S07.E07: From Russia with Drugs

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Holmes and Watson investigate the murder of a criminal who made his living by stealing from other criminals; Capt. Gregson returns and suspects his interim replacement is responsible for one of his best detective's suspicious departure.

Promo:

Original air date: 7/4/19

[paigow]

The new Captain is bad????? Gregson may need more rehab.....

[shapeshifter]

On July 3, 2019 at 4:18 PM, paigow said:

The new Captain is bad????? 

@paigow, does this air a day early at your location?

Is Joan/LL growing out her bleached hair? I hope so.

It seemed to me that either Jonny Lee Miller was a little under the weather when this episode was shot, or something is up with Sherlock. Anyone else?

The plots were easier to follow this week, but was the #MeToo plot just a PSA? I'm sorry they threw the new captain's character under the bus.

[elle]

I was surprised to find a new episode tonight. I recorded it to watch later.  It was nice to have something to watch while I sit with the dog to help her through this night of fireworks.

58 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

It seemed to me that either Jonny Lee Miller was a little under the weather when this episode was shot, or something is up with Sherlock. Anyone else?

 He may have been more subdued this episode, but it didn't seem as if anything was up with him.  I could be wrong and it may come up next week. 

I chuckled at the exchange at the beginning about Scrooge McDuck. Loved the ME's amused smile at Joan's analogy.

I am wondering if the great new job Bree is going to is somehow related to Odin.

Too bad they had to make the replacement captain a real creep.

Trying to place the 'familiar face'  in the preview.

[GaT]

I don’t like how they’re retconning Captain Dwyer. He’s been a pretty standup guy this whole time, now all of a sudden he’s Harvey Weinstein? I also don’t understand the point of Gregson getting shot, was that just to get Dwyer in?

[paigow]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

@paigow, does this air a day early at your location?

No. Just surprised that the plot summary was going there....

Edited July 5, 2019 by paigow

[LennieBriscoe]

I found myself bored by this episode. A Russian spy who somehow passed a background check to be a kindergarten teacher and who blows up buildings didn't much pertain to a corrupt corporate plot to literally launder DEA-confiscated drug money. And the NYC Russian Mob as a plot point was done earlier and much better by the Original  "L&O" (now,  if "Elementary" had done the Russian Mob/NYC construction business nexus....but I digress...😈).

Couldn't take the affectless actress playing the aggrieved "I was in a bathing suit in some photos..." detective. WTH was SHE when she's at home, and how did I not notice her alleged significance to the Department lo, all these seasons?! Don't let the door hit ya.

Moral of the Story: In the commission of a crime, leave your cat at home. 

[MissLucas]

Well, that was pretty meh. The A-plot was okay - not too convoluted. The B-plot was weak starting with Gregson's top-cop that we have never seen before and ending with what felt like a lame attempt to introduce a currently relevant theme to the show. The department run by straight-laced Gregson with Bell as his right-hand is full of misogynistic jerks who would not stand by their colleague? I liked Captain Baffled and do not appreciate the retcon/revelation of his creepy side and the sudden tonal shift in the depiction of the department's culture (might be realistic but still heavy-handed). But the hamfisted way top-cop kept bringing up her shiny new job makes me also think she'll end up in Odin's clutches.

[johntfs]

1 hour ago, MissLucas said:

Well, that was pretty meh. The A-plot was okay - not too convoluted. The B-plot was weak starting with Gregson's top-cop that we have never seen before and ending with what felt like a lame attempt to introduce a currently relevant theme to the show. The department run by straight-laced Gregson with Bell as his right-hand is full of misogynistic jerks who would not stand by their colleague? I liked Captain Baffled and do not appreciate the retcon/revelation of his creepy side and the sudden tonal shift in the depiction of the department's culture (might be realistic but still heavy-handed). But the hamfisted way top-cop kept bringing up her shiny new job makes me also think she'll end up in Odin's clutches.

I noticed that Dwyer hotly denied doing anything.  Perhaps he was telling the truth.  Odin does have considerable capability computer-wise.  Perhaps he's the one who hacked Dwyer's account and posted those comments to grease the skids toward acquiring that detective.

I will say that I'm really looking forward to next week and the return of a certain character.

Edited July 5, 2019 by johntfs

[Loandbehold]

2 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Moral of the Story: In the commission of a crime, leave your cat at home. 

The cat was key. The victim had a strong cat allergy and needed to use an inhaler. So they needed to have the cat infect the apartment with its fur so the guy would go to the inhaler that they had laced w/ the drug. That was the least convoluted part of the plot for me. 

[Trey]

1 hour ago, MissLucas said:

But the hamfisted way top-cop kept bringing up her shiny new job makes me also think she'll end up in Odin's clutches.

That's the only thing that would make this story line make sense.  They could even have had her leave the police force without making Dwyer into a bad guy.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the show; the A plot wasn't as hard to follow as most of them are and even the sound was better than normal.

[Writing Wrongs]

The plot got too complicated and I started falling asleep.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Well, that was pretty meh. The A-plot was okay - not too convoluted. The B-plot was weak starting with Gregson's top-cop that we have never seen before and ending with what felt like a lame attempt to introduce a currently relevant theme to the show. The department run by straight-laced Gregson with Bell as his right-hand is full of misogynistic jerks who would not stand by their colleague? I liked Captain Baffled and do not appreciate the retcon/revelation of his creepy side and the sudden tonal shift in the depiction of the department's culture (might be realistic but still heavy-handed). But the hamfisted way top-cop kept bringing up her shiny new job makes me also think she'll end up in Odin's clutches.

I took her discussion of "department" reaction to be the Police Department in general, not Gregson's department, so I didn't take it as a tonal shift in regards to Gregson's command. Her story has played out like that with other woman cops in real life; her description was spot on.

Thing about abusers and misogynistic jerks, they can be hella nice guys in public. And Baffled didn't do this in a direct manner - but shared the photos and comments with his buddies of similar ilk. So I wasn't disturbed by the additional layer of information regarding the guy. I find it more interesting myself - how do you deal when someone you like is revealed to be less than stand-up? It's a more nuanced approach to character, in my opinion. I've known a few like him in our police department (I work with our department, but am not a part of it). I was sorely disappointed by the cop I liked the most who was dismissed (or rather, forced to resign) for a similar incident. He was always perfectly nice and respectful to me.

What bugged me most about that story line is that she had three years to go to get her pension, and was working with, in her own words, the best boss she'd ever had.

Edited July 5, 2019 by Clanstarling

[dargosmydaddy]

The thing that took me completely out of the story was that Sherlock was allowed to wander the halls of a NYC school unattended and interrupt a teacher's class to have a private conversation. Um, no, schools don't work like that...

[MissLucas]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

I took her discussion of "department" reaction to be the Police Department in general, not Gregson's department, so I didn't take it as a tonal shift in regards to Gregson's command. Her story has played out like that with other woman cops in real life; her description was spot on.

Thing about abusers and misogynistic jerks, they can be hella nice guys in public. And Baffled didn't do this in a direct manner - but shared the photos and comments with his buddies of similar ilk. So I wasn't disturbed by the additional layer of information regarding the guy. I find it more interesting myself - how do you deal when someone you like is revealed to be less than stand-up? It's a more nuanced approach to character, in my opinion. I've known a few like him in our police department (I work with our department, but am not a part of it). I was sorely disappointed by the cop I liked the most who was dismissed (or rather, forced to resign) for a similar incident. He was always perfectly nice and respectful to me.

What bugged me most about that story line is that she had three years to go to get her pension, and was working with, in her own words, the best boss she'd ever had.

Oh, I don't doubt that it was a realistic scenario. I just don't like my comfy mystery setting disrupted by too much realism (I know this sounds crazy given that each episode starts with a gruesome body).

The pension thing has me confused - it does not mean that she could have retired in three years right? Just that in three more years her pension was secure. Or did I get that wrong?

[paigow]

5 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

And the NYC Russian Mob as a plot point was done earlier and much better by the Original  "L&O"

Are you talking about the Baby Food Investor From Hell? Steve Green a.k.a. Sasha Gruskov?

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, dargosmydaddy said:

The thing that took me completely out of the story was that Sherlock was allowed to wander the halls of a NYC school unattended and interrupt a teacher's class to have a private conversation. Um, no, schools don't work like that...

Well...some are kind of lax, even in these days. However, given that it's a school that has the children of diplomats, yeah, that would have been a lot more tightly monitored.

48 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Oh, I don't doubt that it was a realistic scenario. I just don't like my comfy mystery setting disrupted by too much realism (I know this sounds crazy given that each episode starts with a gruesome body).

The pension thing has me confused - it does not mean that she could have retired in three years right? Just that in three more years her pension was secure. Or did I get that wrong?

I get it - don't want chocolate in your peanut butter. 🙂 Doesn't sound crazy at all - I'm like that with some shows, just not this one.

Now that you mention it, I'm not altogether sure whether it meant she'd be vested in three years, or that she could retire. I'd have to listen to it again. Nevertheless, as someone on the verge of retirement (who made a few bad choices) I'm like "NOOO, don't do that!"

[GaT]

4 hours ago, johntfs said:

I noticed that Dwyer hotly denied doing anything.  Perhaps he was telling the truth.  Odin does have considerable capability computer-wise.  Perhaps he's the one who hacked Dwyer's account and posted those comments to grease the skids toward acquiring that detective.

This is the only thing that would make the retcon acceptable. 

[illdoc]

4 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

The cat was key. The victim had a strong cat allergy and needed to use an inhaler. So they needed to have the cat infect the apartment with its fur so the guy would go to the inhaler that they had laced w/ the drug. That was the least convoluted part of the plot for me. 

In fact, it seemed to be the entire plot on an episode of L&O: Criminal Intent, some years ago (Amy Acker was in it)!

[AnimeMania]

I just wanted to make sure the killer was really somebody who could put fentanyl inside of an inhaler. That would require a particular chemical knowledge and specialist equipment. Then the killer would also need intimate medical and occupational knowledge about the victim to get everything perfectly aligned. I am not sure the killer met that criteria as a childhood friend of the victim. Being a person that robbed drug dealers for a living is not something you want too many people to know about.

[tennisgurl]

Not happy with this whole story about how the replacement captain was totally a creep all along apparently. I guess its not technically a retcon, as we dont know him particularly well, but I did like him in the brief time we knew him, and this whole plot just seemed like a pretty pointless throw away of a minor character. I mean, have we even seen this female detective before? It all just seemed so randomly and half assedly thrown together, like the writers just said "well crap, we need to do a MeeToo episode, I guess we can give Gregson some boring B plot about it." For such an important issue, this just seemed tacked on and random.

The A case was kind of overly complicated and hard to follow, and not in a fun way, but I did like seeing Sherlock's Russian spy contact again (even if her getting a job as an elementary school teacher really strains credibility) and some of the banter. I loved how she was kind of like "hey, just because he and I are both Russian spies, I dont necessarily know him! We dont ALL know each other!" And the bits at the morgue about The Wire and Scrooge McDuck. "Imagine your dad, but as a duck."   

Edited July 5, 2019 by tennisgurl

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I guess its not technically a retcon, as we dont know him particularly well, but I did like him in the brief time we knew him, and this whole plot just seemed like a pretty pointless throw away of a minor character. I mean, have we even seen this female detective before? It all just seemed so randomly and half assedly thrown together, like the writers just said "well crap, we need to do a MeeToo episode, I guess we can give Gregson some boring B plot about it." For such an important issue, this just seemed tacked on and random.

That's my take on it as well. Frankly I never warmed up to Dwyer, the few times we saw him he seemed disinterested and disengaged more than anything else. But the problem, as you say, is that we've never seen nor heard of this woman before. If she's supposed to be one of the best cops in the department why haven't we ever seen her before, and since we haven't, why should we care? 

Kind of ironic here. The show made a half-assed attempt at a #meToo moment but never had any relevant female characters in the police department in seven years to utilize for it.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, johntfs said:

I noticed that Dwyer hotly denied doing anything.  Perhaps he was telling the truth.  Odin does have considerable capability computer-wise.  Perhaps he's the one who hacked Dwyer's account and posted those comments to grease the skids toward acquiring that detective.

That would be a more satisfactory outcome, IMO, but Gregson made it clear that this wasn't Dwyer's first sexual harassment offense, so, although Odin could still have had Dwyer's email account hacked, the character of Dwyer is no longer a fun uncle.

[Mrs peel]

10 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Oh, I don't doubt that it was a realistic scenario. I just don't like my comfy mystery setting disrupted by too much realism (I know this sounds crazy given that each episode starts with a gruesome body).

The pension thing has me confused - it does not mean that she could have retired in three years right? Just that in three more years her pension was secure. Or did I get that wrong?

Yep, unless it’s changed NYPD can retire on a 50% pension at 20 years.  Every year working after 20 years increases the pension.  But before that, nothing unless you retire with a disability.

[ferjy]

Well that came out of nowhere! And here I was waiting for Dwyer to play Santa at Christmas.

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Kind of ironic here. The show made a half-assed attempt at a #meToo moment but never had any relevant female characters in the police department in seven years to utilize for it.

Ha, good point.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, ferjy said:

Well that came out of nowhere! And here I was waiting for Dwyer to play Santa at Christmas.

I know! So is this more of an acting choice or a directing choice? I mean, it's good that they didn't have the camera zoom in on Dwyer with sinister music to signal he was a bad guy, but shouldn't we have at least had a tiny hint that he disrespects women or something that we could look back on and say "Ah ha!"? 
  
  

I've been watching the original Prime Suspect  from the 1993 with Helen Mirren on Hulu. In 3.2, who should appear as young adult witnesses against their childhood abusers but  Jonny Lee Miller and James Frain. JLM was unrecognizable to me, but JF was still the same:

In the same season, Peter Capaldi of Doctor Who fame gave what should have been an award winning performance as a transgender person. All of the acting was top notch. If you don't mind darker drama, perhaps something to watch when Elementary is over *sniff* as I'm not sure how reruns of Elementary will hold up.

On 7/5/2019 at 8:40 AM, Writing Wrongs said:

The plot got too complicated and I started falling asleep.

^This has often happened to me too, but usually "it's the hour, not the company."

Edited July 6, 2019 by shapeshifter
updated terminology

[theatremouse]

Everything about this episode was too easy.

That said, the Other Captain thing didn't strike me as completely out of nowhere. I can't remember what but I thought he'd said something in passing in a previous episode that gave me pause but it was so brief I let it go. Even if I'm misremembering the previous incident, the stupid shower comment in his speech about Gregson was enough that I felt they sufficiently set up the notion that he might be the type of dude who makes inappropriate remarks that have just enough plausible deniability and/or he shrugs things off as "jokes". The type of thing where if it were truly just the one remark anyone might shrug it off, but if it's a pattern at a certain point it becomes more difficult to find it so innocuous, even if any single one taken in isolation is on the milder end.

[Chyromaniac]

If I’m right, I’m officially done with a particular script writing crutch on this show...

I don’t mind them making Dwyer a low key creep.  I feel like as a society we expect every harasser to be some leering, handsy sleaze- sadly that’s not the case. I can also mostly hand wave them needing to invent a female character for this story- honestly they haven’t really developed any recurring male cops either.

I guess if I have an issue, it’s that they basically made it Gregson’s story- his officer leaving, his investigation, his pep talk... Part of me feels like this is just another leg of the Gregson redemption arc.  I would have preferred a little more agency on her part- maybe after the photo thing, she goes to Joan to find out if Dwyer has a history. Then, the two of them could take it to Gregson together.

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, ferjy said:

The show made a half-assed attempt at a #meToo moment but never had any relevant female characters in the police department in seven years to utilize for it.

Ouch. A really good point. Bell is the only recurring person working in Gregson's command, but really we almost never see even any uniformed cops or detectives in passing who are female, either.

I don't think it's at all unusual for someone to behave themselves around some people and not others. How often have we heard stories about various people who abused some but others are completely shocked when the story comes out, because they had no problems with them or even found them perfectly lovely.

So, while disappointing, I don't have a problem with the story not making it obvious that the dude was a serial harasser. Part of how people get away with this garbage is the conspiracy of silence around it. In a way, it's MORE realistic to have it shock people, than the way tv and movies tend to hint at everything and make it obvious to the audience before the characters in the story have to face it.

[luvly]

I'm about 85% sure the B-story is a setup for the Odin plot because (a) Emily Swallow is a bit of a HITG and (b) Gregson kind of mirrored Odin/Odker's actions. He saw a red flag, knew about Dwyer's disciplinary record and knew stepping in and confirming his suspicions would alter Dwyer's future irrevocably ("I file a complaint, that's it for him. He's gone."). He ended up being right, but the evidence was sparse enough that he could have been wrong. Kinda reminds me of Odin saying he'd send them an 80/20 call.

Interestingly enough, I didn't like this plot the first time I watched the episode because it felt like a really poorly written way to address MeToo and the Elementary writers are usually pretty good. Gregson seemed to be jumping the gun to me because it didn't really seem like there was anything in their first conversation that would lead him to believe that Novacek was leaving for any other reason than getting a higher paying job in the private sector. Their second scene together at least confirmed his suspicion but it still felt a little underbaked to me.

Upon rewatch though, I noticed the dry way she says "I believe that's your shield, sir" to Dwyer in the bullpen scene, the side-eye and half-hearted applause for him a couple of seconds later and her fidgeting with her left hand when telling Gregson she'd put in her papers. There were a lot visual cues I missed because I wasn't looking for them. Though I suppose that might have been the point.

[MissLucas]

8 hours ago, Mrs peel said:

Yep, unless it’s changed NYPD can retire on a 50% pension at 20 years.  Every year working after 20 years increases the pension.  But before that, nothing unless you retire with a disability.

Ah, thanks for the info! Since Emily Swallow is 40 and her character looked about mid-thirties, I was really confused. But the math works in this case - even if nothing else does.

[andromeda331]

I was surprised that Sherlock never heard of Scrooge McDuck, you don't know what your missing Sherlock. I loved Joan's description of him and it did fit. 

I kind of like that the mystery plot didn't have that many red herrings. I guess the killer didn't expect the cops to wonder why there were so many cat hairs when he didn't have a cat? 

I don't know about B plot it did feel tack on since we've never seen her before, Dwyer seemed fine until now and Gregson knew of his history. Other parts felt far too real which is probably a good thing if not depressing. He did seem like a nice guy. She pointing out that men like him have always been in the department and more of them then nice guys like Gregson. I didn't like her deciding to still quit even though she has only 3 years left to get her pension. It was depressing hearing her ask if her story was enough to cost Dwyer his job. I could easily see her and many women wondering the same thing, and I could easily see most of higher ups in police department thinking the same thing and deciding that it wasn't enough to ruin "a good cop's' career over. 

[Driad]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I was surprised that Sherlock never heard of Scrooge McDuck

Original ACD Sherlock Holmes said he did not bother to remember facts that were not relevant to his work (e.g. that the Earth travels around the Sun).  Maybe this one has the same attitude.

[theatremouse]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I kind of like that the mystery plot didn't have that many red herrings. I guess the killer didn't expect the cops to wonder why there were so many cat hairs when he didn't have a cat? 

I'm probably biased but my experience with people with cats is that at a certain point they stop noticing cat hair in their surroundings because for them it is the default. So even if she knew they were planting cat hair to trigger the allergy, I could believe it might not have fully registered in her mind that other people would notice the cat hair and find it out of place.

[dubbel zout]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

On 7/5/2019 at 9:40 AM, Writing Wrongs said:

The plot got too complicated and I started falling asleep.

^This has often happened to me too, but usually "it's the hour, not the company."

Hee. It me, too.

My problem with Dwyer isn't him being a harasser, it's that this was such a throwaway plot. He's been around long enough that there should at least have been a whisper network about him that could have come up when he first appeared. A woman could have told Joan to watch herself or something like that. Plant a seed before pulling the plant! (Not sure that's an actual metaphor, but you get what I'm saying.)

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I didn't like her deciding to still quit even though she has only 3 years left to get her pension.

I have a real life answer to why she'd leave 50% pension on the table to leave 3 years early: 
Since it's a 20-year pension, she would probably be 37. Age 40 isn't too old for a woman to make a significant career change, but it's getting close, and, there might not be such a good opportunity again until she's 50, which is generally too old. 

It would be more believable if  we knew how good of an opportunity she was choosing over the pension, but it would be pretty boring to hear her say, "They're offering me a retirement package that will equal my police pension within 5 years, and exceed it by X% in 20 years, blah blah blah."

Personal experiences:

• My oldest daughter made what she knew would be her last big career change at 37.
• I did manage to make a change at 48, but after that it wasn't possible without having more managerial experience on my resume, and it was not possible to get that experience without already having it.

[MissLucas]

17 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

A woman could have told Joan to watch herself or something like that. Plant a seed before pulling the plant! (Not sure that's an actual metaphor, but you get what I'm saying.)

Or Bell, who asked a colleague for a bit of info, could have picked up some weird vibe in the reply. I also think Watson talked to Gregson about Dwyer at one point (not sure) and some light uneasiness on Gregson's side would have gone a long way to sell the plot. Maybe it's true that in real life stuff like that can presumably come out of nowhere - in my experience it doesn't but YMMV. Anyhow this is fiction and 'show don't tell' is a pretty good rule. This here was mostly 'tell' and almost no 'show'.

[MaryHedwig]

On 7/5/2019 at 9:14 AM, Clanstarling said:

What bugged me most about that story line is that she had three years to go to get her pension, and was working with, in her own words, the best boss she'd ever had.

That's why I wondered along with other posters if she has gone over to the dark side.

I also agree with others that we have not seen the last of her. The camera angles were too well-lit for a throwaway character. They spent a lot of money on her.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

Original ACD Sherlock Holmes said he did not bother to remember facts that were not relevant to his work (e.g. that the Earth travels around the Sun).  Maybe this one has the same attitude.

Sherlock is a wikipedia of soccer strategies, helpful if FIFA hires him, but rarely critical crime solving knowledge....

[LennieBriscoe]

Loandbehold, I did get it (the plot point with the cat).  Hence,  what I had hoped was my quip!

[Calvada]

What I found odd about Novacek is that she said she had this great opportunity, and no one asked for details.  If I had a co-worker/friend who said she had received a great offer, I would ask about it - what is the job?  Where?  Especially if I knew she was throwing 17 years down the drain.  

[Mrs peel]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I have a real life answer to why she'd leave 50% pension on the table to leave 3 years early: 
Since it's a 20-year pension, she would probably be 37. Age 40 isn't too old for a woman to make a significant career change, but it's getting close, and, there might not be such a good opportunity again until she's 50, which is generally too old. 

It would be more believable if  we knew how good of an opportunity she was choosing over the pension, but it would be pretty boring to hear her say, "They're offering me a retirement package that will equal my police pension within 5 years, and exceed it by X% in 20 years, blah blah blah."

Personal experiences:

• My oldest daughter made what she knew would be her last big career change at 37.
• I did manage to make a change at 48, but after that it wasn't possible without having more managerial experience on my resume, and it was not possible to get that experience without already having it.

I think you need to be 21 to join the NYPD, so she’d be minimum 41 at retirement.  But, if she were a detective or higher rank, she’d likely find it easy to get a new job in a related field.

[Magnumfangirl]

The Dwyer/Novachek plot seemed like filler to get the episode to 42 minutes.  What was the point of bringing in Dwyer and making a point of showing that he was likeable and wasn't going to rock the boat only to throw him under the bus for a character we've never seen before?  There's gotta be more to it than what we saw.   Best part of the episode was Scrooge McDuck!  

Edited July 6, 2019 by Magnumfangirl

[Driad]

Forbes Magazine estimates Scrooge McDuck's net worth at $65.4 billion.  (Thanks to a rerun of "Says You" for the lead.)  The CBS page for Morland Holmes does not list his net worth; does anyone know?

[snarktini]

So, why did our original victim kill the childhood friend who gave him the tip? They speculated him not wanting to share the cash, but murder seems pretty drastic for a garden variety thief with nothing big on his rap sheet.

[paigow]

8 hours ago, Driad said:

Forbes Magazine estimates Scrooge McDuck's net worth at $65.4 billion.  (Thanks to a rerun of "Says You" for the lead.)  The CBS page for Morland Holmes does not list his net worth; does anyone know?

Every Scrooge McDuck owes Morland a "favour", so that net worth is more like an infinite line of credit...... 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, snarktini said:

So, why did our original victim kill the childhood friend who gave him the tip? They speculated him not wanting to share the cash, but murder seems pretty drastic for a garden variety thief with nothing big on his rap sheet.

Yes, and how did the "childhood friends" happen to reconnect? Why was Dineen even on the art restorer/chemist's radar as a stash house burglar, and why was he willing to kill his former friend with a fentanyl overdose? Maybe it was the female partner who set it all up without her partner's knowledge, but that was never revealed. In fact, when Sherlock and Joan confront her after the funeral, they say that they know that both partners had set up Dineen's murder.

[thuganomics85]

Morland being compared to Scrooge McDuck is both unexpected, but fitting at the same time.  Although I'm now picturing a Scrooge voiced by John Noble!

Wasn't predicting the whole "Dwyer is actually an inappropriate creep" plot, and I guess they were aiming to show how someone who seems normal and even likable on the surface for many, can be a harasser to others in secret, but the execution just didn't land sine they just introduced the female detective in this episode as well, so the only investment was Gregs' reaction to all of it that just felt lacking.  All in all, it just felt like they wanted to have at least one story involving the #MeToo movement, but it felt kind of tacked on.

The main case was outlandish as can be expected, filled with Russian spies, exploding apartments, the dangers of the painting industry, and, of course those damn pesky cats!

Not sure how Sherlock would feel about The Wire, if Eugene ever does lend him those DVDs!

[tessaray]

Like everyone else, I thought the detective resigning because of Dwyer felt clumsy.  Though secret email/Telegram/Facebook groups and revenge porn are depressingly common at the local level, everywhere.  If Novacek's new employer is Odin, most of us probably wouldn't blame her for being tempted.

I wasn't really expecting much of the main mystery, so I kind of enjoyed just letting it unfold.  And the Scrooge McDuck bit was funny.  Have David Tennant and JLM ever worked together? 

[possibilities]

I'm always happy for an Omar reference.

I want Sherlock, sometime later this season, to whistle as he enters a room, and explain that he's been watching The Wire DVDs.