S07.E03: The Price of Admission

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Holmes takes extreme measures to secure his return to New York when he leans on his father's disreputable connections to aid his legal re-entry into the United States. While Holmes looks for a way back to the United States, Watson helps the NYPD investigate a murder at a storage facility that caters to wealthy clients with items they want hidden from U.S. Customs.

Promo:

Original air date: 6/6/19

Edited June 3, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[MisterGlass]

I really don't care for the way the FBI case is being addressed.  At first I thought the blackmail approach was novel, but had to ignore the other crimes that would not be covered such as obstruction of justice and entering the country illegally.  Then, it became worse at the end when instead of those crimes being swept under the rug, there is a murder to support Sherlock's return.  That was a big leap, and this saga didn't need an additional twist.

I liked that Marcus knew all along Sherlock was around.

It was nice to see Daniel Davis at the beginning. ETA: He being a former Moriarty.

Edited June 7, 2019 by MisterGlass
Addition

[elle]

11 minutes ago, MisterGlass said:

I liked that Marcus knew all along Sherlock was around.

It was nice to see Daniel Davis at the beginning. ETA: He being a former Moriarty.

I startled the dog by cheering Yay! when Marcus said he knew.

I recognized Daniel Davis, but it had slipped my memory that he had a connection to the Holmes universe until I read your comment.  I thought oh right, Moriarty from Star Trek:TNG!  It is too bad he was only in this episode for a scene.

When Sherlock first met with the FBI guy, I wondered why he didn't talk to him about Joan in the first place. Imagine my surprise when that turns out to be exactly the scenario that he then turns around to use flip the blackmail on Sherlock.

Did I see a photo of Jon Huertas as Halcon in the preview for next week?

[possibilities]

I have to say, blackmail is not really the strategy I want most to see Sherlock employ. So I was kind of glad that it backfired on him. Maybe he'll learn from that.

I'm confident he'll find an a way out of this, and Joan will be okay, but I was kind of glad to see this strategy not work.

[tennisgurl]

I swear, there must be a bar somewhere in NYC filled with spies, ambassadors, attachés, and various government peeps from around the world, all talking about these two New York detectives who keep just wandering into major international incidents and making their jobs more complicated. 

[thuganomics85]

The main issue I had with the blackmail strategy is that I don't see Sherlock being naive enough to have not have thought of the possibility that the FBI guy would harm or kill someone in order to make the cover work.  He is on Morland's payroll after-all: staging a suicide is certainly in their wheelhouse.  I just would have thought Sherlock would have found some way to prevent casualties, even if the victim was apparently a bad guy as well. 

Case of the week was fun, but the killer was definitely a predictable one.

Glad Marcus knew Sherlock was back in NYC the entire time.  I like how they've been using him so far this season.

Joan didn't look too thrilled over Sherlock's idea to split time between working in NYC and London, so I still wonder how their partnership will fare going forward.

[elle]

1 minute ago, thuganomics85 said:

Case of the week was fun, but the killer was definitely a predictable one.

It all seemed vaguely familiar to me, but I can't put my finger on why. It may be that I just watch too many shows of this genre.

[paigow]

Villain Checklist:

• Smarmy
• Arrogant
• Greedy

[Driad]

Did they explain why someone had picked the locks on the coin collection, but had not stolen anything?

The sound on this episode (broadcast, not cable) was terrible with buzzes and echos.  I thought my TV had gone bad, but the sound on the news broadcast afterward was OK.  Did anyone else have this problem?  

[UncleChuck]

27 minutes ago, Driad said:

Did they explain why someone had picked the locks on the coin collection, but had not stolen anything?

Apparently the manager (who was killed) was in the habit of opening everything in every client's storage room as he looked for stuff he could use to blackmail the client.  The coins were legal, and left alone as that locker produced no blackmail evidence.

[Trey]

I always find the audio on this show to be less than satisfactory - it's the only show I watch with closed captioning.  But I didn't hear any buzzes or echos.

Whoever picked the locks was looking for information that would enable them to blackmail the owner,  They weren't trying to steal anything.

Joan's culottes (or whatever they're calling them now) in different patterns of black and white were making me dizzy.  I liked the black and white dress though.

I was surprised the FBI guy gave Sherlock his comeuppance.  I guess you don't get to be a bigwig in FBI and work for Morland without being pretty tough yourself.

I was glad Marcus already knew (or figured out) that Sherlock was back.

eta: pipped by UncleChuck.

Edited June 7, 2019 by Trey

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, Trey said:

Joan's culottes (or whatever they're calling them now) in different patterns of black and white were making me dizzy.  I liked the black and white dress though.

I OTOH was ecstatic to see Joan in those culottes (or whatever they're calling them now) -- some apparel I could covet! --and luke warm about the dress.
OT: I'm about to catch a taxi to the airport, and my airplane pants are windowpane plaid black and white, same cut as Joan's, but $7 off the sale rack at Target.
  
  

   

11 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

It was nice to see Daniel Davis at the beginning.

Niles!
  
  

It took me at least 3 tries to get through the episode without falling asleep because I've been exhausted lately by a freelance deadline. 
Still: I have now figured out that I just need to get a recording of Jonny Lee Miller's voice to put me to sleep if I'm stressed or had too much caffeine. 

[Athena]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I have to say, blackmail is not really the strategy I want most to see Sherlock employ. So I was kind of glad that it backfired on him. Maybe he'll learn from that.

I'm confident he'll find an a way out of this, and Joan will be okay, but I was kind of glad to see this strategy not work.

11 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

The main issue I had with the blackmail strategy is that I don't see Sherlock being naive enough to have not have thought of the possibility that the FBI guy would harm or kill someone in order to make the cover work.  He is on Morland's payroll after-all: staging a suicide is certainly in their wheelhouse.  I just would have thought Sherlock would have found some way to prevent casualties, even if the victim was apparently a bad guy as well.

I did not like the blackmail strategy. It's uncharacteristic of this Sherlock because the canon Sherlock hated blackmailers. From the canon:

Quote

Holmes views blackmail as one of the worst of all crimes, possibly because of the cruel and deliberate intention behind blackmail, as opposed to some of the murder cases he's worked.

Elementary Sherlock has very low opinion of them too so for him to resort to this tactic after all of these years seems against character development. I get that he wants him and Joan to have it all, but it did seem naive of him to play the dice with the FBI director. Ugh.

In a shallow note, I liked that striped dress with pockets that Joan was wearing. It also looked good with the hair bun and glasses.

[Loandbehold]

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I swear, there must be a bar somewhere in NYC filled with spies, ambassadors, attachés, and various government peeps from around the world, all talking about these two New York detectives who keep just wandering into major international incidents and making their jobs more complicated. 

Some of the more grizzled veterans probably bring up Jessica Fletcher as well.

10 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

The main issue I had with the blackmail strategy is that I don't see Sherlock being naive enough to have not have thought of the possibility that the FBI guy would harm or kill someone in order to make the cover work.  He is on Morland's payroll after-all: staging a suicide is certainly in their wheelhouse.

Yep. Sherlock is too smart to think his simple blackmail plan wouldn't have any consequences. I expected something a little more elaborate and airtight from the World's Greatest Detective.

I tell you, it's a good thing that the bad guy gave up before the bullet-resistant glass stopped being resistant. Else it might have been difficult for Sherlock to explain the shot and very dead body in Morland's apartment.

I miss Clyde. I saw the locks in the brownstone and thought how much fun it would be to watch him go to town again.

[Trey]

15 minutes ago, Loandbehold said:

I tell you, it's a good thing that the bad guy gave up before the bullet-resistant glass stopped being resistant. Else it might have been difficult for Sherlock to explain the shot and very dead body in Morland's apartment.

Since the hit man was actually in Europe at the time, I wonder who Sherlock got to do the shooting.

[elle]

1 hour ago, Loandbehold said:

I miss Clyde. I saw the locks in the brownstone and thought how much fun it would be to watch him go to town again.

Do you mean in general or was there an episode to which you refer?  It would be nice if they would have an in show reference to Clyde by Sherlock or Joan. 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

Since the hit man was actually in Europe at the time, I wonder who Sherlock got to do the shooting.

He said it was a friend of his, something like that. (Sorry I'm not more specific; I was dozing on and off during the last 20 minutes of so.)

[Loandbehold]

41 minutes ago, elle said:

Do you mean in general or was there an episode to which you refer?  It would be nice if they would have an in show reference to Clyde by Sherlock or Joan. 

Missing Clyde in general. And, even though it's never been shown, I'm convinced Clyde can pick locks almost as well, if not better than either Joan or Sherlock. After all, they're running around solving crimes and what not. Clyde's usually at home minding the store. He's got a lot of free time on his hands, er, claws.

[gesundheit]

2 hours ago, Athena said:

In a shallow note, I liked that striped dress with pockets that Joan was wearing. It also looked good with the hair bun and glasses.

The second she appeared on screen I gasped and said, "It has pockets!"

[elle]

1 minute ago, Loandbehold said:

Missing Clyde in general. And, even though it's never been shown, I'm convinced Clyde can pick locks almost as well, if not better than either Joan or Sherlock. After all, they're running around solving crimes and what not. Clyde's usually at home minding the store. He's got a lot of free time on his hands, er, claws.

I recalled the episode with Clyde representing the suspect ambulance on a map with a bunch of locks.  I wondered if there was another episode with a turtle and locks.

[iMonrey]

Kate Middleton - the actress, not the Duchess of Cambridge - has been making the rounds as the villain of the week. She was an arsonist over on Chicago Fire last week and she played Aura Swenson on this episode. One can't help but wonder if she's getting a lot of work because of her name.

I had a hard time paying attention to the case of the week but I was more interested in seeing how blackmailing the FBI agent would work out for Holmes. I kind of like the twist because it seemed a little too easy, but it's something they'll have to resolve by the end of the season because I wouldn't want that loose thread dangling forever.

[dubbel zout]

1 minute ago, iMonrey said:

Kate Middleton - the actress, not the Duchess of Cambridge

I laughed out loud when I saw that credit. (And reminded myself that the DoC would be Catherine, at any rate.)

[seacliffsal]

It just makes me so sad that this is the last season...

[atlantaloves]

Oh me two, me three, I just adore this show and am even putting up with Joan's bad hair and ugly clothes this year. 

[Trey]

1 hour ago, gesundheit said:

The second she appeared on screen I gasped and said, "It has pockets!"

So 1950's!

[gesundheit]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Kate Middleton - the actress, not the Duchess of Cambridge - has been making the rounds as the villain of the week. She was an arsonist over on Chicago Fire last week and she played Aura Swenson on this episode. One can't help but wonder if she's getting a lot of work because of her name.

Definitely -- as someone who used to work in casting, I guarantee the name would get her resume a second glance in the pile of submissions.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

I am going to excuse Holmes for being shortsighted about the blackmail plan.  It was probably something done spur of the moment because the original plan was not to stay in NYC, but with the domestic terror plot, he "needed" to stay.

It was kind of obvious it was not well thought out because Holmes' solution was just some random press release absolving them of the crime.  If Holmes had planned it out, he would have provided some doctored footage providing them with an alibi and the FBI would just overlook a deep dive analysis to find out it was doctored.  Watson could say it was some random person's home video or selfie that they didn't realize it was taken proving Watson's innocence until they stumbled upon it...which is the reason it wasn't brought up earlier.

[Trini]

4 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

He said it was a friend of his, something like that. (Sorry I'm not more specific; I was dozing on and off during the last 20 minutes of so.)

Don't worry; Holmes himself wasn't more specific.

[possibilities]

9 hours ago, Driad said:

The sound on this episode (broadcast, not cable) was terrible with buzzes and echos.  I thought my TV had gone bad, but the sound on the news broadcast afterward was OK.  Did anyone else have this problem?  

I always have trouble with the sound on this show. It is always too quiet and too fuzzy. Turning up the volume is not enough, because it's always garbled. I don't have this with other tv shows, not even ones on CBS. It's been problematic since the very first episode.

6 hours ago, Trey said:

Since the hit man was actually in Europe at the time, I wonder who Sherlock got to do the shooting.

I figure Sherlock's friend was instructed not to successfully shoot the guy, just scare him. I'm sure Sherlock knows some excellent marksmen who know how to NOT hit a target.

[steelyis]

20 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

It was nice to see Daniel Davis at the beginning. ETA: He being a former Moriarty.
 

19 hours ago, elle said:

I recognized Daniel Davis, but it had slipped my memory that he had a connection to the Holmes universe until I read your comment.  I thought oh right, Moriarty from Star Trek:TNG!  It is too bad he was only in this episode for a scene.

I am so embarrassed right now!

Daniel Davis's Moriarty has been a favorite of mine for years, so I can't believe I didn't make the connection until MISTERGLASS pointed it out.

All I thought when I first saw Daniel Davis was:

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Niles!

[Driad]

15 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I always have trouble with the sound on this show.

I do too, but this week it was much worse than usual.  Hoping it will not be so bad in the future.  

[ferjy]

13 hours ago, paigow said:

Villain Checklist:

• Smarmy
• Arrogant
• Greedy

It's my one gripe about the show, you can always tell who the villain is as soon as you see him/her. They might as well have the culprit twirling a moustache.

[elle]

59 minutes ago, steelyis said:

All I thought when I first saw Daniel Davis was:

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Niles!

I always think of him as the skeptical Captain to Feed Thompson's Admiral in The Hunt for Red October.

2 hours ago, HawaiiTVGuy said:

I am going to excuse Holmes for being shortsighted about the blackmail plan.  It was probably something done spur of the moment because the original plan was not to stay in NYC, but with the domestic terror plot, he "needed" to stay.

It was kind of obvious it was not well thought out because Holmes' solution was just some random press release absolving them of the crime.  If Holmes had planned it out, he would have provided some doctored footage providing them with an alibi and the FBI would just overlook a deep dive analysis to find out it was doctored.  Watson could say it was some random person's home video or selfie that they didn't realize it was taken proving Watson's innocence until they stumbled upon it...which is the reason it wasn't brought up earlier.

The blackmail of the FBI director did feel not well thought out as did his initial decision to confess to the murder to save Joan. Considering how viciously he ripped into Mycroft for his decision to go to the NSA to resolve that issue, it is all the more baffling. 

I wonder if that confession the FBI director will come up again. It seemed he set up as blackmail against blackmail, if you say this I say that, but  what happens to it if he dies?  Is Joan going to be a suspect again?

[paigow]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I figure Sherlock's friend was instructed not to successfully shoot the guy, just scare him. I'm sure Sherlock knows some excellent marksmen who know how to NOT hit a target.

Alfredo! Not just a car thief anymore......

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, Athena said:

 I get that he wants him and Joan to have it all, 

BTW—there was a moment in this episode that I thought read as pointing towards Sherlock and Joan taking their relationship to the next level. 
It might have been when they were talking after he woke her up.
It kind of freaked me out.
But if they can have this season's Sherlock eschew disguises and stoop to blackmail, I suppose anything's possible.

Edited June 8, 2019 by shapeshifter

[paigow]

17 hours ago, elle said:

I recalled the episode with Clyde representing the suspect ambulance on a map with a bunch of locks.  I wondered if there was another episode with a turtle and locks.

Sherlock has a pass / fail time for lockpicking....not sure Clyde could pass it

[Ailianna]

9 minutes ago, paigow said:

Sherlock has a pass / fail time for lockpicking....not sure Clyde could pass it

Slow and steady wins the race though.  I'm sure Clyde has that down cold.

[aemom]

22 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I have now figured out that I just need to get a recording of Jonny Lee Miller's voice to put me to sleep if I'm stressed or had too much caffeine. 

For me it's How It's Made. Her voice typically puts me to sleep in 10 minutes. 😃

On 6/7/2019 at 12:06 AM, elle said:

I recognized Daniel Davis, but it had slipped my memory that he had a connection to the Holmes universe until I read your comment.  I thought oh right, Moriarty from Star Trek:TNG!

As soon as I saw him, my gears were spinning trying to figure it out when hubby said: "Isn't that Moriarty from Star Trek?"

That's it!!

11 hours ago, paigow said:

Alfredo! Not just a car thief anymore......

I wonder if we'll see him this final season? 

[elle]

2 hours ago, aemom said:

13 hours ago, paigow said:

Alfredo! Not just a car thief anymore......

I wonder if we'll see him this final season? 

The actor, Ato Essandoh, is on the CBS show "The Code". Tptb could let him go over to the Elementary set to shoot a scene or two. Hopefully, he was asked and said yes.

[dubbel zout]

The Code was canceled, so unless Essandoh was claimed by Chicago Med or another show, that isn't holding him back.

[elle]

On 6/8/2019 at 11:00 AM, dubbel zout said:

The Code was canceled, so unless Essandoh was claimed by Chicago Med or another show, that isn't holding him back.

Well then, here's hoping we see Alfredo before the end.

[MisterGlass]

On 6/7/2019 at 9:30 PM, elle said:

Considering how viciously he ripped into Mycroft for his decision to go to the NSA to resolve that issue, it is all the more baffling.

I just finished rewatching the Mycroft arc on Hulu.  You're right.  The scenario is remarkably similar.

[johntfs]

53 minutes ago, MisterGlass said:

I just finished rewatching the Mycroft arc on Hulu.  You're right.  The scenario is remarkably similar.

As I recall it the main difference is that Mycroft went to the NSA from a position of weakness.  He needed their help to disappear.  From Sherlock's perspective, he's going to the Assistant Director from a position of strength, ie, "Do what I tell you to do or I'll ruin your life."  And the guy did do what Sherlock wanted him to do.  He just didn't do it in the way that Sherlock wanted him to do it.

[JayDub]

I love this show and for it too end will be a major bummer for me. The show is far from perfect but even with that there hasn't been a TV show I've watched in years that even begins to compare.

[Welcome5431]

On 6/7/2019 at 5:14 PM, Driad said:

I do too, but this week it was much worse than usual.  Hoping it will not be so bad in the future.  

Do the TV's closed captioning or subtitles help?

[Welcome5431]

Watson said that a suspect was deceiving them during an interview, and said the same thing last week too

[Driad]

28 minutes ago, Welcome5431 said:

Do the TV's closed captioning or subtitles help?

Yes, some.  For this show I always have CC on anyway; otherwise I miss some of JLM's lines.  Hoping the echos and buzzing in this episode were a one-time problem.

[Lovecat]

On 6/7/2019 at 10:04 AM, Driad said:

The sound on this episode (broadcast, not cable) was terrible with buzzes and echos.  I thought my TV had gone bad, but the sound on the news broadcast afterward was OK.  Did anyone else have this problem?  

On 6/7/2019 at 10:39 AM, Trey said:

I always find the audio on this show to be less than satisfactory - it's the only show I watch with closed captioning.  But I didn't hear any buzzes or echos.

On 6/7/2019 at 7:58 PM, possibilities said:

I always have trouble with the sound on this show. It is always too quiet and too fuzzy. Turning up the volume is not enough, because it's always garbled. I don't have this with other tv shows, not even ones on CBS. It's been problematic since the very first episode.

Ah, I'm glad it's not just me!  I can only watch Elementary when I'm fully-alert and not eating anything crunchy, and my husband automatically cranks the volume when we put it on, because, as we say, "they mumble!"  We still have occasional episodes of, "What'd he say??"  

On 6/7/2019 at 3:33 PM, iMonrey said:

Kate Middleton - the actress, not the Duchess of Cambridge - has been making the rounds as the villain of the week. She was an arsonist over on Chicago Fire last week and she played Aura Swenson on this episode. One can't help but wonder if she's getting a lot of work because of her name.

On 6/7/2019 at 3:35 PM, dubbel zout said:

I laughed out loud when I saw that credit. (And reminded myself that the DoC would be Catherine, at any rate.)

I for sure did a double take when I saw the name in the credits!

[MisterGlass]

On 6/9/2019 at 7:08 PM, johntfs said:

As I recall it the main difference is that Mycroft went to the NSA from a position of weakness.  He needed their help to disappear.  From Sherlock's perspective, he's going to the Assistant Director from a position of strength

For me the similarity has more to do with last year's finale.  Mycroft and Sherlock both make a sacrifice and leave when it may not really have been necessary.

[johntfs]

54 minutes ago, MisterGlass said:

For me the similarity has more to do with last year's finale.  Mycroft and Sherlock both make a sacrifice and leave when it may not really have been necessary.

Sure, but the key word there is "may."  Mycroft may not have needed to leave as Sherlock would have gone after the crime group that was after him.  Of course, it is a crime group and it may well shoot Watson in the head or something.  Mycroft made the best decision he could based on the information he had.

Last year, Sherlock and Joan may have been able to prove her innocence without turning in Hannah Gregson, but they may not have at that moment in time with all the focus on the case. 

I'll also say that while I miss Aidan Quinn and am looking forward to him doing more than lying down with prop tubes down his throat, I really liked Rob Bartlett as Captain Dwyer and I wouldn't mind a few more episode with him.