Elementary: Nobody Lives Forever (6x09)

I'm a little conflicted.

Cons:

I'm sorry for being a broken record, but there wasn't much in the case of the week that I found all that compelling. Not bad, or anything, just not anything to write home about.

The subplot was much more compelling, as it always is, but I'm having some concerns about this season as a whole. I feel pretty confident that this will be the last season of Elementary, and if that's the case, there are so many things that have been set up in this first half of the season. I want to spend time focusing on Joan's adoption arc, because if they're really going down this path, they need to do it justice. I want there to be proper buildup for the big Sherlock v. Michael showdown, because I want that to be worthy of the time already spent on it. If Natalie Dormer can be pulled away from being a super successful star, I want one last check-in with Jamie. And in this episode, we instead focus on the long-absent Mycroft Holmes.

Elementary is a superior show to BBC's Sherlock, but the one thing that the British show has up on Elementary is their portrayal of Mycroft Holmes. I never really liked Elementary's version. I thought the romance with Joan was forced, and the plot thread where Joan is kidnapped, while fun from a melodramatic standpoint, doesn't really gel in retrospect with the tone of the show overall. So while the reveal about Mycroft in this episode is effective because of Johnny Lee Miller's acting, it's maybe not quite as powerful as it could have been.

Pros:

Alfredo! He's such a fun character. It's a bummer that we don't get to see him, and other secondary characters, very often on this show. But in any case, it's fun to see someone other than Joan who knows Sherlock really well, and is able to call him out on his crap. Alfredo's request for Sherlock, to have him help with a robbery, is one of those outlandish things that Elementary is so good at tempering with logic. It starts out crazy, but Sherlock and Alfredo don't actually commit any crimes in this episode, and the situation still resolves itself. Sherlock tries to give Alfredo the money out of his own pocket, but Alfredo realizes the truth easily, which I thought was refreshing. I'm not used to people figure out Sherlock's lies so quickly.

We also learn that Alfredo has a troublesome brother who is the reason that Alfredo made some bad choices in life, and Sherlock is resentful of this brother on Alfredo's behalf. Sherlock has very few people he cares for, and it's nice to know that Alfredo is one of them. And there's also the fact that Sherlock doesn't take kindly to meddling and abusive family members. He's had to deal with his fair share of that. But of course, Sherlock is projecting. His frustration with Alfredo's brother is also a frustration with Mycroft. He has learned that the mob who wanted Mycroft dead has been neutralized, meaning that his brother doesn't need to be in hiding anymore. He's frustrated and hurt that Mycroft hasn't reached out to him.

I love that Sherlock is willing to admit these feelings and talk through them with Joan, even if he gets a little snippy with her about her past with his brother. His feelings of resentment are totally reasonable, but Joan and Alfredo are both right - Sherlock doesn't have to let this fester. He can reach out to his brother himself, instead of holding a grudge and waiting for him to make the first move. This is a big step for Sherlock, who does hold grudges and has a hard time letting go. It's too bad that this attempt at reconciliation fails so miserably.

Mycroft is dead. He's been dead for ten months. I was not expecting this result after all of Sherlock's resentment and pain. I was not prepared for it. And although I never thought the character of Mycroft was portrayed wonderfully on this show, I'm still upset, for Sherlock's sake. Wonderful acting from Miller in that final shot of the episode, as he just sits by the fire and delivers the grim news to Joan. He stutters as he tells her. He's not crying, he doesn't look heartbroken... he just looks lost. He may never have had a good relationship with Mycroft, but he's still his big brother.

That's all I've got for this one. I'm worried about how many of these subplots are developing, because I want to make sure they all get time to breathe. If only this show could stop solving murders every week? That's probably not practical, but still.

8/10