#elementary 2x24

[amindamazed]

beanarie replied to your post:

joaneuglassiawatson: Oh hey wanna hear something...

in 224, he was still in the brownstone. and 324 ended with them on the roof. so the difference is physical space.

whoops, I’d forgotten about the roof conclusion in 324, fair point. But the last moment of 224 has Sherlock at the MI6 office, asking to take the job. IMLTHO, he’s not only projected her gone from the brownstone/partnership but himself as well.

[anguishmacgyver]

[bluebatwingstheog]

“You have this kind of... pull. Like gravity. I’m so lucky that I fell into your orbit.”

[bluebatwingstheog]

“I will change. For you.”

[amindamazed]

3x01 Joan: You decided we weren't partners. So, I learned to work without you. It's what I'm used to now.

2x24 Sherlock: I'd like to work on my own, if it's all the same to you. Your decision to find new lodgings necessitates the adaptation of my methods. I need to grow accustomed to going without your input in the evenings, and I prefer to begin immediately.

1x12 Sherlock: Actually, Watson, it occurs to me that help from you is the last thing that I need. Much as it pains me to admit it, you have become something of a crutch, and I need to get used to working by myself again.

1x03 Sherlock: For a brief stretch in London, I talked only to a phrenology bust I kept in my study.

3x01 Angus

[stellagioia]

The Lone Deductionist – Musings on Elementary 2x24, “The Grand Experiment”

So in the less-than-exciting season two finale, we find out that the title refers to Sherlock’s vision of his partnership with Joan, a relationship that -judging from his opinions and behavior- probably had its days numbered since the very beginning, and has now brought him back to square one.

I probably sound like a broken record by now as I’ve been saying the same things for months but allow me to say once again that this season ended just like it started, leaving behind lots of confused fans who don’t know what to make of it, and are struggling coming to term with how disappointing most of it has been compared to season one. Joan avoiding Sherlock’s questions felt a lot like the writers avoiding our questions, as if they didn’t have a clear picture of where they wanted the characters to be after 24 episodes. Or maybe they did know but got lost along the way, and when they tried to wrap everything up in these last few episodes they realized lots of storylines were going to be left behind. I admit to be having a hard time myself coming to terms with the fact that the same people who write brilliant pieces of dialogues can so easily create an incongruous mess. I do not mean to be an ungrateful fan, I merely say so because I love the show and since apparently I am not the only one who feels that way I want them to fix it and give us an excellent season three.

 This said, I still don’t like Mycroft. I can’t warm up to him, so I still don’t care about what happens to him. He had to fake his death and won’t be around for a while because he needs to disappear, probably forever? Yay. Let’s kiss this ugly Joan/Mycroft ship goodbye and focus on someone/something else. There’s plenty of characters after all that were totally neglected this season. Give them something to do in the next one. I don’t want to say ‘Oh, look, it’s Captain Gregson!’ and while I wave at him he’s already gone back to the limbo where all the unused characters and storyline end up, waiting to be remembered. Also, what makes “Elementary” different from the other adaptations is its New York setting. Use it more. Yes, Sherlock is British, but we don’t need to always be reminded of that. There’s plenty of creeps and twisted storylines in the US too.

The way they left the ending open gives me hope though. Sherlock ’s accepted a job offer with MI-6. Where does that leave Joan? Did he do that because her moving out means to him that she’s done with their partnership as well? Despite her reassurances, he doesn’t seem to believe that she’s going to be around, so he’s proving to himself that he can ‘function efficiently as a lone deductionist’ , bracing himself for the blow that he thinks is coming. 

“Don’t know what you are, Watson. Not lately.”

Welcome to the club. We don’t know who she is either. Btw, was it just me or did the ‘Or perhaps this was a mistake’  line could be interpreted as Sherlock doubting his decision to train Joan? As if he was thinking ‘after all time and effort I put into your training, this is how you repay me’?

Her decision is threatening the balance and the stability he’s achieved, hence the heartfelt “Stay” that yes, broke my heart a little. Beautifully written and acted scene. Sherlock is all about work. He does not understand the need of a life outside of it. Every time he comes back to the issue he always refers to their collaboration, to the sake of their partnership, to his need to grow accustomed to work without her input etc. Work is life for him, and life is work, which is why he looks positively devastated when Joan tells him she’s still getting a new place. What does he do after he overhears her phone conversation? He goes and accepts Sir Walter’s offer. Is this going to create more tension between them? It’s going to be interesting to see if they decide to set the season opener months after this one, and tell us that he’s worked with British intelligence for a while and then went back to consulting with the NYPD. And, remembering Rob Doherty’s words about how one of the best things about the show is that “we go home with these characters at the end of the day”, I’m interested in how they’re going to handle this with –two- homes now. I guess the fact that they have a new set for season three means Joan will keep her new place for a while…

Maybe when Joan finds out Sherlock’s working with MI-6 she’ll renew her medical license and start consulting on her own for a little while. Maybe she’ll get a taste of what life without him hovering over her every move feels like and then realize that’s not really what she wants. There is a lot of potential in this, lots of great storylines that could be explored and lots of details that we can find out about who she is and what she wants. Hopefully they won’t fall in to the old cliché of him relapsing and her coming back because of that.

I’m realizing now this is more a reflection about the show in general than the episode in particular so forgive me but I don’t really like spy stories so I didn’t find the case particularly interesting. Nor did I bawl my eyes out when Mycroft declared his love for his little brother and hugged him. Oh well.

Now we’re left with a 5 ½-month hiatus. What to do with all this time?

I really hope to find all of you back here when it starts back on October 30th. I like you guys too much. 

[amindamazed]

Shared with (almost) no comment:

I maintain...a dossier of interesting facts. (Moriarty, 2x12)

I had a capacity for storing facts. Quite a remarkable one....I became a sort of clearinghouse for MI6. (Mycroft, 2x23)

...I was a clearinghouse for MI6. I stored facts. (Mycroft, 2x24)

I'm not proposing that Mycroft is Moriarty's "dossier," but... it's a notable coincidence in any case.

[amindamazed]

The most recent date tattooed on Arthur West was 19 April 2014, so he was killed some time after that, long enough for his tattoos to be partly healed. A week or two, maybe? Placing his murder and the finale in early May.

(ION Mycroft's fingerprint form from his pot bust in Cambridge had a visible date too! 11/12/1986)

tattoo experts, does that time frame for healing seem reasonable?