S06.E09: Nobody Lives Forever

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

A former sobriety sponsor asks Holmes for help with an illegal endeavor in order to save his brother; Holmes and Watson investigate the poisoning of a biology professor.

Promo:

[paigow]

From Red Carpet Crash: 

Elementary 6×09 “Nobody Lives Forever” Season 6 Episode 9 Promo – Holmes’ former sobriety sponsor, Alfredo (Ato Essandoh), asks for his help with an illegal endeavor in order to save his brother. Also, Holmes and Watson investigate the poisoning of a biology professor who was working on a secret genetics project prior to being killed, on ELEMENTARY, Monday, June 25th on CBS.

[MisterGlass]

I was hoping at some point Mycroft would get to come back as a character, and am sorry he died offscreen. 

I enjoyed seeing Alfredo, but I wish the episode had spent more time on him, especially since we hadn't seen him in a while.

[Donder]

Quite a little hint in the title. Peace out Mycroft

[Magnumfangirl]

Way too much gross out stuff in this one!  Yuck. 

Sherlock seemed sort of weird  and withdrawn the whole episode, like he wasn't really interested in the case.  It made sense in the last couple of scenes, but not at the beginning.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

I enjoyed seeing Alfredo, but I wish the episode had spent more time on him, especially since we hadn't seen him in a while

I, OTOH, was glad they finally gave Ato Essandoh some substantive lines this time.

 

 

3 hours ago, Donder said:

Quite a little hint in the title. Peace out Mycroft

And the motive for murder turned out to be an Occam's razor vis à vis the title—or is that what you meant, @Donder, in addition to the end of Mycroft?

It's become almost the norm for procedurals to have the A and B plots reiterate the same point. I don't recall, but ACD didn't do anything like this, did he?

 

I may be alone in having never liked the character of Mycroft, but the moody viola (or possibly cello?) music when Sherlock and Joan spoke about the estrangement, and then at the end, the fittingly plaintive verse of the vocalist when Sherlock shares the news with Joan that his brother and her lover is dead, were a pitch perfect send off for an off-screen significant other.

 

Are these figures blown milkweed pods in this print on Joan's blouse (which I covet)?:

[biakbiak]

Mycroft dying off screen (which is clearly a set up for his dad), the adoption, and Alfredo coming back indicate to me that everyone thought this show was going to be cancelled, 

[johntfs]

9 hours ago, Magnumfangirl said:

Sherlock seemed sort of weird  and withdrawn the whole episode, like he wasn't really interested in the case.  It made sense in the last couple of scenes, but not at the beginning.

In the beginning Alfredo is trying to get Sherlock to help him swipe some money to help out his brother.  Sherlock knows what a negative role said brother played in Alfredo's life and despises him for it.  Meanwhile, Alfredo's brother troubles stir up Sherlock's feelings about Mycroft not getting in contact with him despite being safe from the French gangsters, so Sherlock is understandably distracted - like a human in that position would be.  One of the themes of this show is how Sherlock becomes more and more involved in and vulnerable to human experiences and emotions.

[dargosmydaddy]

Dear Elementary,

If you're intent on bringing back all sorts of previous characters, I know a turtle we would all love to see again.

Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing Alfredo again, and hope this isn't the last we see of him. But I'll be happy if I never see John Noble again. And I bet Clyde gets paid a lot less. It's a win-win!

Sincerely,

dargosmydaddy

[gesundheit]

While I adore Joan's suits, I'm always distracted by how she travels unencumbered. No purse, no wallet. Where does she put her keys??

[dargosmydaddy]

Presumably the suits have pockets? (Now I'm going to spend time looking for conspicuous bulges...)

Not sure I understood the beginning. Did the two kids really choose a science lab as the place they want to make out? Especially made no sense when it was later mentioned that it was "midterm break." I'm sure they could have found plenty of more comfortable places that were just as empty.

[EAG46]

Quote

Did the two kids really choose a science lab as the place they want to make out? Especially made no sense when it was later mentioned that it was "midterm break." I'm sure they could have found plenty of more comfortable places that were just as empty.

Yeah I Know!!   Why not the big squishy foam things the athletic teams use?  Or the theater's green room sofa?  

[Trey]

Sob!! I am so sorry Mycroft is dead - I loved him. Poor Sherlock - he was sad too. And Joan.

I wonder if all those dead French mobsters were courtesy of Morland.

I don't know why Alfredo didn't take the cheque from Sherlock with the idea of paying him back when he got his money from the car dealership.

I don't know why some people want to live forever. I want to live a long time but forever is too long.

[Driad]

"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."

During the last Sherlock-Joan scene they showed the floor a lot and I was distracted looking for Clyde.

[iMonrey]

Can somebody help me remember where we last left off with Mycroft? I remember nothing about French gangsters or him faking his own death or where he ended up. There's been too long a break between the last 2 seasons in addition to the length of time since he was last on the show.

I don't remember the last time we saw Alfredo either. I'm assuming that's because so much of Season 5 was devoted to all that Shinwell nonsense. 

I did however enjoy this week's mystery, as it was one of the easier ones to follow. I generally lose track of the thread somewhere along the way and I never did with this one, so good job, writers.

[Loandbehold]

3 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Dear Elementary,

If you're intent on bringing back all sorts of previous characters, I know a turtle we would all love to see again.

 

2 hours ago, Driad said:

During the last Sherlock-Joan scene they showed the floor a lot and I was distracted looking for Clyde.

I firmly believe that Clyde has become a service turtle and is currently assisting people scared of flying on transcontinental flights.

R.I.P. Mycroft. Given his relationships w/ both Sherlock and Joan, he was a good character to kill off.

I was glad to see Alfredo back.

2 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Not sure I understood the beginning. Did the two kids really choose a science lab as the place they want to make out? Especially made no sense when it was later mentioned that it was "midterm break." I'm sure they could have found plenty of more comfortable places that were just as empty.

I took it as the midterm break was over. One of those crazy kids had the key to the lab, so they wouldn't have to worry about being disturbed. Except by the rat audience.

[tennisgurl]

Wow, did not see Mycroft dying off screen coming. I guess it makes sense from a story perspective, and the scene where they talk about it by the fire was really good. I loved the music being used, it was really pretty. Poor Sherlock and Joan. 

Great seeing Alfredo again! Now, we just need to see Clyde. I mean, he lives in the house with them, just move the camera slightly down to show him sitting on the couch writing his memoirs or something!

I thought the case was pretty good, even though I figured it would either be the young business guy, or the TA woman. The idea was interesting too, and as weird as the cases tend to be, I like that the show is always exploring these different subcultures and professions and the things going on with them. 

[rainsmom]

Surprised that Mycroft died off screen. Last scene was really well done.

I called the killer the first time he was on screen. My reasoning was simple: He was an actor significant to a scene who didn't have to be there. We could have met with his father with no loss to that scene. So why pay him? Because he's going to be the killer. 

[MaryHedwig]

7 hours ago, Driad said:

During the last Sherlock-Joan scene they showed the floor a lot and I was distracted looking for Clyde.

Isn't he in the refrigerator?

[MisterGlass]

16 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

It's become almost the norm for procedurals to have the A and B plots reiterate the same point. I don't recall, but ACD didn't do anything like this, did he?

The stories didn't tend to have B plots.  They were pretty specifically about the investigations with the odd personal detail thrown in.  I don't remember anything from the novels I've read that reflects this structure.  I think this is a TV convention.

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Can somebody help me remember where we last left off with Mycroft? I remember nothing about French gangsters or him faking his own death or where he ended up. There's been too long a break between the last 2 seasons in addition to the length of time since he was last on the show.

IIRC, Mycroft was acting as a civilian agent gathering information/access on a group of gangsters who wanted to use his restaurants as fronts.  The secret was revealed to the audience when he tried to get a kidnapped Joan back from the gangsters, and they refused to let the two of them go.  Mycroft then dropped the apt code phrase "paint it black" and the gangsters surrounding them all died of headshots.  I don't remember how, but he was exposed, faked his death in a kitchen fire, and went into hiding.  Sherlock thought he should have faced what came next, and would have helped him.  He felt Mycroft was running away and taking the easy way out.  I think he was also upset about the danger to Joan due to Mycroft's position.

[CaptainCranky]

Another outstanding show. Six seasons and the writers still amaze me with interesting story lines. I love the way the show moves from suspect to suspect until the end the real culprit is exposed.

Too bad about Mycroft's demise but seeing Morland will be back brings a smile to my face.

And I loved the line "your three and a half orgasms". The look on Joans face was priceless.

[Driad]

28 minutes ago, MaryHedwig said:

Isn't [Clyde] in the refrigerator?

He spends the winter there, IIRC, but it does not seem to be winter now.  Or maybe Joan was supposed to wake him up while Sherlock was away, but forgot.  

[roseha]

Too bad about Mycroft.  I would have thought, as Joan did at first, that he might be faking his death again but Morland coming back would rule that out I would think, he would be sure to know.

I couldn't hear how he had died, did Sherlock say cerebral hemorrhage? Would that re-awaken his fear about his own injury?

Good to see Alfredo again though.

Edited June 27, 2018 by roseha

[paigow]

3 hours ago, roseha said:

I couldn't hear how he had died, did Sherlock say cerebral hemorrhage? 

Yes. Something about leukemia survivors facing a greater risk of this... so not exactly the same situation as PCS...

[johntfs]

This is one reason I love this show.  Even when it touches the borders of science-fiction (artificial intelligence, time-dilation drugs, seeking immortality), there's a core of realism and a sense that yeah, this is the (or a) real world.  In the real world when you come to an epiphany of forgiveness for your estranged sibling, sometimes he died ten months previously from something that would realistically kill him (inter-cranial bleeding for a leukemia survivor).  Figure on another, lesser, show (Sherlock for instance), Sherlock would have had his reconciliation with Mycroft before the latter died, likely doing something terribly heroic.  Here, nope, not so much.

Edited July 3, 2018 by johntfs

[gaucho91]

16 hours ago, rainsmom said:

I called the killer the first time he was on screen. My reasoning was simple: He was an actor significant to a scene who didn't have to be there. We could have met with his father with no loss to that scene. So why pay him? Because he's going to be the killer. 

Me too.

[jaigurudeva]

On 6/26/2018 at 8:33 AM, Trey said:

Sob!! I am so sorry Mycroft is dead - I loved him. Poor Sherlock - he was sad too. And Joan.

I wonder if all those dead French mobsters were courtesy of Morland.

I don't know why Alfredo didn't take the cheque from Sherlock with the idea of paying him back when he got his money from the car dealership.

I don't know why some people want to live forever. I want to live a long time but forever is too long.

Seconding this. I get the feeling Alfredo was just looking for an excuse to wrong the people who wronged him, perhaps to show how his brother continues to bring out the worst in him? Hopefully, a relapse isn't eminent for him.

Also, it feels like these episodes were written out of sequence or by completely different writers each week. The first several episodes focused so much on the serial killer, the tonal shift in completely ignoring that plotline is a little jarring. Even if it's just a brief few minutes to mention that they're also still investigating and trying to track him down before he kills again, it would make it seem a little less like they were just sitting on their hands this whole time when he inevitably comes back into the spotlight with another murder. After all, he was just biding his time until Sherlock fully recovered, so he could strike any day now.

[BrainyBlonde]

21 hours ago, CaptainCranky said:

Another outstanding show. Six seasons and the writers still amaze me with interesting story lines. I love the way the show moves from suspect to suspect until the end the real culprit is exposed.

Too bad about Mycroft's demise but seeing Morland will be back brings a smile to my face.

And I loved the line "your three and a half orgasms". The look on Joans face was priceless.

The orgasms line makes me snort laugh every time I think about it. How the heck did Sherlock even know that?

I really didn't like the Mycroft character on this show and could not fathom why Joan ever got romantically involved with him, so good riddance, I say, although I am sorry that Sherlock's hurting.

Is John Noble okay? He looked frightfully thin in the previews.

I was super happy to see Alfredo again (loved that actor on Copper!), but not happy that he asked Sherlock to commit a crime with him and then gave him crap when he wouldn't do it. Not cool, Alfredo! And you're Sherlock's sponsor, so you shouldn't be encouraging him to stray from the straight and narrow in any regard.

I have to say that for me, this season has been such a HUGE improvement over the last one when I almost gave up watching the show. I'm actually excited to watch new eps every week this season and I really liked Sherlock's whole PCS storyline.

[Clanstarling]

22 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

The stories didn't tend to have B plots.  They were pretty specifically about the investigations with the odd personal detail thrown in.  I don't remember anything from the novels I've read that reflects this structure.  I think this is a TV convention.

IIRC, Mycroft was acting as a civilian agent gathering information/access on a group of gangsters who wanted to use his restaurants as fronts.  The secret was revealed to the audience when he tried to get a kidnapped Joan back from the gangsters, and they refused to let the two of them go.  Mycroft then dropped the apt code phrase "paint it black" and the gangsters surrounding them all died of headshots.  I don't remember how, but he was exposed, faked his death in a kitchen fire, and went into hiding.  Sherlock thought he should have faced what came next, and would have helped him.  He felt Mycroft was running away and taking the easy way out.  I think he was also upset about the danger to Joan due to Mycroft's position.

Then Mycroft faked his death twice, right? The series started off, I believe, with Sherlock believing Mycroft was dead (my vague recollection is that Mycroft faked it when he found out he had leukemia and only re-emerged after he recovered and Sherlock was going through his (their?) apartment).

I took Sherlock's lack of energy/enthusiasm as more a sign that he was thinking about what Alfredo said and struggling with the idea of forgiveness. I thought the scene where he breaks Mycroft's death to Joan was really moving. He really looked choked up in his own way.

It wasn't the most interesting plot, in general.

2 minutes ago, BrainyBlonde said:

The orgasms line makes me snort laugh every time I think about it. How the heck did Sherlock even know that?

Keen sense of hearing? Though I'm not sure what a half orgasm would sound like (and how it would be measured against, say, 3/4 of one).

[MissLucas]

I'm somewhat reluctant to admit this but I remember Sherlock mentioning back in season one that he could tell from a woman's gait whether she had had an orgasm recently. But IIRC Watson and Mycroft started sleeping with each other in the UK when Sherlock wasn't around - maybe that was just once and the other two and a half happened back in NY? I should not spend so much time thinking about this.

Another great episode - I loved Sherlock waking up Watson 'without theatrics' as a thank you for her being so understanding when he had needed more sleep but also making it clear that the theatrics would return, he!

[MisterGlass]

2 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Then Mycroft faked his death twice, right? The series started off, I believe, with Sherlock believing Mycroft was dead (my vague recollection is that Mycroft faked it when he found out he had leukemia and only re-emerged after he recovered and Sherlock was going through his (their?) apartment).

No, Mycroft was a live and known to be alive.  He chose not to reach out to Sherlock when he had leukemia, and went through treatment and a bone marrow transplant, and was well into remission before Sherlock came back to London.  Sherlock had had an affair with Mycroft's fiancee (he said to prove a point about her interest in Mycroft's money, not him).  They cut off all contact.  While Sherlock was in rehab and staying in New York, their father gave Mycroft 221B Baker Street, and Mycroft moved out all of Sherlock's things.  Sherlock was shocked to find Mycroft there, that his private space had been given away, and that his things (supposedly) were discarded.  He immediately started antagonizing Mycroft, referring to him as 'fatty' and failing to consider that dramatic weight loss could be related to illness.

It wasn't a happy reunion, but they came quite a ways before Mycroft eventually faked his death, and later passed away.

[johntfs]

3 hours ago, jaigurudeva said:

Seconding this. I get the feeling Alfredo was just looking for an excuse to wrong the people who wronged him, perhaps to show how his brother continues to bring out the worst in him? Hopefully, a relapse isn't eminent for him.

I think it's a little more complex than that, though a bit of revenge is part of it.  Remember, Alfredo is also an addict.  Unlike Sherlock, Alfredo wasn't the son of a Lovecraftian Horror bent on acquiring ever greater fortunes.  Sherlock had plenty of means to feed his habits until his father cut him off.  Alfredo did not.  So, sure he stole cars, but figure he also begged, borrowed and stole money from everyone around him.  So the idea of Sherlock giving him money is likely a kind of trigger for him.  He refuses to accept the money partly out of pride but also out of fear of lapsing into the money-grubbing behavior he used to use in order to use.  For Alfredo, committing a felony by taking money through theft from the cheat who owed it to him was "safer" for Alfredo than accepting large gift of money from a friend.

[lb60]

4 hours ago, BrainyBlonde said:

I have to say that for me, this season has been such a HUGE improvement over the last one when I almost gave up watching the show. I'm actually excited to watch new eps every week this season and I really liked Sherlock's whole PCS storyline.

Agreed!  I'm enjoying the hell out of this season.  I only wish JLM would get more (any?) credit, because his Sherlock is amazing.

More Clyde would be nice, too.  Seriously, show.  Where the hell is he?

[Cotypubby]

I knew who the killer was the second I saw his face (and the motive behind it immediately.) James Barbour is too big a Broadway name for just one short throwaway scene. I wish they would stop having the most recognizable guest actor be the murderer.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Cotypubby

[MaryHedwig]

16 hours ago, BrainyBlonde said:

The orgasms line makes me snort laugh every time I think about it. How the heck did Sherlock even know that?

Could Sherlock be attributing the "half-orgasm" to the time that Sherlock interrupted Mycroft and Watson in bed in Mycroft's apartment?

Edited June 28, 2018 by MaryHedwig

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

No, Mycroft was a live and known to be alive.  He chose not to reach out to Sherlock when he had leukemia, and went through treatment and a bone marrow transplant, and was well into remission before Sherlock came back to London.  Sherlock had had an affair with Mycroft's fiancee (he said to prove a point about her interest in Mycroft's money, not him).  They cut off all contact.  While Sherlock was in rehab and staying in New York, their father gave Mycroft 221B Baker Street, and Mycroft moved out all of Sherlock's things.  Sherlock was shocked to find Mycroft there, that his private space had been given away, and that his things (supposedly) were discarded.  He immediately started antagonizing Mycroft, referring to him as 'fatty' and failing to consider that dramatic weight loss could be related to illness.

It wasn't a happy reunion, but they came quite a ways before Mycroft eventually faked his death, and later passed away.

Ah, thanks. This has all the things I remember - but in a different (correct) context.

[shapeshifter]

Okay. I wasn't going to say anything, but now that Find In Page shows the big O word occurrs 8 time on this page, I will add my take on the line: I thought Sherlock meant 3½ each time Joan and Mycroft did the Beast With Two Backs, because for him to mention 3½ times in total seems kind of petty. But then again, post-death pettiness doesn't seem OOC.

[Driad]

15 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

[Mycroft] chose not to reach out to Sherlock when he had leukemia, and went through treatment and a bone marrow transplant

A sibling is typically the best chance for a bone marrow match, so Mycroft must have felt seriously estranged from Sherlock.  Do we know whether they have the same mother?

[Loandbehold]

9 minutes ago, Driad said:

Do we know whether they have the same mother?

I don't recall hearing otherwise, and I'm sure, being as precise as he is, even absent the antagonistic feelings towards Mycroft, he would have introduced him to Joan as his half-brother.

47 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Okay. I wasn't going to say anything, but now that Find In Page shows the big O word occurrs 8 time on this page, I will add my take on the line: I thought Sherlock meant 3½ each time Joan and Mycroft did the Beast With Two Backs,

And here I took it as Joan's a 4-OH woman. So, when Sherlock only heard two "oh"s, he knew it was half an orgasm.

[Athena]

8 minutes ago, Driad said:

A sibling is typically the best chance for a bone marrow match, so Mycroft must have felt seriously estranged from Sherlock.  Do we know whether they have the same mother?

There has been no indication otherwise. Unlike many patients looking for a match, Mycroft and the Holmes family are very wealthy so had the means to look far and wide for the match. Sherlock not only slept with Mycroft's fiancee, he was a drug addict, and the brothers were probably not close growing up. Morland was not a warm father either so estrangement is the Holmes way.

[Loandbehold]

Being a heroin addict alone might have prevented Sherlock from donating bone marrow.

Huh. You learn something new everyday. Heroin addicts can and do donate organs.

Quote

There's no risk of the donated organ transferring the addiction to the recipient. Moreover, the organs of someone addicted to opioids generally aren't in worse shape than those of anyone else. In fact, the victims of the opioid crisis tend to be younger and healthier than the typical organ donor.

"I hate to say this and it's very sad, but most of them are very young people who have overall good health," Kadry said.

I didn't think the addiction was transferable. I'm surprised that using heroin doesn't seem to have much negative impact on the organs. Although later in the article they discuss informed consent and if other behavior could result in HIV or hepatitis.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Loandbehold
google can be our friend

[frenchtoast]

As much as I enjoyed this episode, it still had one of my personal pet peeves. Rats don't make that much noise. And then they had them all stuffed in way too small cages. We had two pet rats and they rarely made that squeaking sound. Rats are always portrayed badly and while it wasn't terrible this time, the squeaking is a peeve of mine. But they were so cute. 

[MisterGlass]

8 hours ago, Athena said:

Sherlock not only slept with Mycroft's fiancee, he was a drug addict, and the brothers were probably not close growing up. Morland was not a warm father either so estrangement is the Holmes way.

I don't remember if they specified it in this series, but Mycroft is usually seven years older.  They also suffered the trauma of an addicted mother.  Sherlock didn't seem to remember much about her condition, but Mycroft would have been old enough to remember.  Those memories couldn't have made it easy to deal with Sherlock at that point, either.

[thuganomics85]

Way late for this episode.

Always glad to see Alfredo and I like how his issues/relationship with his brother led to Sherlock opening up about his own feelings towards Mycroft.  Glad he took the step to reach forgiveness with him, but sadly it sounds like Mycroft has passed away and it won't be another fake-out.

The case of the week was pretty fun, although the owner's son wasn't that shocking of a choice.

[atlantaloves]

But hey, where was the ever present Britta water filter this week? ?  Inquiring minds need to know. 

[roseha]

I forgot to mention that I loved the little throw away scene with the rat security guard reading and complaining about shady Albany politics to the animal in the cage next to him.

[Maelstrom]

I’m finally caught up with my backlog of episodes! Totally agree that this season has been a huge improvement over last year. The PCS storyline has been very interesting, the serial killer less so.

Alfredo!! I’d love it if we could get more Alfredo on a regular basis, he really adds so much to the show. His relationship with Sherlock is unique as they’re both addicts and therefore on equal ground, which is apparent in how Sherlock interacts with him. And it makes Alfredo one of the few people who seems able to get away with calling Sherlock out on his BS, and actually getting Sherlock to hear him.

I’ve been a big Mycroft and Rhys Ifans fan over the years even though I feel his story was largely mishandled back in season 2, so I’m devastated they killed him offscreen. I was really hoping to get an episode with both Mycroft and Morland, but clearly that’s not an option now. Sniff.

Nice throwback with Sherlock waking up Joan, we haven’t seen that in awhile, even though it wasn’t in some ridiculous manner. This entire episode felt like a callback to the early seasons - the only element missing was a certain beloved turtle.

[beadgirl]

This episode cemented for me why I think it's the best modern portrayal of Sherlock -- the writers aren't afraid to let him be wrong sometimes, and let him admit it.*  I especially like that it involved emotional growth and the concept of forgiveness. And having Mycroft be already dead, as sad as it was, kept the whole thing from becoming too facile and tidy.

 

*See also: the episode where he came up with an overly-elaborate plan to get some information from a criminal, and it backfired (offscreen) and he got arrested. I laughed hard when he mumbled what happened to Watson.

[atlantaloves]

To Beadgirl: Oh yeah, I adore this version of Sherlock as well.  I like the English Sherlock with Cumberbatch more, but I never ever ever ever miss Elementary, Mr. Miller is as sexy as hell, and wow, what an actor. 

[Ceindreadh]

On 1/7/2018 at 10:27 PM, roseha said:

I forgot to mention that I loved the little throw away scene with the rat security guard reading and complaining about shady Albany politics to the animal in the cage next to him.

I was just worried that something bad was going to happen to those dogs!