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Elementary - Season 2
At the end of season one of ‘Elementary’, Joan more than proved her sleuthing skills to Sherlock and the collaboration between the two is going strong. In season two, the two still work as consultants for the NYPD. Even though the formula of the series has remained the same (a new case for every episode), but ‘Elementary’ still manages to bring something new to the table for its second season. Whereas the main focus of season one was on Watson’s development, season two mainly focuses on Sherlock’s personal growth. There’s also more variety in scenery as the two take a trip to London and old acquaintances from Holmes’ past make an appearance. On top of that, the cases in season two are still fascinating and intriguing, ensuring that ‘Elementary’ remains a must-see for fans of detective series.
Besides the exciting and absurd crimes that need to be solved, Sherlock’s (Jonny Lee Miller, ‘Eli Stone’) personal development takes centre stage this season. He’s becoming more aware of his human side, and tries hard to be a better person, especially to Watson (Lucy Liu, ‘Ally McBeal’). The look on Sherlock’s face every time he feels a new human emotion is quite entertaining. It’s especially interesting to see how these developments influence his interaction with the people around him; with Watson, with Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn, ‘Prime Suspect’) and Detective Bell (Jon Michael Hill, ‘Detroit 1-8-7’) of the NYPD, but also with old acquaintances like Inspector Lestrade (Sean Pertwee, ‘Cold Feet’) from Scotland Yard and his brother Mycroft Holmes (Rhys Ifans, ‘Neverland’).
These developments do create an even bigger gap between the series and Arthur Conan Doyle’s books. Not that ‘Elementary’ was a loyal adaptation to begin with, but after season two there is little left to be found of the original Holmes in Miller’s performance, apart from his detective skills. Personally, I think it’s interesting to see how the writers put their own stamp on the character and keep pushing him further into the modern age, although the emphasis on Holmes’ development is a bit too present from time to time. The focus could have been a bit more subtle. On the other hand, it is a positive thing that the series and characters aren’t at a standstill and keep changing and moving forward. This makes season two not just a continuation of season one, but it also adds new elements to the series.
A minor drawback of the series is the way in which it deals with overarching story elements. The series has a tendency to introduce overarching story lines, to then drop them completely, only to return to them later on again anyway. This gives the series a bit of a staccato feeling, rather than that the story lines keep flowing from episode to episode. Holmes, for example, takes an entire episode to decide whether or not he wants to become someone else’s sponsor. After the effort it takes him to make up his mind, the entire affair isn’t even mentioned in the next episode. In a later episode, it suddenly is a big apart again of the story, only to then not mention it anymore in the rest of the series. It’s a background element and it doesn’t have to be put in a spot light, but there could be a bit more consistency in the way in which the series deals with these kinds of elements.
Because of this attitude, the series also loses some great opportunities to build suspense. Moriarty (Natalie Dormer, ‘The Tudors’, ‘Game of Thrones’) suddenly reappears halfway through the season, and it becomes clear that Holmes had some trouble cutting her out his life after all. This didn’t have to be obvious, but by placing the occasional clue in a couple of episodes, the revelation becomes much more fun for the viewer. It wouldn’t have just been sprung on the viewer, but it gives the viewer the idea that, if you had properly interpreted the clues, you could have seen it coming. The series also could have paid a bit more attention to the mystery surrounding Mycroft. After his mysterious phone call at the end of episode eight, the series doesn’t get back to it until episode twenty-two, which is a really long time to not do anything with such a big plot twist.
Whilst this might sound quite negative, it only concerns a small part of the series. The series still manages to capture its audience, the actors give great performances, the great chemistry between Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu is still there, the series looks amazing and as a bonus Clyde the turtle has a fair share of screen time this season. Even though the season doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger, the characters do find themselves in a different place than at the beginning of the season and the partnership between Holmes and Watson is at a turning point. The combination of exciting sleuthing and personal development is what makes ‘Elementary’ such a great series and the end of season two promises a lot of good things for season three.
Follow ElementaryBesides the exciting and absurd crimes that need to be solved, Sherlock’s (Jonny Lee Miller, ‘Eli Stone’) personal development takes centre stage this season. He’s becoming more aware of his human side, and tries hard to be a better person, especially to Watson (Lucy Liu, ‘Ally McBeal’). The look on Sherlock’s face every time he feels a new human emotion is quite entertaining. It’s especially interesting to see how these developments influence his interaction with the people around him; with Watson, with Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn, ‘Prime Suspect’) and Detective Bell (Jon Michael Hill, ‘Detroit 1-8-7’) of the NYPD, but also with old acquaintances like Inspector Lestrade (Sean Pertwee, ‘Cold Feet’) from Scotland Yard and his brother Mycroft Holmes (Rhys Ifans, ‘Neverland’).
These developments do create an even bigger gap between the series and Arthur Conan Doyle’s books. Not that ‘Elementary’ was a loyal adaptation to begin with, but after season two there is little left to be found of the original Holmes in Miller’s performance, apart from his detective skills. Personally, I think it’s interesting to see how the writers put their own stamp on the character and keep pushing him further into the modern age, although the emphasis on Holmes’ development is a bit too present from time to time. The focus could have been a bit more subtle. On the other hand, it is a positive thing that the series and characters aren’t at a standstill and keep changing and moving forward. This makes season two not just a continuation of season one, but it also adds new elements to the series.
A minor drawback of the series is the way in which it deals with overarching story elements. The series has a tendency to introduce overarching story lines, to then drop them completely, only to return to them later on again anyway. This gives the series a bit of a staccato feeling, rather than that the story lines keep flowing from episode to episode. Holmes, for example, takes an entire episode to decide whether or not he wants to become someone else’s sponsor. After the effort it takes him to make up his mind, the entire affair isn’t even mentioned in the next episode. In a later episode, it suddenly is a big apart again of the story, only to then not mention it anymore in the rest of the series. It’s a background element and it doesn’t have to be put in a spot light, but there could be a bit more consistency in the way in which the series deals with these kinds of elements.
Because of this attitude, the series also loses some great opportunities to build suspense. Moriarty (Natalie Dormer, ‘The Tudors’, ‘Game of Thrones’) suddenly reappears halfway through the season, and it becomes clear that Holmes had some trouble cutting her out his life after all. This didn’t have to be obvious, but by placing the occasional clue in a couple of episodes, the revelation becomes much more fun for the viewer. It wouldn’t have just been sprung on the viewer, but it gives the viewer the idea that, if you had properly interpreted the clues, you could have seen it coming. The series also could have paid a bit more attention to the mystery surrounding Mycroft. After his mysterious phone call at the end of episode eight, the series doesn’t get back to it until episode twenty-two, which is a really long time to not do anything with such a big plot twist.
Whilst this might sound quite negative, it only concerns a small part of the series. The series still manages to capture its audience, the actors give great performances, the great chemistry between Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu is still there, the series looks amazing and as a bonus Clyde the turtle has a fair share of screen time this season. Even though the season doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger, the characters do find themselves in a different place than at the beginning of the season and the partnership between Holmes and Watson is at a turning point. The combination of exciting sleuthing and personal development is what makes ‘Elementary’ such a great series and the end of season two promises a lot of good things for season three.
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