Elementary: All My Exes Live in Essex
November 27, 2015 4:25 AM - Season 4, Episode 4 - Subscribe
When a fertility lab technician is murdered, details regarding her secret personal life are revealed--leading to several possible suspects; Watson is investigated by an NYPD detective.
Wait, was it ever explained why the killer went to all the trouble of reassembling the skeleton?
posted by purpleclover at 11:23 AM on November 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by purpleclover at 11:23 AM on November 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I cannot begin to convey how much I adored Joan motherfucking Watson confronting Cortes in a boxing gym and politely suggesting they resolve their differences through the medium of punching each other in the fucking face, all while dressed in an extremely feminine and lovely all-white outfit that makes her look like the opposite of a person who could throw down in a boxing ring. I'm equal parts delighted and frustrated by the show's restraint in not showing that boxing match.
I am, however, 10000% delighted by Sherlock making a poultice for Joan's honorably acquired wounds after she won said throw down, and tenderly applying it to her face. Ahahahaha, murder me now, Elementary, I have too many emotions about the Joan/Sherlock partnership.
posted by yasaman at 11:33 AM on November 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
I am, however, 10000% delighted by Sherlock making a poultice for Joan's honorably acquired wounds after she won said throw down, and tenderly applying it to her face. Ahahahaha, murder me now, Elementary, I have too many emotions about the Joan/Sherlock partnership.
posted by yasaman at 11:33 AM on November 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
I don't understand why the victim would want a contract written up so that she could perform clandestine lab work in exchange for contraband fetal tissue.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 11:36 AM on November 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 11:36 AM on November 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
As for the unseen fight, I imagine it looked something like this.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 11:44 AM on November 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 11:44 AM on November 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I thought they did a good job with the poly subplot of toeing the line of treating it jokily but not treating it as a joke entirely, and it worked as one of the red herrings to draw out the conclusion of the whodunit. This was a memorably evil murderer-of-the-week. Deliberately tricking people into thinking they had cancer would seem too monstrous to be plausible, but I'm assuming the writers were doing a 'ripped-from-the-headlines' version of sadly true crimes, those of Dr. Farid Fata.
While I liked the poultice scene, the Cortes plot mostly just reinforces my wish that the show didn't have such a boner for the NYPD. That whole speech she gave Joan in the diner, ugh.
Wait, was it ever explained why the killer went to all the trouble of reassembling the skeleton?
I don't think so, seems like they just did it for the "look how observant Sherlock is" moment. I don't really buy the timing of someone being able to de-flesh and articulate a skeleton overnight -- presumably you have to drill a hole through each bone and string wires through them? 206 bones in the human body, seems like you'd need more than half a night. I mean, maybe they were doing it to emphasize what a colossal sociopath he was, to be able to do that to his wife's body. But I tend to agree with the AV Club: "because though this goes largely unremarked, Nate is a distinctly awful villain. Even before he was a murderer, he was deliberately making people think they had terminal illnesses so he could make money from their terror. Once he decided to strangle his wife, he roasted the flesh off her bones and spent an evening in the basement carefully reconstructing her skeleton for display. That’s some criminal-mastermind shit, and somehow, so much is going on that it doesn’t quite register. "
posted by oh yeah! at 12:40 PM on November 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
While I liked the poultice scene, the Cortes plot mostly just reinforces my wish that the show didn't have such a boner for the NYPD. That whole speech she gave Joan in the diner, ugh.
Wait, was it ever explained why the killer went to all the trouble of reassembling the skeleton?
I don't think so, seems like they just did it for the "look how observant Sherlock is" moment. I don't really buy the timing of someone being able to de-flesh and articulate a skeleton overnight -- presumably you have to drill a hole through each bone and string wires through them? 206 bones in the human body, seems like you'd need more than half a night. I mean, maybe they were doing it to emphasize what a colossal sociopath he was, to be able to do that to his wife's body. But I tend to agree with the AV Club: "because though this goes largely unremarked, Nate is a distinctly awful villain. Even before he was a murderer, he was deliberately making people think they had terminal illnesses so he could make money from their terror. Once he decided to strangle his wife, he roasted the flesh off her bones and spent an evening in the basement carefully reconstructing her skeleton for display. That’s some criminal-mastermind shit, and somehow, so much is going on that it doesn’t quite register. "
posted by oh yeah! at 12:40 PM on November 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
Wait, was it ever explained why the killer went to all the trouble of reassembling the skeleton?
No, but I thought it fit Nate's narcissistic character. Not only was he going to kill his wife and destroy her data to protect his fraudulent practice, but he was going to commit the perfect crime! "They'll NEVER think to look for the body THERE!" Through from a practical point of view, I too thought the show seriously underestimated the time it would take to do such a thing, especially so perfectly.
I don't understand why the victim would want a contract written up so that she could perform clandestine lab work in exchange for contraband fetal tissue.
Wasn't the reason she wanted the contract drawn up that she wanted to enforce non-disclosure by her friend? Perhaps she was worried that he would find out what she discovered (the data was on his computer) and want to expose her husband before she was ready. The fact that she (rather misguidedly, it turned out) confronted him indicates that she was still wanting to hear Nate's side of the story, or at least give him an out.
posted by ubiquity at 6:30 AM on December 1, 2015
No, but I thought it fit Nate's narcissistic character. Not only was he going to kill his wife and destroy her data to protect his fraudulent practice, but he was going to commit the perfect crime! "They'll NEVER think to look for the body THERE!" Through from a practical point of view, I too thought the show seriously underestimated the time it would take to do such a thing, especially so perfectly.
I don't understand why the victim would want a contract written up so that she could perform clandestine lab work in exchange for contraband fetal tissue.
Wasn't the reason she wanted the contract drawn up that she wanted to enforce non-disclosure by her friend? Perhaps she was worried that he would find out what she discovered (the data was on his computer) and want to expose her husband before she was ready. The fact that she (rather misguidedly, it turned out) confronted him indicates that she was still wanting to hear Nate's side of the story, or at least give him an out.
posted by ubiquity at 6:30 AM on December 1, 2015
No, but I thought it fit Nate's narcissistic character. Not only was he going to kill his wife and destroy her data to protect his fraudulent practice, but he was going to commit the perfect crime! "They'll NEVER think to look for the body THERE!"
It also reminded me of the narcissism of a pathological liar in a true crime case I have a vague memory of - I think he committed some kind of academic or professional fraud, and when on the verge of being exposed he murdered or tried to murder his family, claiming that the truth would have left them devastated. In Elementary's case, I can see Nate rationalizing that skeletonizing his wife was a good thing, immortalizing her for science. Much like his wanting to be the one who told Bradford what he'd done, still casting himself as the loving husband and father. (And poor Bradford. As the non-legally-married member of the relationship, would he have any parental rights? Has he just lost his wife, husband, child, and home in one fell swoop?)
posted by oh yeah! at 9:28 AM on December 1, 2015
It also reminded me of the narcissism of a pathological liar in a true crime case I have a vague memory of - I think he committed some kind of academic or professional fraud, and when on the verge of being exposed he murdered or tried to murder his family, claiming that the truth would have left them devastated. In Elementary's case, I can see Nate rationalizing that skeletonizing his wife was a good thing, immortalizing her for science. Much like his wanting to be the one who told Bradford what he'd done, still casting himself as the loving husband and father. (And poor Bradford. As the non-legally-married member of the relationship, would he have any parental rights? Has he just lost his wife, husband, child, and home in one fell swoop?)
posted by oh yeah! at 9:28 AM on December 1, 2015
No, but I thought it fit Nate's narcissistic character. Not only was he going to kill his wife and destroy her data to protect his fraudulent practice, but he was going to commit the perfect crime! "They'll NEVER think to look for the body THERE!" Through from a practical point of view, I too thought the show seriously underestimated the time it would take to do such a thing, especially so perfectly.
Because I've spent far too much time in Cancerland this year, my only response to this is: Any monstrous narcissist with that kind of manual dexterity becomes a surgeon! Not a medical oncologist. No way he'd be toiling away adjusting chemo doses for any amount of time (before going into the evil villain stuff) if he were that good with his hands.
posted by purpleclover at 10:52 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Because I've spent far too much time in Cancerland this year, my only response to this is: Any monstrous narcissist with that kind of manual dexterity becomes a surgeon! Not a medical oncologist. No way he'd be toiling away adjusting chemo doses for any amount of time (before going into the evil villain stuff) if he were that good with his hands.
posted by purpleclover at 10:52 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Which I guess is interesting in the context of Watson being a former surgeon.
posted by purpleclover at 10:55 AM on December 1, 2015
posted by purpleclover at 10:55 AM on December 1, 2015
(And poor Bradford. As the non-legally-married member of the relationship, would he have any parental rights? Has he just lost his wife, husband, child, and home in one fell swoop?)
posted by oh yeah! at 12:28 PM on December 1 [+] [!]
I wondered about this myself. Let's hope they put some legal documentation into place like a will that named him a legal guardian. I guess Nate can just sign guardianship over to Bradford.
posted by Julnyes at 2:55 PM on December 7, 2015
posted by oh yeah! at 12:28 PM on December 1 [+] [!]
I wondered about this myself. Let's hope they put some legal documentation into place like a will that named him a legal guardian. I guess Nate can just sign guardianship over to Bradford.
posted by Julnyes at 2:55 PM on December 7, 2015
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Mogur at 5:21 AM on November 27, 2015