Elementary season 3 returns this Thursday with curious cases both on screen and off. Check out the case of Kitty Winter!

You’ve heard it a million times. It rolls off the tongue. It sounds right. Holmes and Watson. The names are as inseparable as two sides of velcro. But what happens when you are a show that introduces a new character who deserves as much of the spotlight as your pervious stars? That is an issue Elementary will need to tackle as they march forward into their winter premiere and beyond in season 3.

There was a question of whether or not another detective could join the ranks of Holmes and Watson as the extended hiatus between season 2 and season 3 of Elementary dragged on. How much would newcomer Kitty Winter (Ophelia Lovibond) be involved? Is this going to disturb the relationship between Sherlock and Joan seasons 1 and 2 worked to develop? At the outset of season 3 it looked like Joan was on the outs and Sherlock’s protege was in.

But all of that changed by episode 3, when Kitty and Joan found themselves on level ground. Kitty understands that she needs Joan’s help to achieve progress beyond what Sherlock can offer her, and Joan plays the vital role of keeping Sherlock and Kitty in balance. Joan and Kitty have had their share of off screen time, whether they are off working different angles of the case, or calling in with their findings. However, in the episode, “Rip Off,” Joan is away in Copenhagen and Kitty is the loan companion. Already in the fifth episode of the season, Kitty Winter, made her mark. She certainly knows a bit more about curtailing Sherlock’s neuroses and discovering hidden specs of vital information much better than Joan ever caught on as an early detective. But how does that play with the network’s promotion of Kitty? Not too well.

If you watched any of the promotional material for this season, especially if you are a football fan, CBS’s promo spots for Elementary still pitch a Holmes and Watson story. Maybe it’s time to get a bit of Kitty in there! Because Miss Winter, like the weather, has only just begun to leave her mark on this season!

Related: Elementary season 3: Getting to know Kitty Winter

Kitty is not the new Watson, nor does she need to be billed that way. Viewers got a taste of this learning curve that exists in the relationship when Watson and Sherlock has an argument over how Kitty’s free time should be spent. But these petty parental arguments are not a recurring theme and Kitty’s own investigative prowess is highlighted each week rather than swept under the rug. There is healthy competition afoot, not just between Kitty and Joan fighting for Sherlock’s praise, but between Kitty and Sherlock, Sherlock and Joan, and Joan and Sherlock. The cases are anyone’s game in season 3!

More promise is on the horizon for Jr. Detective Winter in the upcoming weeks. Season 3, episode 11 is titled, “The Illustrious Client,” the title of the tale from which the character Kitty Winter originates. Creator Robert Doherty has also mentioned that Kitty will have an episode that will explore her past in London.

Hopefully, the network will find a way to bring in the new team member the same way fans already have.

Elementary season 3, episode 9, “The Eternity Injection,” returns this Thursday, January 8 at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS.