One of the ways that CBS's Elementary is unique from the many other Sherlock Holmes adaptations created in recent years is its episodic storytelling format which explores a different case every episode. From the very first episode where the dynamic duo are introduced to the very last installment in which Sherlock fakes his own murder, these episodic cases are what keeps the show fresh. But, at the same time, procedural storytelling can feel stale as well at times as cases start to become formulaic.
While some episodes are well-written accounts of mind-boggling crimes, some episodes are virtually photocopies of each other. Elementary doesn't follow the source material too closely, which allowed the writers of the show to come up with their original stories. This, at times, results in very well-written fascinating cases, though some of the others leave something to be desired for.
10 Fascinating: Season 7 Episode 6 - Command: Delete
Halfway through the final season of the show, Elementary brings in its last and arguably best villain into the picture. Moriarty might be his arch-nemesis, but Odin Reichenbach actually managed to kill his father Morland Holmes, the head of one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world of Elementary.
Reichenbach is a good antagonist not just because of the dangers he represents, but because he is a smart, capable man who truly believed that what he was doing was for the greater good (don't they all?). He does the most morally detestable things, but with a heart filled with good intentions.
9 Boring: Season 4 Episode 8 - A Burden of Blood
The biggest problem procedural dramas commonly suffer from is becoming too repetitive, "A Burden of Blood" is such an example for Elementary, among many other cases. Generic murder happens, followed by a generic investigation of the victim's loved ones (one of whom is a convicted murderer). After a run of the mill game of cat and mouse, the person who was suspected the most turns out to be innocent, while the least likely person is found to be guilty. This is virtually how every other Elementary episode proceeds, and it isn't possible to not get tired of it every now and then.
8 Fascinating: Season 3 Episode 4 - Bella
Although most episodes tend to be rather generic and similarly structured, Elementary deals with some wacky concepts at times such as in "Hounded" where people are murdered using a robotic dog. Season three's fourth episode pits Sherlock against an Artificial Intelligence named Bella, who he actually suspects of being the murderer of its creator Edwin Borstein.
It is ultimately proved that the A.I. is not the murderer, but the episode provides some intelligent insight into the matter of Man versus Machine and on which side Sherlock himself falls on. He even goes as far as saying it's one of the most complicated cases he has ever worked on.
7 Boring: Season 6 Episode 10 - The Adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu
For a character who only appears in six of the 154 episodes of the show, Moriarty is talked about a lot. This makes sense, considering he— or, in this case, she—has always been the absolute antithesis of Sherlock Holmes and one of the greatest villains of all time, but Elementary doesn't execute it well. Her name being mentioned frequently despite the fact that she doesn't make any physical appearances at all for the last four seasons somewhat weighs the plot down.
Sherlock investigates a possible assassination attempt on his father, and he even goes as far as contacting Moriarty directly to confirm his suspicions. But, she never actually shows up at any point in the case, making it seem like the character doesn't exist at all.
6 Fascinating: Season 4 Episode 7 - Miss Taken
"Miss Taken" was one of those rare and clever moments in Elementary when the person who appears to be the victim turns out to be one of the perpetrators of the crime. The third episode of the very first season, "Child Predator," possessed a similar narrative, and it is the kind of twist that takes viewers by surprise if written well. The highlighted character of the case is a girl named Cassie, who appears for the second time in season seven and remains a mysterious and cunning character all throughout.
One of the more interesting moments of the case is Joan discovering that her father has been writing detective novels based on her and Sherlock's cases.
5 Boring: Season 7 Episode 3 - The Price of Admission
The previous episode, "Gutshot," ends in a highly suspenseful manner in which Sherlock surrenders himself to the FBI, seemingly ready to accept the charges of murder. But, the following episode dismisses this new twist almost instantly as Sherlock uses his classic blackmailing methods on an FBI agent to drop the charges against him.
It's certainly a clever gimmick on his part, but it also brings up the question of why he didn't do this when Joan was first wrongfully accused of murder and rather moved to London for a year. The case that follows, about a murder at a storage facility for illegal goods is fairly unremarkable too.
4 Fascinating: Season 1 Episode 12 - M.
One of Elementary's earliest cases, "M." is a dramatic high point from a storytelling perspective. It shows an alarmingly reckless and savage side of Sherlock's personality and establishes exactly how far he's willing to go to achieve what he wants.
Sherlock is shown as a single-minded man purely driven by his emotions, determined to not only catch the man he thinks is the murderer of the love of his life, but to exact an extreme revenge, as well. He doesn't actually commit murder in the end, but he gets very close to doing so nonetheless.
3 Boring: Season 5 Episode 23 - Dead Man's Tale
Shinwell Johnson's entire arc, which takes up a massive portion of season five's plot is one that just doesn't work on-screen. He is introduced as a fairly sympathetic ex-convict who is trying to do something good with his life for once, but, at the same time, is rude and crass towards Watson.
Whatever good motivations he might have secretly harbored, nothing excuses the fact that he beat up Sherlock so bad that one of the sharpest minds in the world almost falls on the verge of mental illness. It's true that he deserved better, but the audience can't be blamed for being bored of a character like this who doesn't seem to care about himself in the first place.
2 Fascinating: Season 5 Episode 1 - Folie A Deux
In most cases, TV show plots tend to get very intense toward the end of a season and comparatively calmer and slower towards the beginning of a season. Yet, season five aspires to engross the audience right from the start.
At the inception of the episode, Sherlock can be seen on top of a skyscraper trying to stop a murderer from committing suicide, soon after which the focus shifts to the case of the "Bensonhurst Bomber." It is a prime example of one of those cases where locating the criminal turns out to be the easy part, but proving their crime takes considerable effort.
1 Boring: Season 4 Episode 23 - The Invisible Hand
Season four's episode 23 takes the duo back to the same matter that is revisited by them the most frequently, something Sherlock just can't seem to leave behind: Moriarty's criminal organization. He deduces that it's now being controlled by a different person whose identity remains a secret.
A new character is introduced who seems to be Sherlock's next challenging adversary, but, in the end, he turns out to be just a plot device through which Sherlock's father is made the head of the organization. It's not so much as "boring" as it was a waste of a potential villain.
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January 09, 2021 at 06:30AM
