Elementary: Gutshot (7x02)

Hmm... I'm not sure how to feel, honestly. I liked this episode, but I had some big structural problems too.

Cons:

Obviously I knew Joan and Sherlock were going to have to come back to New York at some point, and while I was a bit surprised when I realized it was going to happen so soon, I really figured this would be just a short visit. Now, it looks like Joan is going to stay, and Sherlock is turning himself in for the murder of Michael. So... they're back for good? Their time in London was summed up all in one episode? I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt, here, and believe that we'll get to see them spend more time in London before the season is up. But I still feel like it's an odd choice to force them back to their familiar setting so quickly.

I do rather like the fact that the case of who shot Gregson was solved, insofar as we know the guy who shot him... but the circumstances surrounding the attack are still shrouded in mystery. It makes for a different kind of mystery to solve. Instead of discovering who committed a murder, we're discovering why. That's all well and good. But I have to be honest: so much about solving this crime felt even more contrived and convenient than usual. Finding the baseball field where Gregson got shot seemed way too easy. And then the security footage showing the guy's face? It all just felt a little too neat and tidy for me. Usually Elementary is better at making the investigative stuff feel real, even if the crimes themselves are over the top. This week, I feel like I noticed the silliness more than I was supposed to.

Pros:

Despite some slight worry about how quickly our characters have ended up back in New York, I will admit that I love this continued theme of Joan and Sherlock fighting to stay together, even if it means making personal sacrifices. Joan will stay in London because Sherlock can't be in New York. Sherlock will turn himself in to the police instead of going back to London, because New York is where Joan needs to be. They're both idiots and I love them so dearly.

I loved Bell in this episode. You can see how devastated and worried he is about Gregson, but he keeps a level head for the most part. It was nice to see him and Joan share a hug. I wondered if he was going to figure out the truth about Sherlock being in New York, but he never did. I liked how they played this in the script, with Joan being a very good liar, keeping things casual and making it seem totally plausible that she was visiting alone.

Sherlock's scene with Gregson in the hospital was obviously quite the tear-jerker. Once again, we see their falling out framed entirely by how much Sherlock cares for Joan. The reason they got into a fight was because Gregson did something to hurt Joan Watson. Sherlock says that he would have worked with Gregson on another way to save Hannah, and that's likely true. Sherlock can understand why Gregson did what he did for his daughter, but his ire is still understandable. I like the complexities here. Sherlock cares so deeply for Gregson, and to see him standing there, talking to an unconscious man, to unburden his soul, was really quite touching.

We get to see Gregson's wife Paige again. She's wheelchair bound now, due to her MS. She overhears part of Sherlock's monologue to her husband, and tells Sherlock that Gregson has missed Sherlock every day, and that he loves him. I'm all about platonic emotional vulnerability!

One thing I've always consistently praised about this show was the casual domesticity of Sherlock and Joan. In London, they're next-door neighbors. But here in New York, it's right back to the Brownstone, right back to all the domestic negotiations that make up the background of this show. I love seeing them discuss the utilities, Sherlock providing cots, Sherlock interrupting Joan's packing... all of this stuff serves as atmosphere to really show how comfortable these two are with each other, just existing in each other's spaces.

That's all I've got for now. I don't know what the hell Sherlock is playing at, turning himself in. Despite my slight irritation at this turn of events, I'm undeniably curious!

8/10