Elementary 1x17-1x18

[oyceter]

Ahaha, I am now starting to search for Elementary interviews and behind the scenes and etc. Hello, slowly growing fannishness! I had vaguely forgotten what it felt like.

(We are pretty sure the show is not in much danger of cancellation? ... this is an odd feeling to me! I rather like it.)

1x17 Possibility Two

I have read two recaps of this episode to try to piece together the case, and it still keeps slipping my mind. Clearly this is not one of Elementary's more memorable cases, save for the ludicrous-even-for-tv skience.

But! It has Sherlock constructing a DINOSAUR out of those molecule construction things! And OMG the look on Joan's face when she bounces in to tell Sherlock she solved the dry cleaning money laundering racket! She just looks so happy. Also: rare bee.

1x18 Deja Vu All Over Again

Joan gets a case! Really loved this episode, which highlights why I think Joan is actually the stealth protagonist of the show so far. Both Sherlock and Joan have been going through a lot of personal growth, but I find the story arc of Joan slowly feeling out a change of profession to be really well done. There are just so many seeds of it scattered throughout the season: her uneasiness with Sherlock deducing her previous career as a surgeon, the various people in her life reacting to her current career, the way she jumps in to question a suspect in the pilot and how it makes Sherlock take another (literal) look at her. Obviously there's an arc for Sherlock as well, but I think the bits with Irene Adler and Moriarty and his father are a bit more scattershot.

Of course, this may also be because I am incredibly biased and just notice all the Joan stuff more.

I also think it's interesting that Sherlock's arc is much more about him connecting with people (Irene Adler's supposed death, his father) along with the Moriarty stuff and the rehabilitation stuff, and how Joan's is very specifically career focused.

Anyway, the episode!

Alfredo returns!! AWESOME. I love the reference that the relationship with him, Joan, and Sherlock has been building offscreen, and OMG. Joan and Alfredo doing a stake out and Alfredo trying to dissuade her from breaking into the guy's car was great, even though I cringed at how it was almost sure to go wrong.

Love love love the mirrored scene from the pilot, with Joan needing to be bailed out this time.

As other people have said, love seeing more of her social life, as well as Sherlock keeping track of her friend date for her and how that fits with him urging her to talk with other people about the decision to be his partner. (Also, is one of her friends a woman of color dating a white guy? I feel like there are a remarkable number of white guy romantic interests?) It's also a nice contrast to the Joan's ex-boyfriend episode, in which her mother basically tries to get him to stage some sort of intervention. Here it's the friends who are worried and her mother who is happy.

Mostly I love watching Joan spreading her fledgling detective wings. And OMG. When she is trying to convince herself that Sherlock's methods are special and maybe she's really not good at this and the way his face just falls as she leaves to apologize to the guy! I heart him so much for not going for easy reassurances, for being able to give her a sounding board for her ideas, for distracting her from her self doubt and asking good questions.

... it's really funny, having just rewatched the pilot and remembering that I was completely prepared to hate Sherlock. I think he's still often a jerk, but he actually does things like apologize, or call his father for help for a friend, or bring Joan spaghetti in a cup, and he's capable of realizing when he's not right, admitting so, and readjusting his course.

And that last shot of Joan, now a consulting detective! BEST.

Comments

[hebethen]

There are, aren't there. Hrn.

I agree that Joan's arc seems to be a lot more coherent rn, but I also suspect that this might be due to its intended, uh, size? Not sure of the right term. Basically, I feel like it's going to wrap up before the Moriarty one does. If it doesn't... well, I suppose my reaction will depend on how well both parts of it are pulled off!

[oyceter]

*nods* Yeah, I suspect the Joan-learning-to-be-detective arc will be much shorter than the Moriarty one, though I really hope they do more Joan arcs!

[cesperanza]

I KNOW! I am so completely over the moon about this show. And seriously, I don't think Joan is the stealth protagonist - I think she's the ACTUAL PROTAGONIST. In a way, Sherlock's had his crisis already, over drugs, we're curious to find out what happened, but he seems more or less out the other side. The person experiencing radical life change here is JOAN and it's FANTASTIC!

[oyceter]

Ahahaha, you have no idea how much I wibbled back and forth on saying "stealth protagonist" versus "actual protagonist" and went with "stealth" partly because I am afraid that if I say "actual protagonist" the show will go and contradict me!

I just. OMG. So much love for this arc! (And all of her little smiles!!!)

[crossedwires]

There are definitely too many white dude love interests. And this is totally The Joan Watson Show, to me.

I really like that Joan learning to be a detective isn't super easy, but IS possible. And Sherlock is a good teacher, which makes me think being a consulting detective didn't come completely naturally to him either -- he had to work at it too, even with his genius brain, that he understands how that process goes.

[oyceter]

I am so so so hoping that the writers realize it is the Joan Watson Show too. (Which is partly why I keep going around looking for interviews! I keep wanting reassurance that the writers know Joan is AWESOME and plan on keeping it that way!)

I love the entire narrative of learning how to be a detective... it really hits my work competency kink, along with showing different aspects of Joan and Sherlock.

[lilacsigil]

I absolutely love that this isn't a Genius Wrangling show. What Sherlock does is very difficult work that takes a particular kind of intelligence and extremely hard work, but it's not Genius Magic, and seeing Joan learn to do it is just so awesome. And it ties in with the show's earlier respect for the police - they're not stupid or impediments to the Great Man, but people with different resources and different limitations.

[oyceter]

YES, I so love that Gregson and Bell and Watson are all very capable, sometimes moreso than Sherlock, depending on the situation. Also, I LOVE the implication that this kind of skill is learnable and not innate.

[sanguinity]

I love that they took Holmes off the pedestal of being the Only Consulting Detective In The World. I ADORE that.

Also, that when they decided to keep the ACD canon interaction of having Holmes continually inviting Watson to "apply my methods" and make deductions, they decided to cross canon by having her actually be competent at them, huzzah.

Also, Alfredo mentors BOTH Holmes and Watson! (Competency porn!) And Holmes being responsible about keeping his shit together, because he knows that it wouldn't be fair to Joan and her new career if he didn't.

[oyceter]

Ahaha, I was curious as to how competent ACD Watson is at detecting! (I need to remember to follow you on Tumblr...)

And oh man, Joan's face as she got to do the exposition to the murderer was great.

[sanguinity]

That was a LOVELY scene. Just a woman with a crazy story that's gonna SEND YOUR ASS TO JAIL haha! (And Holmes did a proud wibble face, aw!)

ACD Watson's detecting: a fair number of stories begin with Holmes asking Watson to "apply my methods" to something or other, then Watson generating a full set of deductions (with Holmes encouraging him throughout), and then Holmes laughing indulgently at the end about how very very wrong those deductions are. I think it's infuriating, but Watson never seems to mind.

The classic example would be the first chapter of Hound of the Baskervilles. Classic, because it's the one in which Holmes calls Watson a "conductor of light." (HUGELY quoted line, that.) It's a backhanded compliment in which Watson is not a genius (not luminous), but he stimulates Holmes's genius, and Holmes is indebted to him for that.

With the right context and spin, it's almost sweet? And certainly the fic writers have gotten that down to a fine art, drawing the sweet and fluffy from that line.

...but it's because of lines like that, that I twitched when Elementary announced a female Watson. Because no. Watson is not your housewife, working hard behind the scenes to make you look good while no one but you realizes how good she makes you look. Explicitly appreciating that she does all these things to make you look good would not be enough to make it better. No. No, no, no.

Fortunately for us, the Elementary writers are not only addressing sexism and misogyny explicitly in the show's text, but also in the ways they'd become implicit if Watson and Holmes's relationship was lifted straight from ACD canon. It is LOVELY.

Lovely enough that I almost ALMOST want to trust them that they'll do well with tonight's storyline. *knowing full well that they can disappoint us bitterly with this, but hoping for good things anyway*


BTW, Baskervilles is the only Holmes novel I'd recommend without strong warnings. iirc, it doesn't have any skanky racist parts -- well, beyond the crack about wigwams, that fucking asshole, so let's just say the racism is skip-over-able as opposed to integral -- and yet it's competently written and the Holmes-and-Watson wtferies are on decent display.

[sanguinity]

For the flip argument, that ACD!Watson develops strong deductive skills of his own, see the latter part of Episode 2 of Don't Make Me Pull Out My Books, "All About Watson."

(She's a bit rambly sometimes, but I enjoy her enthusiasm, and they work just fine ripped to mp3s for commutes or whatnot.)

[yasaman]

Aaaahh, I'm so thrilled that Joan isn't just the sidekick there to admire and genius-wrangle Sherlock, and that she's instead a consulting detective in her own right. Plus, Sherlock is actually a decent teacher and it actually seems important to him to be a decent teacher and partner! I was honestly so pleasantly surprised by that. Like you, I was prepared to hate or just tolerate Sherlock, but now I'm just really, really invested in Joan and Sherlock as partners.

[oyceter]

Like you, I was prepared to hate or just tolerate Sherlock, but now I'm just really, really invested in Joan and Sherlock as partners.

ME TOO SO MUCH!!!!

I was wondering if Sherlock was going to be a jerk about being a teacher, especially since the dry cleaner thing was not quite jerkish (I am glad he did actually clean the fridge) but a bit close to being too clever. But he actually does teach and not just throw Joan in the midst of things, even while he steps back enough to let her get into her own messes!

[vonniek]

They haven't renewed it yet for the second season but I think it's taken as a given? They keep blaring about how it's the #1 new show of the season, etc.

Joan's face in the intervention scene = augh, my heart. The incredulous laugh and the dawning realization was heartbreaking to watch. What I loved was that her friends were all very well-meaning, and on paper, the relationship between Joan and Sherlock does seem very out of character for Joan. This is a very realistic conflict to have, and the resulting recklessness and her self doubt felt very organic, and made her final validation that much sweeter. I'm flabbergasted at how much importance is given to her growth, her fulfillment -- it's frankly beyond my wildest imagining? And hey, the show says that a forty-something woman can forge a new career path, find a new passion, and this is something that should be celebrated and encouraged! How rare is that?

JLM has the most expressive face and body language ever. I never get tired of looking at him -- every second he's on screen, he's doing something interesting. (His face in the precinct in that scene you mentioned! He hid it so well until Joan left the room, but then the transparent worry on his face afterward! Awww.)

[oyceter]

OMG I felt SO BAD for Joan during the intervention. And like you said, I love so much that the show is spending so much time on Joan's arc, from all the bits and pieces in previous episodes to this. And I love SO MUCH that the growth and self doubt and change is about Joan and her work... I feel like a lot of narratives, especially for women, don't focus so much on work in this way, and it is so refreshing to see this on TV.

Oh JLM. OMG his face just falling when Joan leaves to apologize! I keep checking out this pic because hi Sherlock, you so know how important Joan is!

[torachan]

Ha, that was my thought about the Latina friend's boyfriend, too. What is with everyone dating white dudes!? I'm glad at least one of her friends was a woman of color, though. (And of course her doctor friend from that earlier episode was a WOC, too.)

I'm really thrilled at how much this show is about Joan. I love that she is not just the sidekick, the "biographer", the friend who tags along on cases and gets in the way, but is a detective as well (or at least a detective in-training for now).

And I love that Sherlock is not 100% asshole. Yeah, he can be a dick, but he can also be nice, and he clearly cares about Joan.

[oyceter]

Yeah, annoyed at the white guy romantic interests, but I am really glad that the show has been providing a fair number of characters of color, particularly among Joan's friends!

Oh man, I still cannot get over Sherlock's face when he watches Joan apologize and the mix of fear and anxiousness and how he also hid it while she was there, much like he tried to act better when he found out she had lied to him to stay on because she was worried about him. I find the combo of "hi please stay yes?" and the attempt to give her space so awesome.