Random Thoughts/Rants on Elementary 5x24 “Hurt Me, Hurt You”
1. One good scene does not an episode, nor a season make, though I understand the reaction, since we only get this level of emotion two or three times a season, if we’re lucky. And Lucy was GREAT in that conflict scene. Sigh. She is wasted here. Imagine what she could do with a good dramatic role, like in Handmaid’s Tale or House of Cards or Homeland ... ala the dear, departed Southland.
2. One thing Elementary is really good at is guest casting -- but I think they made a major error with May. You have to be at the top of your game to share an important scene with JLM. And she most assuredly was NOT. The lack of emotion/connection was jarring. And if that was a directing decision to do with how they wanted to portray the hallucination then shame on them.
Sherlock Holmes’ mother as some treacly, “I care about you,” calm little spirit? NO. She should’ve been erratic, needy, demonstrative. Then we’d be like, okay, that’s a woman he could’ve met in AA. And then to realize it was his mother (and then, by extension his own messed-up mind) would’ve made so much more sense and had so much more emotional power.
3. Speaking of shame on them, the way that whole Sherlock story played out was just atrocious. First of all, it’s been done (Sixth Sense anyone?) and done WAY better -- even by their own show, with the Alastair appearance. Not to mention on JLM’s f-ing series, Eli Stone!! How could JLM have not mentioned this to anyone? “Hey, guys, you know what? I starred in an entire series built around the fact that a guy was having hallucinations due to a brain issue. Maybe we don’t want to be repeating that.” F-ing lazy ass writers, I swear...
Secondly, there was no set-up. As I predicted here:
https://liunaticfringe.tumblr.com/post/160682371335/elementarys-mystery-woman
Just showing two scenes of him sleeping is not adequate to set up a brain trauma / neuro injury or a psychotic break. That’s bullshit. They should’ve been laying that pipe for months and months. Or at the very least in the four episodes prior to the first-part of the finale. And there should’ve been at least one scene where JW clocks something -- you’re gonna tell me she notices the lip thing that solves the murder and doesn’t have a clue that the guy she’s living with is having mental / neuro issues?
And I get that she’s upset and frustrated with the case, but I felt like she should’ve at least pressed him a little more in that top scene -- well, if you’re not using, what the hell is going on?
4. Can we PLEASE stop having people threaten JW and then do all sorts of story gymnastics to make sure that doesn’t play out? Why set up her self-defense training and her getting out of handcuffs, etc. if you don’t pay it off by having her in some actual jeopardy? And the whole of part one, it was Taius denying, denying, denying and JW like, I’m gonna prove it. Then one little push from Gregson and he’s like, okay you’re right, I’m the gang mastermind. And JW’s not even in the scene?! WTF??
5. So ... many ... plot holes. Who the hell planned Shinwell’s memorial? Who paid for the coffin? JW? Then couldn’t we at least have seen his daughter there and had a decent scene between her and JW -- well, he wasn’t such a bad guy, I'm gonna finish what he started, he loved you, they both feel sad. For the Lord’s sake. EMOTION.
Shinwell had her number in his phone? REALLY? He wouldn’t’ve put her in obvious “danger” like that.
The tattoo mob guy was carrying his sister’s body around in a crate, just so there’d be no autopsy, just so JW could come in and solve the case at the last minute. REALLY? Oh, yeah, Rob Doherty is just so brilliant that we needed both a seat belt and a tissue box to somehow make it through. F-ck that noise.
