Elementary, Season 1, Episode 14: “The Deductionist”
Written by Craig Sweeny and Robert Doherty
Directed by John Poison
Aired Thursdays at 8pm (ET) on CBS
Due to the Super Bowl, there is a bit of mix-up with Elementary, so there are two episodes for the price of one this week. After a curious cold opening where we get a look into the kinky side of Sherlock Holmes, his deductive skills are under the microscope this week as an old flame, FBI profiler Kathryn Drummond, re-enters his life to investigate a convicted serial killer’s disappearance.
There is a certain level of snark (probably hiding his arrogance for a change) from Holmes as he is riled that someone used him to get under his skin, rather than his bed, to their own advantage; something that you would not expect from a guy that got his kicks in handcuffs.
There is a definite theme of trying to break one’s established character in this episode, as we see Holmes as well as convicted killer Ennis behave in the least expected, and more importantly unpredictable, way. This clever ploy adopted by episode writers allows smart plot twists that, in turn, breaks the mould of their normal modus operandi of straightforward cases that are solved swiftly. All of this culminates into a pretty tense standoff that is reminiscent of the pill tradeoff in Sherlock‘s pilot episode, Pretty in Pink.
The subplot involving Watson, however, seems like a cheap ploy to further explain her extended stay at Holmes’ brownstone. How she rumbles the figurative leak in her apartment shows how far she has come in Holmes’ unofficial tutelage but it lacks intrigue and pokes fun at the dormant libido of her associate (seeing he is no longer her client).
All in all, The Deductionist is a satisfying episode with a great plot twist and Miller has never had a better opportunity to explore Holmes’ more flirtatious side.