Elementary Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Terra Pericolosa
Tanya Moat
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Kitty had her first hidden corpse case on Elementary Season 3 Episode 6 and while it made Sherlock proud (since you can't put a price on that experience), the case wasn't so much about the hidden corpse. It was about maps, forged maps to be precise.
Joan was back from Denmark and ably assisted Sherlock on the case. She and Kitty seemed more comfortable with each other too.
I must say since Kitty has dramatically toned down her petulant act, she has really grown on me, and I enjoyed her banter with Joan.
Joan: So, did he behave himself while I was gone?
Kitty: That depends, are you talking about the frowny one with the hard shell or do you mean Clyde?
Joan quickly noticed that Sherlock was giving Kitty quite a bit of grunt work. I was surprised Kitty was so willing to run errands without complaining. It didn't seem quite like her, but we eventually found out why Sherlock and Kitty were both acting a bit out of character: there was a man "courting" Kitty.
Sherlock has shown his human side much more frequently this season. Don't get me wrong, he is still abrupt, brilliant and rude. But he also cares. Something he rarely demonstrated previously.
Kitty's new friendships, especially the budding one with Zachary, made Sherlock nervous. So Sherlock being Sherlock, he didn't talk to Kitty about his concerns, but just kept her busy, much to Joan's displeasure.
Joan was happy to see Kitty opening up, making friends outside of Sherlock and herself. Her frustration with Sherlock eventually boiled over into a good 'ol Mom and Dad argument with Kitty caught in the middle.
Joan: Do you need to take that?
Sherlock: No, I don't believe she does.
Joan: How would you know?
Sherlock: Because we got a lot of work to do and very little time to do it.
Joan: I'm here. I can help.
Sherlock: And help you shall.
Joan: What if my phone rings? Do I need your permission to answer it?
Sherlock: You are not my protege.
Kitty: Uh. I'd like to go to the loo. Unless either of you have any objections.
Sherlock wanted Joan to help him parent Kitty and he got his wish. After all, don't all parents occasionally argue over their kids while pretending nothing is amiss? I loved it. Kitty looked appropriately uncomfortable and torn between which parent to side with. I would have chosen the loo too.
Joan knew Sherlock didn't believe in love and frowned upon romantic entanglements among his proteges. But Kitty's past was very different from Joan's as Sherlock pointed out. Hearing Sherlock describe how Kitty was when he met her, showed how much she had grown under his tutelage. He was a proud, scared Papa.
I don't think Sherlock gets scared very often, much less on the behalf of other people. We still don't know Kitty that well (and I know some of you are still annoyed with her presence) but I'd like to get to know her better. Because clearly Sherlock saw something in her, and she made him care and want to help. And that makes her special, much like Joan.
The case itself wasn't anything exceptional. Kitty and Gregson continued to pair together nicely, especially after last week's chat. It seemed like everyone had the same idea to make a forgery of the map, but only one went so far to kill over it. Of course, money is always strong motivation for murder unfortunately.
I did like how each of them played a role in the case; no one was dead weight. Kitty initially found the hidden body (her first one!). Sherlock deduced who the thief was and why everyone wanted the original Bray map. And Joan figured out who the murderer was.
The only thing that struck me as odd was the first murder of the security guard. The thief, Zupko, strangled a security guard for his keys since he was having troubles picking the locks. Okay, I can buy that if he was a novice, which he wasn't. Most experienced thieves are pretty good with locks, so it just seemed a little off to me that those particular locks were so troublesome to him. A small quibble overall.
To me, the best part of the show as a whole is watching the evolving relationship between Sherlock, Joan and Kitty. And especially to see the character growth in Sherlock.
Sherlock: I was worried. So I kept you otherwise engaged. That was a mistake. I have watched the progress you have made over the last few months with great pride. You've come a very long way. I should have trusted you to continue that progression.
Kitty: I knew.
Sherlock: You knew what?
Kitty: I could tell you had figured out about Zachary. I knew that's why you were keeping me busy. But I was glad of it. I was afraid as well. Zachary's sweet. He likes me. What you did made me feel ... very protected ... very loved.
I might have been sniffling right along with Kitty.
Sherlock is traditionally more concerned about being right, being the most brilliant person in the room, solving the unsolvable. Even solving mysteries was often less about justice or helping the victims and more about outwitting criminals, especially masterminds like Moriarty. This Sherlock still embodies those characteristics, but he also has a firmer grasp on his humanity and permits himself to care. And I like it.
What did you think of tonight's episode? Do you think Sherlock has changed since the first season? Do you prefer this more human Sherlock or the more self-involved version?
Don't forget you can watch Elementary online via TV Fanatic if you missed tonight's episode.
