What I’m Watching: Elementary

Elementary: Season 3, Episode 19 “One Watson, One Holmes” (B+)

What a great title for this episode, one that pushes the boundaries of the friendship that currently exists between two very effective work partners. What little we’ve seen of Watson’s personal life has never been too affirming, and it was obvious that her involvement in the planning of her friend’s bachelorette party wasn’t really taking her full attention. Sherlock pointing out that their dynamic works so well precisely because there is just one Watson and one Holmes is pretty much his way of saying that he needs and appreciates Watson. This was a case with a fun connection to Sherlock and his occasional interactions with the hacker group Anonymous, who, after enjoying the opportunity to humiliate him on numerous occasions, now are entangled in both a legal and murderous mess. It took me a minute to recognize Sucking Chest Wound, or Petros, as Joseph Cross, who starred in the lead role in “Running with Scissors” back in 2006 and hasn’t done much since then. The murder right after that visit of Species did feel awfully convenient, but it also cast Sucking Chest Wound in too suspicious a light, which made his visit to Sherlock’s loft a defense of his innocence rather than his guilt. Agent Branch showing up seconds after Sherlock and Watson showed up to question Tessee left no doubt that the killer was in fact an FBI informant, raising the ethical dilemma of whether someone’s crimes should be overlooked if they are providing a more crucial service in the name of the greater good. Clearly that’s something that Sherlock wasn’t okay with, and he took irreversible steps to ensure that the truth came to light.