Elementary Review 02 x 23 – Art in the Blood
Reviewed by Liz Giorgi
Being Geek Chic For The Baker Street Babes
This review is full of SPOILERS. Do not read if you haven’t seen the episode and want to remain the dark.
With only one episode remaining in Season 2 of Elementary, it was clearly time for the showrunners to reveal a couple key details about Mycroft. After spending an entire season violently changing my mind about the man, the writers treated us to that experience all over again in one 44 minute episode. It got dizzying. But it created so much excitement that I’m now buzzing for the finale.
It was clear since the beginning of season 2 that Mycroft and his relationship with Sherlock was going to be a cornerstone of the show, but it wasn’t really as clear how much canon would sneak its way in throughout. In fact, until this week it seemed very little about Mycroft’s true work would be shown in Elementary, but I’m both thankful and relieved that his bizarre behavior was indicative of not only his role in MI6, but done largely out of a need to protect Sherlock during one of his darkest times. This was perhaps the most deft change in the show this season. The big reveal that Mycroft returned to spying only after he discovered his brother was in danger of helping a terrorist organization because of his addiction and its resulting destructive tendencies, not only causes Joan see a different side of the older Holmes brother, but so do we.
Let me get this out of the way: I still find the Joan and Mycroft pairing cloying. After spending half the episode convincing us that Joan was done with Mycroft, she not only quickly forgives him, but the two quickly jump into bed after Mycroft reveals he has been protecting Sherlock from within MI6. It’s not that I don’t understand the emotional ties there. They’re both acutely aware of how they help Sherlock, while he is naively incapable of acknowledging it. They both love him dearly, despite his flaws. And so it should touch Joan deeply to find out what Mycroft’s true intentions were. However, despite all this, he still knowingly put Joan’s life at risk in order to complete a mission and Joan’s too smart for that. Protecting Holmes was never part of that mission and it rings hollow to me.
As usual though, Sherlock proves he is not heartless. As his investigation into the retired MI6 agent turned murder and and amputee victim gets deeper, he discovers that someone is trying to frame Mycroft. But not just for this man’s murder. No, this framer has much more destructive plans. The retired agent was convinced he had discovered a mole in MI6 and tattooed a system of evidence on his arms in invisible ink to prove it. Before he could reveal what he had found, he was murdered and before his body could be buried in the ground, his arms with their tattoos were stolen from the morgue.
When a gun turns up a few days later with a set of prints, it’s clear to Sherlock right away that they belong to his brother. He could let the investigation play out and get serious revenge on his brother. Instead, he decides to help him. While the Holmes brothers may not be huggers, they sure are awesome at protecting one another while the other is clueless. It’s ironic because they’re both in the business of knowing things they shouldn’t. But that’s often the case with the people who know us best – they’re the best at keeping our secrets by sheer failure to acknowledge what is right in front of them.
Liz Giorgi is the Baker Street Babes’ Elementary Guru and runs the fantastic nerdy blog Being Geek Chic. You can find her former reviews of Elementary here on her site.
She’s a writer and filmmaker. She’s also a contributor for Apartment Therapy and The Mary Sue.
You can contact her at elizabeth@beinggeekchic.com and follow her on Twitter @lizgiorgi