What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 3, Episode 11 “The Illustrious Client” (B-)

Well, this all moved a bit fast. At the end of last week’s episode was the reveal that Kitty’s abductor had come to New York, and now the victims of that kidnapper and murderer have been freed, but it turns out that someone else was the man who took Kitty, and he’s in New York too! I’m fully behind the casting of Stuart Townsend, who I thought was great on ABC’s very short-lived “Night Stalker,” as that very man, but I would think that we could have gotten to know him for a while as Watson’s new employer before Kitty pegged him by his voice form a phone call and news clip. Interestingly, his situation reminds me of Jonny Lee Miller’s character in the fifth season of “Dexter,” where he was a public figure secretly engaging in brutal depravity. I think this show is more than capable of sustaining itself without overambitious arcs, though the season one plotline with Irene and Moriarty paid off monumentally. Kitty transformed in a big way in this hour, stopping by a witness’ home to intimidate her and do enough damage to get her plush consulting gig with the NYPD suspended. I’m sure that Sherlock and Watson will advocate on her behalf, but things are not looking good, and the timing is especially bad considering the news about Kitty’s real abductor being in New York and on the loose. I don’t think this will last too long, but I hope that it will play out slightly more smoothly than I found this hour.