What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 1, Episode 9 “You Do It to Yourself” (B+)

Even with a fever, Sherlock is still incredibly brilliant, and not someone that guilty criminals want to have looking into their misdeeds. Starting out with a murder victim whose eyes were shot out is rather brutal, but this turned out to be a much more intelligent, calculated crime than it originally seemed. Any procedural drama begins with a false lead and then comes full circle to reveal that the various hints dropped along the way connect to reveal a wholly different perpetrator, and this show always manages to weave such a compelling narrative and succeed with a number of game-changing twists along the way. Sherlock’s ultimate discovery that Annunzio actually hired someone to kill him and to shoot out his eyes so that his terminal eye illness couldn’t be revealed was terrific. That’s the beauty of this show – it’s not one where the viewer is expected to solve the crime, but rather one where watching Sherlock do it is equally rewarding. While he was busy putting together all the pieces of Annunzio’s carefully plotted crime, Sherlock also found time to, for once, be there for Watson, taking an unsolicited interest in the case of her former flame, who turned out not to be a former client at all. it’s nice to see Sherlock stick around and be a friend for Watson, since, up until now, the relationship has been largely one-way. Against all odds, this partnership may actually be turning into a true friendship, something which would benefit both lonely people.