What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 1, Episode 13 “The Red Team” (B+)

When someone like Sherlock isn’t on active duty, it’s good to see something from his personal life pop up to feed his active mind. I love that his hobby is not conspiracy theories but conspiracy theorists, tracking the outlandish delusions of paranoid people and even contributing to the frenzy by adding his own preposterous suggestions to the mix. Sherlock is just the type of investigator to insist that someone might be faking Alzheimer’s, though it turned out to be an induced case designed to mimic the symptoms. Choosing static as his song when he was in the car with Watson was extremely entertaining, as was his unsuccessful attempt to use an actual whistle to hail a cab. Putting together the pieces of the team’s actions and motivations was a terrific thrill ride, and, as usual, it’s the last person anyone might suspect, Dresden. Sherlock did an excellent job of talking him down, much to Gregson’s chagrin. It was interesting to see just how angry Gregson was about Sherlock’s continued involvement in the case, and he really gave it to him when they went for a drink. I was shocked to see him punch Sherlock in the stomach, though I suppose that’s the kind of insult that Sherlock isn’t used to at this point. It’s a relief that Sherlock didn’t end up cooking his new pet turtle Clyde to make soup, since I think that’s one action that might make Watson reconsider her decision to keep stringing Sherlock along regarding her continued presence in his life.