Monsters of Television

“I am not an average man.”

Based on last week’s preview, I expected “M.” to deal directly with the infamous Moriarty. And, based on the preview, I expected the character to be played by Vinnie Jones.

Wrong again.

Well, technically I wasn’t wrong, per se, more like 50/50. I just didn’t see all the steps that led to my conclusion finally being correct. I pulled a Sherlock and deduced based off what I knew instead of all the evidence there was and came to an erroneous, but not useless, conclusion.

I had assumed – as I’m sure others did – that the M of the episode title was Moriarty. Instead, M was a stepping stone to Moriarty.

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I apologize for not reviewing “The Leviathan” the week it aired. Given the events of that Friday (the day I usually post my reviews), it is perhaps understandable that I was in no mood to write much of anything.

In any case, it somewhat works in my favor to have postponed my review until this week. There are elements in both episodes that complement one another, and are interesting to discuss in context. For simplicity’s sake, I am going to group my review into specific points I would like to discuss. I had begun a rather wordy discussion about obsessive personalities, addiction, and where both are leading Sherlock, but it was a bit poncy, frankly. Nobody’s here for a psychological profile, right?

So here we are. Class, today I’d like to discuss the following topics: 1. The effectiveness of Sherlock’s cases, 2. Sherlock’s obsessive personality, 3. Sherlock meeting Watson’s family, 4. Sherlock’s relationship with Watson, 5. Watson’s future with Sherlock, and 6. M.

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For all intents and purposes, Elementary is a weekly procedural. But it’s a procedural the way Castle is a procedural (man, I could write a book on Castle). The procedural elements are really only there to frame out the personal ones. And while Elementary doesn’t as closely weave the two elements together as Castle does, they are very similar in the way they delegate time to each.

There is no direct parallel between this week’s crime and the personal development of the characters that occurs during its investigation. There is no central thread that runs through the two storylines, drawing them together as two sides of the same coin. Instead, the connection between the two elements comes down to something as simple and powerful as a cup of tea.

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Did you guys miss Elementary as much as I did? Breaks are hard. Even if they are only the skip of a holiday week. It’s so great to feel this way about a show. Missing it, getting cravings for it – so much better than forgetting it’s even on.

I really enjoyed the convoluted nature of the case this week. Not so much that the “why” of the crime was all that convoluted (though it did make some nice loop-de-loops), but more so the winding path the set-up took to actually becoming a crime.

Plus, we got Cuddy!

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It’s always fun watching a show find its feet.

Elementary came out of the gate very self-assured for a new show, very certain of its tone and style and direction. It has also been very certain of its characters – who they are, where they’ve been, and where they are going. While Sherlock and Watson are clearly the focus of the show, its nice to see some time being spent developing – or, perhaps more accurately, displaying – the show’s other characters.

While we’ve had a bit of Gregson so far, it’s always been in relation to other characters. Most of his personality has been shown through his interactions with Sherlock and Watson. “One Way to Get Off” gives us a bit of Gregson-for-Gregson’s-sake. I do hope this is a sign of things to come.

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“We are all love’s fools.”

It’s a terrible cliche, but it only became a cliche because it’s true. We do so very much because of love. Even the things we  do out of hate are because of love, for hate cannot exist where love has not yet been.

Take Earle, for example. His love turned to passion turned to obsession turned to hate turn to psychosis turned to him wearing a horse suit (best “disguise” so far, y’all – a horse suit). We find out here just exactly what the Black Lodge is and why Earle wants it: it’s a place where spirits make “evil for the sake of evil.” And that’s why Earle wants to find it. He wants the power of pure evil.

It’s all a little “mwahahahaha!” for my taste.

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We love a good mystery.

People, as a general rule, love mysteries, in whatever form they take. Simple ones or complex ones, it makes no difference. We love piecing together clues, working our way through evidence, figuring out whodunnit – especially if we can figure it out before our friends. It’s why we love Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew. And it is very much so a major part of why we love Sherlock Holmes.

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“Like a wise man once said: First instincts; usually right.”

Just as there are many different ways to tell a story, there are many different ways to develop characters. You can begin at a life-changing moment, or right after it. You can start with the end result – be it the final stretch of life or the place a character ends up after their long journey of development – or you can make that your final destination and make how the character got there the focus.

The truth is, unless we start at the very, very beginning, we are always coming into a character in medias res. There are always parts of the character’s past that we don’t know, parts that have inescapably shaped them and influence every decision they make.

One of the concerns – with stories and characters – is giving away too much too soon. Wanting to know more, wanting to watch the yarn spin out, is what keeps the audience coming back. It’s all about giving just enough in just the right way to hold the audience’s interest.

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I’m starting to get the feeling that this Earle thing is going to carry right into the TV movie ordeal that wraps up this show’s run. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I am starting to get a little bored with the standard chess move, someone dies, Earle’s crazy, Coop is concerned, just you wait til next week thing they have going on here. They need to mix it up, do something that gets me reinvested in what Earle is doing (mayhaps put in hints (like the one in this episode) of Leo building toward full defiance?). This might mean having to kill off a main character. I vote Donna.

Alas, Windom Earle did not die in a cave-in at Owl Cave at the end of the last episode like I had hoped happened. And we didn’t even get any great disguises this week to justify him still being around. Seriously, that fisherman get-up was pretty blah. Step up your game, crazy man!

Coop’s on his game, though, and finally is in the right place at the right time to put together some pieces.

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“It has its costs.”

The character of Sherlock Holmes has as many different interpretations as he has iterations. From brilliant antisocial snob to brilliant borderline sociopath, Sherlock can be – and has been – many things. What makes new versions of the character possible is this elasticity of traits. What makes new versions of this character worthwhile is which combination of traits its current owners go for. How do you make it fresh, how do you keep it interesting?

So far, Elementary is making a damn good go at crafting a distinct and intriguing new Sherlock both in tone and texture.

With every episode, we learn a little bit more about how this Sherlock ticks, a little bit more about what’s underneath the surface. It must be said that the fact that this Sherlock willingly reveals things about himself – not as a trick, not after being backed into a corner, but in an honest desire to give truth to another person – reveals as much about, and shapes, this character as what he actually says.

I enjoyed the case this week, but even more than the whodunnit, I enjoyed how the situation affected Sherlock and, by extension, Watson.

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