What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 2, Episode 7 “The Marchioness” (B+)

Like two other above-average CBS shows, “The Good Wife” and “Person of Interest,” this show seems to be attracting big-name guest stars who want to return for another appearance because they enjoyed it so much the first time around. In this case, it’s Rhys Ifans as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, who in this hour gets to come to his brother for help for a rather unexpected friend: his former fiancée, who Sherlock slept with to prove to his brother that she wasn’t right for him. I like that Mycroft showed up at an AA meeting where Sherlock was finally starting to make some progress, and threw his resistant brother for a loop by asking for his help. The revelation that Watson and Mycroft slept together in England is a bit of a surprise, given that, as Sherlock noted, she rarely engages in such behavior. It does help to complicate matters, but all three parties involved seemed to have reached a solid understanding by the end of the episode. At some point, Watson is likely to find someone more permanent, and though it was fun while it lasted, it shouldn’t be Mycroft. The case involving Nigella involved a good number of stages and twists, which was great, and its resolution was productive for the fostering of the relationship between the two brothers that it did. Also on the guest list this week was Phyllis Somerville, who played Marlene on “The Big C,” as the grieving mother of one of the hitman’s victims.