Elementary: Paint It Black

May 7, 2014 9:07 AM - Season 2, Episode 22

Someone very important to both Mycoft and Sherlock has been kidnapped! They must work together to try to rescue that person.

Joan was kidnapped and nearly killed. Do we assume that Mycroft is working as an undercover agent of some type? It seems to me that it's been built up as a giant trap for the French Mafia. How angry will Joan be?

And awesome factoid of this episode is that it was directed by Lucy Liu!

posted by royalsong (19 comments total)

At the beginning of this episode I asked Mrs. Arbac "Why is this version of Mycroft so worthless compared to the version in Sherlock and the stories?"

And then he turned out to not be such a bubbling idiot! So that was fun. I love this show, thanks for starting a thread :)
posted by Arbac at 10:48 AM on May 7, 2014

Do we assume that Mycroft is working as an undercover agent of some type?

I think that last scene made it pretty unambiguous. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's revelations.
posted by homunculus at 11:11 AM on May 7, 2014

I am very excited for tomorrow night's episode. We should get some nice explainations.

Arbac, I too am glad that Elementary's Mycroft isn't as average and normal as he seemed.
posted by royalsong at 1:04 PM on May 7, 2014

I have to say, if the next episodes follows through with the fact that Sherlock is in love with Holmes, I am likely done with the series; I was worried that the show would head in that direction to provide some cheap drama.
posted by nubs at 3:29 PM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

I read somewhere they they intend to never go there. I hope that's true because I agree, that would ruin it.
posted by homunculus at 3:43 PM on May 7, 2014 [4 favorites]

I've been a bit iffy on the show this season[1] after being quite pleasantly surprised by the first. I was hoping for something arc-y and A Big Deal™ like last season's final few episodes and as of this one am not disappointed.

I like the thought of Mycroft being a criminal in that it flips the character's usual adaptation in a way that's interesting, but I'd suppose he can't really be truly a bad guy as Sherlock would never leave him in peace and uncaught, right?

In any case, like the rest of you, I'm looking forward to the final few, and also really want Joan and Sherlock's relationship to remain 100% platonic without even a hint of subtext. Joan's much more fun as someone who just endlessly calls Sherlock on his shit.

[1] - It's just about the only "normal" procedural I can stand these days. But extra big episode orders and such lead sometimes to what feels like wheel-spinning, and sometimes Joan hasn't had a lot of development.
posted by sparkletone at 5:13 PM on May 7, 2014

I like the thought of Mycroft being a criminal in that it flips the character's usual adaptation in a way that's interesting, but I'd suppose he can't really be truly a bad guy as Sherlock would never leave him in peace and uncaught, right?

Well, Mycroft seems to have outsmarted him so far, so who knows? After the Moriarty reveal, anything's possible with this show.
posted by homunculus at 5:36 PM on May 7, 2014

the fact that Sherlock is in love with Holmes

isn't this a given?
posted by rebent at 6:29 PM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

isn't this a given?

To be clear, I'm talking about a romantic love type idea here; not a platonic ideal of "love" that refers to respect, admiration, friendship, and so forth.

And let me be clear why I hope not; I think it would be very nice to see a show in which a male and a female character work together well, are excellent business partners, but have no unrequited/requited love thing going on. We've been there and done that over the decades. Give me a story in which they work together, respect each other, and have strengths that complement each other, and that's it - because the idea of cross-gender working partnerships without romance is, you know, a pretty normal thing now. The show has been pretty decent about homosexual/trans issues, and I'd really like to see them avoid this easy, cliche-ridden, angsty trap. Both Sherlock and Joan have been reasonably well developed as strong characters with respective strengths and weaknesses that make them an effective pair of detectives. Bringing a romantic element in just weakens the conceit of this version of Sherlock Holmes down to a different version of Moonlighting.

If they are going to turn the Sherlock/Holmes relationship into an ongoing "I'm carrying a torch for her/she's carrying a torch for him/will they/won't they" thing, then I'm just saying I'm bored and have better things to waste my time with.
posted by nubs at 6:52 PM on May 7, 2014 [4 favorites]

i agree with everything you say except for a simple fact


Joan's last name is Watson
posted by rebent at 7:01 PM on May 7, 2014 [4 favorites]

Well played, sir. Well played.

Tip o' the deerskin.
posted by nubs at 8:25 PM on May 7, 2014

That feeling you get when you realize that being in a rush when composing a comment means you made a stupid, obvious mistake on the internet that will live forever
posted by nubs at 8:34 PM on May 7, 2014 [4 favorites]

Thing is, it's not really a mistake so much as a preference - for many people, Sherlock/Holmes is OTP ;)
posted by rebent at 5:46 AM on May 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

Ha! That's exactly what was I thinking as I went to bed last night: "I bet there's slash fic out there on exactly that pairing..."
posted by nubs at 8:36 AM on May 8, 2014

I think Sherlock is definitely in love with Holmes (himself).

As for Watson I thought it was made pretty clear that she's so dedicated to the codependent non-romantic relationship she has with Sherlock that it ruins (at least in Mycroft's opinion) chances for romance. I hope I'm right.

I assume they're bringing in the "Mycroft works for a shady government agency" thing from the books/other shows, and I love how it came as such a surprise.
posted by mmoncur at 6:13 PM on May 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

I have to agree that I was concerned with the sad sap version of Mycroft they were presenting for a bit and I am happy to see he is actually the more brilliant (if lazier) older brother we all know him to be.

I am not feeling much chemistry between Joan and Mycroft to be honest (felt it more between Joan and Sherlock or Joan and Moriarty). I just can't see the whole torrid night in London happening between those two. Not that I think Joan should end up with either Sherlock or Moriarty :) I am waiting for "Mark" Morstan to show up and knock her socks off.

So I am now left wondering which shadow agency Mycroft is really working for, I haven't watched the latest episode yet so I guess I'll find out tonight!
posted by Julnyes at 11:09 AM on May 12, 2014

I just can't see the whole torrid night in London happening between those two.

I sort of could see it because Joan is neurotypical and likes other people and would like to be dating and likes to have a few drinks and we don't have any reason to suppose she's uptight about sex. That said, I found the "Hey I could move out of the house and then we could have a real relationship... maybe" to be totally implausible enough that I was like "What is her angle here?" about that part of the episode.

Both Sherlock and Joan have been reasonably well developed as strong characters with respective strengths and weaknesses that make them an effective pair of detectives.

I agree and I also like that they're also both people with sex drives so it's not like Sherlock is some Sheldon-type who just isn't sexually involved with anyone, ever. I think that's a strength of the show (along with being decent about homosexual & trans* issues) and hope it doesn't get tropily dumb along these lines.
posted by jessamyn at 1:54 PM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I sort of could see it because Joan is neurotypical and likes other people and would like to be dating and likes to have a few drinks and we don't have any reason to suppose she's uptight about sex.

Oh, that part I get. It is less about the characters and moreso the lack of chemistry between the actors as I see it.
posted by Julnyes at 10:23 AM on May 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

OK FINALLY. I am caught up to this first Fanfare episode so I can read stuff. I have to agree I am not feeling the chemistry between Joan and Mycroft. I do not like what this Mycroft is bringing to my current favorite show. Despite Sherlock's repeatedly stating that Mycroft is not trustworthy, he allows him to listen in on every piece of evidence, turns his back on him several times (including the taser business), and generally does not act so much like Sherlock.

I appreciate that they are trying to show Sherlock needs a companion, even if that person is his much disliked brother. And of course his main focus is to rescue Joan. And I may also be put off by the sort of oily personality that Rhys Ifans has brought to this part, but it's just not sitting right with me and I hope he is the bad guy so he can be out of lots of episodes soon. Arrrgh.

(I also realize people may never come back here to read my thrilling comments.)
posted by Glinn at 3:39 PM on June 28, 2016 [1 favorite]