What I Watched: An Elementary Discussion

I’ve fallen into a pleasant Netflix routine since coming back from Mexico; every evening, after the kids are in bed and I’m ready to tuck in as well, I watch an episode (or two, if I’m feeling indulgent) of Elementary. Because of its format as a prime-time weekly serial, there is a certain amount of soothing formularity to each episode; most of the time, there isn’t a lot of overt violence, though plenty is implied – this being a crime show and all. This makes Elementary easy to digest, especially if you are as fond of murder mysteries as I am. [The serial killer episodes are my least favourite; hard to believe given that I used to watch Criminal Minds religiously when I was younger.] What keeps me coming back, though, are the characters and the way in which the show has tweaked the Sherlockian canon. I wasn’t expecting much from a CBS show, but after the first two seasons (which is as far as I’ve gotten for now) it’s proving itself to be surprisingly progressive. It’s not perfect … but it’s a good deal better than you might think. An informal poll on my Insta Stories had Elementary greatly lagging behind Sherlock in popularity, which I found interesting. I haven’t watched the latter – I’ve never been a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, to be honest – but based on comments I’ve heard from people who have (including those who are fans of the BBC show), I think that Elementary does some things better. Controversial opinion? Let me explain. And stay with me, because there is a connection to personal style at the end of this post, I promise.

Here’s what I love about Elementary, in no particular order:

Joan Watson. I know that some people can’t get enough of the Holmes-Watson dynamic in Sherlock, but I think that the choice to make Watson a woman in Elementary was brilliant. Joan is a great foil to Sherlock (more on that later), but more importantly she is a fantastic character in her own right and not merely a side-kick. How many brilliant, competent, independent, strong female characters are there on TV? How many of them are minorities? How many of them don’t have storylines that revolve primarily around their search for love and/or their family life?   

The Watson-Holmes relationship. There are so, so few truly platonic relationships between men and women depicted on screen. Holmes and Watson respect and care for each other, but never once has the show hinted at underlying sexual tension. I think that Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller have great chemistry, and they’re both very attractive, but I have no desire to see them (pretend to) bang – in large part because the show has carefully avoided baiting that particular “ship”. I think that’s harder than it sounds; think of the X Files, for example. I also really enjoy the dynamic between Watson and Holmes. Holmes might be a better detective at the beginning, but Watson is no slouch, and she regularly knows things that Holmes doesn’t. She also calls him out on his BS all the time, which actually helps to make Holmes less insufferable. I’m not a fan of the “misanthropic male genius who is so brilliant that everyone has to fall over themselves making excuses for his sh*tty behavior” trope.

Irene Adler/Moriarty. Have I mentioned how much I love that Elementary has made both of the most important people in Holmes’ life women? The Adler/Moriarty twist in season 1 was brilliantly executed, and I genuinely enjoyed Irene/Jamie’s character. It helps that she’s played by Natalie Dormer who, while possibly a little young for the part, does the evil genius thing with such gusto. It’s a more stereotypical role than Joan Watson, and I think the show is a bit heavy-handed with the whole “her only weakness are her feels for Holmes” business, but that’s a minor quibble in the scheme of things.    

Captain Gregson, Det. Marcus Bell, and the Irregulars. Both of the former are smarter than your average “TV cop who is not the main character”, which I appreciate. [Worth mentioning that Jon Michael Hill is QUITE easy on the eyes. And I’m old enough to remember that Aidan Quinn was a stone cold fox back in the day.] Also, as the show has gone on, I have enjoyed the callbacks to various of Sherlock’s Irregulars – it’s a nicely constructed little universe for the most part (not a huge fan of Mycroft’s story arc or general presence on the show).

I haven’t said much about Holmes himself, which is not to say that he’s the weak link of the show. Jonny Lee Miller (whose work I have not watched, apart from Trainspotting and some Austen adaptations – more on that soon) is very good and, in my wholly subjective opinion, more attractive than Cumberbatch – to the extent that matters for a character like this. Don’t @ me. That being said, I don’t know if Miller is simply playing to type here or not, and I can imagine a few other actors doing interesting takes on this role. In a way, I think the fact that his performance doesn’t dominate the entire show is a good thing. Also, what I appreciate about the way this Sherlock is written is that he is mostly plausible as an actual human being of the 21st century.

Anyway, I promised some style-related content and here it is.  

I don’t typically pay a lot of attention to the costuming on the TV shows that I watch. I know that might seem strange given, well, everything you know about me through this blog. Elementary made me realize that I’m not very observant when it comes to inanimate things; my attention is always wrapped up in analyzing people’s verbal and non-verbal cues, and my own internal reactions (hello, Type 4 Wing 3!). But Elementary is also an exception in that I actually started paying attention to what the characters wear. I think their costume department does a fantastic job of maintaining a cohesive, well-defined aesthetic for each of the main characters, which is probably why it caught my eye. More than that, the aesthetics spoke to me on a personal level. To wit:

Joan is a boho chic goddess. She wears a lot of layers, loose, drapey pieces, abstract prints. She favours short dresses and skirts almost exclusively (often paired with ankle boots, but always heels of some kind), and does interesting things with proportions. While the overall aesthetic doesn’t perfectly align with mine, there is overlap with the Artist and the Bohemian. Seeing her outfits has inspired me to try some new formulas within each of those style personas.

Sherlock is professor chic all the way. Button up shirts, vests, skinny pants, and jackets. So many jackets. But the vibe is shabby chic, not sharp suiting. This is right up my Adventurer style alley. I am gonna start buttoning my shirts all the way, and am seriously considering trying to incorporate a tie into one of my outfits.

Moriarty is evil mastermind chic, obvi. Everything is sharply tailored and badass. I mean, just look:

This speaks to my Prince persona, especially the darker, Machiavellian side of it (and, no, the name of this avatar is not a coincidence). The Prince side of my style spectrum is where I go when I want to feel powerful, and this is one hell of a power outfit.

Have you watched Elementary? Let’s talk in the comments.