S06.E06: Give Me the Finger 2018.06.04

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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Holmes and Watson enter the world of nuclear security when they investigate the murder of an ex-Yakuza gang member. Also, Captain Gregson is blindsided by a stunning personal confession from his daughter, Hannah, a police sergeant.

Promo:

[paigow]

Directed by Mr. Miller...

[wonderwoman]

Interesting meta throwback to a web series from a few years back, Blue, part of WIGS, sadly, no longer streaming anywhere. Anyway, Blue was about a high-priced call girl played by Julia Stiles. In the episode, 'You're Good," Tony Plana (the Air Force general) played a client who wore a diaper as he was treated like a baby. 

[rhys]

Clever way of ferreting out the guilty party by the lack of the sense of smell. I had a student who had that disorder. He had to set his watch to remind himself to eat, drink etc. He was also lacking sense of taste. 

creepy Mike killing Hannah's roommate. Ugh

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, paigow said:

Directed by Mr. Miller...

I appreciated that this episode was a lot easier to follow without being simplistic.
Does the directing contribute to this, or is it all in the writing?

 

33 minutes ago, rhys said:

creepy Mike killing Hannah's roommate. Ugh

"Ugh" indeed! It looks like next week we will get some serious movement on this plot. I hope they wrap it up in a few or less.

 

Grump:
Joan telling Sherlock about Hannah seemed really wrong. Were we supposed to assume that Joan knew that Sherlock would go to Gregson and share necessary words of a recovering addict's wisdom?

[basil]

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Directed by Mr. Miller...

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I appreciated that this episode was a lot easier to follow without being simplistic.
Does the directing contribute to this, or is it all in the writing?

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!

Edited June 5, 2018 by basil

[AnimeMania]

I am not sure that the logic of this case made any sense to me. I am having trouble getting the circumstances to match the outcomes generated. I just can't make the plot add up.

[johntfs]

9 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I am not sure that the logic of this case made any sense to me. I am having trouble getting the circumstances to match the outcomes generated. I just can't make the plot add up.

The land-based part of the United States' nuclear weapons program is still run by 1970s-80s computers.  We as a, well, world, don't make that stuff any more, so when the Pentagon needs replacement parts, literal floppy disks, etc, they basically go to American Pickers-esque dealers like boat guy to get it.  Boat guy gets his stuff from various places who are also upgrading or otherwise don't need this obsolete shit.  However, one of the companies from which he got this stuff accidentally tossed a couple of floppy disks that contained the formula for the paper/fiber on which we print our money (take a second to get out a dollar or something and feel that.  It's more like a cloth than paper).  The killer found one of the disks in boat guy's possession.  The other disk had been shipped somewhere else and it was going to take the killer a bit of time to figure out exactly where that somewhere else was.

Unfortunately, the killer was running out of time.  Pretty soon that USA was going to upgrade their hardware and software to move the machines controlling the nuclear arsenal at least a little further into the late 20th century, which means all those obsolete disks/etc would get tossed in a giant hole somewhere or maybe nuked.  To delay the upgrade, the killer murdered the finger-bang guy with the idea that his corpse, including the area with the missing flash drive would be found, meaning the upgrade was compromised and couldn't be implemented yet, giving the killer time to find and retrieve the second disk.  Oh, and a man was killed, another man kidnapped and an important program costing thousands of person-hours and billions of dollars was almost sent back to the starting gate because the killer didn't get her promotion when she'd wanted it earlier.  Still, that lack of smell should help her choke down prison food.

Edited June 5, 2018 by johntfs

[thuganomics85]

I knew the killer was going to be one of the military folks, but I thought it was Tony Plana, and it ended up being LisaGay Hamilton instead.  You win this time, Elementary!

So, Michael is possibly stalking Hannah/Gregson's daughter and likely killed her roommate (unless he was just hanging outside for no reason, which I find unbelievable.)  I have to imagine he knew about the connection between everyone, so is this just a bizarre game for him?  Trying to make it more personal for Sherlock?

Dammit, still no Clyde!  Did the actor find another gig?!

[GaT]

No mention of Joan adopting a kid this week. Here's hoping that it won't come up again.

[basil]

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No mention of Joan adopting a kid this week. Here's hoping that it won't come up again.

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.

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I am not sure that the logic of this case made any sense to me. I am having trouble getting the circumstances to match the outcomes generated. I just can't make the plot add up.

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?"

[fauntleroy]

On the language front, I think it was still Miller's voice but the dub of Sherlock's Japanese sentence at the beginning was noticeable. Which is an improvement, means effort spent trying to get it right.. Would be nice then if they could get at least one of the characters who supposedly speaks Japanese, either the prosthetic maker or Sherlock, to pronounce yakuza the way the Japanese do, more like YAkuza not yakoooza. Oh well pet peeve.

Plot too convoluted even for this show, hope they resolve the Michael plot soon, and glad no adopting.

Props for treating the brutal addiction of demon rum still so common yet not talked about so much these days it seems. Hannah still looks pretty well held together but I assume this event will precipitate a bout with the bottle. Timely in a way, as the drunk dancing FBI agent whose gun fell out and discharged was just in the news. Hope she doesn't lose her job, though ought not to be carrying a gun.

I wish they'd give the Gregson character a break in his personal life, Aidan Quinn always looks about to burst into tears. Maybe he could go flyfishing or something.

[basil]

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On the language front, I think it was still Miller's voice but the dub of Sherlock's Japanese sentence at the beginning was noticeable.

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

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I appreciated that this episode was a lot easier to follow

 

2 hours ago, fauntleroy said:

Plot too convoluted even for this show

Maybe this plot was easier for me because of my advanced age (almost 65); evidentally floppy disks faded from the public consciousness around 2000 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_floppy_disk ).
Even I was surprised to hear they were using 8" floppies; I didn't even know they had been made that size. My first computer didn't have a hard drive; it ran off of programs on 5¼" disks.
And, yes, young grasshoppers, I walked 3 miles each way in 3 ft. of snow to work in an ankle length skirt to make cookies in a natural food store.

So U.S. nuke systems are indeed using 1970s tech (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/26/479588478/report-u-s-nuclear-system-relies-on-outdated-technology-such-as-floppy-disks ). Maybe floppies are more stable?

 

ETA: Now I'm wondering how many watching this episode might not know that the Save icon is an image of a floppy disk (https://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheFloppyDiskMeansSaveAnd14OtherOldPeopleIconsThatDontMakeSenseAnymore.aspx ).

Edited June 5, 2018 by shapeshifter

[grawlix]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

So U.S. nuke systems are indeed using 1970s tech (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/26/479588478/report-u-s-nuclear-system-relies-on-outdated-technology-such-as-floppy-disks ). Maybe floppies are more stable?

They are using 70s technology for because that was the tech they had when originally built.  They keep using it because that tech keeps it isolated and is not vulnerable to hacking.

[Ms Lark]

48 minutes ago, grawlix said:

They are using 70s technology for because that was the tech they had when originally built.  They keep using it because that tech keeps it isolated and is not vulnerable to hacking.

Ah, yes! I remember it well. I can't believe they're still using it, though. As long as it's isolated, they can upgrade the system!! No wonder the techs are depressed.

FYI: Medicaid is still running on DOS. Not sure which version.

[johntfs]

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I knew the killer was going to be one of the military folks, but I thought it was Tony Plana, and it ended up being LisaGay Hamilton instead.  You win this time, Elementary!

I figured Tony Plana's general would be innocent if only because after he was shown to be a ranting, anti-upgrade blogger and a diaper-baby fetishist, being the murderer would be anti-climactic.

[Writing Wrongs]

More Joan suits. Sigh. That's like all I can focus on now.

[theatremouse]

7 hours ago, fauntleroy said:

On the language front, I think it was still Miller's voice but the dub of Sherlock's Japanese sentence at the beginning was noticeable. Which is an improvement, means effort spent trying to get it right.. Would be nice then if they could get at least one of the characters who supposedly speaks Japanese, either the prosthetic maker or Sherlock, to pronounce yakuza the way the Japanese do, more like YAkuza not yakoooza. Oh well pet peeve.

I noticed LL seemed to pronounce it properly. The gambling debt dude did also, although possibly not consistently? I felt like everyone's pronounciation was all over the place.

[paigow]

10 hours ago, basil said:

"Are you telling me his pinky was a thumb drive?"

The Yakuza Sumo promoter called it a pinky drive....

[iMonrey]

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No mention of Joan adopting a kid this week. Here's hoping that it won't come up again.

Amen to that. I was just complaining about this in the Supergirl forum. Not every woman in the world wants a baby, for cripes sake. Nor is it "interesting" for her character to suddenly want, much less have, a kid. 

I did crack up at the guy in the diaper and crib. "Sorry Watson, I was wrong, you most likely haven't seen this before." LOL.  

I kind of figured the whole nuclear code thing was going to be a red herring. The problem with this show is that the formula is too predictable anymore. You can essentially discard whatever thread they're pursuing for the first fifteen minutes or so. Always. And count on re-visiting the first suspect they interview. Always.

Really out of character for Joan to tell Sherlock what she and Gregson discussed. I can't believe she was ever a sober companion.

[Gregg247]

I like Aidan Quinn as Captain Gregson, but could you imagine how formidable an opponent he could play on this show if he were cast as a different character?  He plays "menacing" very well. 

I really liked that scene between him and Sherlock when Sherlock gave him advice about his daughter.  That scene felt real, and Sherlock was visibly nervous about "going there" with the Captain, when normally, Sherlock doesn't care a bit about how he comes across to others.  I know part of that is because Sherlock likes and respects the captain, but on the other hand, Captain Gregson/Aidan Quinn seems like kind of a tough dude!

[AnimeMania]

I am still confused so I will list some things:

1) Was Army lady trying to burn down apartment or just an accident from not being able to smell.

2) The U.S. nuke system conversion would be stalled because someone who helped work on it was tortured and killed, the fact that he also had a finger drive, did that play any part in the Army lady's plan to stall the conversion?

3) I think the Army lady took the finger (not sure). Why?

4) Yakuza guy paid 5 million for finger drive, why would the Yakuza know that Army lady had the drive (in the context that this wasn't a sting operation).

5) Was part of the Army lady's plan to produce the missing finger at some point. 

6) When the Army lady broke into the old computer warehouse she copied the records of where the 8" floppy disks came from and where they went? Did she also steal all the 8" floppy disks on hand, doing that might actually end the U.S. nuke system because they ran out of 8" floppy disks.

7) I am guessing the Army lady was going to travel to all the U.S. nuke systems and test all the unused 8" floppy disks. The floppy disks could be searched for the missing American currency recipe and recovered provided they haven't been put into the U.S. nuke system machine and overwritten.

One 8" floppy disk holds a lot of data, more than enough space to hold the American currency recipe. The weird thing was, each disk typically held a working copy of the operating system and then whatever space was left over was used for data storage unless you were using a computer that had two 8" floppy disk drives. Maybe they consciously split the American currency recipe into two parts for extra security, possibly to store in separate locations.

[basil]

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 I was just complaining about this in the Supergirl forum. Not every woman in the world wants a baby, for cripes sake. Nor is it "interesting" for her character to suddenly want, much less have, a kid. 

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.

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Really out of character for Joan to tell Sherlock what she and Gregson discussed. I can't believe she was ever a sober companion.

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.

[tennisgurl]

Poor Gregson, the guy just cant catch a break. Some shit is always going on with his family, and he always struggles with handling it. No wonder he always looks exhausted. I did like his talk with Sherlock, with him offering Gregson some good advice from a perspective of a recovering addict. 

Poor Hannah and her roommate. I have no idea what Sherlock's serial killer stalker is up to. Trying to find a new, closer to home case for Sherlock? Or is he targeting addicts and the friends of addicts? My God, TV has a freaking surplus of serial killers, especially ones that kill hot blonds. If I was in a TV show and was a blond, I would go brunet so fast it would make your head spin.

CoTW was alright, if rather convoluted in that Elementary style. I did like how they brought it back to the Yakuza guy at the end, even if being former Yakuza in and of itself didnt end up having anything to do with his death. As soon as the general showed up at the Yakuza guys job, I figured that he was either helping the cops, or would kill her himself, because, as he said, no one kills Yakuza except for Yakuza. 

Another week of no Joan and her possible baby, and I hope it stays that way. Maybe the show realized what an awful idea it was, and are now just pretending it never happened. 

[rainsmom]

20 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

I am still confused so I will list some things:

1) Was Army lady trying to burn down apartment or just an accident from not being able to smell.

2) The U.S. nuke system conversion would be stalled because someone who helped work on it was tortured and killed, the fact that he also had a finger drive, did that play any part in the Army lady's plan to stall the conversion?

3) I think the Army lady took the finger (not sure). Why?

4) Yakuza guy paid 5 million for finger drive, why would the Yakuza know that Army lady had the drive (in the context that this wasn't a sting operation).

5) Was part of the Army lady's plan to produce the missing finger at some point. 

6) When the Army lady broke into the old computer warehouse she copied the records of where the 8" floppy disks came from and where they went? Did she also steal all the 8" floppy disks on hand, doing that might actually end the U.S. nuke system because they ran out of 8" floppy disks.

7) I am guessing the Army lady was going to travel to all the U.S. nuke systems and test all the unused 8" floppy disks. The floppy disks could be searched for the missing American currency recipe and recovered provided they haven't been put into the U.S. nuke system machine and overwritten.

One 8" floppy disk holds a lot of data, more than enough space to hold the American currency recipe. The weird thing was, each disk typically held a working copy of the operating system and then whatever space was left over was used for data storage unless you were using a computer that had two 8" floppy disk drives. Maybe they consciously split the American currency recipe into two parts for extra security, possibly to store in separate locations.

1. It was an accident. She didn't know there was a skillet on the stove.

2. Yes, it did. The military was concerned that there could have been secrets about their defense system on the drive. That meant the whole security system would have to be overhauled.

3. Yes, because she recognized that the military would have that concern, which buys her lots of time to find the disk.

4. She called the Yakuza boss and offered the thumb drive in exchange for a new identity and money. The boss told the Sumo guy.

5. Nah, though she might have had it decrypted at some point to see if there was anything valuable there. She was a greedy sort.

6. She didn't know there were disks on hand. The warehouse guy had to explain that the disks were bought but not shipped until needed. She was likely going to try to go to each place that had purchased disks expecting the disks to be there. Sherlock got the disk because she didn't know it was still in the office.

7. Yes.

Actually an 8" floppy disks holds only 800KB of data. That's a very small amount. It would have been a decent amount of text, though. Not sure how complex that recipe was.

Edited June 5, 2018 by rainsmom

[Frisson]

“No one kills Yakuza except for Yakuza.” I loved this and the way the guy said it. 

[Trey]

35 minutes ago, Frisson said:

“No one kills Yakuza except for Yakuza.” I loved this and the way the guy said it. 

Me too.

Re pronunciation of Yakuza, They do get it right on H50.

[CaptainCranky]

Another outstanding show but I'm annoyed they feel the need to clutter up the show with this serial killer. Since I DVR the show I'm gonna FF through all of his stuff.

5 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I am still confused so I will list some things:

1) Was Army lady trying to burn down apartment or just an accident from not being able to smell..

Army lady was actually Air Force. To a civilian not a big deal but to an old USAF vet it is.

[johntfs]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Really out of character for Joan to tell Sherlock what she and Gregson discussed. I can't believe she was ever a sober companion.

She was a sober companion, but isn't any more.  Gregson wasn't paying her and presumably didn't demand confidentiality.  Joan knows Sherlock well enough to know that if she didn't tell him, he'd find out on his own - probably by pestering the fuck out of Gregson at a time Gregson really did not need to have the fuck pestered out of him.

[possibilities]

I thought serial killer guy said something in his meeting, about trying to get Sherlock's attention. I thought he was frustrated that Sherlock wasn't paying enough attention to the first murder he did, so he murdered Gregson's daughter's roommate (are we sure they weren't lovers? I assumed they were until other people started saying they were roommates) because he knew that would become a Sherlock obsession until it was solved, thus bringing Sherlock closer to murder guy, making murder guy the focus of Sherlock's attention. Some people apparently really do think negative attention is better than no attention. I guess if you're willing to murder for attention, you'd be that kind of person. He doesn't seem crazy enough to think it will mean Sherlock gives him approval. He just wants to be noticed, I guess?

[johntfs]

3 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I thought serial killer guy said something in his meeting, about trying to get Sherlock's attention. I thought he was frustrated that Sherlock wasn't paying enough attention to the first murder he did, so he murdered Gregson's daughter's roommate (are we sure they weren't lovers? I assumed they were until other people started saying they were roommates) because he knew that would become a Sherlock obsession until it was solved, thus bringing Sherlock closer to murder guy, making murder guy the focus of Sherlock's attention. Some people apparently really do think negative attention is better than no attention. I guess if you're willing to murder for attention, you'd be that kind of person. He doesn't seem crazy enough to think it will mean Sherlock gives him approval. He just wants to be noticed, I guess?

The funniest part of this is that we know Sherlock has utter contempt for serial killers.  Back in "The Deductionist" he described them as "duller than the Queen's Jubilee.  Mouth-breathers and onanists, the lot of them."

[basil]

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 Gregson wasn't paying her and presumably didn't demand confidentiality. 

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.

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Joan knows Sherlock well enough to know that if she didn't tell him, he'd find out on his own - probably by pestering the fuck out of Gregson at a time Gregson really did not need to have the fuck pestered out of him.

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.

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[Michael] murdered Gregson's daughter's roommate (are we sure they weren't lovers? )

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.

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The funniest part of this is that we know Sherlock has utter contempt for serial killers.  Back in "The Deductionist" he described them as "duller than the Queen's Jubilee.  Mouth-breathers and onanists, the lot of them."

I'm guessing he won't be finding this serial killer dull.

Edited June 6, 2018 by basil

[MisterGlass]

Enjoyed the episode overall, but have an additional nitpick.  Faced with her deceased roommate, Hannah didn't go on alert for a possible intruder.  She did not call for back up.  That did not seem like an officer's response, even a shocked officer.

[Vermicious Knid]

If Joan still keeps up her license, she is a doctor and I wonder if that would be a HIPAA violation.

I first learned BASIC on a trash 80 with a magnetic tape drive that never managed to save anything. But it was like $1000 less than the ones with disk drives so that's what the school bought. There's a cool Forensic Files episode where a murder suspect destroys a disk with pinking shears and the police consulted all these computer experts who told them it would be difficult if not impossible to recover any data, along with hugely expensive. So one of the detectives looks at it and thinks "What if I can tape it back together?" And it worked!

There's a whole series of videos with kids reacting to things that predate them. This is pretty hilarious - Kids react to old computers.

[basil]

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If Joan still keeps up her license, she is a doctor and I wonder if that would be a HIPAA violation.

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.

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 Faced with her deceased roommate, Hannah didn't go on alert for a possible intruder.  She did not call for back up.  That did not seem like an officer's response, even a shocked officer.

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? 

[Cotypubby]

I don’t remember seeing Hannah before (I did miss some of season 2) so with no prior knowledge I assumed the blonde woman was her girlfriend. They totally had that vibe. 

She was killed by being strangled with rubber tubing. 

[basil]

Thanks, Cotypubby.

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

Edited June 6, 2018 by basil

[Calvada]

Gregson has 2 daughters, doesn't he?  Have we ever heard anything of the other one?

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, johntfs said:

She was a sober companion, but isn't any more.  Gregson wasn't paying her and presumably didn't demand confidentiality.  Joan knows Sherlock well enough to know that if she didn't tell him, he'd find out on his own - probably by pestering the fuck out of Gregson at a time Gregson really did not need to have the fuck pestered out of him.

All true, but none of this post^^ mollifies my feeling of annoyance and outrage for this bit of writing for Joan, so, no heart/like.

 

4 hours ago, johntfs said:

The funniest part of this is that we know Sherlock has utter contempt for serial killers.  Back in "The Deductionist" he described them as "duller than the Queen's Jubilee.  Mouth-breathers and onanists, the lot of them."

 I totally agree with whichever writer penned/typed these words for Sherlock's mouth, and really wish that writer had been able to nix the serial killer plot in this season. At least it's so far been handled with more finesse than is typical.

 

Like some other posters, I too thought they were trying to convey a lovers vibe between Hannah and the blonde friend, but it was subtle enough to be ambiguous. I know someone who is like that with her close girlfriends—including her lesbian or transgendered girlfriends—but thus far she prefers only men for lovers, but she is not a TV character whose words and actions should reveal her proclivities to an audience. IDK. Maybe the writers were going for ambiguous.

[Suzn]

My enjoyment of this show has ebbed and flowed, but Joan's wardrobe has always been a pleasure...until this season.  The suits and ties are horrible! So unbecoming!  I could have forgiven a one time thing, but it's like her uniform now.

They are spoiling the character - wearing men's style suits and adopting a baby? Stop it!

[basil]

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Gregson has 2 daughters, doesn't he?  Have we ever heard anything of the other one?

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?".

Edited June 6, 2018 by basil

[paigow]

4 hours ago, basil said:

We see (meet?) a much younger Mason in this episode.

Does Mason have a younger orphan cousin that Joan could adopt?

[kitmerlot1213]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I thought serial killer guy said something in his meeting, about trying to get Sherlock's attention. I thought he was frustrated that Sherlock wasn't paying enough attention to the first murder he did, so he murdered Gregson's daughter's roommate (are we sure they weren't lovers? I assumed they were until other people started saying they were roommates) 

In season 3, Hannah Gregson had an abusive boyfriend who was also a cop, so I'm pretty sure the blonde woman was simply her roommate and friend.  And this is the second blonde woman Michael has killed--I guess that's his preferred type?

JLM did a lovely job of directing and I like that the story gave Gregson some moments of self-reflection about his daughter's drinking problem.  I love that Sherlock quietly pointed out that Hannah's sobriety should be his main concern and not finding blame.  A well done scene.

[basil]

Quote

 I'm pretty sure the blonde woman was simply her roommate and friend. 

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

Edited June 6, 2018 by basil

[rhys]

My gaydar is usually on point but it must have been on vacation! I didn't pick up any notion of the dead woman being anything but Hannah's roommate.

I do wish Joan would ditch the ties. Too frequent.

[Calvada]

The reason I think there is more than one daughter is from the episode where we discover Gregson is separated from his wife.  I have some vague memory of them saying something about telling the girls, but I admit I may not be remembering that correctly.  It's been a while since I've seen the episode.  

It will be interesting to see how the discovery that Michael is a killer will affect Sherlock - a devastating realization of how his head injury issues have changed him, that he would not have realized there was something "off" with Michael.  When Michael came to the house, both Sherlock and Joan were there, but only Sherlock answered the door and spoke with him.  Joan disappeared, which was sort of odd, because after all, their unexpected visitor could have been for her.  But they had to do that, since Joan would have realized Michael was creepy as hell.  Unless of course her brain is suffering oxygen deprivation from those godawful ties she wears all the times.  

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Suzn said:

My enjoyment of this show has ebbed and flowed, but Joan's wardrobe has always been a pleasure...until this season.  The suits and ties are horrible! So unbecoming!  I could have forgiven a one time thing, but it's like her uniform now.

They are spoiling the character - wearing men's style suits and adopting a baby? Stop it!

I couldn't find anything recent on Joan's wardrobe, but in this November 2016 article that is cutely titled, "The Ties That Bind: Joan Watson’s ‘Elementary’ Crime Fighting Style" (http://observer.com/2016/11/the-ties-that-bind-joan-watsons-elementary-crime-fighting-style/ ) the author opines:

Quote

Part of this is down to what is on trend and in recent years the lady suit has been making its mark on the red carpet and on TV

I wonder if other reasons could include

• Lucy Liu's preference 
• Wardrobe budget 
• To visually avoid any suggestion of sexual tension between Sherlock and Joan
• To visually emphasize Joan as a professional rather than a female sidekick—although where I work, the administrative assistants seem to feel more obligated to dress in business attire, while the "professionals" dress more casually, but the wardrobe folks might be oblivious to this development in the working world.
• A side effect of the #MeToo movement: An effort to avoid giving Joan any visual hint of being a sex object

[Suzn]

Quote

 

I wonder if other reasons could include

...... 

To visually avoid any suggestion of sexual tension between Sherlock and Joan

To visually emphasize Joan as a professional rather than a female sidekick—although where I work, the administrative assistants seem to feel more obligated to dress in business attire, while the "professionals" dress more casually, but the wardrobe folks might be oblivious to this development in the working world.

A side effect of the #MeToo movement: An effort to avoid giving Joan any visual hint of being a sex object

 

All of that could have been accomplished without such unattractive suits.  I'm all for women dressing professionally when appropriate, but even pant suits can be attractive and becoming.  It's all in the cut and styling.  I never felt that Joan aimed to be unattractive and sexless before.  

[stitcher73]

Is anyone else having trouble again with the sound??  It is sometimes so hard to hear Sherlock and Joan, not the others just these two.  I have to rewind and turn the sound up or keep the closed captioning on.  they mumble, or whisper.  Low talkers.