Elementary, Season 1, Episode 7: “One way to Get Off”
Directed by Seith Mann
Written by Christopher Silber
Airs Thursdays at 10pm (ET) on CBS.
From the last moments of “Flight Risk“, we knew that we were going to see another side to Elementary‘s Sherlock Holmes. As the first season has been extended to an impressive 24 episodes, it feels like we may have even more to learn about the closed-off detective.
In this episode, “One Way to Get Off,” Holmes tackles a series of murders that rattles a cage in Captain Gregson’s past, as it bears similarities with the crimes of Wade Crews, a perp he put away. In the meantime, Watson continues to find out more about Holmes by visiting his former rehab centre and basically trying to get him open about the significance of Irene – only to be met with constant insistence that it is none of her business.
The theme of this episode is all about the past, effectively those of Holmes and Gregson. They both want their past case histories – Irene and Crews respectively – to remain in the past, and their mutual reluctance in discussing them any further only feeds the feeling of insecurity between the two characters. Quinn gets considerable more screentime in this episode, enforcing Gregson as a strong, moral character; shedding more light on not only his adamance in sticking by the rules – as demonstrated when confronting his former partner about her part in the case – and that his position in the NYPD hierarchy is justified.
Jonny Lee Miller’s Holmes is not as smug in comparison to previous episodes. Possibly due to Watson knowing his Achilles’ Heel or the fact that the consequences of the case in question doesn’t add up. He shows more than his keen intellect in this case – from assigning phone calls from Watson with the infamous theme tune from ‘Psycho‘ and throwing oranges at suspects’ faces – he is immature, almost comical but emotional and sympathetic when the moment calls for it…it finally feels like we are learning more about him, as a character, with each episode. It is a reassuring feeling, as the initial feeling of watching a closed book of a character seems to dissipate with each mystery.
Liu’s Watson feels like she has a major piece in the puzzle of her sober companion, but his reluctance in talking about it leads her to delve into his past through conversations with the staff at his old rehab centre, only to support the stuff she already knows rather than fill in the blanks. It’s interesting to see Watson face her past in previous episodes but Holmes continually won’t.
Writer Christopher Silber is more creative with the plot, adding different layers to what seemed to be a simple copycat case – along with the showcase of talents from Miller and finally Quinn, “One Way to Get Off” is the easily most watchable Elementary episode yet.
– Katie Wong