“Well, I guess you’ll have to fix me up also. I’m not staying in this gol-darned country all on my lonesome.”
– Arthur Conan Doyle, “His Last Bow”
This is the second time Elementary has ended.
The first finale – planned before their seventh-season pickup – pinned our detective duo into a corner where only Sherlock falling on his sword could get them out. Still, all was well again, by the end, over at 221-B. It was perfectly satisfying – enough that a viewer never had to wait to feel they’d gotten a wrap on Joan and Sherlock.
It’s to the show’s credit that the seventh season tried to give you something to worry about, introducing a new villain and forcing Joan and Sherlock into some tough decisions, knowing that this time it had to wrap everything for sure. It did what it could in a truncated season, and sure enough, this goodbye goes for every possible loose end, and manages to succeed (sometimes despite itself).
The kitchen-sink feeling of this grave-smashing finale isn’t out of step with the rest of the season, which split up Joan and Sherlock regularly and threw in several subplots to nowhere, leaving us disconnected from our key pair (and Gregson and Bell) at key moments. Joan and Sherlock’s partnership was solid enough – whatever tension heralded the start of the season vanished when they needed to close ranks – but there was the usual rush, particularly as we hurtled toward the end. (“Reichenbach Falls” skipped Joan coming back to the empty brownstone, which feels like an even bigger missed opportunity given that “Their Last Bow” opens three years after the night on the bridge.)
Still, there was promise in this season. The show has often tiptoed into considerations about artificial intelligence, the immorality of wealth, and the surveillance state. It just as often tiptoes back out again. But though the finale plays fast and loose (a handy three-year time jump past the Reichenbach trial, Joan’s adopted son and new celebrity, red-herring Moriarty, Sherlock’s death fraud, Joan’s cancer), the episode makes time for Agent McNally to show up bluescreen and all and make Sherlock a familiar offer. Power abhors a vacuum; Reichenbach wasn’t untouchable, and his methods weren’t unique. Of course, because this is the series finale, Sherlock isn’t made to actually choose – he gets an extremely handy do-over on all counts – but he also casually names the NSA as a criminal enterprise when he’s thinking over the job offer with Joan.
It’s too bad the episode felt it had to coat that last-second mystery in a Moriarty shell; those twists didn’t do much but keep the wardrobe and locations departments busy. If the season was going to invoke Moriarty, it had plenty of time to do so before the finale, when she could have been a fascinating wild card; if the season was going to save her for last, it had a better way to do it. Sherlock admits to Joan that of late he’d gotten more interested in Moriarty and he knows for a fact she’s alive; a question from Joan about whether Sherlock was ever tempted would have done the trick. They always do the trick. Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller being prickly but honest with each other is always more gripping than any case has been. The two of them in the kitchen for 40 minutes would have been mystery enough.
The post-Reichenbach reunion is always tricky. When it’s a surprise to Watson that Sherlock’s alive, the moment of Watson realizing Sherlock has lied always requires a genuinely fond Sherlock for Watson not to look like a fool. But one of the earliest things that set Elementary apart is that this is a Sherlock who can apologize and mean it; he stands by his choices, but he understands how Joan would worry, and eventually give him up as lost. That same depth of understanding makes the later reveal more powerful than a last-second cancer diagnosis has any right to be, flipping the script on the times Sherlock tried to push Joan away in the name of sparing her. “I didn’t want you to feel like you had to stay” is a fairly direct callback to Sherlock in “Details”: “I wanted you to see that I was well again so you could move on.”
Moriarty, minus the poker-debt trappings, would have fit perfectly here. Underneath the thought-crime exercises, Reichenbach asked how inevitable people are – whether every mistake will define you, and whether people are doomed to do what you fear they will. Sherlock and Joan (and Alfredo and Shinwell and Kitty and…you get the idea) have regularly tried to disprove the former; they have regularly and painfully been stymied by the latter. Their struggles this season with Reichenbach’s methods suggested that this is the wound Joan and Sherlock really carrying. The plot often rushed by the moments that would tell us how deep the cut went; Sherlock seemed to grieve being wrong about a(nother) murderer more than he did his father’s death, but his father exploded before we could gauge. But the idea that someone’s decisions have all already been made is far-reaching, here.
The concept of inevitability is pleasant enough when it’s Marcus’ promotion, or Gregson’s retirement as the most Gregson JV golf coach in the world. In a Holmes adaptation where Sherlock’s sobriety is such a touchstone, and where Moriarty has been paralleled more than once with Sherlock’s other addictions, inevitability is a terror. The finale’s most heartbreaking moment might be Sherlock telling Gregson that he relapsed while he was away, an admission he delivers both as a disqualification to be Joan’s partner any more, and as if he’d never expected any better of himself. (The second most heartbreaking moment is that if he ever comes clean to Joan about the relapse, we don’t see it; if he keeps this from her, that feels more like the Reichenbach deception than anything else has.)
But we’ll never know, since the finale doesn’t linger on that; it doesn’t have time to linger on much of anything, thanks to the last-minute time jump for a funeral fake-out (sure) and Joan and Sherlock’s return to their old stomping grounds to ask Captain Marcus Bell for a case or two.
It’s cozy, which is perfectly fine; no one went into Elementary hoping for a gritty revenge story after one of its leads perished horribly. It’s also last-minute-cancer cozy and it’s legal-death-sorted-out-offscreen cozy and it’s Marcus-and-Gregson-mostly-got-over-it-during-the-time-jump cozy, which is slightly less fine, because there’s only so much you can sweep under the rug at a time, and that rug was already holding plenty. This show’s greatest burden was the impossibly high quality of its first season, which had a level of thoughtfulness and care it’s never been able to consistently match since then.
But any flicker of what made the first season so good is still welcome. Sherlock Holmes, from the literary canon onward, is easy to read as an unfathomable force of nature. Miller’s Sherlock is extremely fathomable – in his arrogance and his fears, his flexible code of ethics and his devotion to those he loves. Watson is easy to read as an awestruck sidekick whose value to Sherlock is half in the ego stroking. Liu’s Watson hasn’t made out quite as well here – she’s had almost as many leading expository questions as her canon counterpart, and she’s still unfathomable whenever the show doesn’t give her the space to react. But her resolve is a match for her reserve, and when she gets a glimpse of personality, she goes for it wholesale.
And the two of them together are so good that the rest often fades away. Their partnership, when it gets the attention it deserves, is one of the most nuanced Holmes and Watson dynamics of any adaptation, and it’s been Elementary’s saving grace. The pilot introduced Watson as a sober companion to a viciously disinterested Sherlock, who fed her a line about love at first sight just to throw her off before he tried to fire her. It was friction, for a while. Then it was a slow understanding, then apprenticeship, and eventually two people whose lives were bound by more than the work they did. The seasons since have deepened their relationship beyond easy definition, even, at times, to themselves; they knew only that they wanted to keep it. The finale brought them into each other ‘s orbit for good, and that’s all they wanted. In the end, it may be most of what we wanted, too; as long as they’re together, what does it matter?
“By the way, Doctor, I shall want your co-operation.”
“I shall be delighted.”
– “A Scandal in Bohemia”
Stray observations
- When I caught up with a few of this season’s episodes on demand, they were sponsored by Facebook Groups, via ads about the joys of keeping track of people’s every move.
- In a short season with a key serial villain, we got a standalone that had everyone spinning their wheels; years ago I wished for Cassie to come back, not realizing a finger on my monkey’s paw had unfurled.
- I assume, given The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, the other finger unfurled when Joan’s stepfather was writing her into his sexy detective novels without her permission and I argued she should have been more angry about such a breach of privacy. (The question of what she wrote about Sherlock that he wouldn’t want made public is going to haunt me.)
- Among the loose ends; I’m sorry Morland only got one episode to throw his weight around, but and at least he got to show; RIP Joan’s invisible family.
- In a version of this show that had lived up to the promise of its best moments, Reichenbach would have been a foil not just for Sherlock, but for the Joan who was willing to race a cop to the bottom in terms of extrajudicial justice for those who have it coming. She was rare but she was great, and I spent several serviceable episodes thinking about the tension if the Joan of “Down Where The Dark Delight” had stuck around, and Reichenbach had tried to divide and conquer.
- As far as it goes, I am glad the show remembered that Joan wanted to be a mom and followed through with it. That does not go very far, and I will forever be disappointed that Joan’s sudden desire to be a mom seemed like the show’s attempt to give her something to want rather than any actual basis in character. (Let’s not forget that Moriarty and Kitty’s storylines also both ended in motherhood. Did we need a 100% rate of return on this?)
- I hope Joan heads out and demolishes that tombstone every time she needs Sherlock to pick up a quart of milk on the way home for the next 20 years.
- I recognize the bees were shoehorned in just to parallel the note-perfect first-season finale; I appreciate them anyway. (He named a bee after her. We’ll never forget.)
- Thanks from Myles and me to everyone who’s stayed until the bittersweet end and read the recaps. When this show was good, it was really good.
50 Comments
Poignant, but left too many loose ends Apologies if I don’t have this exactly right…….”but we have each other”.
The kicker was that the early plan was not to pair up Joan and Sherlock. The writers tried their hardest to keep their word yet pretty much do what they said they wouldn’t do. We obviously have no idea what happens with Moriarity (to ask them to gift wrap THAT part would have been too much I guess).
Poignant, but too many loose ends……………leaving it open to a continuation.Apologies if I don’t have this exactly right: “But we have each other.”
It kinda hurts saying goodbye to this show Elementary I’ve consistently been a bit of a comfort food for me these past few years. While I agree the show never really was as good after the first three seasons it always did a good job of a reminding you of its best elements. It’s unfortunate that even though his show outlasted the more popular BBC one the Johnny had to spend most of his time a Sherlock being overshadowed by Benedict because in my opinion he actually kind of outshine Benedict many times. But whatever that’s a rant for a different day. These past two years I’ve had to say goodbye to a lot of shows that I have really been fond of and have helped me through some dark times. With Elementary joining them, bittersweet as it is perhaps I should see it as a sign that’s me going through I am transitioning points in life. Or maybe I’m just thinking too much.Oh well this show has been an amazing ride and I’m thankful for every second I was in it.
Where I think Elementary beat BBC: Sherlock is that it allowed the characters to grow. The Sherlock and Watson on the BBC version always seemed very static in their relationship.
I felt the last batch of Sherlocks transformed him into a superhero/movie star, and each one was all about him, mystery be damned.
Comfort food is such a perfect way to put it and it’s sad for me to see shows like this go. It feels like so many of them are ending and that the overall direction most networks are taking isn’t going to bring about suitable replacements.
“. . . perhaps I should see it as a sign that’s me going through I am transitioning points in life”You’ve given me something to think about, thank you
I’ll never understand it’s cancellation. CBS honchos are a bunch of stupid fucks. I bet they’re Jews, they only look at ratings and revenue. Fuck ‘em.
A B-grade seems fair here. This episode did everything that fans really needed it to do.* Reichenbach was sent to prison forever. Sherlock and Joan rode off into the sunset together.** Elementary finally explained what was happening with Moriarty/ what happened to Moriarty and Morland’s evil organization after Morland’s death. This finale even addressed the issues that the last finale omitted (i.e. what happened to Bell and Gregson, whether Joan follows through on her desire for motherhood). I’d still call last season’s finale the better series finale overall, but this one was entirely serviceable.Credit should go to the writers and actors during this last season, too. As Genevieve says, Elementary was a significantly better show its first season, but no one seems to have taken this unexpected extra half-season as an excuse to phone it in. The acting has consistently fallen somewhere between solid and very good, and the Owen Reichenbach storyline is one of Elementary’s more interesting non-character driven plotlines. At a time when people are finally starting to seriously criticize Silicon Valley and the President of the United States publicly claims that social networks need to get better at identifying future mass shooters, Elementary is rivaling old-school Law & Order vis-a-vis capturing the zeitgeist. I also liked the episode where Cassie returns. It called back nicely to Sherlock’s past with Joan and Kitty. At heart, Sherlock is nothing if not a mentor. Cassie may never become a detective, but with Sherlock in her life, perhaps she won’t grow up to be a Moriarty.*Except for provide a Clyde cameo. WTF, Elementary?**Which, history has born out, is the proper way to end every Sherlock Holmes adaptation from House to Sherlock to the 6th and theoretically final season of Elementary.
I’m gonna go ahead and give this episode an F for the lack of a Clyde cameo.
I’m so glad Elementary ended with TV’s greatest platonic life partners getting ready to head into another case together. I blubbed a bit at the hugging. I laughed a bit at Bell sucker-punching Holmes and the latter’s subsequent slapped-in-the-face-by-a-fish expression. I was also cross about the lack of Clyde. But then again, being annoyed by insufficient Clyde is what keeps us all going as Elementary fans.
What happened to Clyde when Sherlock “died”?? I NEED TO KNOW CLYDE IS OKAY!!!
The finale wasn’t perfect, nor was the final season. But when I think of the other shows that have ended the past few months, I am more than happy with what Elementary managed. It didn’t betray its characters, and it left us knowing they’ll all be OK. I would have loved to have seen Marcus’ kid though. And of course Clyde.
I really would have liked to see Clyde, and Kitty, and maybe the Clyde-Kitty sibling rivalry. And I increasingly am not a fan of time-jumps, especially in finales. But the character stuff was all great. Farewell to a terrific show that I think was always true to itself. Also this is a nice tribute to the leads:
I really hope there’s a bright future waiting for Jon Michael Hill. He’s got great dramatic and comedic chops, and just a tonne of charisma.
The criticism always seems to be that Elementary never reached the heights of its first two or three seasons, but I think that’s dismissive of the fact that Elementary ended up being significantly better than the majority of us initially thought it would be. I remember being extremely doubtful when I first heard they were doing a Jonny Lee Miller/Lucy Liu lead modern day Sherlock Holmes story set in New York, and immediately pegged it as riding the coattails of BBC’s Sherlock. I gave it a chance, though, and the first season alone was enough to show that Elementary had its own voice, its own angle, and its own considerable talent to set it distinctly apart from its counterpart over at BBC. Yes, the quality trailed off a bit after the 2nd/3rd season, but not so much that the seasons as a whole could be graded as anything less than a B-, which is a decent achievement for a show with a perpetually decreasing viewership. The network could have cut the budget; the actors could have started phoning it in long ago; the show could have veered wildly into gimmicks; but it never really did. The few story lines that threatened to steer the show away from its established voice and view were course corrected, and the show remained true to its ideas, its focus, and ultimately the overarching story about Sherlock and the found family he created for himself. It was consistently good, maybe not always great, certainly not as great as the high bar it set for itself in season 1, but never bad; the writers and actors never allowed it to diminish so far. The regular supporting cast of Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill were always strong and a joy to see onscreen, and their recurring cast was an embarrassment of riches (Natalie Dormer’s Moriarty, Nelsan Ellis’ Shinwell, Ophelia Lovibond’s Kitty, Rhys Ifan’s Mycroft, John Noble’s Morland….the list goes on). With Holmes, Miller threaded the needle in honing a character both acerbic and likable, and despite Watson’s (many) story lines that lead to nothing, Liu gave purpose, agency, and depth to a character that is too often relegated to nothing more than the audience proxy at best or the hapless sidekick at worst. I’ll miss the easy chemistry of Miller and Liu, the foundation of the show and a dynamic that was endlessly engrossing and a skillful slight-of-hand that made it easy to overlook where the cracks showed in the story lines. Despite my initial doubts, I’ll miss this show and the characters. I like Cumberbatch’s Sherlock; we were spoiled for choice between the two shows and there’s nothing to say you have to choose one or the other, but in a more just world Elementary has the success and love that’s been given to Sherlock; its every bit as smart and engrossing and, if we’re being honest, more consistently good over a much longer period of time. Elementary was the show we all thought Sherlock was, and I’m glad we got as many seasons in that world, with those characters, as we did.
I will miss Sherlock waking Joan up in increasingly alarming and noisy ways.
I headcanon that when Arthur gets a little older, he and Sherlock devise ideas to wake up Joan together.
Sherlock can use the kid to do that now.
Then you might appreciate the opportunity to check this video every while. Maybe even download it.
Then you might appreciate the opportunity to check this video every while or download it.
What a perfectly worded summation of what the Elementary journey has been liked over the seven seasons of the show. I’m in a post-Elementary funk already thinking of the times when the date of the newest season would be announced, settling in to what we know would a good, many times great, television. But there won’t be such announcements going forward, anymore. I’ll miss you, Show! I’ll miss the great conversation in the AV Club whenever there was coverage. Remember when AV Club declared Elementary better than Sherlock a few years back? What a triumph that felt like!
It occurred to me after the last episode that I’ve only really watched the show as it aired, other than catching a re-run here and there, and I’m very much looking forward to starting a re-watch at some point to spend a bit more time in that world and better pick up the callbacks they made each season. Here’s to putting off the post show funk a bit longer.
I felt really unfairly teased by the recurring mentions of Moriarty. Even if Dormer had only appeared as a snapshot on a wall it would have been something.
To me, this series was held-back from greatness by its unwillingness to let go of its dated Law & Order framework. It too often had wayyy too many episodes per season, wayyy too many standalone entries, which gave the overarching storylines a lack of real weight, and frankly the quality just jumped up and down, episode to episode, despite its incredibly capable leads. I always wanted to be a fan more than I was, but i felt the series didn’t trust its audience more than anything in the 90s would. Apparently this approach was a legacy of Les Moonves’“big tent” vision. HE never wanted to be prestige TV. He never wanted his audiences to be confused if they missed 6 episodes. I’m glad he’s gone.
Fair comment, but the Sherlock Holmes mysteries were always meant to be standalone storytelling; no long-terms arcs that meant to be served, really. (At least I learned this from epic 2-hour rant on BBC Sherlock that hrbomberguy put out on YouTube!)Elementary truly connected to to the Conan Doyle creation, from character motivations, to their approach in bringing in various elements to a modern framework (Everyone!) and yes, to its many cases that was self-contained. The longer storytelling were nods to modern TV, I think. It didn’t always strike that balance, but I was extremely entertained by the many episodes Elementary gave us.
I agree pretty much with everything. I guess I felt there wasn’t consistent quality control, possibly due to the massive early season episode count (i think they were like 24 eps a season, but I’m too lazy to google that). Maybe because all the elements you listed that did work set my expectations too high. Or maybe because they dipped their toe into longer story arcs but didn’t fully commit. Season 1 for the record was/is my favorite still.
I still think the entire show was just Clyde’s dream.
I was a big fan of Sherlock, but in all honestly, I think Elementary was better overall. A big part due to the sheer number of quality episodes it had. Having 3 episode seasons, no matter how good, clearly doesn’t help with character development besides the two primary cast members.I also really got to dislike how Sherlock would contrive plots in order to come to a clean conclusion and used peripheral characters only as tools to make the conclusions.I love Elementary on how Holmes was actually human, that he was brilliant but not perfect. The character developments and story arcs that were well developed and lived in. Very happy for the 7 season we got and 150 plus episodes and the positive ending. The twist ending was a bit contrived, but glad they didn’t do something stupid with some sad ending shows seem to enjoy putting out there for finales. The happy ending was a good end to a great show.
I think that you summed up why I like Elementary more than Sherlock. Miller’s Holmes gave Liu’s Watson space to breathe. And both of them truly inhabited the roles- becoming better jointly than Cumberbatch’s Holmes separately. His humanity allowed Watson to ground him, and make him a far more enjoyable character. I’m really going to miss it. And the ending left so many more questions than it answered… which was just fine with me.
For a procedural crime show, having Miller and Liu as the leads was such a blessing and what lifted the show above so many procedurals. Remember all the fuss when it was announced and the cries of ‘how could Watson be a woman, Conan Doyle must be spinning in his grave!’ This pairing were terrific throughout. I was a little upset by the fake out at the end thinking they might have killed off Watson, but actually loved the way they ended it. Elementary was never top of my must-see list but unlike with many other shows, I’ve kept tuning in each week and made it through to the end.
This finale measured up much better to the London one than I was expecting. I’d been afraid I would need to ignore this season when remembering how Elementary wrapped up. One baffling misstep, however: the funeral fake-out. How on earth did the writers think, with three minutes left to go, they should tease a tragic death?
McNally saying “She was one of a kind” in an admirable tone of voice was a really weird thing to say about Moriarty.
That’s only because the showrunners scrapped the scene where they revealed McNally was actually Jamie Moriarty wearing a very convincing disguise.
Good analysis, especially this:
Their partnership, when it gets the attention it deserves, is one of
the most nuanced Holmes and Watson dynamics of any adaptation, and it’s
been Elementary’s saving grace.
More than any other Sherlock Holmes adaptation, this series explored these characters with insight, and Miller and Liu were outstanding.
Oh, and Watson’s son named Arthur…at least he didn’t have triplets named Conan and Doyle.
“Do we still have the secret exit to the street?”
“This place has a secret exit?”
Yeah, that scene had me crying. And then Sherlock just “Bat-manned” out of there!
I enjoyed the episode but I had two main issues. One, I thought the finale to last season was better. Sherlock wasn’t gone long enough (in terms of episodes) to make his return in the finale that meaningful for a viewer. And two, the Moriarty stuff just felt like a bait and switch. With all the alluding they have done to her in the past seasons, it feels like a bit of a cheat to never have seen her again.That being said, I’m mostly just sad this show is over.
The finale last season was a perfect way to finish up the series. I assumed that it was the last episode until I heard otherwise about 5 months later. This season was okay, but it felt rushed and not as enjoyable as the prior seasons. The fact that they literally brought Noble on just to kill off his character was both predictable and depressing.
Agreed it was rushed. The season begins with Joan and Sherlock returning after a long absence which was mostly offscreen and ends with Sherlock returning after another long absence which was entirely offscreen. It doesn’t make me as a viewer care as much about the reunions with Marcus and the Captain. Really I wish they just committed to the British environment. It would have been a bit sad not to see Marcus or the Captain much, but would have fit the story better.
It was too much jumping. The final season jumped essentially 5+ years in the 6 months it aired (4 of those years occurring in the final episode).
I agree. Between the jumps, the Moriarty no-show, and that cheap funeral fake out, I felt rushed. I wanted more Holmes/Watson time, not searching for a character who we haven’t seen in years.
Almost everything I thought while watching this series and this finale has been said before. Almost….I have loved the Sherlock Holmes character as far back as I remember. I never thought anyone could ever top Jeremy Brett’s take on him, but Miller came goddamn close. Closer than anyone else – Cumberbatch, Downey, Rowe, Rathbone, etc. For all it’s faults, I’m glad this show was in my life. I’ll watch it like I do Morse or Poirot – as comfort food that’s far more nourishing than it has any right to be. Thank you, oh writers of Elementary, for giving me a Holmes who was a distinct product of my time.Also, this is the only show to ever reference both Thundarr and Torgo, and for that, it should be immortalized.
And don’t ever forget that this was the show that gave us the best cold open ever!
I would hazard to say that Elementary show runner Rob Doherty did take a view of the BBC Sherlock show, and used it to flip Elementary to the greater heights than whatever Steven Moffat/Mark Gatiss had in mind.
Miller’s Sherlock Holmes was brilliant because he had innate analytical gifts that were further magnified because he put in the work, the studying. Even when he became “more human” it served him in his case solving and getting justice. Plus the addiction and how it played into the growth and evolution of the character. I wish Miller had at least gotten a nomination at the Emmys, as there were so many repeat nominees that seemed to get in like autofill.
And many other media outlets recognize how Liu’s Watson was likely the best ever put to screen, as balanced the delicate act of audience proxy evolving to a detecting partner who brought her own unique abilities and thinking that enhanced the participation in equal measure.
I love that the Conan Doyle wordplay of this final episode was THEIR Last Bow. The show was Elementary, both about Sherlock and Joan.
To have seven years of this, as well as the nearly seven years of coverage on AV Club, was a great delight. We’ll always have Clyde Watch.
Overall I’m going to miss this show. The writing definitely declined the last few seasons, but this last finale arc was on pretty much on point – silly funeral fake-out notwithstanding. It was time to wrap it up though. For too many episodes of the last few seasons displayed that the TV writers simply could not craft a story of Sherlockian depth like a true novelist. They had a genuine star in Miller to work with too, but we often left with ridiculous expository conference room scenes where they just explained away solving the case with a bunch of details we never saw or heard of. Yet, my wife and I will miss it. It is nice to imagine them carrying on in their parallel universe, solving cases as we always enjoyed.
I will miss this show. One of the best shows on TV for a long while. Sherlock and his father insulting each other was legendary, and I so looked forward to their repartee. Sherlock insulting everyone was hilarious. The warm loving relationship that developed between Sherlock and Joan was wonderful.Kudos to writers and actors. Very well done!
The best part of the finale was leaving the door open for future TV movies, ala Pery Mason.
I already miss this show, so I am starting it all over again from episode 1 season 1.