S06.E07: Sober Companions 2018.06.11

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Holmes and Watson find themselves on the hunt for a serial killer after a murder rocks their inner circle. Also, Holmes' neurological recovery regresses and his sobriety wavers as his commitment to catching the killer grows into an obsession.

Promo:

[ElleMo]

The killer who plays with the detective is a bit of an overused trope,  but this was a good episode. I am glad they didn't drag it out too long and that Sherlock realized it was Michael as soon as he identified the woman that Michael asked him to look for. 

Edited June 12, 2018 by ElleMo

[johntfs]

I haven't seen it yet, but I have to wonder how the fuck Michael will be a regular for the rest of the season.  Unless he has a "good"  twin?

[MisterGlass]

Michael can taunt and torment from a distance.  I'm glad the pretense was dropped. 

I did wonder if Sherlock is actually going away for a rest or if he's planning a solo pursuit.

[shapeshifter]

How long before Joan's dress from this episode makes an appearance at https://wornontv.net/elementary/ ?

I briefly dosed again (coincidentally, also due to lack of sleep from chronic pain with no painkillers—Sherlock may be my spirit guide). 
So, after they found the manikin, why didn't they keep looking for Polly(?)'s body?

 

 

1 minute ago, MisterGlass said:

I did wonder if Sherlock is actually going away for a rest or if he's planning a solo pursuit.

Based on the previews, I'd surmise that 

Spoiler

Sherlock really does get clean rest, but he could be faking it.

[elle]

38 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So, after they found the manikin, why didn't they keep looking for Polly(?)'s body?

There was no comment on this, they seemed to focus on the mannequin then the story switched to Sherlock buying heroin and what he planned to do with it.

Did anyone see a preview for the next episode?  My station showed a promo for an unrelated show.

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, elle said:

Did anyone see a preview for the next episode?

Yeah, it was something about Holmes, Watson and Marcus about to arrest a fat man in the woods wearing only a towel. "Why do they always run?" Towel falls off, Marcus is in hot pursuit, Holmes and Watson just stare.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, elle said:

Did anyone see a preview for the next episode? My station showed a promo for an unrelated show.

@ElectricBoogaloo posts them promptly (Thank you!): http://forums.previously.tv/topic/71265-s06e08-sand-trap-20180618/

 

ETA: However, when they show promos for reruns etc. here instead of the expected next episode, it usually means the show is being pre-empted because of some big local sports or other event that is likely to draw most viewers to another channel.

Edited June 12, 2018 by shapeshifter

[paigow]

What attracted the dogs? The burial site was sterilized..no DNA or decomposing body...the paint?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

What attracted the dogs? The burial site was sterilized..no DNA or decomposing body...the paint?

From the captured captioning:

Quote

                Something spooked those dogs.
                They're not trained to react to lunch meat.
HOLMES: Could've been a dead animal. Or it was where he buried all of the missing women.

So, the writers at least "hung a lantern on it" (see TV Tropes "Lampshade Hanging" and live-action Film examples).

[Magnumfangirl]

Pretty good episode, but there were a lot of leaps in the story.  How did they trace the earrings to that shop out of probably 1000s of similar stores in NYC?

[johntfs]

Figure if facial recognition is a thing, earring recognition is probably also a thing.

[Trey]

I was  so glad Sherlock caught on so quickly that Michael was the killer.

Did Michael say where he was going? Mr.Trey swore he told Sherlock he was going to Vermont but I don't remember hearing that - or seeing it on CC.  I know Sherlock said he was going to Vermont, although I'm pretty sure he is really going after Michael, wherever he's going.

I hope they wrap the Michael storyline up pretty soon.

[shapeshifter]

32 minutes ago, Trey said:

he was going? Mr.Trey swore he told Sherlock he was going to Vermont but I don't remember hearing that - or seeing it on CC.  I know Sherlock said he was going to Vermont, although I'm pretty sure he is really going after Michael, wherever he's going

There's only one occurrence of "Vermont" in the captured captioning—when Sherlock assures Joan that there are pharmacies in Vermont. 

However, although Michael just tells Sherlock, "I've already left New York," and "I'm going to go away for awhile," my mind immediately leapt to the conclusion that Michael was in Vermont. Dun-da-Duun-dun.

[Trey]

Thank you! I didn't think Michael had specified where he was going.

[Vermicious Knid]

I completely missed Sherlock was going anywhere. I really hope this isn't going to be a cat and mouse thing that lasts the whole season because I find the plotline dreadful. They're making it so Michael is smarter than Sherlock and Moriarty at this rate. I can just hope that since the season was originally going to be shorter it will wrap up in only a few more episodes.

[Driad]

Is heroin actually "effective" if swallowed instead of injected?  Guessing it is less effective, but easier to dose someone that way, so they could just use extra.

As for AA, when I have read about meetings or seen them portrayed on TV, many people were smoking.

[Suzn]

I'm here with a shallow comment.  I liked Joan's dress and was happy to see her in it.  Glad to know she is not in a suit every minute.

I was tired of the serial killer as of the first episode with him.  The sooner they can dispatch him the better.

[Driad]

I don't mind Joan's suits, but wonder why anyone would wear a necktie voluntarily.  I see freedom from neckties as partial compensation for being paid less than men.

[CaptainCranky]

Another outstanding show. I know there are a lot of other people who will pick it apart but for me this show continues to be exceptional.

I like the more mellow Gregson. He was getting a hard edge that made him difficult to watch. As for Mike he's one creepy person.

Again overall an exceptional show.

[johntfs]

23 hours ago, Trey said:

Did Michael say where he was going? Mr.Trey swore he told Sherlock he was going to Vermont but I don't remember hearing that - or seeing it on CC.  I know Sherlock said he was going to Vermont, although I'm pretty sure he is really going after Michael, wherever he's going.

I don't think so.  The bit where Michael the serial killer took him to the hospital was likely just the reality check bitchslap Sherlock needed to recognize that right now he's not a match for Michael, that if he really wants to catch him/stop him, he has to heal.  I think Sherlock is genuinely going to make that attempt.  He probably won't be gone long enough and the PCS will come up again later.  However, this isn't Season One or Two Sherlock.  At this point Sherlock is grown-the-fuck-up enough to realize his limits and deal with them accordingly.

Edited June 13, 2018 by johntfs

[mojoween]

I don’t know if this was direction or Aidan, but when they were in the interrogation room with Hannah and she said something and Gregson said “you couldn’t know,” the way he leapt over to comfort her was just awesome.

I wish I could paint a better picture why I liked it, but it was just a total dad thing to intuit and I thought it was just perfect.

[MisterGlass]

Random thought from the Doyle stories: there were a few that opened with Holmes and Watson traveling because Watson had made Holmes take time off for his health.

13 hours ago, paigow said:

What attracted the dogs? The burial site was sterilized..no DNA or decomposing body...the paint?

The mannequin didn't have useful evidence, but the body would have been there some time before the switch.  It could have given off a lot of chemicals a cadaver dog might still find.  Here's a Q&A article with a cadaver dog handler.

[beadgirl]

I'm cautiously optimistic that they won't drag the Michael storyline too long (not past the season, at least), and he won't become a ridiculously overpowered supervillain. Joan said the hospital tests showed Sherlock's tiredness had developed into clinical exhaustion (or whatever fancy medical words she used), so I can buy him being simply too worn out to adequately pursue Michael. I hope to see Sherlock get some real rest in Vermont (I don't think Michael is there), handle some normal case-of-the-week uh, cases, and then when Michael comes back he's all refreshed and ready to outwit him.

I also hope Joan destroys that heroin.

Quote

How did they trace the earrings to that shop out of probably 1000s of similar stores in NYC?

I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this, and I decided that they took a picture of the earrings (which I think they showed to the store owner) and did a google image search of that picture which led to an image of the earrings on the store's website. Or maybe the artist's website, and she told them what store she sold/consigned them to.

[tennisgurl]

Well, Mike is certainly getting his creepy on, especially now that he can just admit to being a creepy murderer. I do kind of wish his story had been a bit less cliche, but I do like how they're tying it into Sherlock's struggles with addiction, and that he figured out who this guy is pretty quickly. I am actually cautiously optimistic that this will be wrapped up in a decently satisfactory way, and wont be dragged out for 300 years like some other arcs this show has done. 

I hope that Sherlock really is going to get some rest, and isnt chasing Mike around. He really needs the time out, I was getting tired just looking at him, and I dont have brain damage!

[shapeshifter]

41 minutes ago, MisterGlass said:

The mannequin didn't have useful evidence, but the body would have been there some time before the switch.  It could have given off a lot of chemicals a cadaver dog might still find.

FFIW, from the captured captions:

Quote

Crime lab finished processing everything from the grave site.
They got nothing.
No animal remains? Unidentified fibers? We knew he wiped the mannequin down with rubbing alcohol.
Now, soil analysis tells us he poured the stuff over every inch of dirt that might have had a clue buried in it.

[Charlesman]

Gregson looked to be on the verge of tears in every scene. 

[thuganomics85]

Surprised that they already have Sherlock figuring out Michael's "game", and now it's about how he's still too weak to fully pursue him, so Michael is now going to disappear, and will likely be back once Sherlock recovers some more.  I do hope Sherlock is actually going take a break and "going to Vermont" isn't just code for him to try and hunt Michael down himself.

That said, if I was Michael, I'd be way more worried about Gregson at this rate.  Aiden Quinn's reactions when he discovers how Michael manipulated Hannah were intense as hell!  If Gregson ever got his hands on him....

[paigow]

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

That said, if I was Michael, I'd be way more worried about Gregson at this rate.  

Gregson gave Kitty a free pass on her revenge quest... so Joan & Sherlock would return the favour if a similar event occurred....

[TigerLynx]

5 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Surprised that they already have Sherlock figuring out Michael's "game", and now it's about how he's still too weak to fully pursue him, so Michael is now going to disappear, and will likely be back once Sherlock recovers some more.  I do hope Sherlock is actually going take a break and "going to Vermont" isn't just code for him to try and hunt Michael down himself.

That said, if I was Michael, I'd be way more worried about Gregson at this rate.  Aiden Quinn's reactions when he discovers how Michael manipulated Hannah were intense as hell!  If Gregson ever got his hands on him....

I liked Gregson's reaction to the Michael/Hannah connection, and his questioning Joan about Michael's ability to fool Sherlock.  I also liked the acknowledgement that Sherlock is not at the top of his game.  They are constantly selling Sherlock as the most observant, most intelligent guy in the room the majority of the time, so when Sherlock makes a misstep, it's nice to have it addressed.

[aemom]

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I hope that Sherlock really is going to get some rest, and isnt chasing Mike around. He really needs the time out, I was getting tired just looking at him, and I dont have brain damage!

I suspect he's going to do both.  I loved the way JLM played Sherlock this episode, with all the squinty faces and whatnot - he really sold the "I'm feeling like shit but going on" face.

14 hours ago, Suzn said:

I'm here with a shallow comment.  I liked Joan's dress and was happy to see her in it.  Glad to know she is not in a suit every minute.

I also loved Joan's dress and I miss seeing them.  I'm not so crazy about the suit-and-tie uniform that she keeps wearing this season.

[shapeshifter]

On 6/12/2018 at 9:14 PM, beadgirl said:

Quote

How did they trace the earrings to that shop out of probably 1000s of similar stores in NYC?

I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this, and I decided that they took a picture of the earrings (which I think they showed to the store owner) and did a google image search of that picture which led to an image of the earrings on the store's website. Or maybe the artist's website, and she told them what store she sold/consigned them to.

Google image search would work if they took a lot of pictures from different angles and searched each one (or got lottery-winning lucky on the first try). If the police, insurance companies, etc. don't have equipment and software for that yet, it's a sad commentary on wasted potential. Anyway, if they don't have such technology, they could put a rookie who is also a photographer on it. Or Sherlock might have hired one of his interesting characters.
But my favorite solution would have been a cameo by Richard Belzer as John Munch or a CGI'd Jerry Orbach (RIP) as Lenny Briscoe who recognized the earrings or knew a gal who knew a guy who would just know where they would be sold.
But they could have also shown Marcus getting info from a local jeweler or pawn shop.
I guess 42 minutes requires us to skip over a few almost-plot holes.

Edited June 14, 2018 by shapeshifter

[johntfs]

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

That said, if I was Michael, I'd be way more worried about Gregson at this rate.  Aiden Quinn's reactions when he discovers how Michael manipulated Hannah were intense as hell!  If Gregson ever got his hands on him....

Michael doesn't know Gregson enough to be worried about him.  Honestly, the people he should be worried about are Morland and Moriarty.  Morland is Sherlock's father and Michael screwing with Sherlock could easily draw a fatal/painful response from him (and he's the head of Murder, Incorporated now).  Meanwhile, Moriarty shows a "My game pieces are MY game pieces" and was the old head of Murder, Incorporated who keeps her hand in. Either way, Michael could easily find himself targeted by other psychopaths bent on killing him in a pseudo-accidental way.

[orza]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Google image search would work if they took a lot of pictures from different angles and searched each one (or got lottery-winning lucky on the first try). If the police, insurance companies, etc. don't have equipment and software for that yet, it's a sad commentary on wasted potential. Anyway, if they don't have such technology, they could put a rookie who is also a photographer on it. Or Sherlock might have hired one of his interesting characters.
I guess 42 minutes requires us to skip over a few almost-plot holes.

There are lots of websites that use screenshots to track down the clothes and accessories worn by characters on TV shows, including this show, and post the details of designer labels/manufacturers and availability so people can acquire them. Same for high-profile celebrities. Any items worn in public by the Duchess of Cambridge tend to sell out the same day in stores. It's so common and has been going on for so long that it's really not necessary to waste screen time spelling out how they located the earring store.

Edited June 13, 2018 by orza

[juliet73]

On 6/12/2018 at 8:44 AM, Magnumfangirl said:

Pretty good episode, but there were a lot of leaps in the story.  How did they trace the earrings to that shop out of probably 1000s of similar stores in NYC?

 I'll assume they posted a pic of the earrings on Reddit ?  I've posted pics a few times of something I was looking for or a piece of something I couldn't identify and within an hour, another  Reddit user was able to help me.

[Donder]

I am smelling adoption gate coming back up again after this episode. What did they do with the unused heroin?

[johntfs]

Figure Watson disposed of it or hid it away for when Michael comes back.  It's interesting to note thar Sherlock's plan was quite close to, if more direct than, Oscar Rankin's plan which got him to use in the Season 3 finale, "A Controlled Descent."

[frenchtoast]

3 hours ago, johntfs said:

It's interesting to note thar Sherlock's plan was quite close to, if more direct than, Oscar Rankin's plan which got him to use in the Season 3 finale, "A Controlled Descent."

That was my first thought when he was explaining his plan to Watson. And for me, for Sherlock to even consider that plan and how it made him like Oscar, I felt like it really showed how terribly Michael had affected him. I guess he rationalized it that Oscar was trying to bring Sherlock down from his high horse but Sherlock was trying to to stop Michael from killing for Sherlock's attention/the thrill of the chase. I guess it's not the worst reason, but it still felt icky to me.

[Athena]

6 minutes ago, frenchtoast said:

I guess it's not the worst reason, but it still felt icky to me.

Yeah and Sherlock acknowledged how repulsive it was to him and told Watson she did not have to help. Watson said reasonably, if they didn't stop him, another woman could be dead. She and Gregson had also hit a wall with legal ways of getting evidence. It also said a lot about how vulnerable Sherlock was to use such a plan. He didn't have the capabilities mentally or physically to concoct  another plan in time. 

[Loandbehold]

People are ignoring one of the biggest questions - what does Clyde think about heroin once again being in the house?

As for the earrings, the husband recognized them. It's possible that he remembered where his wife bought them (I don't recall if there was any dialog where he said he didn't know or couldn't remember).

[Athena]

3 minutes ago, Loandbehold said:

As for the earrings, the husband recognized them. It's possible that he remembered where his wife bought them (I don't recall if there was any dialog where he said he didn't know or couldn't remember).

The earrings weren't from his wife. The victim was wearing his wife's watch which Gregson and Sherlock brought to the prison.

[Loandbehold]

35 minutes ago, Athena said:

The earrings weren't from his wife. The victim was wearing his wife's watch which Gregson and Sherlock brought to the prison.

Thanks. The memory, she fails me more and more often.

[Ailianna]

On 6/13/2018 at 9:37 AM, shapeshifter said:

But my favorite solution would have been a cameo by Lenny Briscoe or a CGI'd John Munch (RIP) who recognized the earrings or knew a gal who knew a guy who would just know where they would be sold.

You got that backwards.  The entirely amazing, inimitable, irreplaceable Jerry Orbach, who played Lennie Briscoe, died, way back in 2004,  and the character of Lennie Briscoe died with him.  Richard Belzer and John Munch are still alive and well and making guest appearances on SVU.

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

On 6/13/2018 at 8:37 AM, shapeshifter said:

But my favorite solution would have been a cameo by Lenny Briscoe or a CGI'd John Munch (RIP) who recognized the earrings or knew a gal who knew a guy who would just know where they would be sold.

You got that backwards.  The entirely amazing, inimitable, irreplaceable Jerry Orbach, who played Lennie Briscoe, died, way back in 2004,  and the character of Lennie Briscoe died with him.  Richard Belzer and John Munch are still alive and well and making guest appearances on SVU.

Oops! Thanks. Fixed it.

[paigow]

On 6/13/2018 at 10:32 AM, johntfs said:

Either way, Michael could easily find himself targeted by other psychopaths bent on killing him 

That is exactly how Fortnite works..Quietly observe 2 other players killing each other..The weakened winner is vulnerable and distracted.

[kitmerlot1213]

On 6/13/2018 at 7:30 AM, TigerLynx said:

I liked Gregson's reaction to the Michael/Hannah connection, and his questioning Joan about Michael's ability to fool Sherlock.  I also liked the acknowledgement that Sherlock is not at the top of his game.  They are constantly selling Sherlock as the most observant, most intelligent guy in the room the majority of the time, so when Sherlock makes a misstep, it's nice to have it addressed.

I think this is also the reason Gregson looks as incredibly worried as he does.  In the past, he would know that Sherlock could outsmart the bad guy but he knows that because of his PCS, Sherlock isn't a match for Michael and now they are all in danger.  And I do think Sherlock went away for a rest because he knows he has to actually get better in order to steop Michael's serial killing.

I did like that Sherlock was instantly worried about Joan, that he was afraid she'd been hurt.  I hope the show doesn't go with the cliche of putting Watson in danger--I want her right there with Sherlock in the final confrontation.

Greatest line in this episode:  "You're going to die in prison."  

Edited June 15, 2018 by kitmerlot1213

[MissLucas]

And despite everyone here explaining how easy it is to track down a specific item iwornontv.net still hasn't identified Watson's dress ;) And speaking of fashion I have one minor wardrobe-related quibble: Sherlock claimed that the victim's shoes were out of fashion. Those were Mary Janes and they are not out of fashion at all -  Watson actually wore a pair only one or two episodes ago. 

I'm glad Sherlock caught on to Michael the moment he identified the woman on the surveillance footage - no dragging out of what was looking like a tiresome plot.  I'm still not too keen on the whole serial killer taunts detective arc but at least there's some compelling cat and mouse going on. And Sherlock considering to kick Michael back into addiction was pretty dark. I appreciated that he wanted to keep Watson out of it and her fierce response.

I wonder if Michael is also heading towards Vermont - there was a lot of countryside in his last scene.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

despite everyone here explaining how easy it is to track down a specific item iwornontv.net still hasn't identified Watson's dress ;)

I know! It's probably way out of my price range, but I still want to know.

 

 

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

I wonder if Michael is also heading towards Vermont - there was a lot of countryside in his last scene.

I think it was that scenery passing by Michael's bus's windows that made you and me and Mr. @Trey and others think Michael was going to Vermont. Kind of Hitchcockian.

[possibilities]

Maybe tweet to the Elementary account, asking about the dress?

[ZoqFotPik]

On 6/11/2018 at 8:03 PM, ElleMo said:

The killer who plays with the detective is a bit of an overused trope,  but this was a good episode. I am glad they didn't drag it out too long and that Sherlock realized it was Michael as soon as he identified the woman that Michael asked him to look for. 

The one thing to remember is that this season was only going to be 13 episodes and it wasn't until the end of November that it was upped to 21. Given the late order, I'm guessing most if not all 13 episodes had already been filmed or at least written. This was episode 7, so this is what would have been the mid point of the season. I'm guessing, had they not received an order for 8 more episodes, the remaining 6 would have focused on catching Michael. They probably reshot the ending with Michael leaving and are going to sprinkle the remaining 6 "Michael" episodes  throughout the rest of the season.

Edited June 17, 2018 by ZoqFotPik