What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 3, Episode 18 “The View from Olympus” (B+)

This was a rather multi-faceted episode, and I liked both the case of the week and the personal element of the storyline as it related to one of Sherlock’s repeat dalliances. The increasing discord between taxi drivers and independent companies such as Uber or the fictionalized Zooss feels like a plotline ripped from the headlines in a positive way but reframed and targeted here for the purposes of creating a mystery for the show. The reasoning behind the murder of a Zooss driver turned out to have many unexpected parts to it, and it was good to see participatory efforts in the solving of the case by Sherlock, Watson, Bell, and Gregson, who do function well as a team even if we don’t usually encounter them in exactly that dynamic. On the personal side of things, Sherlock’s behavior changed dramatically when Agatha came into town, and it was interesting to see Watson express her take on it, displeased to see the sex blanket coming out but not altogether unhappy about staying in a hotel. I think this is the first time that I’ve seen Anastasia Griffith, who I know from roles on “Damages,” “Trauma,” and “Burn Notice,” use her native British accent, and it’s truly jarring since she sounds completely different. While there were some unfortunate influencers in Agatha’s proposition of having a child with her frequent lover, I do think that the two of them are a terrific match. In the end, however, it’s Watson who came through for Sherlock, even enticing him not to wallow alone without having some ice cream.