Elementary 2x22

[killerweasel.livejournal.com]

Discussion post for Elementary 2x22 'Paint It Black'.

Spoilers in the comments.

What did you think?

Comments

[darknessfactor.livejournal.com]

I thought it was good. I'm not at all well-versed in directing, but I think that Lucy Liu did a really great job with it.

I'm mostly curious about the ramifications that this will have for Joan's character. As we discovered in the previous episode, she's in a bit of a limbo state right now. It sounds like she's going to have to make some kind of decision soon.

[midori-yee.livejournal.com]

I'm scared for the decisions that Joan is going to have to make, especially regarding Sherlock! It's obvious that he has an unhealthy dependence on her, so I wonder how they'll be able to move through that and still have a strong partnership.

I would love for the next episode to give lots of screen time to Joan, because she's been through a lot. Though she does not display her emotions as Sherlock does, I feel that Lucy's done a hell of a job displaying a lot of nuance/depth and want to see more!!

[darknessfactor.livejournal.com]

Judging by the episode description, it certainly sounds like they'll be giving plenty of screentime to Joan.

[midori-yee.livejournal.com]

Wow, they sure do tend to crank up the suspense at the conclusion of every season, don't they?

I am so glad that they at least had some character moments for Joan while she was in captivity. I was at first pretty mad that they had her get kidnapped in the first place (using it as a means for Sherlock to be able to feel emotions and throw tantrums and realize his *feelings*), but am now more at ease. The fact that Joan was able to use her medical skills with such rudimentary materials is amazing, and again I am so happy that they have chosen to consistently display the deep level of compassion that she has for all human beings. What a star.

Great twist with Mycroft... I knew things weren't as they seemed (though clever to have a British male speaking with him on the phone, reminiscent of Moriarty's lieutenant). I still don't quite understand why Joan's into him. For real.

I hope that Sherlock is so nice to Joan when he sees her again and that they can work through the dysfunctions in their relationship that have been bubbling and simmering throughout season two.

And yes, good job directing, Lucy! She's such a good fit for the job since she knows the crew and cast, is so familiar with film and also has an artistic sensibility.

[xgraciela.livejournal.com]

Could someone please explain to me what was the ending supposed to mean? Who were the guys who showed up and saved the day? Was it the NSA? The police? Or rather Mycroft's super secret commando? Is he supposed to be an agent now? Or did he just call for backup like Sherlock suggested after all? Or what. I didn't get that.

Also, where the hell is Sherlock? It annoys me that they chickened out of him reuniting with Joan. I bet the next episode will be set at least "few days later" so the reunion will likely happen only "offscreen" and we will just be dealing with the consequences. Shame. I think it would make an interesting scene to see his reaction after so much drama and desperation he showed.

This episode had so much hype around it, but it didn't impress me greatly. Brilliant deductions from Sherlock along the way though. The dead guy in the yard was cool as well, also the "torture" scene. But I really dislike Mycroft after this ep and it doesn't matter on which side of the law he is. He is pretty slimy. Can someone tell me what Joan sees in him? *headpalm*

[nausicaa83.livejournal.com]

From the accent and the uniforms, I'd say MI6. What I got from that scene is that Mycroft was working with the British Intelligence, and that's why he did those deals with the mafia. If he's not actually a spy he definitely works with them. So technically he's a good guy. And that's why he couldn't tell Sherlock (or anyone else for that matter) the truth. I thought it was a great plot twist, and it makes a lot of sense considering that in the canon Mycroft is supposed to be smarter than Sherlock. It would explain why he was acting so dumb in this episode.

[xgraciela.livejournal.com]

Oh, okay, so probably an agent then...huh. Well, I don't know. Like I said I dislike him no matter which side of the law he stands.

Thanks much for explanation! It makes sense, but it was so fast that I couldn't catch up and wasn't sure. So he was like...triple agent in the ep, right? Undercover for more than a decade? Hmm...and so why did he let the "french accent" guy leave in a car before using the codeword?

What I don't like about him is that he stunned Sherlock instead of telling him the truth when he knew how much his brother cares about Joan. I understand that if he was undercover he wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but to his brother and considering the situation? It would make more sense and would paint him as a better person.

Yeah, I was very suspicious about him acting dumb the whole time. On the other hand, if he is indeed cleverer than Sherlock, why did he need him to find the list? He could do it himself. This way he basically used both Joan and Sherlock to get what he wanted.

[nausicaa83.livejournal.com]

I guess we'll get the answers to all those question in the next episode, but it's definitely fun to speculate. *_____*

It could be that Joan's kidnapping forced his hand. He couldn't hide a thing like that from Sherlock, so he had to ask for his help to keep an eye on him while he investigated. If the bad guys had kidnapped anyone else he would have probably done everything alone.

I'm guessing there was also a reason why they needed the boss to leave the scene before revealing Mycroft's secret. He's probably going to lead them to someone else they're looking for, like another godfather or something, and they need him free to do that.

Again, it's just me speculating, I haven't even seen the promo for the next episode, I just love going crazy with theories. ^^

[xgraciela.livejournal.com]

Ah, big yes to theories! If Sherlock fandom taught me one thing, it would be that there's never enough speculation :)

I just hope that we are really getting some answers snd not more questions next week.

You may be onto something that he couldn't hide Joan's kidnapping from Sherlock! Anyway, I'm not trusting him anymore o_O


Speaking about the promo, could some nice person who watched the episode on air tell the rest of us what was in it? Pretty please?

I haven't seen it online but saw people talking about it on Tumblr.

[horrorfangirl.livejournal.com]

I can answer that xgraciela : I think that Sherlock was still knocked out from being tazed by Mycroft, that's why he wasn't there to reunite with Joan. As to why Joan would fall for such sneaky cowardy rat like Mycroft? Well maybe he was a sub of sorts for Sherlock, since she felt that they couldn't have a romantic relationship.

[xgraciela.livejournal.com]

Hmm...I don't think Sherlock was still knocked out. There is the scene with him at the NSA, right? And then he said he was going to the police (aka Gregson and Bell) So he was surely already up by the time Mycroft reunited with Joan.

Mycroft being sub for Sherlock for Joan? Maybe. That's what I'm worried about, but on the other hand I think the brothers are nothing alike, not even physically.

[horrorfangirl.livejournal.com]

I don't know about anyone else, but I really wanted Sherlock to give his brother a good right to jaw when he heard about Joan's kidnapping. :( That man deserves a good thrashing. Anyone else agree?

[xgraciela.livejournal.com]

Yep, he totally should have done it. He still can! I hope he will.

[horrorfangirl.livejournal.com]

Me too.