Elementary 2x24

[killerweasel.livejournal.com]

Discussion post for Elementary 2x24 'Art in the Blood'.

Pretty sure this is the season finale.

Spoilers in the comments.

What did you think?

Comments

[tazlet.livejournal.com]

I loved it - have some disagreement with the villain's explanation - but I love the emotional beats! It checks off the 'Watson and Holmes live part for a time' item on my list (they will work it out). Mycroft can now set himself up with an new identity in an apartment in NY, raise orchids and advise Sherlock and/or become a clearing house for the NSA, NYPD and whoever else he wants to take on as clients (or get a white suit and do the same thing, selling designer gelato from a truck). Adored the library (great sofa Mycroft was sacking out on). And, I will always be a fan of the man-hug.

[midori-yee.livejournal.com]

Quite disappointed by the lack of resolution. Ending a television season with a cliffhanger is so uninspired.

The end of the Mycroft arc was anticlimactic at best and I was expecting at least another plot twist... I remain unconvinced of the writers attempting to make Mycroft *sympathetic* with all of this *tragic hero* self-sacrifice nonsense. His character has been grossly undeveloped because through the whole season the writers have caused viewers to doubt whether he is truly trustworthy or not.

Watson moving out of the Brownstone is unfortunate, and it seems easier for the writers to reverse this move early into season 3... If they're no longer living together, Elementary will turn into being just like any of the other CBS police procedurals. Boring.

Sherlock's involvement with MI6 may be great given Watson's distancing herself from him... but again I feel this will also be reversed early in season 3.

Not going to lie, season 2 was quite a letdown to me. Hopefully the writers will redeem themselves with season 3.

[p-for-polkadots.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely with you on the let's make Mycroft the tragic hero front. I also hoped for another twist and was disappointed.

Your suspicion about reversing all the important plot points from the final (Joan moving out, Sherlock joining MI6 etc.) is interesting, and I think very likely going to happen. Those would be huge (and yes, idiotic) narrative cop-outs, of course, but I'd certainly be much more willing to keep watching in this case. Because going through with both of these,would ultimately change the nature of the show, and I don't think that's what they're trying to accomplish.

I wouldn't say the season as a whole was a disappointment for me, because I think there were some really strong episodes in the mix. But yes, the finale was a mess, especially compared to the satisfying conclusion of season one.

[venusinthenight]

Yep, season finale.

Disappoint! What about Joan?! What about any PTSD she may be suffering? Or did she and the Holmes brothers all conveniently forget she’d been kidnapped a few episodes earlier and WATCHED SOMEONE GET MURDERED RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER?!

I am more than fine with her moving out, though. And I hope she’ll stay moved out for a while.

Actually, the entire second season can be summed up by asking “What about Joan?!” Hideously underdeveloped, barely got any storylines that didn’t end up being All About Sherlock. Just, ugh. Not to mention everything with their relationship went about a thousand steps backwards.

I need all the season two AUs.

[p-for-polkadots.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes! You summed that up perfectly. She's been demoted from main character to plot device. How sad is that?

[venusinthenight]

YOU'VE NAILED IT. A plot device.

And it gets even worse when you consider she's a woman of colour (Asian/Chinese-American) serving all the white boys. Bleck.

[p-for-polkadots.livejournal.com]

No, no, no. What a mess. As a season finale disappointing and so damn boring. How on earth did they even manage to make so much plot nonsense this level of boring?

I've never liked this persistent woobiefication of Sherlock in the first place, but now Mycroft as well? Seriously? He's got some daddy issues and that's why he joined MI6, because his rich, upperclass father and his clever little brother never expected anything from him. Boohoo, what a tragedy. While Mycroft intrigued me at first, I can now only hope he will go away fast and stay away.

Sherlock doesn't get exactly what he wants and behaves like a toddler. Again. Am I actually supposed to feel sympathy here? I like Sherlock and Joan living together, I do, especially because this kind of closeness can be both exhilarating as well as a dangerous kind of codependence. And yes, his persistence of having things his way (as Joan rightly pointed out) could be a great starting point to explore the toxic aspects of their arrangement, but sadly, I'm pretty certain it's not intended to be seen that way. Furthermore, the hints of him using again make it even worse, because Sherlock isn't a maladjusted teenager in the throes of puberty with a strong no-one-can-possibly-understand-me syndrome and the inability to think before he acts (even if he tends to behave like one). No, he is an adult, and a very clever one at that. So the repercussions of him doing drugs again, especially the guilt and responsibility Joan would undoubtedly feel (which would likely lead to her living with him again) are intentional. That might not be the only reason, because I don't doubt that Sherlock's distress is genuine, but it is a reason.

I'm also disappointed with Joan's character in those last few episodes. She's treated as little more than a pawn between Sherlock and Mycroft or something precious that can be hurt and thus be used as leverage. If she is supposedly so essential, then I can't see it at the moment. She can obviously handle herself (that little chat with the hacker collective as safeguard was very elegant, I have to say), but in the end the story isn't about her. No, it's about the effects her character and her actions have on two men in her life. That's not what a main character is, that's a plot device.

And then there's the end with Sherlock endeavouring to become a secret agent. That this is out of character for a canonical Sherlock Holmes doesn't really concern me, because this isn't ACD Holmes. But it's out of character for this Sherlock, too. It just doesn't make any sense. And no, I don't count moping about Joan moving out as a valid reason.

If all this is supposed to set the stage for the next season, I'm honestly not sure if I'm going keep watching for long.

[honor-reid.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with most of these comments on this last episode. I thought it was just poorly developed. First off the Mycroff storyline just end up being more annoying then sympathetic. The way they tried to make him out to be this self-sacrificing guy just came off badly. I think if they had I have done it in a different way it would've been better. Plus I haven't been a huge fan of the whole Mycroff Watson pairing, I think it was just put in for extra drama like they needed something for Sherlock to rail against, it didn't seem like they had a real connection.

Also think it would be good for Watson and Sherlock to live apart for a little while maybe then they would see you come back together and they could live in a healthier type relationship. I really hope Sherlock is not going to start using drugs again because at this point it would just seem like he's doing it to get Joan with him again as a sober companion and get things back the way they were and that just seems ridiculous. And Joan being the very clever, assertive person that she is is not going to be emotionally manipulated like that so I don't think would work anyway.

I am still going to watch next season I did enjoy some aspects of the season, the finale was a bit of a disappointment but I think overall I'm glad the show was renewed I like the potential of Joan and Sherlock weither you see them as just friends or as a couple I do like that. I just I hope the writers have made all of these odd decisions in order to wow us with an awesome 3rd season.

[horrorfangirl.livejournal.com]

For me the best part of the episode was Sherlock asking Joan to stay. Yeah, I knew that she would turn him down. But still it was good to have him tell her his feelings. Other then that this season left me feeling down. And if Sherlock has to be a spy for MI6 please don't have him be like Mycroft a wannabe James Bond. The whole thing with Joan was a major letdown as well. :(

I wonder if the writers will have her deal with the kidnapping next season? IE: Go back to her shrink like she did in season 1.

[mantriddrone.livejournal.com]

it was indeed the season finale.

this episode was the last of a pretty dull 3-4 episode arc and frankly a fairly dull second season. i have to admit that at times i really have had difficulty engaging with what has been presented. the writers have let the excellent first season go to their heads and have not built on that success. instead they've decided to throw everything including the kitchen sink at the second season. for me it failed for the majority of episodes. a real shame.

[c-lou-b.livejournal.com]

This is my first visit back here since Season 1 ended so I've missed all the comments posted throughout season 2, but I felt I had to come back and see what you all were saying about this last season. Many of the comments made for 2x24 have summed it up well for me too - really the whole season was a let-down and halfway through I was very disheartened by it. It wasn't Holmes for me, it was just another police drama. Every week investigating some slightly mysterious death/murder - well anyone with policing skills could have solved most of these. Where was the deductive reasoning and great intelligence that (should) be associated with SH? The season was very unexciting and uninspiring and to be honest I'm surprised they had the viewer numbers to warrant a third season.

So to the final 3 episodes... Finally we were dealing with something other than just a murder and it actually got quite interesting, if only a slight improvement on earlier eps! The thing between Joan and Mycroft is just weird - where did this connection start and how did it develop because I think I must have missed something along the way?!

Joan leaving the brownstone is a nod to ACD's Holmes and Watson, so i can appreciate why that's in there. As for SH and how he feels about it - of course he's going to be annoyed/upset. The suggestion that he's going to go out and get a fix does excite me but yes, he's probably only doing it to get back at Joan and make her stay with him. He is an adult, he is highly intelligent, but in many ways he is also a complete baby because he's so socially undeveloped. Throughout the series he keeps bringing up how well he's been doing staying sober and he does have Joan to thank for that largely, but I wonder - is he (potentially) going to get a fix to make her stay, or is he genuinely worried that he can't stay sober without her?

As for working for M16 - I see this as a great opportunity to expand the story lines and to take the series to a new level, beyond the murder every week, and to give us some far more interesting plot lines. I'm sure part of why he accepted the role was to spite Mycroft, but maybe SH (like me) is craving something more juicy that he can stick his teeth into!!

[purpleempire.livejournal.com]

I've always been willing to forgive the dull nature of the show's mysteries and crimes because it's not easy to write 24 episodes with 24 different crimes. What I've loved about the show from the beginning was the relationship the characters had to each other. We had some great character moments this season, especially with Det. Bell.

But the past couple of episodes have seriously lacked on the character front and I think the focus on Mycroft is to blame. He seems to make everyone around him worse and disinteresting so he just needs to go.

This isn't a show about Joan and the Holmes brothers it's a show about Sherlock and Joan feat. Bell and Gregson with an odd appearance by Alfredo, Mrs. Hudson, and Clyde.

Disappointing all up.