A Eulogy for Watson (CBS)
One of my weekly watches for the past year and a half has been Watson, an odd take on the Sherlock Holmes universe which sets it in modern day with an African-American Watson, post-Reichenbach Falls, heading up a medical clinic in Pittsburgh which focuses on genetics.
It had its last episode last night after an unceremonious cancellation, meaning the writers were not prepared to have to wrap up all the storylines.
That said, it wasn't the worst as far as unexpected endings go. But still, I feel I must say goodbye more properly:
You were a bit of an odd duck. A Sherlock Holmes-related show without a Sherlock. You questioned, who is John Watson without Sherlock? A Watson divorced from Mary Morstan? You took elements of Holmes' origin, based on a genius medical doctor on the cutting edge of forensic science in the 1800s, and carried it over to Watson in the modern day, making him the genius medical doctor on the cutting-edge of genetics.
Your cases were interesting and often unique, though sometimes pushed along by convenience (I feel like I should have made a counter of how many times a patient conveniently collapsed in UHOP).
You didn't get a lot of love, from either casual TV viewers or Sherlock Holmes aficionados. You were compared unfavorably to the likes of House and Elementary, neither of which I have seen a lot of. Perhaps if I had, I would feel differently. But while you weren't the most amazing, I think you stood on your own well enough, made some bold swings, cultivated a significant fan base who will miss you dearly.
Your takes on classic Holmes characters like James Moriarty, Shinwell Johnson, Mary Morstan, Lestrade, Irene Adler, and even Sherlock were a little quirky, and may have turned a lot of potential viewers off in the case of the first one, but I found it interesting. In a world where so many other takes on Sherlock exist, even while this show was airing, you took some risks in your depictions to stand out. Shinwell, who is not a big character in the lore, became one of the most lovable parts of the show, even though his thick accent required me to turn on the captions every single time.
But I think I most enjoyed the original characters you added:
Stephens and Adam(s) Croft, the identical twins, one of whom believes in traditional medicine, the other in alternative medicine. We saw them come together after starting off the series adrift, and saw each of them have their own story arcs - one to open himself up to love and life and hope in the future, the other to grapple with an unexpected life change that at first seemed daunting but later showed him really coming through. While Stephens had an unresolved blow in the finale, I still feel like this series left him better than he started.
Sasha Lubbock, the sweet Asian-adoptee Texan who always tried to see the best in people and things. Unfortunately, your storyline was one of the ones left unsettled by the finale, and left you in a pretty low spot, but my hope, based on what I know of you and those in your corner, is that you would have rallied and become all the better for your crisis of faith in humanity. (And married Stephens.)
And Ingrid Derian, the sociopathic neurologist who protects her own with a fierce loyalty. Your storylines were the craziest, your loyalties and actions the hardest to read. You struggled so hard to be a better person, and I have no idea where your story was meant to end. But you certainly made things interesting, and your relationships with all the characters were so well-fleshed out.
So, Watson, while your overarching story and little twists were a mess (as in, you spent multiple episodes this season ignoring an ongoing storyline that should have had a stronger impact on the characters, only to suddenly make it relevant again as if it always had been, like, wtf?), you still managed to create an interesting mesh of medical and mystery drama with well-drawn characters I was invested in.
I will miss you, and I am sorry to see you shuffled off to pasture like this, especially with a number of personal plot threads left dangling. If another network picks you up, I will be happy to follow. But for now, I am left mourning what could have been, but hopeful it would have all worked out for each character.
