Tonight’s
Something worth investigating: In a media stunt for the masses, Phil Simms returns to Thursday night after CBS relinquished coverage of the NFL games for a cameo on the show. When Sherlock’s boredom gets the better of him, he consults Simms for his knife throwing skills. Though brief, it was one of the better guest spots we’ve seen on television. With Simms appearance out of the way, Kitty and Joan are left to discuss a case that needs a fresh set of eyes.
If you recall from season 2, nothing comes between Harlan Emple and the numbers, unless there is a body stuffed in a locker with the body of a man twice his size covered in moth balls.
Detective Bell and Captain Gregson are not quiet open to taking Harlan’s story at face value. Then again a math scavenger hunt with Belphegor’s prime, a demonic palindrome, at the center of it does seem to baffle more people than it entices. After putting up with their lack of faith in the numbers, Harlan refuses to speak until he is situated in front of Sherlock and Joan.
Sherlock confirms Harlan’s brilliance as well as his acquaintance with the man who serves as one of his irregulars. The collection of consultants (from canon) that Holmes keeps on call, for those moments when his own genius fails him, work in a similar vein as the way Holmes does for the NYPD.
Harlan’s allegiance to Holmes is not the average admiration of recognizing genius in an otherwise dull world. Instead of simply finding a bit of himself in Holmes, Harlan is a walking one-man fan club, showing visible signs of hurt when he finds out that his boss moved to London for eight months without sending word. Just happy to be a part of the team, Harlan has a lot to learn about withholding information. A few tidbits he kept in his back pocket include a million dollar prize and the names of possible competitors; motive and suspects respectively.
Sherlock does not disapprove of Joan’s efforts to extend a bridge between her and Kitty. But he does not admit to understanding it. Joan’s request for Kitty’s assistance on a surveillance case is her olive branch into her personal investigative work. After her initial refusal, Sherlock dispatches Kitty do Joan’s work believing it is in the trainee’s best interest. But Kitty sees right through the charade, calling Joan out for putting on her counselor hat when she should just let her move on and do the work that comes to her through Sherlock.
The puzzle hunt suspect pool reveals another twisting web within the math community, a man by the pseudonym, Mo Shellshocker, is the killer. A crusader on the internet, Mo Shellshocker calls out the bad math in the world making sure it is only used for good. It turns out that beyond exposing number manipulation, Mo has gotten himself in a bit of trouble with his brazen attitude leaking classified government documents onto the blog catching the FBI’s attention.
Sherlock recognizes that Mo Shellshocker is an anagram of his of name and that Harlan is the man behind the blog. An homage to his mentor, and true inspiration, Harlan’s obsession with Sherlock reaches a breaking point that reveals more about Sherlock and his ability to relate to others. For Harlan, math was his thing. It brought him the greatest satisfaction, kept his mind going, kept the world in order. For Sherlock, detective work does the same thing. Sherlock is not about to hold anyone’s hand through their life, but he is not used to those who confuse his self-serving requests for help with friendship. He is even less aware of what his outright refusal of that friendship will do to the other party.
The same can be said of his relationship with Kitty under Joan’s outsider view. she fears that Sherlock’s obsession with getting what he wants from people and then tossing them aside could backfire in the case of Kitty. When he suggests that she is lucky to have both a mother and father figure in her life, Joan shuts that failed metaphor in its tracks before Sherlock can lay joint custody on the table. Joan is able to get her support group cards on the table for Sherlock to approach Kitty with. Understanding the benefits of the meetings from a personal standpoint, Sherlock is able to get Kitty to consider the trauma support meetings. Kitty does realize that Sherlock is in over his head, but with Joan on her side, there is hope for her to seize all that Sherlock has to offer.
Kitty’s steps to preserve of her relationship with Joan echoes Sherlock’s means to preserve not only Harlan’s life, but his relationship with his consultant. In the midst of surfing through the blog of Mo, Kitty recognizes a piece of interesting material. The man who is leading the hunt for Mo, is the same person who is responsible for changing the hunt in order to capture and kill Mo. After Mo exposed the cheat for predicting lottery outcomes, Mo ruined Paul, the math league’s leader, free additional income. Sherlock reveals Harlan’s identity, but assures him that his FBI contacts have created a trail to a cyber terrorist not to Harlan’s front door.
No matter how much progress took place this week, the tension still lingers as Joan rings the brownstone doorbell and is greeted with the question, “Me or him?”
Clyde Watch:
•Sherlock looked in Clyde’s general direction tonight. We may have caught a lingering gaze of longing for his companionship in his eyes.
Watch Elementary season 3, episode 4, “Bella,” Thursday, November 20 at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
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