Television: Elementary, "One Watson, One Holmes"

The story this week is that Everyone—that hacker group that likes to coerce Holmes into ridiculous situations in return for information—is enmeshed in a civil war, and one of them comes to Holmes to ask for help in uncovering the true identity of another member. Which is ridiculous enough to begin with considering Holmes's arsenal of information includes Everyone, so . . . The chances of Holmes doing what one of these hackers cannot, at least in this particular instance, are slim at best. But fine, okay, this kid is grasping at straws. Holmes sends him packing, which also seems stupid given the kid now knows where you live and you've given him all the more reason to make your life difficult.

But none of this ends up mattering because the hacker the kid wanted to find ends up dead, and it appears the kid did it. Of course, that's too easy, and down we go into FBI cases and whatnot, none of it all that interesting. I mean, how did this one guy get framed? Since the person would have needed access to the kid's hair and car? Maybe they explained that and I wasn't listening. Or able to hear. (There were some issues with our cable, and the sound kept cutting in and out, so . . .)

As for the episode's title, it's predicated on the idea that they work as a team only when each of them is fulfilling his and her role. But Watson's post-Andrew determination to become more like Holmes—to insulate herself and focus more on work and less on social life—has upset the balance. Holmes tries to engage Watson in conversation, but she stonewalls him. He encourages her to go to bridal planning parties with her friends, but she finds excuses not to. Finally, Holmes tells her he cannot function without her playing the part of Watson, but makes the mistake of making it all about his needs. Later, he is able to recast the situation as not being healthy for her, saying that what he's learned from working with her is that friendship is important, and that blocking oneself off is unhealthy. So that by the end of the episode, Watson is going out with her friends again.

A very weak denouement involving more or less blackmailing the FBI agent who stymied the murder investigation . . . Just not all that great an episode overall, though I wonder what, if any, lingering effects it will have in regards to Holmes's relationship with Everyone. He did warn them and more or less save them, so . . .

Next week looks to be more fun: a haunted house! Yay!