Elementary season 5, episode 16 preview: Aftermath of an arrest

As a whole, Elementary season 5, episode 16 could be an episode responsible for solving many problems. For example, this could be the chance to define further the relationship between Sherlock, Watson, and Kitty Winter in a way that it hasn’t quite been. There were terms aplenty that were fired off through Sunday’s episode, and many of them suggested a coldness between Kitty and Joan the kept it very clear how they feel about each other. They use different approaches; they are of different minds. Now, they have to find a way to come together.

At the tail end of Sunday’s episode, we bore witness to Sherlock’s arrest. Yes, the whole “main character gets arrested and other people must try to free him” is a tired crime-TV trope, but there are a few elements that make it different here. For one, this person is Sherlock Holmes, and he is not your average character getting a ride to the station. Second, this is a two-part episode so it’s not just cropping up out of nowhere next week for the sake of building dramatic tension.

Finally, this is a far different dynamic to the clearing-a-name trope than you typically see, given that you have a character in Kitty making only her second appearance in the past several years. It would be like Moriarty turning up at this point, not that we ever expect this will happen. (At this point, we’re just hope that if we say her name enough, she could be conjured up into the universe like Beetlejuice.)

For some further insight, take a look at the official CBS synopsis below.

Synopsis – “Joan and Kitty try to prove that a string of murders, stemming from an old case Sherlock and Kitty solved in London, is connected to an international government conspiracy with the Defense Intelligence Agency at its center. Also, Sherlock and Kitty’s relationship is strained after she shares life-changing news.”

The point of raising the stakes

For Elementary, delivering a huge story about Sherlock in danger that is attached to Arthur Conan Doyle lore in some way is largely all about one thing: Driving excitement. This is a low-rated Sunday show on the verge of cancellation, and any opportunity where it can boost attention is an opportunity worth taking. Minus Natalie Dormer, getting Sherlock into physical and legal harm may be a proper course of action.

Feel free to share your own thoughts and expectations for next week’s episode of Elementary now in the comments! (Photo: CBS.)