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Holmes and Watson work two different cases this week. Watson's assigned to investigate a missing woman, because her sister is convinced that her husband killed her. Holmes isn't interested, because the whole thing sounds kind of sketchy. And also because it's a case set up by his father, who he hates. So it's Watson's problem. The missing woman recorded a video where she said she was leaving, but it might have been faked somehow.
While she works on that, Holmes investigates a weird case from six months earlier, where a mysterious hooded figure gave a woman some flowers and then pushed her in front of a subway train. He learned about it because the missing woman mentioned it in her video, and then he found it much more interesting. Along the way, he runs across Prez and Bubbles from The Wire. But his only new clue is a distinctive patch on the subway pusher's jacket.
Watson breaks both cases wide open when she discovers that the bad guy in Holmes's case is the husband in her case. That video included the missing woman saying she was freaked out by a flower woman being killed in a subway, but she was talking about a different time she left her husband for a few days. The husband diabolically saved the video and then created a new situation later to provide cover for her disappearance. It's pretty complicated.
While all this is going on, Watson is starting to doubt herself. This is because her friends think she's crazy to stop being a sober companion and start being a consulting detective. On the other hand, Alfredo the Charismatic Car Thief is back and he thinks she's got potential. So that's neat!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We start "Six Months Ago," according to the onscreen caption. There's someone playing a violin in a subway station, but we pan away from him. A woman is tapped on the shoulder and given some flowers by a man wearing a hood. She's standing very close to the ledge where you wait for the train. She tells someone on the phone that she was just given a dozen roses, and that it's been a lousy week. Then the train comes and the guy in the hood finally pushes her in front of it. I mean it's not that I was rooting for her death, but it was pretty clear where this was going.
Now Watson is out at dinner with a few friends. Did you know Watson had friends? Well, she does. They agree that she's going to a birthday party tomorrow at 2:00 PM. (Which I mention because details are important). She's a little defensive about how being a Sober Companion is a valid career, and everyone praises her for helping people even after she stopped being a doctor. Her phone rings and she says it's a rehab facility with a possible referral. A Dr. Caruso has sent her a case file. The patient is getting out of Hemdale on Monday. Watson flips through the case file and asks, "What kind of name is Sherlock?" And now I have to go back and read what it says about him. I didn't realize this scene was also six months ago! I guess I should have because the scene started with a television at the restaurant running a news story about the woman at the subway.
Okay. I have gone back to investigate the case file on Mr. Sherlock Holmes. It says he's very smart, and also very addicted to heroin. His prognosis was quite good, although he was advised to take on a sobriety companion, since he would benefit from "regular interpersonal interaction." He's supposed to attend regular meetings, and the companion should make it happen. It would also get him out and help fight his clinical depression, which he refuses to take medication for. That was mildly interesting. I'm a little concerned that the phrase appears to be "sobriety companion," because "sober companion" is what everyone actually says.
Back to modern day. Watson breaks into a sports car, setting off its alarm. She tries to hotwire it but the car alarm keeps blaring and breaks her concentration. We see that the car is also occupied by Alfredo, Holmes's sponsor. That guy's awesome! I'm glad he came back because it was looking like the show had forgotten about his existence. He's teaching Watson to steal cars since Holmes feels it's an important detective skill. And every hour he spends with Watson, he gets two with Holmes, so it's sort of relevant to being a sponsor. She gets a text from Holmes telling her to end the scene and go home.
When Watson returns to the brownstone, she learns that Holmes got a message from his father. Holmes promised a favor when he borrowed that 2.2 million dollars in a episode's plot that I don't have time to go into. So even though he gave it back, he still has to appease his father's random whims. Specifically, he has to meet with a lawyer so he can investigate something. Watson asks if Holmes's father knows she's still there, even though she's not on the Sober Companion Gravy Train anymore. Holmes doesn't seem to know or care what his father knows.
On the case! They're in one of these 100th-floor suites with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on all of New York that you get so often on television shows. Holmes looks out the window and comments that it's six-inch bulletproof glass. Really? They're worried about someone shooting at them from the top of the Chrysler building? If it's that big a problem, maybe they should get rid of the floor-to-ceiling windows entirely. Anyway. A lawyer named Philip Armisted comes in with his assistant Rebecca, and Holmes insults him by suggesting that "shyster" is really "scheiss-ter". It's a vulgar pun, but it gets some snootiness credit for being in two languages. Rebecca says her sister Callie has been missing for six months. So it's a real case, and Holmes is willing to listen without further insults.
Holmes and Watson watch a video, where Rebecca's sister Callie tells someone named Drew that she doesn't love him anymore and can't tell him to his face. Holmes glances at Watson to make sure that she's watching. She brings up the specific thing that made her realize that life is too short: "Then that woman got pushed in front of that subway train the other day. The woman with the flowers." Holmes pulls out his phone and searches for "subway pusher woman flowers" because he was in rehab then and can be excused for not knowing all the details of the case. Callie says she's leaving for a while. End of video. Rebecca says Drew showed her the video to explain her disappearance. But Rebecca got suspicious because Callie would never vanish for this long without contacting her. She adds that Callie left Drew once before, but Rebecca knows no details. The police tried to locate Callie through credit cards and her phone but got nowhere. Rebecca thinks Drew could have forced Callie to make the video.
Rebecca's piece of evidence is a picture of a wooden trunk. Rebecca inherited it but she kept it at Callie's place. And now it's gone! Drew claims Callie took it, but Rebecca says she would never do that. Phillip starts to explain why he went to Holmes, and Holmes goes outside with Watson. He says Callie was utterly calm, not being threatened, so she meant everything she said. He bases this on his extensive study of faces, which he says are just like penises. He, um, might want to do a little more studying. I can think of at least two important differences. So Holmes thinks this will be a delightful chance for Watson to find Callie. She thinks Drew might have killed Callie, but Holmes figures that she can go ahead and prove it. He's putting her on the case solo because he's distracted by the subway pusher case. The man who pushed her was never found. Watson asks if Holmes wants to tell the clients that she's handling it, but he does not: "Your case now, Watson. You tell him." Holmes is off!
Brownstone. Holmes watches some remarkably crisp security video of the subway pushing and regrets that he was in rehab at Hemdale when this happened. He wasn't allowed to see newspapers after the first day or so, which is probably a good idea. He notes that the pusher kept his face away from the camera, although subway pushers (which he calls "tube pushers" because he's British) tend to be impulsive. The police sketch from the witnesses is useless, since it just shows a hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses, and a beard. But the perpetrator had a weird patch on his jacket, which might help. Although they can't see the actual patch.
.On her case, Watson is running up against a wall. She hasn't reached Drew, but she'll go to his art gallery tomorrow. She claims that she'll get to act like Columbo, which does not appear to be a reference that Holmes gets. However, Holmes is pleased that she'll call herself a consulting detective for the first time.
Emily (one of Watson's friends from that scene at the beginning) calls. Watson forgot about a dinner date, and Emily's kind of a jerk about it. They decide to meet at 8:00 tomorrow.
Watson accosts Drew at his art gallery. He says the worst thing about the whole situation is that Rebecca thinks he hurt Callie. The other time Callie left, it was for just a few days, and he got her to come home by begging. Watson pries into the problems they had, but Drew says he thought they were in a good place. Callie had seemed a little distant, though. He thinks it was something about the woman who got pushed that bothered her. I kind of hope Callie pushed that woman in front of the train. Shocking twist!
Watson has returned to the Brownstone to consult with Holmes. She has a tape of Drew from his first interrogation, describing the state of his relationship with Callie. It's the same words he used talking to Watson, which she finds suspicious. Holmes asks some questions to pick that apart. But there was still something that Watson didn't like about him. Holmes asks if she'd like him to tag in. Holmes likes pro wrestling? Or at least is familiar enough with it that he uses phrases from it? Watson doesn't want to tag out yet, but she asks what his move would be. Holmes tells her about the concept of "Gaslighting," derived from the stage play Gaslight. Not the movie? Anyway, the idea is to make someone crazy by surrounding them with lies. It's fun! And it sort of relates to his plan. He's got a box full of burners, which are those disposable cellphones from The Wire. He pulls one out and texts Drew, "I know that you killed her. I know what you did with the body." step: follow him around. If this message scares him enough to get him to go get the body, you win! He recommends she rent a car. I think she probably owned a car at the beginning of the series, but I don't feel like checking. Now Holmes is going to go to the police station to interrogate someone related to the subway pushing.
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He'll be talking to a guy named Mr. Samuels, played by Prez from The Wire. He recognizes the picture of the victim, a Miss Tully. Holmes says she was a secretary where Samuels was a custodial engineer. Holmes's theory is that the murderer must have studied the platform ahead of time because he clearly knew where the security cameras were. So he checked the earlier security recordings. And ten days before the pushing, Miss Tully was followed around by Mr. Samuels. He was discreetly recording her with a camera. Samuels denies having a record, but Gregson says he was arrested for stalking. Why would you lie about having a police record in the middle of a police station? They have computers now! Gregson says that Samuels is about the right height and weight to be the pusher. He says he'd never hurt her. He admits that he was there and in disguise, but it was a hat and scarf, not a hood and sunglasses. Plus, he can prove that he didn't push her because he's got video of it! This is exactly like the blackmailer who was able to prove his alibi because he was recording his neighbors having sex. I'd like to see a little more variety in getting from one plot point to the .
Holmes studies the video from Samuels's phone. He says that Samuels could have hired a crazy associate, but it seems unlikely. The new camera angle isn't helping identify the pusher. It also doesn't let them get a good look at the patch on his jacket, which Gregson never even noticed. Watson calls. She's just watching Drew not do anything. He hasn't left the gallery all day. Yeah, surveillance is boring. Holmes says it's important to track footsteps. Also, Watson has once more forgotten about her date with Emily, which even Holmes knew was important to her. So Alfredo is standing by, ready to relieve her.
Holmes returns to the video. Holmes notes that the violinist in the background (from the very beginning of the episode!) is playing Paganini, which he can tell from the fingering. And he stops in the middle of the movement to leave. Why? Holmes explains, "He sees our pusher. He knows him. He might even have known what he was about to do." So there's a new lead!
Watson gets to the bar. Emily is there! I was hoping she was planning to ditch Watson to teach her a lesson. Hope and Ken are also there. They're the married couple who were at the restaurant scene six months ago. I didn't mention them by name back then. Emily has been talking to Watson's mother and wants to cause trouble about her being a detective. It's not an official intervention, but it's some friends expressing concern about Watson making apparently crazy career decisions. Is it not normal for a sober companion to become the apprentice of the crazy addict she's trying to help? Emily thinks Watson has seemed lost ever since she stopped practicing medicine. She uses words like "gumshoe" and "private eye," which is fun. Watson goes to leave. Alfredo texts her "White dude on the move," and I like the idea that he has no interest in learning the name of the target. Emily says, "I know you. And I know you're not a detective." Watson's confidence is shaken.
Watson joins Alfredo in a parking lot. Drew comes out of a self-storage unit with Rebecca's wooden trunk. That's certainly suspicious, since he claimed Callie took it with her. But we see him put it in his SUV, and it's clearly not heavy enough to have a body in it. But it's not clear whether that's on purpose or because television shows tend not to put heavy things in the boxes their actors have to lift. Drew leaves his SUV alone to go into the manager's office, so Watson gets really excited about breaking in. Alfredo thinks it's a terrible idea, although he admits that she's good enough to get in. She pops the lock on the door and opens the back gate. The guard sees her opening the trunk. The wooden trunk, not the trunk of a car. It doesn't have a trunk. This confusion isn't my fault. Soon the manager and Drew are there, too. Alfredo has enough sense not to get involved. Drew refuses to open the trunk to prove there's no body in there. Watson presses her case and the guard asks Drew to open the trunk. The cops get there. Drew opens the trunk, and it's empty. Watson's confidence is shattered.
Watson is in jail. Holmes comes to stare at her through the glass. He has paid her bail and she will be released shortly. Alfredo has briefed Holmes on the situation, and he approves of her taking the chance. It was definitely the same wooden trunk, which I don't think we needed Holmes to verify. We had a picture of it already! So what was Drew doing with it? His new story is that he sold it to a collector shortly after Callie vanished because he needed money for his art gallery. And Watson's meddling prompted him to buy it back from the collector (who kept it in that storage unit) and give it back to Rebecca. Holmes doesn't mind Watson being wrong about the trunk having a body in it. Watson thinks if Holmes had been there, there would have been a body in there, and I'm surprised Holmes doesn't give her a lecture about the fallacy of magical thinking. Holmes wants to work the two cases together. After Watson helps him, he'll help her. He's being very generous here, since normally you wouldn't expect him to say he needs her help.
Holmes and Bell are out on the street so they can talk to the street violinist. And it's Bubbles! From The Wire! You know, the show I've already had to reference twice so far in this recap? He's called "Bark" here. Holmes and Bell are here to talk about Vivian Tully, the subway victim. Bark points out that he wasn't there when the pushing happened because he conveniently left his post right before it happened. Holmes notes that he's also a pickpocket. He says he only recognized the guy's face because it was somebody who punched him after catching him the week. Holmes says that pickpockets have to study people's coats. Oh! I read a great article in The New Yorker about that. Anyway, Holmes thinks that maybe Bark noticed an unusual patch on the guy's coat.
In bed, Watson gets a call from Emily, who is walking past "Hat Restaurant." That's probably a real place, but it sounds like a set decorator who didn't have time to think of a good name. Watson tells Emily that she was out of line by stomping out. Emily says her editor just assigned her the story about the case Watson just solved. Holmes knocks. An old colleague asked him to look at some files, and he got the murderer in seconds. He wants to see how she does. Watson finishes with Emily.
Then she changes her job on Facebook (not real Facebook, obviously) from "Sobriety Counselor" to "Consulting Detective."
Follow Monty on Twitter at @monty_ashley and read his blog, Mysterious Exhortations.