S04.E13: A Study In Charlotte

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Sherlock and Joan search for a murderer who used poisonous mushrooms to kill a botany professor and a group of the instructor's students. Also, when Joan is disturbed by loud noise next door, she discovers her neighbor, Trent, is renting out his home through a vacation site that caters to hard partiers.

 

Promo:

[AimingforYoko]

Kind of a filler ep, but I enjoyed Richard Kind as the muggle neighbor fed up with the Holmesian shenanigans. I imagine that would get old after a while. And they couldn't just say Airbnb? I'm sure they wouldn't have minded the product placement.

[MisterGlass]

Is there any way the mushroomed human wasn't Hannibal-inspired?

 

I do like the idea that Richard Kind the florist will be their neighbor.  He'd make a good recurring character.

 

Edited for clarity.

Edited February 19, 2016 by MisterGlass

[andromeda331]

I really liked the neighbor subplot and that it was Richard Kind. And he was fed up with all the noise

coming from next door. And how Joan fixed the problem. Also, loved Sherlock's suggesting their

muggers for the problem and later his plan with the chainsaw. Both were really funny.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mr. EB's reaction to this episode: "Giiiirl, maybe wait more than a year before you get a tattoo related to your boyfriend's name?"

 

I was cracking up that the Mormon boyfriend was okay with premarital sex and selling knock off drugs, but tattoos were where he drew the line into unacceptable.

 

I loved that Sherlock's solution to being a crappy neighbor in London was to buy the adjacent apartment. When Joan went back to talk to the florist, why didn't she explain to him that Sherlock never got any of his emails? To me that is more understandable/forgivable than Sherlock ignoring all of his emails.

[biakbiak]

Kind of a filler ep, but I enjoyed Richard Kind as the muggle neighbor fed up with the Holmesian shenanigans. I imagine that would get old after a while. And they couldn't just say Airbnb? I'm sure they wouldn't have minded the product placement.

Air BNB always fights neighbor noise/nuisance complaints so I get them not want their name connected.

[shapeshifter]

When Joan went back to talk to the florist, why didn't she explain to him that Sherlock never got any of his emails? To me that is more understandable/forgivable than Sherlock ignoring all of his emails.

Sherlock had deliberately given the neighbor a non-working email address, so...

I liked the way the various red herrings dovetailed and intersected; one of the best plots, IMO. Richard Kind was frosting on the cake that we shall hopefully get to enjoy in the future.

As someone who values quiet, I do feel a little bad for the neighbor who resorted to arson. Maybe he can get some sort of temporary insanity plea, although my L&O schooling has taught that's unlikely. Plus, people who like sounds of silence probably shouldn't live in NYC.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Sherlock had deliberately given the neighbor a non-working email address, so...

While he was on drugs!

 

 

 

As someone who values quiet, I do feel a little bad for the neighbor who resorted to arson. Maybe he can get some sort of temporary insanity plea, although my L&O schooling has taught that's unlikely. Plus, people who like sounds of silence probably shouldn't live in NYC.

The neighbor didn't start the fire. It was the hotel that was losing business who sent an electrician to set the fire.

 

But I can't stand having noisy neighbors either so I felt bad for everyone at some point during this episode.

Edited February 19, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[DeLurker]

I loved Sherlock saying it was a logical conclusion to assume he had set the fire.

[Gregg247]

I enjoyed the B-story of the noisy neighbors much more than the main story this week (probably not a good thing for the show!).

 

A bunch of new-age hippies get poisoned while trying to get high on some bad mushrooms. Meh.

 

Did they ever confirm if the large company stole the main victim's work, or was it just a coincidence like the company's spokeswoman said?  I was convinced that  that lady was the killer, but then she opened up all their corporate files to Sherlock, who was able to deduce that no one there had any reason to murder the main victim.  Does that mean they also didn't steal anything from her either?  

 

Usually on this show, the corporate bohemoth is the main bad guy, but this time it looks like they were "okay".  Sherlock didn't make any cracks against them, at any rate.

[Tarasme]

I enjoyed the B-story of the noisy neighbors much more than the main story this week (probably not a good thing for the show!).

 

Usually on this show, the corporate bohemoth is the main bad guy, but this time it looks like they were "okay".  Sherlock didn't make any cracks against them, at any rate.

Agreed on the plot evaluation. Seeing Joan interact with RK's florist, building relationship and community (I had visions of future eps where RK comes over to take care of Clyde) and HONEY! was cool.

 

Seeing them jump through hoops to run through the suspect mill just to come back to their first candidate; not so cool.

 

Though, with all the drug talk, I was really pleased with how Sherlock's characterization was handled. His addiction is not defining to him nor does it dominate any substantive scene about drugs.

 

Regarding the corporate red herring; I appreciated the treatment of the company too but I'm wondering if I'm gullible to do so. I feel my reluctance to accept the common corporate villain was achievable by using an ethnic female representative that presented herself as cooperative and above any appearance of impropriety.

 

Weird, because only in media would I question either tPtB or- pushing deeper- the characterization of a company entity- choosing to manipulate the audience- if TPtB, then me as audience, or, if the character of the "company", the police & public as audience by selecting a token minority representative. In my RL interactions, it wouldn't even occur to me that anyone was trying to push my buttons in the choice of an agent.

 

Anywho- it was an entertaining ep and I kinda hope Joan gets the bassist's number before he and his band leave town.

[basiltherat]

I absolutely love the way Joan quietly and efficiently handled the problem of the noisy neighbors, and was tickled at who the arsonist turned out to be.

We've had a handful of Big Bad Companies and/or their heads lately (lastly with Fiona's boss) that it was nice that it wasn't them!

[Julie23]

I have to admire Joan for sticking to her guns and still lodging a noise complaint to the smoking hot bassist.  I may have handled that a tittle differently....

[Primetimer]

Meanwhile: like a good neighbor, Sherlock is there.

Read the story

[roomtorome]

Wow - that was a tortured attempt at making something out of the story "Study in Scarlet" - yikes.  I actually feel somewhat embarrassed for the writers for this writing and plot.

[krimimimi]

Let's face it, a good number of Elementary viewers have probably seen Sherlock. I at least got a giggle out of the "Rache" meaning "revenge" this time around. Or maybe it didn't. Dun dun dun dun!

Did they ever confirm if the large company stole the main victim's work, or was it just a coincidence like the company's spokeswoman said?  I was convinced that  that lady was the killer, but then she opened up all their corporate files to Sherlock, who was able to deduce that no one there had any reason to murder the main victim.  Does that mean they also didn't steal anything from her either?  

 

Usually on this show, the corporate bohemoth is the main bad guy, but this time it looks like they were "okay".  Sherlock didn't make any cracks against them, at any rate.

My take was if the employee/ spokeslady was willing to believe her company was capable of murder, which happened to be where she personally drew the line, then it wasn't that unlikely that she knew they were guilty of lesser crimes (that hadn't pushed her over that line). So probably, yeah, they did rip the victim off. It helped explain why she (the victim) was so completely determined to screw with them. At the least, she truly believed they had ripped her off, and the behavior of the exec lends credence to the notion that it was at least in the realm of the possible.

I also liked that the corporation was probably evil, but not necessarily the perp this ep.

[Risky Librarian]

Fun little side ep, I thought. We spend so much time in the brownstone that we're fully adjusted to the weird. It's easy to forget that there are people on the other side of the wall. 

 

And let this be a lesson to all of you junior chemists: When you finish creating synthetic poisons to murder your estranged wives, don't be lazy; take the time to properly clean your lab shit. 

[thuganomics85]

The plot with Richard Kind and the nosy neighbors ended up being surprisingly better then I had thought.  Instead of him being an obnoxious asshole, he actually had legit reasons at being upset with them.  And I like that Sherlock's drug use was also a factor, in that he had given him an old email account, so they never knew they were disturbing him (and he was to afraid of Sherlock to approach him in person.)  Glad it all worked out for everyone, and wouldn't be against seeing him again.

 

As for the case, I figured the drug company was too obvious as suspects, and I felt like something was off about that professor, so I wasn't surprised how it turned out. But I did like that the VP/Sarita Choudhury was sincere about helping them, because if her company was that corrupt, she didn't want to be a part of it.

 

Unlike Joan and Richard Kind though, I will never forget about the roosters!

[Trey]

I must have missed something or it was never explained - how did the professor and his students get the poison mushrooms when Charlotte was the target?

 

Loved A and B plots - hope Richard Kind does show up again as their neighbour - maybe he could rent out a room to the hot bassist.

[dargosmydaddy]

 

I must have missed something or it was never explained - how did the professor and his students get the poison mushrooms when Charlotte was the target?

Charlotte was a friend/ former student of the professor, and she gave them to him. They found some with a note from her in the prof's sofa safe, which led them to Charlotte's house (thinking she was the killer).

[Trey]

Thank you!

[MisterGlass]

 

Seeing Joan interact with RK's florist, building relationship and community (I had visions of future eps where RK comes over to take care of Clyde) and HONEY! was cool.

 

Yes, after the discussion a couple weeks ago about Sherlock not serving his bees' honey to his father it was fun to see that he does share it when appropriate.  It's a generous overture, really.

 

From the review:

 

 

The thought, actually, of Kind at his Kindiest having any sort of conversation with John Noble fills me with actual glee.

 

That would be interesting!  Sherlock may look scary but his father is the real shark.

[Blakeston]

I get that they gave the victim the name Charlotte so that the title could be a play on A Study in Scarlet - but it sounds like a pretty rare name for a German woman.

[fallaway]

Let's face it, a good number of Elementary viewers have probably seen Sherlock. I at least got a giggle out of the "Rache" meaning "revenge" this time around.

Well, it meant "revenge" in the original Arthur Conan Doyle story, so "Sherlock" was the show that gave it a wink and a twist. And, the original also had poison and a Mormon (the baddie, though), so that was fun. When Sherlock & Watson got in a cab & Watson told the cab to wait, I was waiting for a reveal there, but the show didn't use that original plotline.

 

A bit of a sleepy episode, but I liked it. Good characters, other than the actual murderer. I liked the sincere, decent corporate employee angle. There have been enough evil corporate characters on the show.

I get that they gave the victim the name Charlotte so that the title could be a play on A Study in Scarlet - but it sounds like a pretty rare name for a German woman.

It's not an uncommon German name actually, but doesn't rhyme with "Scarlet" in German. The episode title was very clever!

[Clanstarling]

Is there any way the mushroomed human wasn't Hannibal-inspired?

 

I do like the idea that Richard Kind the florist will be their neighbor.  He'd make a good recurring character.

 

Edited for clarity.

I started watching Hannibal (for the first time) yesterday, and stopped with the mushroom episode (to start dinner, which, come to think of it, required cooking mushrooms). Then this morning, I watched this episode. I hope to never see mushrooms growing on bodies again. I'm not particulary squeamish, but I've had my fill now, thank you.

[MissLucas]

I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of old-school Holmes as a jerk returning but he got off the hook way too easily. Since when is 'I was a jerk but I was on drugs' an acceptable way to weasel yourself out of making amends as AA suggests? (I don't think a pot of honey counts.) That raised all sorts of red flags.

 

Also: hints of good old Dad here in the scene after the fire - let's solve the pesky human problem with money.

[theatremouse]

I'm not rewatching so maybe he was more of an ass about it than I think, but my recollection of his "I was on drugs" last night was more in response to Joan asking how he didn't even remember the incidents with the neighbor, etc. I didn't think he was using it as an excuse so much as an explanation. I do think there's a difference, and it came off that way to me.

[dargosmydaddy]

 

Since when is 'I was a jerk but I was on drugs' an acceptable way to weasel yourself out of making amends as AA suggests? (I don't think a pot of honey counts.)

He also offered to pay for the sound proofing of the guy's (rebuilt) house so he could go back to living there. Plus he went out of his way to prove it was arson in the first place. And as theatremouse said, I don't think he knew the neighbor had a problem with him till now. So once he knew, he did a thorough job making amends.

Edited February 20, 2016 by dargosmydaddy

[sinkwriter]

I'm watching the episode right now, but I just had to pause it and laugh my head off at that comment Sherlock made about how foolish it is to immortalize one's love via tattoo because life is too "fluid":

"Imagine me with a giant MORIARTY across my stomach."

That mental picture (and the way Jonny said it) was hilarious enough, but then there was Joan's priceless response:

"It would have said IRENE but I take your point."

HAAAAAAAAAA. Marvelous. I had to pause because I was laughing so hard, I was missing the rest of the conversation.

Okay, back to the episode!

[sinkwriter]

Could I put a gigantic +1 for everything in this paragraph by Ms. Allison?

 

 

 

Will Richard Kind become a show regular and, perhaps, a show Irregular?

Eeeek! We can only hope. Why else would he show up at all for such a small guest part as Sherlock's neighbor, so abused by noise and shenanigans that he had to move out and rent his place to vacationing party people? (Side note: please bring back the bassist Watson confronted on the stoop. I felt sparks.) Anyway, the thought of Kind moving back into the brownstone next door is great. I am sure Sherlock could find many ways to enroll him in Irregularities -- maybe using his flower shop as a front for spying on assorted bad guys? The thought, actually, of Kind at his Kindiest having any sort of conversation with John Noble fills me with actual glee.

 

All of it would be okay with me. From "Kind versus Noble" right down to the hot bassist returning. Maybe I was simply entranced by his eyes, but I thought there were sparks between him and Joan too.

[sinkwriter]

 

Sherlock may look scary but his father is the real shark.

 

Seriously. A part of me wondered if there would be some sort of twist involving the brownstone part of the plot going on, in which Sherlock's dad was trying to do something. I didn't know why that would be, but he's scary enough that I couldn't help but suspect him. (Not unlike Joan went straight to assuming Sherlock started the fire, LOL.)

 

And can I please scrub the visual of those growing mushrooms out of my head?? *shudder shudder*  I see enough of that when I watch shows like Bones and their disgusting, gross, hideous, vomit-inducing (though obviously really well-done) makeup work on their dead bodies; I still had to cover my eyes when I saw those mushrooms on her face. AAAAAAACK! So gross.

 

And I was going to make a casserole involving mushrooms this weekend. Now... I think not. Blech.

[MissLucas]

He also offered to pay for the sound proofing of the guy's (rebuilt) house so he could go back to living there. Plus he went out of his way to prove it was arson in the first place. And as theatremouse said, I don't think he knew the neighbor had a problem with him till now. So once he knew, he did a thorough job making amends.

 

From what I saw that was all Watson's doing, she looked annoyed with Holmes for most of the episode and with good reason - he acted completely apathetic to the whole situation. Let's say due to Watson's insistence he was the one checking the security tapes and offered the sound-proofing - he still owed the man an apology in person.

[MisterGlass]

I started watching Hannibal (for the first time) yesterday, and stopped with the mushroom episode (to start dinner, which, come to think of it, required cooking mushrooms). Then this morning, I watched this episode. I hope to never see mushrooms growing on bodies again. I'm not particulary squeamish, but I've had my fill now, thank you.

 

Welcome to Hannibal, the most disturbing gourmet cooking show.  Even after three seasons the mushroom episode bothers me.

 

I didn't know the episode title going in, and it took me a bit to figure out it was a take on A Study in Scarlet.  I don't think I realized it until the 'Rache' tattoo appeared.  It was still a twist on the original story though; I think it was a decoy message meant to throw suspicion on a group that was making trouble in the area.  I think the Sherlock version worked out a lot better, but then it had a lot to do with a first meeting between Holmes and Watson, which gives the original story added meaning.  As a case of the week, it feels like a case of the week. 

[shapeshifter]

Since when is 'I was a jerk but I was on drugs' an acceptable way to weasel yourself out of making amends as AA suggests? (I don't think a pot of honey counts.) That raised all sorts of red flags.

From what I saw that was all Watson's doing, she looked annoyed with Holmes for most of the episode and with good reason - he acted completely apathetic to the whole situation. Let's say due to Watson's insistence he was the one checking the security tapes and offered the sound-proofing - he still owed the man an apology in person.

True, but we could fanwank that Sherlock came up with the idea to check the tapes, solved the arson, suggested the sound-proofing materials, and then "let" Watson take the the credit because she is a better people person. The honey pot would represent Sherlock to the florist in the transaction.

I only suggest this because Sherlock does believe in the 12 steps.

Or maybe we will be treated to a future Richard Kind episode in which Sherlock makes his own ammends. Maybe solving some vexing mystery of the floral sort.

Edited February 21, 2016 by shapeshifter