Matt Smith reviews the twelfth episode of Elementary season 2….
We all make compromises in life to keep along or get ahead. Social graces that we afford to others, sometimes in order to save someone embarrassment, other times to get ahead, perhaps other times in order to just fit in. So, the question begging to be asked, is whether Sherlock Holmes is an extreme version of this, or something else entirely.
Is he hiding these social compromises, these leanings to seeming normal, in a bid to keep his mind clear and the world one made of logic and rules? Or is he entirely different from ‘us’, this idea of a normal human being who strives for things illogical in an incomplete world?
This week’s episode features a voiceover from our protagonist as he talks about life and love. Is this Sherlock Holmes speaking? Is it fitting for this character to talk so poetically about what he’s missing in life and what others around him are doing to rectify their problems? He opens his soul, revealing that it seems like the Sherlock Holmes of Elementary is hiding his true self, as opposed to being unable to interact or function in ordinary ways.
I’m not sure what it says about the show or television in general as Holmes begins talking about distractions in life just as the flashy and conventional-exciting kidnapping scene plays out to push the plot forward. Something else I don’t know the answer to is why TV kidnappers always wait for their target to wake up before taking them from their beds. Almost as if they need to confirm with their victims what’s about to happen in a polite fashion unbecoming of someone about to commit an act of unspeakable horror and torture.
Speaking of unspeakable horror and torture, Moriarty’s return is marking this week’s episode. Love in all its forms seem irrational to Sherlock Holmes, so its definitely fitting that Moriarty in this iteration is the one person who can make Holmes fall head over heels and make him run headlong wherever she likes.
With the return of Moriarty obviously comes the return of Natalie Dormer as the villain to end all villains. Except that isn’t the case this week. While Moriarty isn’t as cut and dry when it comes to villainy this week, Dormer’s performance is also lacking in the usual high quality. In her scheming and acting, Dormer comes across as part panto and part soap opera, reminding me specifically of a certain evil doer from the east end of London.
The relationship with Holmes, though, while strange is one of true romance. It seems the true Sherlock Holmes comes through in these moments, meaning both the case and the personal growth once again strike a nice balance in a well directed episode.
So, just like all situations in life, you take your good with your bad and at the end of it all you just have to hope everyone’s come together and grown a little. Even if, like Sherlock Holmes, they have to make mistakes to get there and, it seems, make more in the future. Whatever Moriarty holds in store for Sherlock Holmes, it definitely won’t be normal life. But then that’s just the series staying true to the characters.
Matt Smith – follow me on Twitter.
Originally published March 9, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
