What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 2, Episode 16 “The One Percent Solution” (B+)

It’s good to know that this show has a reliable cast of recurring characters on which to depend and recall every once in a while. That’s even better when the person in question is someone who Sherlock detests even more than this brother, which makes working together a very temperamental and difficult task. Having Watson caught in the middle of things makes them all the more entertaining, and I especially enjoyed her response to Lestrade’s assistant when she told her that they wait outside. Sherlock was at his most immature in this hour, trying to take Lestrade down at every turn and get Watson to refer to his roosters by another name. Naming them Romulus and Remus was great, and I like just how dedicated he was to trying to make sure that they could get along. The reason that Lestrade reappeared was far more serious than most of the content of this episode, as the detonation of a bomb at a restaurant resulted in the deaths of a few important people. Lestrade’s role as security czar proved to be far less high-profile and respectable than it initially seemed, and arranging dates for his boss was hardly a desirable or enviable career. Bill Irwin, a standout player in “Lights Out” and “Rachel Getting Married,” was a good choice to play the seedy boss, one who definitely abused his power and ended up being involved tangentially in a carefully-constructed murder plot. Despite their differences, Sherlock and Lestrade, with some assistance from Watson, managed to solve this very complicated puzzle.