What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 3, Episode 3 “Just a Regular Irregular” (B+)

This was a much more solid and functional episode than the last two have been, which is reassuring, though the word “maths” was thrown around an awful lot. It was good to see Rich Sommer’s socially awkward mathematician Harlan, who it turns out has a secret identity as Mo Shellshocker, which put him directly in a not-so-lucky lottery winner’s sights and made him the target of a deadly math game. I like that Sherlock decided to call the culprit and identify Mo with his address, putting on his usual fake American accent, but at least he was kind enough to send him to the wrong apartment where the police could apprehend him. Harlan seemed genuinely offended that Sherlock had replaced him with someone else, and to learn that it was because he didn’t want to be social with him as a friend was a reasonable and welcome return to the Sherlock we’ve come to know on this show and not the inconsistent character we’ve seen recently. Watson helping Sherlock convince Kitty that she should go to a support group for rape victims was kind, and it’s good to see that her advice is being accepted. Watson had an awkward and boundary-crossing run-in with Sherlock when he stopped by her new apartment and introduced himself to Watson’s new boyfriend, played by Raza Jaffrey, who is also spending time in Pakistan at the moment on “Homeland.” He didn’t seem fazed by meeting Sherlock, and he may actually be a good influence and a sincere improvement over Mycroft.