Elementary: Flying into a Rage, Make a Bad Landing (5x21)

Okay, so... I have questions. Also, is this show coming back next year or what? I want to know!

Cons:

Last week I expressed concerns that Chantal's assault was being used as plot motivation for her boyfriend. While I'm happy to report that Chantal was not killed off, I'm sad to report that my concerns were warranted. It turns out that Chantal was assaulted for motivations utterly disconnected from her life and career. She was brutally beaten in order to frame her ex-husband Roy, who had information that a bad man wanted to keep secret. She's unconscious for the whole episode, and we only hear from Bell at the end that she's starting to recover. It's just not an ideal way to treat a female character.

And speaking of, Joan was barely in this episode. I wanted a lot more from her, and it bothered me that she sat on the sidelines while Sherlock and Bell bonded. Don't get me wrong - I love the dynamic between Sherlock and Bell. But Joan is the one who's actually friends with Marcus, and it seems like a shame that there was no chance to explore that in this episode.

Oh, also, Sherlock assaults somebody with a tire iron? And... Marcus is a bit shocked but everybody just sort of moves on from that reallllly quickly. I wanted to see the scene where Sherlock explained himself to Joan. I can't imagine she'd be okay with that kind of behavior.

Pros:

I'm super relieved that Chantal is alive, and I hope that she gets at least a moment in the coming episodes to have an on-screen reaction to what happened to her. Bell really cares for her, and it was touching to see how shaken he was by the whole incident.

The case itself had a couple of pretty great misleads. I wasn't expecting the urine on the bed to actually belong to Roy, since I could tell right away that he wasn't guilty. I wasn't expecting Roy to be killed, either. There were lots of twists and turns, but the culprit in the end was somebody who I probably should have suspected sooner. I like it when procedural shows can find that balance.

The bulk of the good stuff here is between Marcus and Sherlock. Marcus confides in Joan at one point that he hates hospitals because once when he was a kid his mother was in a terrible car accident, and he had to spend a lot of time in a hospital. Sherlock later deduces that while Marcus's story was basically true, his mother hadn't been hit by a car. It was abuse from Marcus's father. Marcus was abused, too. Sherlock and Marucs bond over their abusive fathers, as Sherlock remarks that being hurt by a person who is supposed to protect you can cause real damage to your sense of self. That was such an important conversation to have.

I question the sort of casual shin-breaking moment, wherein Sherlock attacks a suspect to keep Marcus from doing worse. However, I do like his reasoning behind it. He doesn't want Marcus to throw away his career, but even more than that, he doesn't want Marcus to lose the things that make him a good man. Sherlock can't even look Marcus in the eye when he's paying him these high compliments, which is just so sweet. He finishes his little speech by suddenly asking Marcus: "Have you ever eaten ants?" He offers to take Marcus to an insect-themed restaurant, and Marcus responds: "Best I can promise is I'll watch. I mean, I'll try to watch." A comedic little button to a serious and sweet conversation.

There you have it. I like seeing Sherlock and Bell spend some time bonding, but I missed Joan's significant contributions this week, and I thought Chantal was sidelined just a bit too much. I also wish I had answers about the fate of this show. I want to know if I need to be saying my goodbyes!

7.5/10