Elementary: The Ballad of Lucy Frances (5x17)

A perfectly average and adequate episode. This is probably going to be a fairly short review.

Cons:

There were perhaps a few too many twists and turns before getting to the bad guy. The most successful procedural plots feel relevant to the characters, and are both succinct and surprising. This one misses the mark, even though it did have a lot of good elements. I didn't like the fact that the murderer was a mayoral candidate. I feel like somebody that important would make somebody else do the dirty work. A small complaint, but still.

Shinwell is back in the mix, and while I'm happy about that in theory, I don't like that Sherlock is the one who interacts with him throughout his subplot. I wanted Joan and Shinwell's relationship to have more focus. I feel like Sherlock swooped in and stole Joan's side-adventure!

Pros:

The main plot cleverly wove in commentary about government surveillance with a missing guitar once owned by Eric Clapton, and coveted by collectors all around the world. I liked all the different aspects and puzzle pieces of this case. In particular, there was some honest humor in the fact that Sherlock didn't know a single thing about guitars, nor care whatsoever about them. He even informs the people he's working with that the guitar was once Clapton's and then asks, all innocence, "have you heard of him?" that was great.

Joan also got to take a pretty strong role in the main plot, since Sherlock was occupied with the subplot. I liked the scene of her talking to the guitar collector, and her child-like glee at holding an extremely valuable guitar on her lap.

We also get another scene of Sherlock waking Joan up in an obnoxious way, and those are always a lot of fun. It's a cute little way of summarizing the ins and outs of their domestic relationship. We even get a scene of them joking about redecorating the brownstone. Perfect.

The subplot, in and of itself, wasn't the most intense or interesting, but it ends on a great cliffhanger that will hopefully help to shape the rest of this season into something really special. Basically, Shinwell gets shot at in a drive-by, and Joan and Sherlock are both concerned that there's something more going on than general gang violence. Turns out, the gun that took a shot at Shinwell was the same one that killed Shinwell's friend twelve years previously. Sherlock finds this dead man's little brother, and by the end of the episode we've learned the horrifying truth: this little brother was the one who took a shot at Shinwell. Why? Because Shinwell is the one who killed the guy's brother over a decade ago.

We don't know the specifics. We don't know the why of it all. It's going to be so interesting to find out. The Shinwell we have gotten to know is this soft-spoken repentant man who wants a relationship with his daughter, and wants to use the evil things he did in the past to help people by taking down some very bad guys. It could be easy to forget that he was once one of those bad guys. Obviously the circumstances will need to be explored, but the fact remains: Shinwell killed a guy. A friend of his, no less. This could mean so many things. How are Sherlock and Joan going to feel about continuing to train him? I mean, they still love Kitty, but she was a victim seeking retribution. Why did Shinwell kill his friend?

This reveal comes at the end of the episode, which is the perfect place for it, as it mirrors the scene towards the start of the episode where Shinwell and Sherlock are playing boxing chess. Sherlock is teaching Shinwell how to vacillate back and forth between mental acuity and physical reflexes. This scene of Sherlock teaching Shinwell the secrets of his trade ends up being this really bittersweet moment when Shinwell's secret is uncovered.

I guess that's all I'll say about this one. I'm starting to feel really conflicted about whether or not I want Elementary to be renewed. It's looking less likely that it will be, and while the thought makes me sad, it's pretty frustrating to spend so much time with these characters and feel like the show is still holding back from its fullest potential. Maybe it's time for it to step down.

7.5/10