Elementary: On the Scent (7x09)

Some more motion on the A-plot! Yay! This season is going to be over before we know it, and I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye.

Cons:

I really liked the fake-out with the case this week, with one key exception. See, for the first chunk of the episode, our team thinks that they are hunting down a serial killer, but then half way through the episode they discover that contaminated evidence has accidentally created a serial killer who never existed. My only issue with this is that they never really explained why everyone was so convinced that it was a serial killer. I mean, sure, there was DNA evidence that matched at two different scenes. But was there no attempt to find a connection between the victims? It just feels like everyone accepted the premise a bit too easily.

I also think Sherlock got let off the hook a little too easily for lying to Joan. I'm glad she's annoyed with him, but she seemed more bothered that he wasn't going after Reichenbach, than that he'd lied about the NSA. He needs to be taken to task.

Pros:

As I said, I did enjoy the case this week. The misdirect with the serial killer was a cool concept, and once the real case started unfolding itself, the answer led back to one of the earlier suspects, who had been bitten by a dog. A connection between this man and a drug dealing operation brought the whole thing to light. I liked how once they were on the right track, the answer was actually pretty simple. The only reason they didn't discover the answer sooner was that they had to deal with some incorrect assumptions from day one.

I've noticed so much more this season how Joan and Sherlock both get to be integral parts of solving the case. Sherlock is the one who figures out, with Bell's help, that they're not looking for a serial killer. Joan has the brainwave about the affair, and later Joan has a thought that helps lead to Sherlock's breakthrough about the murderer. They really do work as a team and both bring insights that help solve the case.

Then there's the Reichenbach thing. Joan stumbles across a case in Arizona that she believes is related to Reichenbach, and when Sherlock tries to warn her away from getting too involved, Joan realizes that something fishy is going on. The moment when Joan says that Sherlock has a tell when he's lying was so great. Sherlock has learned the great joys and benefits of intimacy over his years of partnership with Joan, but  he's also learned the negative side of that, as Joan won't let him get away with his crap.

I also like Sherlock's explanation for the lie. Sure, I'm angry at him, and so is Joan - but he wasn't doing this because he thought she needed to be shielded from the truth. He wanted to shield her from the burden of lying to everyone else. Now both of them are in this situation where they have to lie to Gregson and Bell about Reichenbach. The truth of Gregson's near-death experience must be shielded from them, for their own good. That's a heavy burden to bear for them both, and now that they're on the same page, I'm excited to see how they go about handling it.

That's it for now! This season probably hasn't been very good, in comparison with some of this show's earlier outings. But I'm happy that I get to keep hanging out with Joan and Sherlock for a little longer, all the same.

7.5/10