That was a lovely new variation on a theme

Only Sherlock went in the water and was swept away on Elementary Season 7 Episode 12.

Wanting to be done with Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote what he meant to be the final Holmes adventure in 1893, "The Adventure of the Final Problem."

In it, Holmes and his arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty, fell off a cliff at Reichenbach Falls to their deaths.

But you can't keep a good detective down. Public outcry caused Doyle to resurrect Sherlock about a decade later.

When in doubt, mine the classics.

Fortunately, on Elementary, Sherlock too returned with his arm in a sling, settling in for a stay in Florence. That are worst fates.

He'll hang out there, while he's presumed dead in New York, until Reichenbach falls (you can't keep a good pun down either).

Related: Elementary Season 7 Episode 11 Review: Unfriended

It's a shame it had to come to that, but nothing else that Sherlock and Joan tried was working.

The episode opened just after Morland's body was found on Elementary Season 7 Episode 11, with Sherlock in shock.

Naturally, he did what he does best, heading to where Morland's body was found to search for clues.

Fortunately, grief hadn't dulled his keen deductive skills, as he got everyone away from the stolen car housing Morland's body before it blew up, saving all those investigating the murder. 

One salient point that Sherlock and Joan had pieced together is that Odin had stopped recruiting volunteers to do his assassinations. He was now using mercenaries, beginning with the Wesley Conrad hit on Elementary Season 7 Episode 10.

Instead of dealing with zealots who believed in a cause, now there were mercs who could be turned, at least theoretically.

However good that sounded in practice, it didn't work out at all well in this case.

The same four-man merc team killed both Morland and Annie.

Then one member of the team executed, chopped up, and burned the other three in a cookstove.

So, while M.E. Hawes did an admirable job identifying the three dead mercs, it didn't get Sherlock, Joan, and Marcus very far.

To find that fourth man, Joan and Marcus interviewed a businessman, dying from pancreatic cancer, who had used that now-defunct mercenary firm previously. He gave them leads which led nowhere.

Then Sherlock discovered a burn on the man's arm, proving that he was the fourth merc.

It's pretty hard to flip a man who has nothing for which to live so the district attorney declined to prosecute him.

So much for this great new line of pursuit, as Joan and Sherlock were back to square one.

It was interesting watching Sherlock work through his grief with Joan. Despite all that Sherlock held against Morland, I think he had come around on his father by his end.

As the last Holmes, Sherlock had nothing to lose, so he went for a desperation play.

Earlier, he had given McNally one more chance to get back on the right side of the law. Whether that was a legitimate offer or Sherlock just wanted McNally running to Odin, I'm not sure.

When Odin met with McNally, it was clear that he felt the walls closing in, although he was too arrogant to admit it. Why else would he be after access to all the NSA platforms?

Related: 21 Characters Who Work Way Too Hard

Sherlock had what he needed from his meeting with McNally: the chance to clone his phone.

This gave him the chance to set up a one-on-one showdown with Odin, at a place, and under the circumstances that he selected.

Sherlock brought the gun to provoke Odin.

Odin had no compunction about ordering killings but he had no desire to have a gun pointed at him. Sherlock knocked him off-balance from the beginning.

Sherlock proceeded to excoriate Odin for the killings he had authorized to plant concern within him.

Sherlock was playing a part, the deranged, overmatched detective out for justice, and he played it well. He wanted Odin to fear for his life and to grab for the gun.

Then Sherlock's witnesses showed up -- Joan, Gregson, and Marcus -- just in time to see and hear the gunfire and to discover Odin with the murder weapon in hand.

Who is in on Sherlock's scheme? Maybe Joan. Likely Joan, after the way she deflected Marcus's questions.

Definitely not Marcus, although he was suspicious Sherlock was up to something since no body could be found.

If Gregson knows (I don't think he does), he's doing a damn good job hiding it.

He attacked Odin like he would any perp, trying to break him down. He also pointed out that Odin's secret kill squad was going to come out at trial.

There's a lot that needs to happen in the finale. Sherlock needs to come back from Florence, but only after Odin's secrets have been revealed.

Related: Get CBS All Access via Amazon Channels for Hit Shows, Exclusive Originals & Live TV! 

Then, Moriarty has to show up for the finale. Just keep her and Sherlock away from any high places.

Now, make that all come together and feel organic. Creator Robert Doherty is writing the finale, so if anybody can do that, he can.

To review the Odin files before the finale, watch Elementary online.

Did you peg the dying man as the merc?

What did you think of Sherlock's frame of Odin?

What role will Moriarty play in the finale?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.