One thing I got out of lockdown was the time to binge a ton of TV series. Prime’s ‘Elementary’ was one of the better ones. It took me a couple of months to finish all seven seasons, and I watched the last episode in January 2021. Here are my thoughts on the series.
The TV series in three sentences
- A modern Sherlock Holmes remake but Dr. Watson is a woman.
- Sherlock’s drug addiction recovery is one of the main themes, as well as the friendship between him and Watson.
- Watson meets Sherlock as his sober companion, laying a foundation for a non-romantic, professional partnership.
Plot: Brief spoiler-free overview
Sherlock is fresh out of rehab and his father hires Dr. Joan Watson to be Sherlock’s sober companion. Sherlock drags Dr. Watson along on his adventures. Each episode starts with a new crime they must solve together. Sherlock’s sobriety is an ongoing theme. It often plays a part in both Sherlock’s and Watson’s character development. The crimes they solve are interesting and well researched. I never felt bored.
Impressions: Minor spoilers
It’s refreshing to see a relationship being valued for what it is, without the need for it to be something ‘more’. The concept of the original Sherlock and Watson is that of partnership. A romantic relationship is never treated as the end goal or as something more valuable than the partnership they have together. We as the audience are free to simply accept that premise and never expect anything else.
Sherlock’s genuine struggle with his addiction is a welcome stray from the often romanticized ‘mad genius addict’ trope. It is not about him ‘finding his genius through drugs’. It is him being a genius despite a traumatic past that he has to fight.
An old tale made relevant again
I love how they modernised the story. They weren’t afraid to make it their own. It just shows that you can take a story that has been done a million times and still do something new with it. They had something to say and sometimes that’s enough.
