#elementarywriterfail

Elementary - Sherlock Can't Lie

This scene was such bullshit. First of all, don’t tell us there’s a tell, and then not tell us what it is. SHEESH.

Thought I’d do an unofficial count starting with Season 2:

S2: 9/24 episodes S3: 12/24 S4: 11/24 S5: 11/24 S6: 11/21

So, yay, only three seasons after she first started showing symptoms, now we finally have the Mary’s Alzheimer episode! And to go along with it, a totally tropey A story! By a hack writer! Can’t wait...

This is practically a two-parter so... and they both woulda been a C- without a little LL directorial magic.

The great: Man, that Lucy Liu knows how to direct her some TV. And I’m not just saying that because I stan the hell out of her. Her visuals are exquisite -- the opening shot of those three hardhat lights bouncing down a dark tunnel, those shadows on the tomb wall... then she goes hand-held for a little extra oomph. And the performances she gets out of Jonny... and John Noble, and Julian Sands (who I doubt they would’ve been able to cast otherwise). She knows the value of a good close-up (see Handmaid’s Tale), yet uses them sparingly for impact. Between this and Luke Cage, she is really honing her craft.

The good: Finally, the show realizes it has a valuable narrative history and utilizes it (too bad its always all about Sherly). The final scene of 6x9 at the fireplace was beautifully played by both, and their earlier orgasm banter was adorable. Liu and Miller really are great scene partners. And Sherlock’s face when he has to utter the word “Moriarty.” Nicely done.

The bad: I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it -- these f-ing rich, white male murder plots are RIDICULOUS. They’re impossible to follow (esp. 6x10), despite being filled with pages and pages of nonsensical exposition. Meanwhile, you’ve got John F-ing Noble and Alfredo back! And you use them in two or three little scenes. SIGH.

6x10 in particular was just unbelievably boring and horrible. The show had finally begun understanding stakes and emotion, and then RHW just throws it all away with the usual overcomplicated who-cares nothingness. Imagine if one of the canvases that they needed to prove their case was hanging in someone’s home or at a major museum. And Gregson couldn’t get them access. How much fun would it’ve been to see JW & SH use their talents to break into someplace like that -- they don’t have to steal anything, they just look at the thing and hang it back up. That would’ve been so tense and hilarious and so so easy.

Also, that stupid hospital scene. Let’s have yet MORE exposition, instead of a potentially interesting interrogation scene as the medical staff (and/or Joan) are working on the suspect and he dies right before he reveals the killer. It’s just not that hard.

The awful: I kept thinking what an opportunity they had and missed to really explore Mycroft’s death.

Unlike the majority of the fandom, I really loved Joancroft. The triangle -- and the comedy and drama it drew out -- were stakes-driven, and the fact that Mycroft wasn’t some traditionally handsome dude made it that much more interesting. And he and JW had some great chemistry. ANYWAY, while the death reveal scene was good, 6x10 just threw it away. Joan obviously wanted a funeral, so SH should’ve figured out some kind of service just for them to honor how much he meant to them.

Instead, the writers always have an excuse as to why J-Dub isn't more upset/emotional than expected. No. Just ... no.

The good: Lucy Liu, obviously, and Samantha Quan, who continue to do a ton with the scraps they’re given. 

Wardrobe, obviously.

A ticking clock (that’s the D-plus) -- see how that makes all the difference? The stolen plutonium gave the story a sense of urgency until the end, when it slammed into a boring-ass wall of exposition. And you could drive a Sparky-filled truck through the plot holes as per. But still, there were actual stakes. People were in actual jeopardy.

Sherlock knows about New Jersey gravel but NOT a lightning-making machine? Sha, right. 

The bad: I love how CBS tried desperately to pimp the episode by saying “the sisters have conflicting reactions to their father’s death.” UH NO. IF ONLY. That would’ve been great, since CONFLICT=DRAMA. Leave it to these hacks to undercut that at every turn.

Just issued a steaming burn to RHW and had to share. I didn’t like the snarky way he answered that tweet, even tho he said he was open to any questions.

So I woke up this morning all excited and feeling terrible about all the bad things I’ve said about Doherty recently. That goodbye scene was incredible. The acting, the writing -- that’s how good the show can be when it wants to. And I was so proud of him for really shaking things up and going full Joanlock, canon-ites be damned.

But now I read this article, in which of COURSE, he goes back on it -- oh, no, it wasn’t Joanlock. It was platonic. SERIOUSLY???  INFURIATING.  

It's obvious that SH & JW love each other, and it's NOT just platonic. That's where the characters have taken you over the course of six long years, and that's where you have to go with them, despite whatever perceived backlash you might face. It makes narrative and emotional sense that these two people are soul mates in every sense of the word, romantically, physically and otherwise. Not friends or buds or partners.

This is a living breathing TV show, with characters who grow and change. And if after that scene, which was one of the best in the series, you just go back to your rich-guy-murders-for-business BS and everything is status quo as quickly as possible, you're denying your actors --  and your loyal, intelligent audience -- something really meaningful.

I mean, we don't need to see them have sex, but we do need to see them acknowledge that their relationship has changed in a significant way. This show has been in desperate need of a shake-up for years, and now you’re trying to force the genie back into the bottle?

Evil Daddy Moonves is no longer running the show. So do the right thing. And hire some damn established women writers who know what they’re doing while you’re at it. Cause #JWDB!

The good: This did not play out quite as expected. They actually paid off a physical threat to JW, so yay.

Aidan Quinn rocks. So awesome to see him really active in the investigation. More please.

I sorta liked that JW acted on her own to piss off Michael, and that it wasn’t directly connected to SH.

The bad and the ugly: Begin rant...