Contributor: Bronzethumb
Written by Robert Doherty
Directed by John Polsen
Back in the first season of “Person of Interest”, there was a particularly stellar episode called “Witness” that marked the point where the show moved from being a procedural with a good cast and good premise to a show with a present and ongoing mythology and real character arcs. There’s even a term for it: “Growing the Beard”, coined for Commander Riker’s transformation in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and standing in contrast to “Jumping the Shark”. And after stumbling for a good half-a-season, “Elementary” has finally grown a solid crop of facial hair and delivered, in imitation of “Witness”, its best episode yet.
Holmes is given a second chance to fix one of his greatest failures when the NYPD discover a crime scene identical to those left by “M”, a serial killer from the UK whom Holmes failed to catch during his time with Scotland Yard as a result of his increasingly serious drug problem. Meanwhile, Watson’s time as Holmes’ sober companion is coming to an end, but her services become more important than ever when she learns that Holmes has far more personal reasons to catch M than simple justice or wounded pride — reasons that are complicated when the truth behind the mysterious M comes to light.
By the end of the teaser, “M.” was well on its way to being the best episode of “Elementary” yet. Putting us with the killer from minute one takes the focus away from the traditional “whodunit” and makes the story about the battle of wits, the cat-and-mouse chase, between M and Holmes. The meticulous, brutal way M kills his victims gets us interested in the character without being sympathetic. And Vinnie Jones is such an interesting choice for the role: he’s a big, broad actor who we usually see playing rough-and-tumble British gangers, but the juxtaposition of a man who looks like he could break people like twigs but acts with such methodical precision creates an imposing villain, one who can and will prove a challenge to the great Sherlock Holmes.
And therein lays the absolute greatest strength of the episode. From the pilot, it’s seemed like Robert Doherty is a Sherlock Holmes geek with his hands tied by the network. Only tiny snippets of the Holmes canon has made its way onto the screen so far, which is why it’s surprising when “M.” goes gangbusters towards balancing all that out. The title of the episode is going to clue in the fans of other adaptations or the canon as to what “M.” will be dealing with, but there’s a wealth of detail, in ways large and small, from the return of the bees to the introduction of the “Elementary” version of the Baker Street irregulars to one or two big names.
But better yet, these canon details become intricate to the particular story arcs that “Elementary” has been telling, using ideas from the canon as a starting point, and while this version of Holmes and Watson still feel inconsistent with their canon counterparts, their past and futures journeys have become more compelling than ever. To say much more would be to ruin a series of excellent twists and reveals that push “M.” into the territory of genuinely fantastic television, but it’s worth pointing out in hindsight that the episode’s title isn’t just a clue, it’s an incredibly concise way to name all the external forces that are poking and prodding at Holmes and Watson.
What started as a procedural with links to the canon has finally made the jump. We really care now, about this Holmes and this Watson and the world they inhabit. The story they’re playing out is more than a re-tread canon, but something else entirely, with all kinds of possibilities for growth, for discovery, for tension and excitement. It’s so nice to see a show that’s been struggling to live up to its own potential actually make that leap, grow the beard and show what it’s really capable of.
Score: 9/10
