A killer left an intriguing calling card on Elementary Season 3 Episode 2 as Holmes and Watson reunited on their first case as co-consultants.

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure I understood the difference between co-consultant and partners. Sure, Watson and Sherlock now work separate cases, but when Sherlock's first case back was one already assigned to Joan - why bother splitting them apart?

The only real change is the petulant protege in between them. I'm still not sure how to take her. 

Watch Elementary Season 3 Episode 2 Online

The case began interestingly enough. A man received a manila envelope in the mail. When he opened it up, five orange beads fell out. He panicked and called someone, but Captain Gregson answered the phone instead. The person he was calling had been murdered. And there were five orange beads scattered on his desk too.

The man freaked out and Captain Gregson overheard the man begging for his life before being shot. It sounded like a case for Sherlock Holmes, except for one tiny problem. The case went to Watson, not Holmes. 

Holmes: It's unlikely I'll find another case half as worthy of my attention.
Watson: I could say the same thing.
Holmes: And indeed you should.

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I liked that Gregson assigned the case to Joan. He holds Joan in high regard and it shows. I was glad (sort of) that they ended up working on a case together, because Holmes and Watson are a team. 

But I didn't expect them to partner up on the first case together. I expected them to work two separate cases that either eventually connected or they ended up going to each other as a sounding board while working individual cases. The truth was, besides Kitty being a frequent  presence, it was business as normal.

So what was the point of breaking up the duo? Not that I want Holmes and Watson to fight; I don't. But I was surprised the only lingering animosity came from Kitty. All of Watson's anger and hurt seemed to have disappeared. 

I did expect some continuing tension between Sherlock and Joan. And Kitty being annoying did not count. Do I understand why she was prickly? Yes. Am I a bit more sympathetic to her plight now that Sherlock shared some details about her background. Yes. Do I think she's an asset. I don't know. 

The case had some interesting twists and turns. The parent of a deceased child willing to be framed for the murder of the man who killed his son was heartbreaking.

So let's say I am being framed, if that were true, I'd take that fall. I know it wouldn't get Amy back, but at least she would know that I'm the one who got the guy.

Coleman

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Identifying the real killer wasn't terribly hard, which was a bit disappointing. I remembered the cases and killers being a bit more unusual and worthy of Holmes and Watson. 

Joan dug into Kitty's background after Bell mentioned Kitty's intensity. He rightly noted that Joan had been a calming and stable influence on Sherlock, whereas Kitty was a loose cannon.

We don't know all the details about who Kitty is, but we know she was taken by a man and has horrific scars. I imagine we can deduce on our own what happened to Kitty, and I don't blame her for wanting to reinvent herself. This information certainly makes her more sympathetic, but I'd still like them to dial down the petulance a bit. 

Sherlock clearly saw something in her when he met her in England and believed her worthy of the title protege.

She's strong, Watson. Smart. The training I'm attempting to provide her, the same training I provided you, for her has an ulterior motive. It is, in part, an attempt to channel residual feelings that she has into a productive skill. I believe she will make an excellent investigator. Just not today.

Holmes

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I hope you are right, Mr. Holmes. We have yet to really see this side of her.

I've never been a huge fan of when they throw someone in the mix to cause friction, just for the sake of tension. Sherlock creates enough tension with his friends and co-workers just being himself. I'd rather they invest in creating some truly worthy adversaries. 

What did you think of tonight's episode? Were you surprised by how quickly it seemed like business as normal? Have your views changed on Kitty? Share your thoughts in the comments below. And don't forget, you can binge watch Elementary online via TV Fanatic at your convenience.