S07.E10: The Latest Model

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Holmes and Watson receive a shocking request to collaborate from their foe, Odin Reichenbach, when the tech billionaire asks them to test his new crime prevention system. Tasked with investigating someone the program predicts will soon commit a crime, the duo worries Odin will take drastic action before they conclude their inquiry.

Promo:

Original air date: 7/25/19

[johntfs]

Looks like the Odin arc is heating up going into the final four episodes.

[dubbel zout]

Zzzzz. The Odin plot bores me to tears.

[Trey]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Zzzzz. The Odin plot bores me to tears.

There, there.  It will soon all be over.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

There, there.  It will soon all be over.

Maybe this will end up like "Wanted", the magic loom will identify Odin and all his minions as pre-crime offenders.....

[preeya]

Best part of the episode was JLM posing as the gas man. The accent was great.

[Driad]

"The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot"  is an ACD Sherlock Holmes story quite similar to what they described at the beginning of the episode.

[elle]

Show of hands, who else thinks Conrad and his parents were murdered by Odin's operatives to justify his plan?

Morland! Looking forward to seeing him again.

Thanks for the story link, Driad!

Edited July 26, 2019 by elle

[thuganomics85]

Not surprised that there are tours of famous murder scenes in NYC.  Clearly it has to be the really famous ones, because if years of watching television has taught me anything, it's that probably every block in New York has had at least one murder on it!

So, in typical Elementary fashion, the case starts out as a possible copycat of a famous murder, but ends up being a good old-fashion issue over adoption!  It was telegraphed pretty early though, because I though the actress playing the agency lady was laying it in a bit too thick, honestly.  I did like the brief foray into it possibly being a masked DJ, because a killer masked DJ would be awesome, and would have made wonder just what kind of crimes could the likes of Daft Punk be up to whenever they're not dropping sick beats!

Jonny Lee Miller's fake accent as the gas worker was hilarious.

So, after a brief hope of a compromise, Odin is pretty full-tilt into "Nope, kill them all!" mode after the suspect ends up killing his parents and in himself.  It was nice where it lasted!  Unless this was all set-up by Odin to save face.  I still feel like somewhere, Finch from POI would just go up to Odin be like "You know, all you have to do is find a badass hitman who bats 100% with shooting kneecaps, and you'd get the job done just as well, without the killing.  Maybe throw in an attack dog and a sociopathic Sarah Shahi too.  Just spitballing here!"

Oh, boy: Morland next week?  If he and Odin face-off, will the screen be able to handle John Noble and James Frain trying to out-sinister one another?!

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

It was telegraphed pretty early though, because I though the actress playing the agency lady was laying it in a bit too thick, honestly. 

I thought it was her because in every TV show I have ever watched a person in her position would never willingly give police their records, they would need a court order, unless she said "I am really not allowed to do this, but I want to catch her killer as much as you do".

[tennisgurl]

The Adventures of the Devils Foot actually sounds like a really cool mystery actually, I would totally watch that movie or listen to that podcast...assuming the person running it wasn't a murderer of course. 

So many turns this week that honestly could have had a whole episode in their own right. Murder mystery tour, sleazy abuser who has his own secret elevator for his side pieces, the modeling industry, drug addiction, The masked EDM scene, a crappy ME, plus the spooky story/true crime/history podcasters in the Odin plot, to the point that a lot of those plots actually sound more interesting than the actual ways the two plots were resolved, which were both rather out of nowhere and almost ho hum compared to what we already saw. 

Sherlock's fake American accent was hilarious! It was like Brooklyn by way of Boston or something. 

Odin is so smug, I am half convinced he killed that guy and his parents just to prove how right he totally is. Sherlock had a decent enough idea in how to use this tech for actual good and not murdering to prevent murders, but now Odin gets to prove how right he was, huh? How convenient. So, when does the murder number cruncher bring up Odin as a future killer? 

Oh man, seeing Moreland and Odin face off should give this subplot the shot in the arm it needs.

[shapeshifter]

28 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Sherlock's fake American accent was hilarious! It was like Brooklyn by way of Boston or something. 

Literally. But I loved it.

The cat-head DJ, OTOH, was just annoying. </get-off-my-lawn>

[paigow]

4 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Oh, boy: Morland next week?  If he and Odin face-off, will the screen be able to handle John Noble and James Frain trying to out-sinister one another?!

They can reveal their all star hit teams one at a time....

Morland brings out Jason Statham  - Odin counters with Idris Elba ....

[LennieBriscoe]

Way too much exposition. Yak, yak, yak.

And it so should have been the ex, or the widow, or whoever the first woman was. Sorry, boredom ate my brain. 

But JLM as the gas man? Can we have a series based on this character as a crime-solver, pleeeze?! "Gaining entry into the homes of suspects and victims, finding clues only he can detect, Jonny Lee Miller stars as Constantine Edwards, aka "Con Ed, Gas Man." 😁

Edited July 26, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[Trey]

9 hours ago, elle said:

Show of hands, who else thinks Conrad and his parents were murdered by Odin's operatives to justify his plan?

That was the first thing I said to Mr.Trey when the show ended.

I didn't see the preview so didn't know Morland was going to show up - that should be good.

I am so looking forward to seeing Holmes and Watson take down Odin - what an evil bastard he is.

Only three episodes left:(

[MissLucas]

Clearly the motto of this show's writing room is 'Elementary: where we stuff the seeds for about five different episodes into one single plot to confuse the audience'.

I really hate the idea that Odin's henchmen were behind the suicide/parents murderers since it's a cheap way out of the ethical conundrum that Odin's algorithm creates. When the show-runners decided to go for that arc they must have known that the show would be measured against POI. I wish they'd give the whole thing a bit more nuance - even if that means dropping the trademark plot-maze for the COW for an episode and focus for the whole time on the ahem... number of the week.

So, after the NSA and the SIS failed Sherlock I guess it's Morland's turn now. Still waiting for Everyone to enter the ring. But in the meantime I'm also hoping for James Frain and John Noble to share a scene for a sinister face-off.

[Gregg247]

For some unknown reason, I've always had this weird thrill whenever a mystery show reveals a secret door/room/passageway kind of thing.  I just love those!  Because of that, this episode got elevated a grade just for that secret elevator down to the courtyard (that no one was able to find in 18 years of searching!)

Odin's plan kind of makes sense.  I don't hate him for it.  

I so glad we're getting Sherlock's creepy old Dad back next week!  He was a bright spot in this show the season he was on; I could never quite figure him out, but I loved when he'd make an entrance and just sort of take over the scene.  Really good actor.

The anti-drug lady was strange.  I think it may have been the actress, but she played the character with a bit of a smirk and an attitude that said either "I'm the killer and I dare you to prove it" or "I'm high as a kite right now and I dare you to prove it".

[shapeshifter]

"The Latest Model" was a nice play on words for the episode title.

So someone who handily murders 3 people over a year's time also holds down a job with a substantial salary, showing up well-groomed, and interacting with the public daily. 
Can anyone tell me if this ever happens IRL, because it's such a common trope on all of the Holmesian and L&O-type shows?
  
  

  

9 hours ago, elle said:

Show of hands, who else thinks Conrad and his parents were murdered by Odin's operatives to justify his plan?

32 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

I really hate the idea that Odin's henchmen were behind the suicide/parents murderers since it's a cheap way out of the ethical conundrum that Odin's algorithm creates.

Odin looked sincere enough at one point that there could be a bigger Bad under whom Odin operates this particular project. Not necessarily Morland, but maybe -- especially as a series ender. 

Sherlock stating that there was no data implying that Conrad(?) would kill his parents could imply either that it was a frame job or that he really did it, but nothing was definitive. 

  

The actress playing the model with the most lines, Woodlene Alexis, gave awful line delivery. Was that supposed to combine with her fake accent to imply broken English?
She's so much better when not doing that accent. 

[dubbel zout]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Sherlock stating that there was no data implying that Conrad(?) would kill his parents could imply either that it was a frame job or that he really did it, but nothing was definitive. 

That's the problem with the whole system. It's all implication. I know no one wants to wait until the gun is actually fired (or whatever weapon is deployed), but it's the only way to know for sure. Someone can change his mind at the absolute last minute.

[dargosmydaddy]

So the ME couldn't tell that the dead sister had literally just given birth?!

I didn't realize there were so few episodes left. I don't think this is going to end in a satisfying way. I hope I'm wrong.

We've definitely heard this accent from Sherlock before, but it's been awhile and I can't remember the episode. 

I loved Bell's reaction when Sherlock suddenly popped up in the model apartment.

[Writing Wrongs]

Ever since the season started, I have been trying to figure out how they are planning on using Reichenbach as "The Fall". Or is the name just a shoutout to the story?

[Trey]

Reichenbach Falls is the title of Episode 12.

Edited July 26, 2019 by Trey

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Ever since the season started, I have been trying to figure out how they are planning on using Reichenbach as "The Fall". Or is the name just a shoutout to the story?

There is an old Nick Nolte movie titled Mulholland Falls.... Just a hill that they would throw scumbags down - off Mullholland Drive....

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, preeya said:

Best part of the episode was JLM posing as the gas man. The accent was great.

It took me a moment to even realize it was him, the body language was completely different too.

14 hours ago, Driad said:

"The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot"  is an ACD Sherlock Holmes story quite similar to what they described at the beginning of the episode.

I didn't know that it was, but it sounded ACD-ish, so I thought it was.

2 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

So the ME couldn't tell that the dead sister had literally just given birth?!

I might have said "world's worst ME" out loud. I mean, okay, missing the marks on the neck was bad enough - but the sister had given birth THAT day - there'd be trauma from the birth, a distended uterus, to name only the most obvious things. That stuff doesn't just snap back into place.

I mean, people, if you're going to set up an elaborate timeline with a surprise reveal, don't screw it up by having timing make it so that the victim's body would be in a state that NO medical examiner would miss - even one as sloppy as this.

[Loandbehold]

4 hours ago, MissLucas said:

So, after the NSA and the SIS failed Sherlock I guess it's Morland's turn now. Still waiting for Everyone to enter the ring. But in the meantime I'm also hoping for James Frain and John Noble to share a scene for a sinister face-off.

I don't want Morland killed by Odin, but I really want Moriarty involved in Odin's comeuppance. 

3 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

So the ME couldn't tell that the dead sister had literally just given birth?!

It was pretty clear that the ME did a no-assed (or is that all-assed?), at best, job. Before even beginning the autopsy, she probably saw the tox screen and was like, COD: Heroin overdose. Next!

[shapeshifter]

32 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

3 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

So the ME couldn't tell that the dead sister had literally just given birth?!

I might have said "world's worst ME" out loud. I mean, okay, missing the marks on the neck was bad enough - but the sister had given birth THAT day - there'd be trauma from the birth, a distended uterus, to name only the most obvious things. That stuff doesn't just snap back into place.

I mean, people, if you're going to set up an elaborate timeline with a surprise reveal, don't screw it up by having timing make it so that the victim's body would be in a state that NO medical examiner would miss - even one as sloppy as this.

Or maybe have Sherlock remark to Joan on their way out: "World's worst ME."
Or have the ME turn out to have gotten her credentials in a Cracker Jack box.

1 minute ago, Loandbehold said:

It was pretty clear that the ME did a no-assed (or is that all-assed?), at best, job. Before even beginning the autopsy, she probably saw the tox screen and was like, COD: Heroin overdose. Next!

Yeah, but I think some of us wanted it acknowledged a bit more.

[dubbel zout]

1 minute ago, Alistaire said:

I cheered when Frain told our heroes to get the hell out.

I found that a bit weird, given Odin asked them there in the first place. It was the language, not the sentiment. I'm not sure how I'd have written it; maybe: "You can go now" or something more along those lines.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

3 hours ago, Alistaire said:

I cheered when Frain told our heroes to get the hell out.

I found that a bit weird, given Odin asked them there in the first place. It was the language, not the sentiment. I'm not sure how I'd have written it; maybe: "You can go now" or something more along those lines.

Odin's remark sounded OTT to me too. I think that's what made me think he had a Big Bad Boss to answer to (for that project).

[LennieBriscoe]

Time to drop my "Yeah,  you are!" bomb:

A dozen years back I had the delight of being in the front row TWICE for Broadway's "The Homecoming" (Pinter), starring Ian McShane,  Raoul Esparza,  Michael McKean,  and.... 

the little-known James Frain. 

Jealous?! 😁😈

https://images.app.goo.gl/9YbhMqstuxi5F2t28

And, in case "the hell" seems off-kilter,  Odin says only, "Now...Get out." I just re-watched the scene. 

But if it is that he summarily dismissed two people whom he had summoned, well, the point of the latter was to enact the former. Icily, as only James Frain can deliver.

Edited July 26, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[basiltherat]

I prefer to think that the crappy ME was in on the plot to steal babies for adoption.

I have been screaming at Sherlock to call Big Bad Dad since Odin's giant ears first graced my TV screen and, finally, he is coming!

[MisterGlass]

Odin did give an abrupt dismissal.  On shows it annoys me a bit that characters are summoned, let's say, 40 minutes of travel time for a two minute conversation.

I also wasn't that impressed by the A-plot.  The world's worst ME also missed that the body had been moved. 

I thought something might go wrong with Sherlock's attempt to intervene in Odin's 80% case.  Sherlock had a point about intervening before the suspect goes off.  Caught earlier some suspects could be diverted.  There was a short case Odin discussed with his PA last week about a girl who was being bullied and was thinking about acting out.  He focused on the girl's possible reaction and not the bullying itself.

In addition to the Devil's Foot reference, Joan and Sherlock were using a VR recreation of a scene to see if a student could have stolen exam answers from a professor, which is a version of The Adventure of the Three Students.

Glad to hear Morland is returning!

[roseha]

I'm glad to see Morland is returning as well, there should be some high drama.  

I pretty much figured that the Odin part of the story was not going to end well, evil as he is.  I didn't think as to whether he could have staged the triple murder, it made the gruesome thought even worse.  I wonder if Joan would have been a better person to try to persuade the would be killer from his intent than Sherlock, given her history as a sober companion.

Since the solution to the other plot turned out to be a secret adoption plot, I would have liked it if they had made some mention of trying to find out what happened to the victim's daughter.  So the first murder of the actress wasn't connected except for the location?

I have to say that I've lived in NYC a long time and I've never heard of a "famous murders" tour.  I'd consider it in really bad taste if there was one.

[roseha]

16 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

But JLM as the gas man? Can we have a series based on this character as a crime-solver, pleeeze?! "Gaining entry into the homes of suspects and victims, finding clues only he can detect, Jonny Lee Miller stars as Constantine Edwards, aka "Con Ed, Gas Man." 😁

That trope (is that the right word?) of pretending to be the gas man goes so far back, literally a few days ago I was watching a Perry Mason DVD and when Paul Drake attempts to get into a witness' apartment in gas man disguise he is told "Sorry, the gas man was here two days ago". 🙂

Edited July 27, 2019 by roseha

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, roseha said:

I'm glad to see Morland is returning as well, there should be some high drama.  

I pretty much figured that the Odin part of the story was not going to end well, evil as he is.  I didn't think as to whether he could have staged the triple murder, it made the gruesome thought even worse.  I wonder if Joan would have been a better person to try to persuade the would be killer from his intent than Sherlock, given her history as a sober companion.

Since the solution to the other plot turned out to be a secret adoption plot, I would have liked it if they had made some mention of trying to find out what happened to the victim's daughter.  So the first murder of the actress wasn't connected except for the location?

I have to say that I've lived in NYC a long time and I've never heard of a "famous murders" tour.  I'd consider it in really bad taste if there was one.

Bad taste abounds, these are only the first two in the list when I googled.

https://www.tripsavvy.com/tour-sites-of-famous-nyc-deaths-2286978

https://www.peek.com/new-york_hell-s-kitchen-murder-walking-tour-a1on6j

Edited July 27, 2019 by Clanstarling

[Sile]

2 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Bad taste indeed: https://www.tripsavvy.com/tour-sites-of-famous-nyc-deaths-2286978

I was just going to post that I would actually expect them to have several of them, I know they do in Los Angeles.  The poor people that bought the house that was once the vacant lot where Elizabeth Short was found must have people traipsing over their lawn constantly.

Damn you, DirecTv!  My signal cut out on the DVR and it jumped from Sherlock getting the attorney card out of his pocket while talking to Conrad straight to Marcus and Sherlock talking about who knew about the elevator.  What?

And CBS shows aren't On Demand, so I had to come here to get some hint of what the hell was going on.  Sounds like I missed the best part of the episode!

[Loandbehold]

4 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

In addition to the Devil's Foot reference, Joan and Sherlock were using a VR recreation of a scene to see if a student could have stolen exam answers from a professor, which is a version of The Adventure of the Three Students.

I forgot about this scene! I was so looking forward to watching LL run in her boots w/ heels. Stupid Odin ruined my fun.

[johntfs]

On 7/26/2019 at 8:29 AM, MissLucas said:

I really hate the idea that Odin's henchmen were behind the suicide/parents murderers since it's a cheap way out of the ethical conundrum that Odin's algorithm creates. When the show-runners decided to go for that arc they must have known that the show would be measured against POI. I wish they'd give the whole thing a bit more nuance - even if that means dropping the trademark plot-maze for the COW for an episode and focus for the whole time on the ahem... number of the week.

I think the most likely interpretation is the surface level one.  Sherlock tried to intervene and succeeded in preventing the suspect's planned crime.  But the guy was unstable and committed a different horrible crime instead,  Odin was angry because Sherlock's experiment cost two innocent people their lives.

[shapeshifter]

34 minutes ago, johntfs said:

Odin was angry because Sherlock's experiment cost two innocent people their lives.

And/or Odin was angry because he had allowed it to happen and now his Grand Experiment in extrajudicial Justice is sullied. Perhaps Odin had undercover hit men watching the event venue in case Sherlock failed to dissuade the erstwhile mass murderer, but, like Sherlock, Odin was not able to anticipate the suicide and double murder of the parents.

[Magnumfangirl]

19 hours ago, Alistaire said:

On an unrelated note, maybe Sherlock’s disheveled appearance in the last two episodes has no significance for the « Reichenbach Fall » after all, because he was... not disheveled this week.

He did look better this week, but he needs to shave.  The beard has gotten too gray to pull off the Sonny Crockett look.

[Neurochick]

22 hours ago, Alistaire said:

My first reaction to Sherlock’s « luv will save us all » approach with the podcast psycho was, Oh, god, this series is going to go out on a preachy liberal note. All that evil bastards/evil seeds need is « understanding » and a leg up.

Nope. I cheered when Frain told our heroes to get the hell out. And the fascinating ethical question of whether evil can ever be redeemed is 180-degrees different from the liberal cant that Elementary unfortunately excels at.

Human beings aren't robots.  Odin thought Conrad would commit mass murder, but that didn't happen.  He killed his parents and himself.  That was NOT what Odin thought Conrad would do so in a way both he and Sherlock were correct.

I think the show will end with Sherlock having to solve Odin's murder.  Maybe one of his assistants will get tired of taking orders from him; he's a bit of an asshole.

[Morrigan2575]

On 7/26/2019 at 12:02 AM, elle said:

Show of hands, who else thinks Conrad and his parents were murdered by Odin's operatives to justify his plan?

Morland! Looking forward to seeing him again.

Thanks for the story link, Driad!

✋🏻✋🏻✋🏻

[chitowngirl]

I thought Bell deferred his job with the US Marshall until the Captain was well. Did he give it up entirely? Or is that how his story will end, going off to that job?

[JayDub]

To me a novice crime expert is a simple explanation. Conrad killed his parents because he thought they took his gun and ammo.

[ALenore]

Am I the only one who said when Marcus commented he was surprised that someone would commit murder over $500  "Well of course they would!"   And not just in a 'poor country', but right there in New York City.

Edited July 28, 2019 by ALenore

[paigow]

On 7/26/2019 at 6:35 PM, shapeshifter said:

Odin's remark sounded OTT to me too. I think that's what made me think he had a Big Bad Boss to answer to (for that project).

Sarek 3.0 from the future 

[aemom]

On 7/26/2019 at 10:26 AM, shapeshifter said:

The actress playing the model with the most lines, Woodlene Alexis, gave awful line delivery. Was that supposed to combine with her fake accent to imply broken English?

She's so much better when not doing that accent. 

In my opinion, that's the mark of a really talented actor. I watch Outlander and the actress who portrays Brianna has to do an American accent and is the weak link on the show. When she doesn't have to speak, she does well, but she seems to spend so much effort on the accent that her acting fails.

Coincidentally, I previously watched JLM in two series prior to Elementary where he had an American accent and he is just outstanding. I am such a fan of his which is why I started watching Elementary to begin with.  The high quality all around is what kept me. Such an underrated show in my opinion. 

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, aemom said:

In my opinion, that's the mark of a really talented actor. I watch Outlander and the actress who portrays Brianna has to do an American accent and is the weak link on the show. When she doesn't have to speak, she does well, but she seems to spend so much effort on the accent that her acting fails.

Accents are, in my opinion, beyond acting. That is, you can be a brilliant actor and still not be able to reproduce an accent. I don't think that actors who can't do accents should do them, because I do agree it interferes with their acting.

I come from a multi-lingual family (some of whom are actors), and some of us have the "ear" and can reproduce almost anything - and even pick up the accents of people we're around without even noticing it. Other can be fluent in multiple languages, but never lose the accent.

I do think people can be trained to be better at reproducing accents - which is why we have so many British actors who play characters with very different global accents. But I don't think that it works for everyone.

[preeya]

2 hours ago, aemom said:

I previously watched JLM in two series prior to Elementary where he had an American accent and he is just outstanding

What were the two series?

[auntiemel]

2 hours ago, preeya said:

What were the two series?

I wasn't the original poster, but two that come to mind are Dexter and Eli Stone. 😋

[aemom]

11 minutes ago, auntiemel said:

I wasn't the original poster, but two that come to mind are Dexter and Eli Stone. 😋

They were the shows I was referring to. ☺