What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 3, Episode 9 “The Eternity Injection” (B+)

This episode’s title is a clever one, referencing the effects of this time-diluting drug that feels like it might be a better fit for a science fiction show that a straight police drama like this. Seeing one of the perpetrators lost in his own mind while on the drug at the end of the episode emphasized just how dangerous something like that can be, and why someone trying to test the drug would want to be sure that no word got out about it until its unknown consequences could be quantified. Of course, that led to a number of murders along the way and the involvement of Watson and by extension Sherlock, who didn’t have too much trouble tracking down those involved and helping to bring those not too far gone to justice. There were two worthwhile tie-ins to that case that made this episode stand out as one of this show’s more enticing installments of late. The first was a continuation of Sherlock’s struggle with his meetings after discovering that things he said had been published online by someone attempting to help others with his words. His conversation with Watson about the banality of staying sober was powerful and probably the most honest communication the two have had in a while, and that’s coming from a man who never emphasizes politeness over directness. The second was the talking car alarm that Sherlock had to beat, which was both irritating and highly entertaining as he worked methodically to deduce a way to outsmart it.