What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 2, Episode 17 “Ears to You” (B+)

You don’t often see an episode of television that starts with someone receiving two ears in the mail. Even more rarely do you learn the ugly and pretty horrifying truth that those ears were grown on someone’s back in order to extort money from a chump of an ex-husband. I didn’t recognize her, but the surprisingly alive Sara Cushing was actually portrayed by actress Cara Buono, who was nominated for an Emmy a few years ago for playing Faye Miller on “Mad Men.” Her poor husband, whose public reputation was at an all-time low, was played by Jeremy Davidson, who has appeared on a number of TV shows over the years, including “Do No Harm” and “The Kill Point.” The whole plotline was rather well thought-out and creative, and it’s nice to see a mystery unfold that doesn’t end in an expected fashion. Watson confronting Lestrade angrily for drinking in the loft was a strong moment, and it’s good to see her looking out for Sherlock’s well-being. After wearing out his welcome, Lestrade made some good progress on the yellow bicycle mugger case, even stopping to write a limerick about the criminal once he finally located him. I enjoyed the fact that he thought that Sherlock had fabricated the entire case for him and that Sherlock later told Watson that he hadn’t been involved in any way. It’s hard to know what the actual truth is, and I think this is a fitting way to send the inspector off back overseas.