Elementary: End of Watch
December 20, 2014 10:16 PM - Season 3, Episode 8 - Subscribe
Sherlock, Kitty, and Joan investigate the murder of a Highway Patrol officer, whose sidearm has been replaced with an airsoft gun, and uncover a connection to a wanted arms dealer. Meanwhile, Sherlock deals with a fellow recovering addict who is blogging comments Sherlock makes at his group meetings.
I think it's more of a 3-month lag before the premiere (S3 started filming in July) and then a race to stay ahead of the calendar for the rest of the season while that head start gets eaten up by having to do pre & post-production on multiple episodes.
Loved the b-plot of the AA meeting blogger, Johnny Lee Miller was terrific. Didn't love the a-plot when I watched it on Thursday, seemed like the show was choosing the #BlueLivesMatter side of the past months' events.
I think the timing is more eerie than unfortunate though, if they hadn't broadcast it before yesterday's murders they would have had to shelve it, hold it back, or air it with a disclaimer.
posted by oh yeah! at 3:04 PM on December 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Loved the b-plot of the AA meeting blogger, Johnny Lee Miller was terrific. Didn't love the a-plot when I watched it on Thursday, seemed like the show was choosing the #BlueLivesMatter side of the past months' events.
I think the timing is more eerie than unfortunate though, if they hadn't broadcast it before yesterday's murders they would have had to shelve it, hold it back, or air it with a disclaimer.
posted by oh yeah! at 3:04 PM on December 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
FWIW, my friend will be an extra in S03E11, and her gig was on November 4, so this episode was probably filmed some time in late September/early October.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:15 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:15 AM on December 22, 2014
I know some don't, but I like this show. Had the same discomfort with this episode that others did, but that aside, I like that there's no "Big Bad" and that I'm not being hit over the head with relationship drama nor lack of communication leading to drama. The relationships are a bit messy and muddled which rings true, and any character can surprise with insights and movement in a new direction.
posted by idb at 11:08 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by idb at 11:08 AM on December 22, 2014
Loved the b-plot of the AA meeting blogger, Johnny Lee Miller was terrific.
The mystery-of-the-week stuff is often fun, but not always; I am always impressed at the recovery B-plots. That and the actual character growth are what keep me coming back to this show.
posted by Etrigan at 4:54 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
The mystery-of-the-week stuff is often fun, but not always; I am always impressed at the recovery B-plots. That and the actual character growth are what keep me coming back to this show.
posted by Etrigan at 4:54 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
They've really de-emphasized Joan Watson this year, which is weird. Kitty is increasingly good though.
Weird, nitpicky thing here, not meant to diminish either the character of Watson or Lucy Liu herself, but wtf is up with her wardrobe these days? Did they get a deal on boxy silk blouses, slightly flappy skirts, and whatever the hell those boots are she always wears? She has a sort of unflattering uniform going on. At least she stopped wearing that weirdass outback hat this year.
Again, these are strictly costuming/fashion complaints.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:58 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Weird, nitpicky thing here, not meant to diminish either the character of Watson or Lucy Liu herself, but wtf is up with her wardrobe these days? Did they get a deal on boxy silk blouses, slightly flappy skirts, and whatever the hell those boots are she always wears? She has a sort of unflattering uniform going on. At least she stopped wearing that weirdass outback hat this year.
Again, these are strictly costuming/fashion complaints.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:58 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
I mean, I'm not knowledgeable about fashion, so it could be they're just doing something I don't get. But in any case, it's repetitive.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:26 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:26 AM on December 23, 2014
Maybe they're going for that Steve Jobs thing where she wears basically the same outfit every day so she doesn't have to spend any mental energy on what to wear.
posted by Etrigan at 8:54 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by Etrigan at 8:54 AM on December 23, 2014
I am not sure I see Watson as de-emphasized. She's still part of cases, and having important insights (e.g. identifying the police officer as an addict). Maybe I need to pay more attention.
posted by idb at 10:35 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by idb at 10:35 AM on December 23, 2014
She's still critical to the story, yeah. But in terms of pure screen time, there's maybe half as much of her. She's closer to the Captain Gregson range than the Sherlock range anymore.
That's how it seems to my eyes. Am I wrong?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:53 AM on December 23, 2014
That's how it seems to my eyes. Am I wrong?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:53 AM on December 23, 2014
I agree with DOT -- there's less of her than there used to be, and there was at least one episode that she was not in at all (getaway to Europe with boyfriend or somesuch). Is Lucy Liu filming a movie or something that conflicted?
posted by Etrigan at 10:56 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by Etrigan at 10:56 AM on December 23, 2014
You're right and Europe also struck me as a "actor has other commitments" thing.
posted by idb at 11:44 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by idb at 11:44 AM on December 23, 2014
wtf is up with her wardrobe these days? Did they get a deal on boxy silk blouses, slightly flappy skirts, and whatever the hell those boots are she always wears?
I think they mainly just want to have her show as much leg as possible. And if the ratings should go down, well...
posted by homunculus at 3:41 PM on December 23, 2014
I think they mainly just want to have her show as much leg as possible. And if the ratings should go down, well...
posted by homunculus at 3:41 PM on December 23, 2014
wtf is up with her wardrobe these days? Did they get a deal on boxy silk blouses, slightly flappy skirts, and whatever the hell those boots are she always wears? She has a sort of unflattering uniform going on.
I'm a helluva long way from particularly fashion-aware myself, but I'd swear (and some imageGoogling seems to confirm it) that's she's often been dressed in some form of ankle boot since the beginning of the show.
And while Googling I found a couple of interviews with the costume designer Rebecca Hofherr (who's had the job for the whole run of the show except the pilot) where she says she pretty much pulls Liu's look directly from what she sees on the streets of NYC every day. Which apparently includes starting with pulling stuff off the rack in a variety of common-ish NYC stores, some of which (like Zara and Century 21) seem pretty standard-women's-clothing-affordable to my admittedly not-very-experienced eye. I mean, being TV and all, I'm sure the clothes get tailored and tweaked, but you can find a bunch of Pinterests and Tumblrs where people have found ways to get her look with off-the-shelf clothes.
zap2it interview from 2014, ohnotheydidn't interview from 2013.
So, I dunno, I guess if you're not thrilled with her costuming you'll just have to wait for the next season, when the next season's clothes for NYC professional women who don't wear suits hit the stores.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:44 PM on December 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm a helluva long way from particularly fashion-aware myself, but I'd swear (and some imageGoogling seems to confirm it) that's she's often been dressed in some form of ankle boot since the beginning of the show.
And while Googling I found a couple of interviews with the costume designer Rebecca Hofherr (who's had the job for the whole run of the show except the pilot) where she says she pretty much pulls Liu's look directly from what she sees on the streets of NYC every day. Which apparently includes starting with pulling stuff off the rack in a variety of common-ish NYC stores, some of which (like Zara and Century 21) seem pretty standard-women's-clothing-affordable to my admittedly not-very-experienced eye. I mean, being TV and all, I'm sure the clothes get tailored and tweaked, but you can find a bunch of Pinterests and Tumblrs where people have found ways to get her look with off-the-shelf clothes.
zap2it interview from 2014, ohnotheydidn't interview from 2013.
So, I dunno, I guess if you're not thrilled with her costuming you'll just have to wait for the next season, when the next season's clothes for NYC professional women who don't wear suits hit the stores.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:44 PM on December 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
Watson has definitely had less screen time this season - but I saw Lucy Liu walking down the street in NYC today, so I guess if her absence was a scheduling conflict, she's back now?
Liu is a spectacularly gorgeous woman, but I like that they don't give Watson the red carpet treatment for costume & make-up and generally just let her look like an everyday person.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:43 PM on December 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
Liu is a spectacularly gorgeous woman, but I like that they don't give Watson the red carpet treatment for costume & make-up and generally just let her look like an everyday person.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:43 PM on December 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
the big costume difference this season i think is that she was no longer lounging around the flat. it did remove a dimension of her wardrobe, but serves to put a sort of barrier between her and sherlock - emphasizing their distance in another way.
and, soundguy99 thanks for that comment about costuming! i had missed a lot of that.
posted by nadawi at 6:26 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
and, soundguy99 thanks for that comment about costuming! i had missed a lot of that.
posted by nadawi at 6:26 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
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I liked the plot twists here, but the b-plot with AA and blogging and that final shot with Sherlock isolated again was wonderfully heartbreaking.
posted by viggorlijah at 7:11 AM on December 21, 2014 [1 favorite]