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That's it right there. It's personal. He asked to speak to Joan, and he rejects Joan's offer to involve Sherlock on this "personal" matter, which turns out to be sensitive information about his daughter's substance abuse problems. It shouldn't be necessary to say "Keep this to yourself". It's screamingly obvious. (Btw, my theory on how Joan knows Gregson wants to see her is simply that Gregson told others in the station "If Watson comes it, ask her to stop by my office". As to how Sherlock knows? We don't know, but Watson possibly told him that Gregson wanted to see her, in innocence, before she actually met Gregson. When Sherlock asked how her meeting with Gregson had gone, she doesn't seem suprised that he knows. Sherlock gets it wrong, though. He asks if Gregson was checking up on him, to which Joan replies "Sure, because everything is about you" - then Mason interrupts them. Later, after Holmes and Watson were detained by the Air Force, Sherlock asks Watson again what the Captain wanted to speak to Joan about. She demurs once "It's private", but when Sherlock says he'll just ask Gregson himself, she tells him. Gregson is visibly angry when Sherlock starts talking to him about Hannah. He even says "What makes you think I want to talk about this - to you?"

We are just tossing around theories for fun. They probably are (well, were) just roommates. Joan didn't disappear. She just stayed downstairs and let Sherlock answer the door. If it had been for her, all he would have had to do was to call down to her.

Or, she knows it's probable that an old brownstone in NYC has lead pipes or at least lead solder on copper pipes, and is hedging her bets. I remember that episode as well. There was a clown in it ;)

You are probably right, but there are at least two other options: Hannah hadn't yet discovered her sexuality or she's bisexual ;)

I googled and wiki says that Gregson has "several" daughters. I don't know how accurate that is, and I don't remember hearing about any others. We seem to have met Hannah at the beginning of "Ripped Off", S3, ep5. The show begins in media res, with Gregson being released from a cell after punching out Hannah's police partner, Stotz. Hannah had become romantically involved with him, and he physically abused her, twice (according to her). Apparently, upon hearing of this, Gregson clocked him. Hannah requested that Gregson shake hands with Stotz (now her ex romantic partner, but still her cop partner) at roll call, so that she doesn't look like a victim who Daddy has to save. Gregson reluctantly agrees, and Stotz accepts the handshake - but distracted and clearly afraid, he informs Gregson that he is retiring, and asks Gregson to tell "her" about his retirement, effective immediately. It turns out that the "her" he refers to was Kitty, who, as we all know, has ways of intimidation that rival Sherlock's. When Gregson asks Kitty what she said to Stotz that terrified him so much, she says "Does it matter?", as the elevator door closes between them. A fun aside, Clyde not only makes an appearance in this episode, but he also seemingly expresses his displeasure of seeing Kitty instead of Watson (Lui is not in this episode) by repeatedly shocking her during the course of one of Sherlock's experiments. As far as I know, we don't see Hannah again until "A Stitch In Time" S3, ep20. It begins with Hannah asking Watson for help in a case. Oddly, it is mentioned that Hannah does not have a roommate. Watson, after getting off the phone with Holmes, who has flooded their apartment with bees: "Do you have a roommate? Hannah: "No" Watson: "Don't get one. It's not worth it" Sherlock tells Watson that Hannah is a good officer, but is not a detective. Long story short, Watson and Hannah solve the crime, but Watson suggests Hannah kick the info she's gotten upstairs so "bigger fish" may be caught. Instead, Hannah makes a big bust, and parlays the bust into making Seargent. Watson expresses her disappointment privately to Hannah, who insists that she had no choice if she wants to rise in the ranks. "You said to keep your name out of it", Hannah reminds Watson. Watson keeps all this to herself. Gregson, who is a detective, figures it out anyway, and asks Watson not to help Hannah in the future. "She has to do better", he says. We see (meet?) a much younger Mason in this episode. eta: apparently the reference of Gregson's "daughters" was in S1 Ep20 "Dead Man's Switch". We hadn't yet met Hannah, and I don't think we ever heard of any other(s) since. It's a single line, from Holmes to Gregson: "You have daughters, do you not, Captain?".

Thanks, Cotypubby. Hannah previously appeared in S3, eps 5 and 20, according to imdb.

I think Joan herself has said that she is no longer a doctor. I believe she voluntarily removed herself. In any case, it seems to me that Gregson was asking her advice in the capacity of a friend who was formerly a sober companion, amd definitely not as a doctor. Even if she was still a doctor, I don't think HIPPA could possibly apply in such an informal setting, with second hand information. Doesn't make her actions any less wrong, mind. We heard a single scream. We don't know what she did after that. If I recall correctly (and I may be remembering wrong), when we last met Hannah, she wasn't an ideal officer. Now we know she has been drinking on the job. All that said, I'm willing to give her a pass for screaming when she comes into her home to find her roommate murdered. Maybe she isn't cut out to be an officer. On a morbid note, I watched on a very small screen. Could anyone tell the roommate's manner of death? Strangulation? Cut throat?

He shouldn't have to. He came to her as a friend, asking advice on a sensitive subject. He didn't go to Sherlock. She had to know damn well that that he was giving her this delicate information about his daughter in confidence. Joan broke that trust by telling Sherlock. This error in judgment is compounded by the fact that Gregson isn't happy with Holmes right now, and has him on probation. Understandably so, as in just the last episode, Sherlock could not account for several hours of his life, and came home with a human head. Would you want such a person to know about your daughter's (who is also a NYC LEO) problems with sobriety? The ramifications of such info getting out could be very serious. Hannah could easily lose her job. Not nearly a good enough reason to break that confidence. Gregson's a big boy. He can handle Sherlock. Gregson opened up to Joan, making himself vulnerable to her, and she promptly showed him that she was not to be trusted. A serious misstep on her part. It didn't cross my mind until you mentioned it, but they certainly had that vibe. They could very easily be closeted. Hannah, as a woman in the force with a father in power, might decide to keep her relationship under wraps. I'm guessing he won't be finding this serial killer dull.

I do as well, and I'm not Asian, either.

I honestly think this is a Lucy Lui driven idea - and it's a bad one. It may not come to full fruition, but we haven't heard the last of this idea. I don't think it is out of character for her to have told Sherlock. I would have been suprised if she didn't. I agree she was wrong to do it, but I fully expected it. I also (unpopular opinion follows) think she was not a great sober companion. She often focussed on things that were non issues: Rhys smoking marijuana (and marijuana was never a problem for Sherlock). Pouring expensive gifted champagne down the sink (and alcohol was never a problem for Sherlock). She was downright evil to Lestrade for daring to drink from a bottle hidden in the backyard after he had been beaten and mugged (and, again, alcohol was never a problem for Sherlock). Rhys tempting Sherlock with cocaine was a completely different issue. Yes, her focus was Sherlock, and sure, house rules, but taking such a narrow view, in the long run, is not helpful, imo.

I noticed that as well, to the point that I wondered if it wasn't Miller.

I wouldn't hold out hope. They ended that episode with it. I'm pretty sure they will return to it. I would really love to be wrong. For a series about mysteries, the cases have never been the show's strong suits. Too complicated and arcane. I used to love the witty dialogue, but that has been wanting this season. I mean: "I usually say the game is afoot, but this time it's a finger"? and "Are you telling me his pinky was a thumb drive?"

It's mostly the writing. I did notice one brilliant directorial touch, well executed by the actor. It occurred around the 25 minute mark, when the serial killer was talking to Hannah. He opened the trunk of his car, saying he wanted to get a notepad. Obviously, we the audience know Michael is dangerous, so when he spun suddenly away from the trunk towards Hannah, we feared for her, thinking he had been rummaging for a weapon. I actually gasped, until I saw that he held in his hands...a notebook. Well-done!

That's right! Between the two of us, we have it all covered!

From the "human chop shop", the for-profit human tissue/organ place. I...don't know the answer to that question. Me too. This show didn't have enough humor for my taste.

Canon Gregson was the Scotland Yard detective that Holmes had the most respect for.

Nice catch. What I found funny was that the guy in the Midnight Ranger suit was Tyler Hanes, a Broadway actor/dancer. While Hanes never was in Spiderman, his complaint as he came off the stage "You've got to do something about those wires, or get a new Ranger. I almost collided with Diedritch out there", was pretty obvious reference to Spiderman, Turn Out the Dark and its multiple injuries, two of them aerial accidents. Even the fictional show's title was similar: Midnight Ranger: It's Always Midnight. Two other Broadway performers were in this, Lynne Wintersteller (Victoria, a murder victim, and Brian Stokes Mitchell, operator/owner of the "human chop shop". Joan has not met him, but wants to. "It would be nice to put a face to the name". She was talking to Sherlock when Michael showed up at their brownstone. I thought it was odd that she didn't go to the door with Sherlock, as they were not expecting anyone.

Yes. The jumping off the balcony was darkly hilarious, but I loved Sherlock's response when the guy said from his hospital bed, [paraphrased]"You believe me now? That I didn't kill her?". Sherlock: "I believed you before you jumped". I hate the "Sherlock is losing his mind" story line. Likewise the introduction of Michael, the suspected serial killer, but if they use him to highlight the issues with AA's 13th step, that I'll laud. I doubt it, though. This show seems to glorify AA. Another strong NO KID! (of any age) from me. They did so well with Watson's sister's speech, then destroyed all the good they did with the show's coda of Watson seeking out adoption. I appreciate an actor getting involved with the show, as Lucy Liu has with directing - but this storyline of Watson wanting a child, if it is at Liu's behest, is a step too far. RIP, Reg E Cathey. I didn't know. What a great actor, a huge loss. I loved the "Jane Austin on Ice" alibi. Such a ridiculous, albeit entirely probable, concept. This fun little fansite seems to show that Clyde (and his understudy, Bonnie) have not been forgotten.

We had no way of knowing that at the time. I didn't retract my laugh after I found out he wasn't cheating. Anytime anyone says "Hand to God" anything, then gets struck by lightning, I find it funny.

Including New York. I thought exactly the same thing. eta: but it usually happens in winter.

Forgot to mention, but I laughed out loud when the guy who said "Hand to God, I'm not cheating on you" was instantly struck dead by lightning.

Loved the mention of the "Dutch reach" a way that the Dutch open the doors to their cars to lessen the chance of "dooring" a cyclist. One opens one's door with the right hand, meaning you have to turn your body enough to see a little behind you, thus avoiding collision. It works. I wish everyone did it. "It's not a terrorist act, it's a heist!" sounds like a great introductory line to a big musical number. Joan and her father's letter. I didn't buy that she would throw it away, even in a temporary way. Sweet resolution, though.

Or Hitchcock was a fan of serial killers who prefer young blond women ;)

Yes, this was great, and I loved that she was utterly undeterred when he said that. In fact, she hugged him harder. No. My immediate reaction was to laugh - and I did. Then it made me sad. This was a real jump the shark moment for me. I'll stick with the show, but a plotline like that is a death knell for me. I was disappointed in this season premiere. It was noticeably lacking in humor. Bell got in a halfway decent line about his supposition that Sherlock was MIA because he'd met a girl, her best friend, and her pet giraffe, and Sherlock's text to Watson ("It's safe to come up. I'm watching a sex tape") when she got home was hilarious, but it was a fairly humorless episode. Ok, honorable mention to the coroner's "You want the full experience? Let me get my scalpel".

His death was due to alcohol withdrawal. A very sad end to a promoising career.