Holmesian Musings and Ripping Yarns
There’s a reason why I rarely watch network TV.
The season premiere of Elementary picks up right after Sherlock is arrested for giving his heroin dealer a severe beat down. The beating was administered in a pretty unsophisticated manner, rather than with the Baritsu his name sake was noted for. While awaiting word from the district attorney, he and his partner (the appropriately named ‘Watson,’ portrayed by Lucy Liu) take on a freelance case.
The case involves one Jonathan Bloom (whom I assume is a former foe of Holmes’s) who has been accused of murdering his wife, Alica, an immigrant from Honduras. Bloom, who admits to past murders, asks Holms and Watson to clear his name in this particular case.
Ten years ago, Alicia and group of other Hondurans had paid a “coyote” (someone hired to smuggle immigrants across national borders) to smuggle them through Mexico into the United States. There, they were stopped by the Mexican Escarra cartel, who demanded payment. The coyote, having pocketed the allotted bribery cash, high tailed it out of there. A massacre ensued, and Alicia and her friend Maribel were the only ones to escape. Ten years later, they meet up at a Honduran restaurant in New Jersey and decide to seek revenge on one of the cartel members.
But there’s a TWIST! You see, the coyote was a man simply known as El Gato (that’s ‘The Cat’). The name of the restaurant is Nuevas Vidas—Nine Lives. Nine lives…like a CAT! They were never after a cartel member, they were going to avenge themselves on the coyote—the restaurant owner! They make an attempt on his life, are defeated, and buried on his property. The End.
WHOA! What a head spinner!
There’s no real action anywhere in the episode, rather, it’s simply a series of bland conversations, one after the other, in different settings. Also, unlike the original Sherlock Holmes, this guy isn’t particularly observant and doesn’t perform any deductive reasoning. Instead, the story relies on sudden “AHA!” moments. Literally, with eight minutes left in the time slot, a sudden revelation leads our heroes to the culprit. That, and Sherlock’s father abruptly shows up, announcing his intention to clean up the mess his son had created for himself. Deus ex machina, anyone?
As I said, there’s a reason a rarely watch network TV.
Yours,
John Fulcher
