Elementary Review: 03 x 02 – The Five Orange Pipz
After the premiere promised that things would be shaken up a little in this season of Elementary, “The Five Orange Pipz” for the most part returned us to familiar territory. There is a murder at the episode’s beginning and an arrest at the episode’s end, and this conservatism is a little disappointing after the energy and drive of the pilot.
That isn’t to say that the episode is dull. As with many Elementary episodes, its strength lies not in its cases (though the update of canon’s Five Orange Pips does have its charms) but in the way it explores and builds on its character dynamics. Whilst it would have been good to see Joan and Sherlock work on their separate cases, the draw of the show is in their partnership, and it is no doubt more productive for the plot to focus on one case. “The Five Orange Pipz” does pay lip service to the new dynamic set up by the first episode: Gregson gives the mysterious murder case to Joan to investigate, and when Sherlock takes an interest he has to ask her permission to come on board.
With Joan and Sherlock already back to working as a partnership, it would have been easy for the episode to follow the old beats. However, the presence of Kitty adds a freshness to the proceedings. Ophelia Lovibond (and her excellent name) brings an interesting complexity to a character who could so easily have been little more than petulant and moody. As it is, there is a vulnerability to her performance, as Kitty reacts poorly to being sidelined. Even the camera work deliberately excludes Kitty throughout the episode: in the initial meeting with Angela White (Sonya Walger, a welcome surprise to any “Lost” fans) Joan and Sherlock are at the centre of their frames, but until her interruption we only see Kitty off to the side of the frame as she watches Joan. Later, as Joan and Sherlock pore over evidence, they block Kitty out until she has to physically force her way into the frame. It’s a neat filming choice, a visual shorthand that emphasises how Kitty is feeling pushed out of her new opportunity, and demonstrates that Joan and Sherlock need to find a new balance.
Kitty’s introduction also allows the show to further some characterisation of Sherlock that began last season with his sponsee, Randy. That particular plotline was a lovely bit of growth for Sherlock, but unfortunately it never integrated particularly well with the rest of the plotline. There were just never enough opportunities to bring Randy in that didn’t feel forced. By introducing a troubled young person for Sherlock to mentor in the capacity of an investigator, we can keep that strand of character development whilst also tying it in with the main thrust of each episode’s plot. Kitty isn’t just there to further Sherlock’s development, however, and this episode also begins to lay the groundwork for Kitty’s backstory, with Sherlock handing Joan the file he has on her. Whilst it is disappointing that Kitty wasn’t even present for this discussion of her private life, the episode recovers it nicely; where Kitty’s agency was initially removed, with Sherlock making the decision to give Joan the file, ultimately Joan refuses to read it until given express permission by Kitty herself. Hopefully this will lead both to an interesting plotline for Kitty, and to further trust between the two women.
The case itself isn’t particularly thrilling, and the eventual solution is something of an anticlimax. An element that does work is the red herring of Angela White; a problem frequently faced by procedurals is how to get mileage out of your guest star without having the audience immediately guess that they’re the culprit. In this case, Sonya Walger’s character is a corrupt person with undeniable motive, but this particular crime was not down to her. It’s a shame, because whilst the red herring works and it’s nice to see the writers using the guest star expectations against the audience, you can’t help but feel that she would have been a much more rewarding criminal of the week.
“The Five Orange Pipz” is a tidy and unambitious episode that could have benefited from a little more energy and originality following on from the season opener. However, it had some solid character work that both explored the ongoing inter-relationships and laid more crucial groundwork for more of the season. I hope that future episodes will bring us less conservative cases, but the story of Joan, Sherlock and Kitty continues to look very promising indeed.
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.
