Elementary Review: 03 x 01- Enough Nemesis to Go Around
Elementary is back in business.
After a mixed bag of a second season, where the writers seemed unsure about how to develop Sherlock and Joan’s relationship, the choice to separate them was an interesting one – the show’s greatest strength is in its characters and relationships, and the chemistry of Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. With Sherlock in London and working for MI6 and Joan striking out alone, the third season essentially has a blank slate on which to rebuild the central partnership.
“Enough Nemesis to Go Around” begins this process of rebuilding in fine style, whilst letting us know that this isn’t going to be an easy fix. There’s no neat bow at the end of the episode; things are messy and complex and much more interesting for it. Whilst “The Grand Experiment” wasn’t really a Reichenbach story (whether Elementary will choose to do a true Reichenbach adaptation remains to be seen), it is still very much in that vein. The case of the week is even a locked door mystery, akin to “The Empty House”. Unlike “The Empty House”, which reset the status quo by the end of the story, the main question this episode seems to pose is: can Joan and Sherlock rebuild their friendship and their working relationship?
The decision to focus the premiere on Joan is an excellent decision. The twelve minutes without Sherlock are deftly handled, sketching out enough of Joan’s life that we can see how she has moved on in her personal life, and how she has grown as a detective in her own right, both with her own clients and as a trusted consultant to the NYPD. The opening scene between Joan and Elana March (played with relish by Gina Gershon) is neatly done: what seems to be two old friends catching up in a restaurant proves to be a meeting of nemeses, as Joan reveals to the cartel boss that she’s finally going to be arrested. It’s a moment of victory, and proof that Joan has come into her own as an investigator. Indeed, even though the final solving of the case is a shared effort, the victory ultimately belongs to Joan, and the camera lingers on her smile as Elana is handcuffed.
Sherlock himself is something of an elephant in the room, and when he does become involved he’s very much a supporting character in Joan’s story, with most of his scenes being from her point of view. We learn that he left for London without a word and, in doing so, broke the trust of his friends. Gregson curtly informs Sherlock that they were never friends and only lets him consult again on Joan’s say-so. Joan herself certainly feels hurt and betrayed by Sherlock’s actions, not wanting to let him back into her life that easily. This episode is very much about renegotiating the central relationships, and it makes Sherlock work hard for that. There’s no easy fixes for him – he makes several clumsy efforts to make amends and strives to prove to Joan that not only is he truly sorry, but he understands what he’s done wrong.
Jonny Lee Miller’s Sherlock is earnest and awkward (the moment when he shows up at her apartment with a bunch of coathangers tied together with ribbons is rather endearing), and whilst it’s easy to believe his sincerity it’s also clear that he doesn’t quite understand why Joan was so hurt by his departure. Joan herself is consistent with maintaining her boundaries with Sherlock, and it’s clear that this series is going to be about not only repairing the cracks in their friendship but about working out this new arrangement, where Joan has her own space and her own work. Another component to this new arrangement is Kitty Winter, Sherlock’s new protégé. It’s unclear how she will factor into the ongoing plot, but her final scene with Joan is promising; Kitty has her own story and her own motivations, so hopefully this will move in a direction that doesn’t rely on the two women being in competition.
All in all, it’s a promising start to a series that had seemed to lose its momentum. The promise of Joan running her own cases is interesting and will open up the plot possibilities, and the introduction of Kitty could freshen up the dynamic. It is almost inevitable that Sherlock and Joan will be back together as partners by the end of the season, but this episode gives hope that the road to this will be an interesting one for both characters.
Fran is a longtime fangirl with a degree in Film and Literature. She works in publishing and is trying to learn to knit, make digital art, and how to cram as many books as possible into one inadequate bookcase.
You can follow her on twitter at @IncredibleFran or on tumblr at chess-ka.tumblr.com.
