bad guy threatens Sherlock and Joan's lives if Sherlock doesn't help them with an investigation of a rival who had one of his smugglers killed. Despite this, Sherlock and Joan never seemed particularly wary. They didn't take extra precautions, or worry about being separated, or anything like that. It's a small thing, but I wish I could have seen evidence that either or both of them were at least a little bit worried that they were going to end up casualties in this international squabble.

My other complaint is the standard one: please give Bell and Gregson more to do. Also I miss Fiona. Hell, I miss Kitty. I love the leads in this show, but I'm missing a developed supporting cast, even after all of these years.

Pros:

The case was about the missing imperial Jade seal of China. A drug lord (played by Jon Huertas of Castle fame) hires Sherlock to look in to a murder, little knowing that the murder was motivated by the theft of the most famous and valuable missing artifact in the world. Soon, Joan and Sherlock are getting offers from the People's Republic of China, as well as Taiwan, to pay insane amounts of money for the recovery of the seal. Sherlock eventually discovers that the culprit is a rich business man who hopes to return the seal to China in exchange for favors from the government that will get him out of a tight financial spot.

In all, not the most clever or surprising of cases. But honestly, I like being able to guess ahead of time. Nothing bugs me more than a procedural show where the answer comes out of left field and makes no sense. Here, the minute we introduced a corporate big-wig with an attitude problem, I was fairly certain he was going to be guilty. This show isn't subtle with its anti-corporation bent, which I quite admire. I liked how Joan and Sherlock became the center of a complex political bidding war, and I also liked the questions of ownership raised by the seal itself. If somebody wins a bid for the item, do they legally own it? Policy states that the U.S. is to send any artifact brought to the country back to China, which makes sense. But still, there are some murky waters to wade through, and I thought this episode did a fine job of exploring that.

Another issue that the episode explored was the idea that "everyone has their price." I liked the way this was presented. Sherlock had a price. He was willing to work for a drug dealer in exchange for information on another drug dealer who was selling laced narcotics and killing drug users. Joan had a price. She was actually hinting at a consideration of the People's Republic of China's offer, since she believes the seal belongs to the Chinese people anyway. I could have wished for slightly more exploration of this idea, but I'm still glad that it got brought up.

In subplot news, Joan helps Shinwell find an apartment, and she also helps him to track down his daughter. Shinwell realizes that his daughter is doing really well, and that he needs to get his life back in order before he can be a part of her life again.

I'm really loving the quiet connection between Joan and Shinwell. These two actors have a really nice chemistry. Joan is doing this because she wants to help people, but I think she's also doing this because she knows that Shinwell can change. After all, she's seen Sherlock change. Hell, she's seen herself change. I like that Shinwell realized that he needed to make a change before he could be a part of his daughter's life again. It might be hard to swallow, but his decision here proves that he's committed to getting better.

I'll end by saying that Clyde got a cameo this week, which always makes me happy. Although I could have wished for some consideration of the high, dangerous stakes involved in this case, I was still happy with a lot of the subject matter. Couple that with my growing interest in Shinwell's subplot, and I'll give this one high marks!

8/10