ELEMENTARY Recap: The Red Team

Watson is picking up around the house but don’t worry she didn’t touch Sherlock’s “Wall of Crazy”. It’s his conspiracy theory wall for Moriarty which last week only had one note card with Moriarty’s name written on it. It has grown to cover the whole wall.

The case of the week involves Sherlock looking into the hanging – apparent suicide – of a conspiracy theorist he conversed with online.
They call the police and Detective Bell reminds Sherlock he isn’t a consultant right now, he’s on suspension. This doesn’t stop Holmes from going through the victim’s house searching for clues. He finds a hide a key rock in the pet turtle’s aquarium with a listening device hidden inside.
Someone was spying on Len although Holmes can’t figure out why.
The only thing Sherlock can assume is one of Len’s theories was right. They find a binder titled Red Games which is basically War Games run by the government every year. In 2009 the results of said games was immediately classified unlike every other year where the results were published in a journal. In 2009 the “game” had to do with a sleeper cell operating in New York. Len believed there was a flaw in National Security that was so shocking it was immediately covered up/classified.

Sherlock spends his afternoon tracking down the Red Team members from 2009. One was killed in a mugging and one is in a long term care facility with early onset Alzheimer or so it appears. Sherlock thinks he was actually poisoned giving him the symptoms of Alzheimer.
Holmes calls Detective Bell with his theories but Bell says they already arrested the man that killed Len. A guy turned himself in, confessed to the whole thing. Holmes goes to interrogation to talk to the man that confessed but Gregson cuts him off. He’s not allowed in the precinct especially interrogation. If he shows up again Gregson will have him arrested.

Not to be deterred Holmes tracks down the person who planted the listening device at Len’s house. They track the man back to an empty like office with only one guy working. Bill introduces himself and says they only do market research. Holmes isn’t buying it. The place is clearly hinky.
As they are leaving the office Bell calls, turns out the guy in long term care was poisoned and Gregson wants to hear everything they know about the case.

At the precinct Holmes assembles the remaining four members of the 2009 Red Team. They are reluctant to talk as that would be treason so they all leave. On the way out one of the ladies leaves a note for Sherlock in the garbage with the name of their liaison on it.

That night two agents show up at Sherlock’s house, Bill from the “market research” company was shot and killed outside his apartment that afternoon. Sherlock is questioned but he has an alibi so they have to let him go.
Sherlock immediately calls the police to have the rest of the Red Team taken into custody.
Sherlock visits one of the Red Team members, Mr. Dresden and upon leaving he hears one of the other members was shot and killed. Holmes thinks Dresden is the killer and it looks like he is right. Dresden is killing the members of the 2009 Red Team.

At the safe house/hotel Dresden takes a detective hostage and Holmes offers to help, Gregson however doesn’t want Holmes’s help but after a bit he relents and Holmes goes into Dresden’s room to talk to him.
Turns out Dresden wants to kill himself and anyone who knows about the outcome of the war game. He does not want the plan to get out and he would protect it at any cost.
Unfortunately for Dresden Holmes is smarter than the average bear, he tells Dresden what the plan is and informs him he told a college. The secret is out now; there is no way to contain it. It’s no longer a few lives that need to be ended to contain it. Dresden then gives himself up to the police.

We end the episode at a bar where Gregson offered to meet Holmes. Sherlock does a sort of apology that isn’t all that apologetic. Gregson calls him on it but relents lifting his suspension. Before Gregson leaves he says he won’t trust Holmes again or forget he was going to attempt murder.

The next episode of Elementary airs Sunday after the Super Bowl.

Elementary airs Thursday 10/9c on CBS