Contributor: Bronzethumb
Written by Liz Friedman and Christopher Silber
Directed by John Coles
When returning from a hiatus, even just a short one, most shows put their best foot forward; they make an effort to re-hook their audience and draw in any new viewers who happen to be turning in. “Elementary” doesn’t quite go this route. Instead, we get a pretty typical episode, not bad but not close to the stellar episode that preceded this one last month, with only the vaguest hint of overarching story or character development.
The manager of a Manhattan hotel is found murdered in one of the hotel’s laundry units, having been cleaned of most of the physical evident. Holmes and Watson investigate the dead woman’s husband, daughter and business associates, but things start getting complicated when it turns out the hotel may be involved with prostitution and espionage. Meanwhile, the end of Watson’s contract is fast approaching and Holmes tries to work out a new deal that would allow her to stay.
The plot’s a bit of a mixed bag in this episode. The first thirty minutes are by-the-numbers, very basic procedural fare with little to distinguish it from the latest NCIS or CSI except the British accent and names. But there’s a great twist in the tale, coming at roughly the halfway mark of the episode, which reinvigorates the A-plot and keeps thing interesting and fresh for the rest of the running time. It’s enough to forgive the weak first half, but doesn’t change the fact that it’s very tempting to turn off the TV before that sharp turn.
Character beats are normally the saving grace of an “Elementary” episode with a not-so-strong A-plot, but they’re somewhat infrequent here. Or at least, they’re somewhat infrequent between Holmes and Watson. What few beats we do get are centred on the imminent departure of Watson, a lingering threat that no one in the audience actually buys, but at least the show is taking steps to set up Watson staying with Holmes even as their circumstances change. Surprisingly, it recalls the evolution of the literary Holmes and Watson’s dynamic, where the roommates eventually went off to have separate lives.
There’s a surprisingly solid bank of guest performances in “Dirty Laundry”, and they’re all the better for nicely subverting all the usual “narrowed it down to the guy I recognise” trope. For the first time since “Child Predator”, there’s a baddie we can appreciate and revile at the same time, and a nice family dynamic on which the A-plot deftly hangs, but the biggest kudos of the guest cast goes to Melissa Farman (whom “Lost” fans might recognise) and her very sympathetic performance. She’s really the emotional hook of the story and she makes it work.
When all’s said and done, “Dirty Laundry” is a pretty good episode, and very typical of “Elementary” and its well-done procedural fare. The A-plot is surprisingly impressive, if not as intricate and mysterious as what we got in “The Leviathan”, and the guest characters pick up the slack as Holmes and Watson don’t get much in the way of development. It’s a solid return and a not-terrible way to kill an hour.
Score: 7/10
