S07.E02: Gutshot

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Holmes and Watson try to work a stateside investigation from London when someone close to them is gravely wounded by an unknown perpetrator in the U.S.; Holmes' stateside legal trouble threatens to derail their efforts.

Promo:

Original air date: 5/30/19

[paigow]

Does Sherlock have a Jason Bourne safety deposit box? Full of fake passports and foreign currency? Or is he pretending to be Mycroft? 

[johntfs]

8 hours ago, paigow said:

Does Sherlock have a Jason Bourne safety deposit box? Full of fake passports and foreign currency? Or is he pretending to be Mycroft? 

Most likely the former.  Plus, recall that his father is a multi-billionaire running an assassin cartel.  Oh, and Sherlock has friends in the NSA.  The sheer number of ways Sherlock could get into the country aren't worth detailing.  This big thing is can he stay in the country without drawing official attention to himself?

[paigow]

Safe to rule out Moriarty involvement...Her minions are not that incompetent....plus she does not have a motive / objective that involves Capt. Gregson or Hannah...

[shapeshifter]

Did I hear Sherlock tell the FBI he was going to help them with the domestic terrorists? Because I can't imagine he would offer to find the person who really killed the serial killer (Hannah).
And I was doing so well. It was the only bit I missed.
  
   

As soon as I saw H!ITG! red-haired actor Mac Brandt (as Patrick Meers), I knew he was the guy. 

The dialog was a little clunky in places, including Joan/Lucy Liu stating that both the dead kid's mom and Meers were lying. It looks like they're part of a domestic terrorist group, but it could be something more interesting.
Probably the mom killed the son because he was going to stop the bomb plot. 
  

ETA: When you need to have other characters telling someone that their bleached hair is a good look, that just confirms that it does not.

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by shapeshifter

[elle]

Who was the H!ITG! playing the CC professor?

[possibilities]

I liked this episode. I did laugh when Gregson's partner complimented Joan's dye job. I agree it was because they knew it needed selling.

I think they're handwaving Sherlock's return to the states. There's facial recognition and you know he's on a warrant/watch list, and I just don't buy that he'd go through the airport and then be walking around NYC and talking to witnesses and no one would catch on.

It's convenient, but lazy writing.

But I enjoy him and Joan being in NYC, so I'm letting it go.

[thuganomics85]

Kind of surprised that they already solved Gregson's shooter, even though it seems like this is all connected to something even bigger, and I'm sure there will be much more to this.  I knew the shooter was going to Marc Brandt's character mainly due to him being the most recognizable guest actor, but even then, his character being the only to be sympathetic towards the victim was just a big red flag.

I guess Gregson's fate will still be up in the air for a bit.  Cool seeing Paige again.  While I'm glad Sherlock did address their issues, I really do hope Gregson himself actually apologizes for what he did to Sherlock (and Joan.)

I'm choosing to believe that Bell secretly knew that Sherlock was back too, but wasn't going to say it out loud.

So, Sherlock ends up just turning himself into the FBI instead: likely making some kind of deal by bringing down this likely terrorist organization.  Hmm..

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

As soon as I saw H!ITG! red-haired actor Mac Brandt (as Patrick Meers), I knew he was the guy. 

I remember somebody saying that it is always the second guy that they interview. That's how I was able to guess who it was. The guy said he was selling a car and the kid stole a car after he didn't get to buy that one. I wonder if those two facts are connected. He used his mom's credit card or did she buy that stuff herself and blamed her son. How did the guy find the kid, did his mom know where he was staying. I haven't got a clue who might be involved in the terror plot.

[tennisgurl]

So I guess that Sherlock is back in New York now, and will exchange helping deal with this terrorist plan for an immunity deal or something. It will be nice to be back in New York and see everyone together again, but I admit that I kind of wanted to hang out in London for awhile longer, it was fun to have a bit of a change. 

Looks like Gregsons fate will be up in the air for a bit longer, to hold onto some drama. Its nice that Sherlock forgave Gregson and still cares for him deeply, despite what happened. I hope that Gregson will get the chance to make peace with Joan and Sherlock and apologize for how things went with Hannah. It was also nice to see Paige again, having her around instead of Hannah, who started this whole clusterfuck, was a really good call. 

I knew that it would be the guy I kind of recognized, and the one person who got interviewed who didnt go on and on about how much he hates the dead kid. I bet that the kid tried to back out of the plan and was about to turn himself in and thats why he got killed. 

Paige might as well have stared at the camera like "Joan's hair is awesome and not off color, and dont you forget it!"

[GaT]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

ETA: When you need to have other characters telling someone that their bleached hair is a good look, that just confirms that it does not
 

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

I did laugh when Gregson's partner complimented Joan's dye job. I agree it was because they knew it needed selling.

She looks awful as a blonde, I can't imagine why she would think it looks good.

Edited May 31, 2019 by GaT

[possibilities]

I thought the mom of the victim was the killer, to be honest. I still think she might be part of the terrorist organization.

I want Gregson to recover, reconcile with Sherlock, and then hold Hannah accountable. The guy this week talking about how wrong it was that the kid's cop father got him off the assault charge to me was a pointed comment about cops covering things up, and I hope it foreshadows Gregson turning Hannah in.

Does Paige know about what happened? I was wondering about that.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Paige might as well have stared at the camera like "Joan's hair is awesome and not off color, and dont you forget it!"

Heh, did you notice they even gave Paige the same dye job?

49 minutes ago, GaT said:

She looks awful as a blonde, I can't imagine why she would think it looks good.

We haven't heard Joan (or Lucy) say the blond hair looks good. Just "thank you" to compliments. I'm assuming it will be black again by the finale, but if TPTB think giving back black hair to Joan will evoke the same audience sentiment as the 6.21 professions of love and the twin Baker Street abodes, well, I've got a really old, really unfunny joke for them that goes: Hey, Joan, what are you doing on top of the refrigerator? (To which Joan replies) It feels so good when I get down.
  
  

42 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Gregson to recover, reconcile with Sherlock, and then hold Hannah accountable. The guy this week talking about how wrong it was that the kid's cop father got him off the assault charge to me was a pointed comment about cops covering things up, and I hope it foreshadows Gregson turning Hannah in.

Hannah should have been shot for doing some dirty cop business, but, yeah, they probably aren't going there.

  
  

4 hours ago, elle said:

Who was the H!ITG! playing the CC professor?

He barely qualifies as a H!ITG! actor IMO, heh, but it's this guy: imdb.com/name/nm1478454 —maybe more of an off-off-Broadway guy?

Edited May 31, 2019 by shapeshifter

[preeya]

Sombody, what is H!ITG!

[dubbel zout]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I did laugh when Gregson's partner complimented Joan's dye job. I agree it was because they knew it needed selling.

Well, it's a big change, like going from long hair to a pixie cut. I don't think an in-show mention of that sort of thing necessarily means the show is trying to sell it. Gregson's partner's opinion isn't going to change anyone's mind.

7 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I'm choosing to believe that Bell secretly knew that Sherlock was back too, but wasn't going to say it out loud.

Same here. When Joan put him on speaker, I half-expected him to say something indicating he knew Sherlock was back but also knew not to come right out with it.

16 minutes ago, preeya said:

Sombody, what is H!ITG!

Hey! It's That Guy! That is, an actor you see everywhere but don't necessarily know his/her name.

[preeya]

6 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Hey! It's That Guy! That is, an actor you see everywhere but don't necessarily know his/her name.

Thanks! He certainly was/is H!ITG!

[Magnumfangirl]

Weird episode.  The dude who did it is way too chill.  I don't think it's going to be terrorism related.  They didn't link either of the guys to any groups or even any ideology, just a vague "he was in Afghanistan."  Gregson drove off after being shot twice!  Sure, that's exactly what a cop would do!  The entire ball field plot line was ridiculous.  The only reason they went there was because Gregson had clay dirt on him, but where he was actually shot was on concrete and Sherlock found the shell casing without any help.  Yeah right!  You'd think he would have noticed the bullet holes in the wall of the snack stand first.

[preeya]

12 minutes ago, Magnumfangirl said:

Weird episode.  The dude who did it is way too chill.  I don't think it's going to be terrorism related.  They didn't link either of the guys to any groups or even any ideology, just a vague "he was in Afghanistan."  Gregson drove off after being shot twice!  Sure, that's exactly what a cop would do!  The entire ball field plot line was ridiculous.  The only reason they went there was because Gregson had clay dirt on him, but where he was actually shot was on concrete and Sherlock found the shell casing without any help.  Yeah right!  You'd think he would have noticed the bullet holes in the wall of the snack stand first.

Yeah. I had similar thoughts about his powers of deduction and that they were very much OTT.

[Driad]

The original Sherlock Holmes was a master of disguise. Surprised this one did not try to fool facial recognition. 

[paigow]

52 minutes ago, Driad said:

The original Sherlock Holmes was a master of disguise. Surprised this one did not try to fool facial recognition. 

[johntfs]

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

I liked this episode. I did laugh when Gregson's partner complimented Joan's dye job. I agree it was because they knew it needed selling.

I think they're handwaving Sherlock's return to the states. There's facial recognition and you know he's on a warrant/watch list, and I just don't buy that he'd go through the airport and then be walking around NYC and talking to witnesses and no one would catch on.

It's convenient, but lazy writing.

But I enjoy him and Joan being in NYC, so I'm letting it go.

Which parts of this episode would you want to cut-out to make room for some elaborate plan for Sherlock to sneak into the country?

I think Joan said it, "You could get into the Pentagon basement if you wanted to."  It's Sherlock.  He's got the skills.  We know he's got the skills.  So, he used those skills to get into the country.

Besides, it's not likely the FBI (aside from maybe that one agent) was really hoping he'd do that.  As an institution they don't really care that much about a now-dead serial killer.  So, they're not really investing too much time into watching for Sherlock when they have real criminals/terrorists to deal with.

Plus, it looks like Sherlock is going to make some kind of deal to have freedom of movement anyway, otherwise he wouldn't have surrendered to the FBI at the end.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

The original Sherlock Holmes was a master of disguise. Surprised this one did not try to fool facial recognition. 

At least a cap with a visor!
And some facial hair.
And he's the one who should bleach his hair!

[paigow]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

And he's the one who should bleach his hair!

Then he would be more recognizable.....

[elle]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

He barely qualifies as a H!ITG! actor IMO, heh, but it's this guy: imdb.com/name/nm1478454 —maybe more of an off-off-Broadway guy

Thank you!

He may not be the Hey! guy I was thinking of, and if the memory cells kick in I'll let you know, but he has been on four versions of L/O so that should count for something.

[Suzn]

I find Lucy Lui's horrible bleach job so distracting that it takes away from the show for me.  Not just that blonde hair is unbecoming to Joan, but that shade would not be good on anyone.  If she had to have something different, why not just a streak of red or purple and call it a day?  Her black hair was so lovely, it's hard to see why she would do that.

[iMonrey]

I had forgotten all about Paige/Virginia Madsen. Also, I think it was Marcus who mentioned what went down between Gregson and Sherlock was "last year" so I guess a year is supposed to have passed?

I'm not sure how I feel about this on-going investigation except that the show had to find some way to resolve last season's ending, which was set up as a potential series finale. So the real purpose in this current story is mending fences between Gregson and Sherlock. I guess when Gregson wakes up and finds out how much Sherlock risked just to help him all will be forgiven. 

Anyone know how many episodes we get this season? 13? 22?

Quote

I think they're handwaving Sherlock's return to the states. There's facial recognition and you know he's on a warrant/watch list, and I just don't buy that he'd go through the airport and then be walking around NYC and talking to witnesses and no one would catch on.

Oh, I don't know. I doubt very much TSA is on the lookout for someone like Sherlock to the extent that they're using facial recognition technology to catch him. I'm sure his name is flagged somewhere in the database but he's not exactly America's Most Wanted. Nor does he fit the racial profile most likely to be given extra attention, sadly by truly.

If the Feds were actively looking for him I'd say staying at his own Brownstone was the far more risky venture than getting thru a busy airport like JFK.

[AnimeMania]

20 minutes ago, Suzn said:

I find Lucy Lui's horrible bleach job so distracting that it takes away from the show for me.  Not just that blonde hair is unbecoming to Joan, but that shade would not be good on anyone.  If she had to have something different, why not just a streak of red or purple and call it a day?  Her black hair was so lovely, it's hard to see why she would do that.

She decided to take a bold stand and fight stereotypes about blondes.

[dubbel zout]

49 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Also, I think it was Marcus who mentioned what went down between Gregson and Sherlock was "last year" so I guess a year is supposed to have passed?

Not necessarily; Marcus might have literally meant in 2018. 

[Driad]

4 hours ago, paigow said:

5 hours ago, Driad said:

The original Sherlock Holmes was a master of disguise. Surprised this one did not try to fool facial recognition. 

"I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you!"  Oops, that was Mal on Firefly, but whatever.

[gesundheit]

Was I the only one who completely forgot that Gregson and Paige are married? Or maybe I just never knew.

As for Lucy Liu's hair, I just assumed she had to do that for a role (but not this one).

[MissLucas]

I take Watson's blonde hair as a sign of her not feeling like herself. Same goes for that flower-print mini dress she wore this episode. I want awesome coat and bow tie Watson back!

[tessaray]

1 hour ago, MissLucas said:

I take Watson's blonde hair as a sign of her not feeling like herself. Same goes for that flower-print mini dress she wore this episode. I want awesome coat and bow tie Watson back!

I didn't like that dress with the blouse underneath.  I couldn't quite put my finger on it. On anyone else I would say it was too girlish but Joan gets away with that on a regular basis. Maybe some sleeveless dresses look fine with a blouse underneath, just not that one?  IDK.

I'm attributing the blonde hair to Joan just wanting to do something drastic to reflect the upheaval of relocating to London.  Maybe she always wanted to try blonde and now was as good a time as any.  (I've always secretly wanted to try black hair but when you are a natural redhead...)

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Suzn said:

I find Lucy Lui's horrible bleach job so distracting that it takes away from the show for me.  Not just that blonde hair is unbecoming to Joan, but that shade would not be good on anyone.  If she had to have something different, why not just a streak of red or purple and call it a day?  Her black hair was so lovely, it's hard to see why she would do that.

Agreed upon by you, me, and almost everyone. So it's got to be a plot point, right? Or, like several have suggested above, a character statement — I had shoulder-to-waist-length hair from middle school to my mid-thirties when I got divorced and then cut it chin length.
Or, I suppose:

2 hours ago, gesundheit said:

As for Lucy Liu's hair, I just assumed she had to do that for a role (but not this one).

but in the article linked upthread about her hair stylist, another project wasn't mentioned.
  

Edited May 31, 2019 by shapeshifter

[iMonrey]

Quote

I find Lucy Lui's horrible bleach job so distracting that it takes away from the show for me. 

Technically it wasn't a bleach job. She actually had her hair "painted." Apparently bleaching Asian hair makes it too brittle. And no, it isn't a character statement or anything to do with the actress having another role - she just wanted to try something different. It sounds like she's getting a collective thumbs-down from the fans, but it kind of works for her character, deliberately or not. She was trying to start a new life in London and a new 'do makes sense.

[JayDub]

God I love this show. Glad I watched the show before reading the comments.

Too many people are getting distracted with the blond look. BFD for me.

Will wait and see how this all plays out with Gregson's shooter, the potential terror issue and Sherlock turning himself in.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

Yeah, I am of the belief that FBI don't care too much about Sherlock, doubt he makes their Top 10 or anything like that.  I mean they know where he is, England, but they can't extradite him, so they are not going to have agents scouring footage to find him on the off chance he actually does something...like this.  Plus, even the agent didn't believe his confession, she was still thinking it was Joan and felt that Holmes was falling on his sword because he had the "out" of being able to go to England and not get extradited.  

And...I hear millions of illegals are coming into the US every day!  I am sure Holmes could have slipped in among that horde.

[deirdra]

4 hours ago, tessaray said:

I didn't like that dress with the blouse underneath.  I couldn't quite put my finger on it. On anyone else I would say it was too girlish but Joan gets away with that on a regular basis. 

The dress/jumper looked like it was on backwards - high and tight across the base of her neck, not comfortable-looking.

The bottom 8" of her bad dye job looked like straw.  Unflattering.

Edited June 1, 2019 by deirdra

[Morrigan2575]

21 hours ago, possibilities said:

I liked this episode. I did laugh when Gregson's partner complimented Joan's dye job. I agree it was because they knew it needed selling.

I actually liked her look in that scene but, it was mostly the lighting and pulled back. In the later scene at the ballpark (sunlight) it looked awful.

I liked the setup for giving Sherlock a reason to stay in NYC. The funny thing is I loved the S6 finale with Holmes/Watson in London. I kind of want S7 finale to have them go back. I can't tell if Joan's storyline is being used to end the season with Holmes/Watson staying in NYC or her evolving to embrace London. 

I wonder if the limited episode count means no case of the week? Are all cases this season going to tie back to this Domestic Terrorist Mystery?

Edited June 1, 2019 by Morrigan2575

[possibilities]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I doubt very much TSA is on the lookout for someone like Sherlock to the extent that they're using facial recognition technology to catch him.

Some airports use facial recognition as part of the process for all routine passenger screening. So it would be a thing where they enter faces of banned or wanted people into the database, and they get flagged automatically if they show up, as they go through security.

But like I said before, I'm letting it go because I prefer the show in NYC anyway.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I liked the setup for giving Sherlock a reason to stay in NYC.

I agree that the setup that brought them back to NYC was organic, although I assumed that since this is the last season, they didn't want to spend money on new sets for the London flats. Haven't we only seen them from the outside? I can't recall.
But, this, @Morrigan2575, is brilliant:

1 hour ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I loved the S6 finale with Holmes/Watson in London. I kind of want S7 finale to have them go back.

If done well, it could be as good as 6 and maybe even better because we would sense it was about to happen and our emotions would explode with the familiarity of it.
Okay. I'm getting carried away here.

[Trey]

I loved the song playing at the end of the episode - 99 by Elliot Moss.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Trey

[theatremouse]

On 5/31/2019 at 7:14 AM, Driad said:

The original Sherlock Holmes was a master of disguise. Surprised this one did not try to fool facial recognition. 

It really bothered me he was roaming about town not even remotely trying to disguise himself. Any generic description of him, especially from people he talked to with Joan would make it obvious he was there.

On 5/31/2019 at 8:13 AM, johntfs said:

Which parts of this episode would you want to cut-out to make room for some elaborate plan for Sherlock to sneak into the country?

No elaborate plan. Nothing cut. I wanted to see him wearing some sort of facial prosthetic and a good wig, and possibly speaking in not-his-normal accent. Leave everything else the same. Just wear a decent disguise when interviewing the mother with Joan, and a totally different one when hanging with the graffiti artist.

I was predisposed to hate this episode because I loathe when shows end one season with some Big Major Change and then it takes precisely one episode in the following season to undo it. I realized partway through the previous episode I didn't miss the Captain or Marcus at all. In fact it was when this plot started that I'd realized I'd not missed them and didn't have much interest in figuring all this out. So this episode just clinched all I wasn't looking forward to.

[MisterGlass]

I'm with everyone who thought they would use the opportunity to bring in disguises.  It would have been a great nod.  They've had him do voices previously.

It's small, but I liked the moment in the hospital speech where Holmes said he would have helped Gregson cover up what Hannah did, if he'd asked.  That rings true to me. 

[Loandbehold]

On 5/31/2019 at 8:55 AM, dubbel zout said:

Same here. When Joan put him on speaker, I half-expected him to say something indicating he knew Sherlock was back but also knew not to come right out with it.

I was surprised by how clear Joan's voice was on speaker. Usually you can tell when someone is using the speaker. 

21 hours ago, MissLucas said:

I want awesome coat and bow tie Watson back!

Aww, I'm liking Watson's outfits this year. I'm not a fan of bow ties on either men or women, so I hope those stay in storage or wherever Watson stores all the clothes she no longer needs. 

Holmes thought they'd only be in NYC for three or four days. At most. So, who's taking care of Clyde? And, I hope he does well on transatlantic flights, in the baggage area, b/c he's soon to have another one. And, if the series ends w/ them back in London, it will be a third trip in a year or so. Poor Clyde. 

[Trey]

I just assumed that Kitty would be looking after Clyde while they are away.  I doubt it takes up too much of her time.

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, Trey said:

I just assumed that Kitty would be looking after Clyde while they are away.  I doubt it takes up too much of her time.

I assumed the drink mixer was turtle or tortoise sitting.

[Texasmom1970]

Loved the scene where JLM is lying in the road asking the 911 caller questions. And he is like this dudes nuts and just wants to leave. 

[beadgirl]

Quote

It looks like they're part of a domestic terrorist group, but it could be something more interesting.

I hope it is something more interesting! I'm kind of sick of terrorism stories, especially ones set in NYC. Although either way, it could be a good season-long arc. I was suspicious, too, about how calm and helpful the dude was when admitting to the crime, but I didn't expect it to become an ongoing story -- just that it was an one-off crime and he was covering for someone else.

I'm glad Sherlock turned himself in at the end; I did not want lots of episodes about him trying to hide and almost getting caught.

Quote

Loved the scene where JLM is lying in the road asking the 911 caller questions. And he is like this dudes nuts and just wants to leave. 

I liked him, and briefly wondered if he would become another irregular. I hope we see a few of those this season.

Every episode I think about how much I enjoy this show, and how much I'm going to miss it when it's over. This past year was kind of meh in terms of new TV episodes to look forward to, but with Elementary, Endeavour, and Grantchester, the summer is looking good.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, beadgirl said:

I'm glad Sherlock turned himself in at the end; I did not want lots of episodes about him trying to hide and almost getting caught.

Oh, that would be hilarious, him showing up at one of the crime scenes disguised as one of the spectators. The police searching the brownstone for Sherlock and Sherlock is disguised as the big comfy chair that Joan just happens to be sitting on the whole time they are searching. Sherlock impersonating a police officer at a closed, indoor crime scene. Sherlock being the ambulance driver that picks up the dead body and drives it to the morgue. Maybe tipping off Detective Bell each time with some weird comment that he makes.

[elle]

On 5/31/2019 at 2:16 PM, MissLucas said:

I take Watson's blonde hair as a sign of her not feeling like herself. Same goes for that flower-print mini dress she wore this episode. I want awesome coat and bow tie Watson back!

The blonde hair did not bother me as much this time.  Maybe it was that she wore her hair back most of the time. I don't know if it the same dress, but I liked the black and white floral dress she wore at the ballpark.

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Sherlock being the ambulance driver that picks up the dead body and drives it to the morgue.

I hope I'm right in thinking you are referring to POI.  I miss that show!