Elementary season 3, episode 1, “Enough Nemesis To Go Around,” premiered tonight on CBS. Find out what Holmes’ return to New York means for those he left behind.

Holmes and Watson. The names go together like Velcro complete with the ugly sound that comes when ripping the two ends apart. The premiere of season 3 picks up eight months after Holmes’ position with MI6 expires. “Enough Nemesis To Go Around” has an interesting case, but the episode’s main goal is to try to reattach Sherlock’s half of the Velcro after it has rolled around in the dirt and dust.

Joan in charge: Joan Watson, consulting detective for the NYPD, did not waste any time floundering at the loss of her British roommate. She found her own place, got a man (who probably should have stuck with his British accent), and gained an arch nemesis along the way.

The nemesis, Elana March, stays far enough away from running her husband’s drug cartel to cause Joan months of turmoil. After six months on the case, Joan makes a breakthrough only to have her star witness murdered in a closed elevator and Elana set free. Without a lead, and Elana taking steps to survey Joan, the detective becomes suspicious of anyone keeping a close eye on her.

An anonymous tip comes into the precinct from a Montcliffe Ekuban that finally draws a line from the murders to a suspect. A man who checks into hotels under the name of a different notorious John, Kevin Elspeth. The tip irks Joan in more way than one. First the missing link, and then the name of the famous Victorian criminologists, lead her back to the brownstone.

The original model: Always one for a flair of the dramatic, Sherlock emerges from an isolation helmet to see his former partner for the first time since his return. Emphasis on the “former.” Joan has no time for Sherlock’s attempt at an explanation, no time for olive branches. We learn that Sherlock left Joan with five sentences, one of which told her, “You do not need me anymore.”

The last season ended with a steady rhythm of Holmes, Watson, give, and take. The reunion of Sherlock and Joan is giving us anything but that comfort. Sherlock is not the almighty figure he believes himself to be and Joan is not the companion who will fall right back into his orbit. This is the new Elementary and Joan is the one who needs to pull Sherlock back into orbit.

Sherlock’s return to Captain Gregson and Detective Bell is also less than he expected. In his absence Joan has done great work; she always had a better relationship with her acquaintances than Sherlock. Gregson’s first conversation with Holmes proves yet again that he is not the sun. In the line, “You are a means to an end to me as much as I am to you…I guess we never said that out loud,” Gregson transfers the power of Sherlock’s return to Joan.

The closed room murder: Sherlock cannot sit idly for too long. The draw of the mystery does not dull Sherlock’s attempts to continue his mission to reconcile with Watson. Bell, Gregson, Kitty, none of them matter quite as much as the esteem Joan holds Sherlock in, which is contemptible at best.

Inside the hotel room of the murderer Sherlock drew the connection to, he offers more than his previous five sentences. With Watson announcing her departure, Sherlock fled in fear. Fear of losing his resolve against the small packet of heroine, fear of failing Joan, fear of moving in a new direction. But the fear taught him something in London. It was not losing Watson that drove him mad, it was losing the give and take. He merely found another, Kitty, to fill the void of losing an apprentice.

Do not let Sherlock’s spark notes of his evolution leave any damper on the Holmes and Watson dream duo. After Kitty and Joan’s meeting ends with a baton fight, Kitty makes a point to mention that Sherlock “never shuts up” about Watson. Sherlock proves over and over that he is not comfortable with Joan’s reluctance to accept him back into her life. He continues to insert himself into Joan’s case, worming in glances and passive aggressive, “If I was your mentor…” remarks.

Back to the case: A series of nine texts brings Watson back to the brownstone to connect the final pieces of the evidence. A magnet, weighing in roughly over one ton, is the perfect component to complete the perfect crime. Transported in parts to the hotel room, and magnetic bullets placed in the walls of the elevator, once the compartment slid past the force, the bullets would dislodge, killing the victims without a human operated a weapon.

Following the dead end proving the perfect crime and his apology in the hotel, Holmes tries again to make himself available to Watson as a sounding board. In times where a nemesis is an all-consuming mind game, it helped him greatly to have Watson around to break Moriarty apart. But Joan has learned to work alone. It was a hop, skip, and a jump from there to tie various parts of the drug cartel members together to get Elana March into custody.

Joan pays Sherlock a final visit, pushing aside his praise of her hard work and bluntly welcomes him back to the force. She reiterated that they are not partners, but may consult with one another. She even welcomes Kitty on board. She sees that Kitty’s presence is not one of praise seeking, but something more. Kitty in turn recognizes the vast knowledge Watson can provide to her as her work with Sherlock continues. Her story on the other hand, is for another day.

The Velcro may not be entirely free of dirt and it isn’t sticking together as securely as it once did, but the old pull is still there.

Clyde Update:

•Clyde was spotted in Joan’s apartment in his new cozy oasis. No word on whether Sherlock will file for joint custody.

Watch Elementary season 3, episode 2, “The Five Orange Pipz,” Thursday, November 6 at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS.