Hypable’s guide to Elementary season 3 continues! Each week leading up to the season 3 premiere, we will bring you a recap of a pivotal episode from the first two seasons of Elementary.
For those still on the fence about picking up Elementary, season 1, episode 3 “Child Predator” provides an excellent survey of the highs and lows of the series. Johnny Lee Miller’s Sherlock goes through his range of irksome quirks. This includes his inability to process emotion and cockiness about his abilities. Sherlock transitions right into his humbling side, showing his ardent desire to help the victims and distaste for preying assailants.
The Basics:
“Child Predator” does a great job of surveying how quickly Sherlock’s mind can pick up evidence by playing it against Joan’s attempt to process the emotional ramifications of their work. Five minutes in the kitchen leads Sherlock to discover through a phone ID, bottle of wine, forwarded mail, and a set of kitchen duplicates that the victim’s parents recently separated and are now back together following an affair.
One important relationship that is not effected by sleep is between Sherlock and Captain Gregson. When Sherlock begins to get on a tangent and make demands, Gregson steps in to put the power of the NYPD behind his rambling. Sherlock respects Captain Gregson and holds his authority in high esteem. No matter how certain he is of his theories, he will take the steps to follow the protocol of contacting Gregson or Bell before proceeding with his suspicions.
Sherlock’s interactions with Gregson and Bell will build two of his most important relationships and be the most tested as the series develops.
The Case:
The “Balloon Man”, a child predator whose signature mark is a bundle of balloons, takes his eighth victim in Queens, NY. Sherlock, fascinated by the case when he was in London, waits to be called for help after hearing the news of the kidnapping on his police scanner. Arriving at the home, Sherlock notices that the girl put up a fight meaning she was awake at the time of the kidnapping. Sherlock quickly prevents the parents from making a public statement on television, because the “Balloon Man’s” track record shows that the victims whose families pleaded for their child’s return turned up dead in a matter of a day. Sherlock is trying to buy time.
When a brown van described by the mistress turns up on a highway, the police make an interesting discovery when the driver is apprehended. Adam Kemper, the “Balloon Man’s” first victim, is the person driving the vehicle. When his parents enter the scenario, Adam is working towards a plea bargain that will grant him immunity from all crimes associated with the “Balloon Man.”
Sherlock takes one minor detail, the “Balloon Man” works nights, and runs with it. After yet another restless night, Sherlock discovers the name and profession of the man and on a raid of the residence, discovers that he is one step behind and the “Balloon Man” left a bundle of balloons in the empty apartment. A flash drive shows the “Balloon Man”, Samuel Abbott, demanding Adam be returned to him in exchange for girl he kidnapped. Sherlock approaches Adam and begins to realize that Adam has been the “Balloon Man” for quiet some time. Adam turned the tables on Abbott after getting a taste of murder.
Sherlock finds a loophole in the immunity clause, discovering that Abbott’s back surgery placed him in the hospital in full traction at the time of the fifth victims abduction. Adam must have been bored and sloppily carried out his first solo kidnapping. Police may only be able to get Adam on one of the seven cases, but it puts Sherlock’s mind at ease.
Joan and Sherlock:
There are a few moments in this episode that set up a trajectory for the rest of the series. First, Sherlock takes Joan’s rambling and instead of using her as an inanimate object to bounce ideas off of, takes her commentary into serious consideration. He appreciates her ability to deal with a difficult person who uses a difficult process and, at the end of the episode, admits he is beginning to prefer her over his usual buddy, a phrenology bust named Angus.
Second, there is a moment where Sherlock screams at Watson to wake her up after making a break through. Sherlock will continue to use various different strategies to wake up Joan moving forward in the season. Finally, while Sherlock admits he will continue to drown out her “sobriety tribble,” he does take her advice when it comes to remedies to stay awake. Even if it means doing over 1000 squats. (Of course the lingering pain leads to a break through!) One small step in his acceptance of Joan’s advice.
Watson, as seen in nearly every Sherlock Holmes adaptation, celebrates the genius of Sherlock’s mind, even if he does not feel the full extent of his success. In this episode, and throughout the series, Joan will do the same for Sherlock. She tries to focus on the accomplishments of “x” and “y”, but Sherlock will zone in on the “z” that slipped through his fingers. It is the “z” factor that will typically lead Joan, whether directly or indirectly, to spark the final fuse.
Where are we going next?
Next we are going to have another significant time hop and look at Elementary season 1, episode 6 “Flight Risk.”
• Check out last week’s look at the pilot episode of Elementary.
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