ELEMENTARY Recap: M

Elementary starts this week with Vinnie Jones looking menacing, as per his usual, while putting together some sort of tripod device. I’m not sure if you all know who Vinnie Jones is so just let me say I find him terrifying.
He apparently isn’t alone either, there is a man tied up on the floor behind him and the device he put together is to hang this man upside down from.

Over at Casa de Holmes, Watson wants to discuss something with Sherlock; she wants to do an exit interview of sorts. He doesn’t want to talk and like a small willful child he makes a few insults about Watson to cover up that he is actually upset she is leaving.

Captain Gregson calls and off they go to solve the case of the week. Sherlock and Watson show up at the house we saw at the beginning of the episode. It belongs to Ian Vickers and while there is no body there is a significant amount of blood. Other than the blood though there is no evidence. Sherlock says the killer is big and strong and proceeds to describes the tri-pod device we saw Vinnie putting together during the opening. He hung his victim upside down, slit his throat and his blood drained out onto the floor. Watson is wondering how Sherlock could know all of that and he said it is because he has dealt with this killer before, in London.

At the precinct Sherlock is telling them what he knows about M, a simple moniker for a complicated monster. He is the worst criminal Sherlock has ever seen, while not seen because there is no picture of him. He has been active since 2002 and has killed 37 people with no type or victim profile. He drains them of their blood and then dumps their bodies in the ocean. He also corresponds with the police via notes made out of cut out of magazine letters. See…Vinnie = terrifying.

Across town M is paying a hooker for her time. He dismisses her with a wad of cash and as soon as she leaves he gets a text, the font is indecipherable, it’s mainly symbols, he responds then pulls out a bag with cut out letters, looks like he is sending a message to the police.

In the morgue Sherlock is looking at the body of the first victim who washed up on the beach a few hours ago. Watson shows up having gotten Sherlock’s text. She offers some medical opinions and says she is going to miss working with Sherlock. She tells him he is amazing, she wanted to tell him at their wrap up dinner but it doesn’t seem like that will be happening. She goes to wait outside.

Later that night Sherlock and Watson get back home to find that their house, their living room actually is where M left his note for the authorities.

CSI, The Captain and Detective Bell arrive to go over the letter and the scene. M got in through the back door, after picking the lock. Something that is pretty bold considering there were cops parked outside the front of the house. The Captain insists Watson and Sherlock are going to a safe house, Sherlock says absolutely not, he has a case to solve. Watson agrees to stay with Holmes so the Captain puts extra security on the house.
As soon as Watson goes to bed Holmes pulls out a book where he has hidden a camera, something he didn’t tell the police. He plugs the camera into his computer and watches the footage. He sees M leaving the note. Now he knows who he is looking for.

The next morning a quick talking-selling knockoffs out of his backpack-teen has a slight altercation with M while he is watching a woman outside her house. The next thing we know that same teen is at Sherlock’s place to talk to him. Sherlock isn’t home but Watson sits down with him. He was running a scam once stealing wallets and Holmes caught him. Holmes made him give the wallets back but didn’t turn him in. In exchange from time to time Holmes contacts him and uses him for as help on cases. Earlier that day Holmes gave M’s picture to the teen and his friends and said there was $200.00 in it for whoever could find M. The teen is there to collect.

Later that day Holmes comes home to find Watson, she confronts him with the surveillance cameras and the picture of M. She is also pretty mad he asked a number of kids to go to upscale hotels to look for him. Sherlock grabs the picture and points out all of the expensive clothes M is wearing, he has money he would stay in a nice place. I don’t think that is the problem Watson had with Sherlock sending kids to go look for him though. She is also mad he didn’t take the picture to the cops.

Sherlock pauses and then shares that Irene Adler, his not alive anymore love, was in fact killed by M. Holmes says he didn’t share with the police because he is going to capture, torture and murder M, not turn him in.
Watson is understandably not okay with this and while she is voicing her concerns Holmes is putting together a little torture kit. It’s really rather frightening. Holmes says it was Irene’s death that caused him to start really abusing drugs and in turn caused him to be too messed up to capture M, not this time. Watson tries to talk him out of this but Sherlock will not be dissuaded.

Holmes finds Teddy (fast talking teen) across town and gets the information on where M is. At this same time the lady M was following earlier is at home watching TV when her dog barks, moments later M is in her house with his hand around her mouth dragging her backwards.

Over at the precinct Watson is showing Captain Gregson the picture of M. He is not happy, not at all. The Captain sends patrols out to all of the upscale hotels to find M and Sherlock.

**side note – the whole time M has been setting up for these murders as well as in his hotel he has been watching soccer. While setting up for this murder he disagrees with a call the ref made saying, “He barely touched him!” This is funny to me because Vinnie Jones used to be a soccer player and he was notorious for being aggressive and ruthless during play. Here ends the side note**

M barely gets the tripod contraption up at the ladies house when Holmes shows up. He seems very collected considering he is about to murder a man. M looks shocked but before he can do anything Sherlock pulls a baton out of his jacket and knocks M out with it.

In a warehouse somewhere Sherlock has M strung up to scaffolding and he has a number of implements laid out on the table. M doesn’t seem too concerned; he figured Sherlock for a book type not a torture and murder type. Holmes says M is there because of Irene. M remembers her, laughs and says it wasn’t him; he was in jail at that time for a misunderstanding with a Manchester United fan. Soccer fans are crazy! He can’t believe Sherlock fell for that copycat so easily. Sherlock says he is disappointed, he thought M would be a better liar.
Sherlock: You made me a shambles of a man; I’m just returning the favor

Captain Gregson and Watson are in the hospital interviewing the lady who almost became M’s victim. She didn’t see Sherlock’s face, just his feet. He cut her free, but she had to stay still, wait 10 minutes and then she could call the police. The only thing she can really remember about Sherlock is he had chalk powder on his shoes.
This reminds Watson that Sherlock was looking at a property on his computer that his Dad owns in New York. She thinks that is where Sherlock would have taken M.

At said warehouse Holmes is punching M, which M equates to being punched by a girl. M is impressed though at how quickly Holmes found him. How did he even know to look in New York and how did he get from London so quickly. Sherlock isn’t buying this, he says M knows he lives in New York; he left a note at his house. M looks shaken, “This isn’t right.” He goes on to say he isn’t a serial killer, he is an assassin, he has an employer. He gets the names of the people he kills from his employer who then pays him for his “work”. The notes, the way it is done, everything is how his employer wants it. M can’t believe he was set up. Sherlock doesn’t believe him but M then says his name is Sebastian Moran; he can look up the trial he was in for the “misunderstanding” and see that he was in jail when Irene was killed. Sherlock does find articles to corroborate M’s story. Sherlock doesn’t want to believe it though, it has to be M. M says it wasn’t him, it was Moriarty. Would it be odd to say Dun dun DUN! right here?

In the warehouse M is still pleading his case that it wasn’t him who killed Irene and Sherlock looks very close to having an emotional breakdown. M says kill him now and he will be killing the best clue he has ever had regarding Moriarty. Holmes doesn’t seem to care and stabs M through the stomach with a long metal poker.
When Captain Gregson gets to the warehouse though there is nothing but a little blood on the ground. He is looking around when he gets a call, it is the station, Holmes is there with M.

In interrogation M is telling Captain Gregson that he lured Holmes to the ladies house and then Holmes followed him to the warehouse. He was going to kill Holmes there. M says he tried to attack Holmes but Holmes defended himself and that is how he got stabbed.
Watson doesn’t believe it and she goes to find Sherlock. She tells him as much and wonders why M is protecting him. Holmes says M feels he is his best chance of bringing the person who wronged M to justice.
Holmes apologizes for lying to Watson but the last few days have been vexing for him. He still looks awfully close to losing it and Watson must agree because she gets up and sits next to him to put her hand on his arm. Sherlock says he is going to miss this, well maybe not that moment so much but working with her.
Holmes gets up to leave the precinct and Watson stays behind to make a phone call. She calls Sherlock’s Dad to say she is worried about Sherlock and would like to stay on a little longer.

The next morning Sherlock is asleep on the couch and Watson is looking over at him when she gets an email. It is from Sherlock’s Dad. He doesn’t wish to extend her services and will send her her final check right away.
Sherlock wants to know what the message said and she lies, she says his Dad agreed to let her stay on awhile longer.

We are left with Sherlock sitting in a chair looking at a solitary note card on the wall with one name on it, “Moriarty”.

Elementary airs Thursday 10/9c on CBS