- Rising tension between Sherlock and Watson bring their partnership to a crossroads, but they endeavor to put their differences aside while they help Sherlock's brother, Mycroft, who faces accusations of treason and murder. Rhys Ifans returns as Mycroft Holmes.—Anonymous
- "Elementary" - "The Grand Experiment" - May 15, 2014
We pick up right where we left off with Sherlock telling Mycroft and Watson that he is being framed for murder and treason. Mycroft doesn't believe him, thinking he's just trying to ruin things for him and Joan.
Sherlock thinks it's going to end in Mycroft's murder. They go on the balcony to look at his car and Sherlock says he particularly likes the remote starter function. He starts the car from the balcony and it blows up. He asks Mycroft if they can go now.
They go to an old empty library that Sherlock has access to. He thinks they are not being followed and the mole is working alone and is busy with his day job at MI-6. Sherlock says he already told them that they were Mycroft's prints to help ferret out the mole.
Sherlock goes to meet with Sharington and the MI-6 gang. Sharington says Mycroft did good work but doesn't know how he could've become a traitor. Sherlock says it's a woman. They wonder if it's Watson. He says he doesn't think it's her but if she does anything suspicious he'll let them know. He asks for Mycroft's file and they refuse to share it. He says if he finds him himself he'll let them know.
Joan and Mycroft hang at the library and he recalls an unfair think Sherlock said about him to his father when they were kids, about how he was without ambition or energy and he would rather be considered wrong than go to the trouble of proving himself right. Joan says Sherlock knows a lot but not everything. He agrees he was not that ambitious. She says he's a successful restaurateur and has done good things for his country with MI-6. He disagrees, still haunted by Sherlock's comments and the fact that his father didn't disagree with them. He is kicking himself.
Sherlock and Joan stake out the bookstore that was the focus of Arthur West-- the armless man. Sherlock asks about her going from being angry to sleeping with Mycroft. She doesn't answer and asks about MI-6. He notes they no longer want his help. The man running the bookstore locks up for the night and Sherlock and Joan break in. She notes nothing unusual. They talk about his disappointment in her moving out.
Sherlock notes a surge protector with nothing plugged into it and discovers it's a scrambler into which he could plug his phones and protect himself from listening devices. Sherlock deduces that numbers West had tattooed on his purloined arms was the metadata from the calls since they were scrambled: date, time, location. If they can link the mole to the dates and times they can find him. Mycroft realizes he was in all of these places at all of these times. Sherlock says it's not a coincidence since someone is framing him and who else was there with him? Joan guesses it must be Sharington. Sherlock says they need to prove he's guilty of murder before Sharington finds Mycroft.
Later at the brownstone Sharington calls Sherlock and asks for progress. Sherlock says that funds funneled from his father are financing Mycroft's escape. Sharington asks for more info when he has it. Joan comes in and offers to help and he says her moving out will mean he will need to change his methods and he will have to get used to working alone in the evenings and he wants to start immediately. She leaves him to it.
The next morning she finds a trail of cards with info on them and he's beaming that he can work on his own when necessary. Sherlock has deduced that Sharington used Mycroft as a cover for various tip-offs to the Iranian government. He has figured out all of the calls but one. Gregson calls, he knows that Sherlock must be aiding Mycroft.
At the precinct he tells Sherlock about the gun, Mycroft's prints, and knowing that his car was blown up. Gregson says they haven't told anyone yet and want to know where his brother is and if he's innocent then Sherlock should let them help. He says he can't. Gregson says pretty soon people are going to start wondering what is up that one of their consultants' brothers is a murderer.
Sharington comes to the brownstone to talk to Joan since she and Mycroft had a relationship. He hopes she might have personal insights to where he might be. She says it turns out she knows next to nothing about Mycroft. She says he might be holed up in the Catskills. He notes Sherlock said that he had run off with his dad's money and wonders which story is true. He says he wonders if he held her down and put her eye out with his thumb if she would tell him where they were hiding him. She notes that they are not alone that everyone is with them, and she means "Everyone" the hacktivist collective. She says she opened a chat with about 15 of them before he came in. She hits a button and fifteen faces appear on many screens. He says he looks forward to sparring with her and the Holmes boys later. She says she looks forward to seeing him on trial for murder.
Sherlock comes home in a panic and Joan says she's fine but they're both bummed that Sharington knows they're on to him. Good news is Joan figures out the last call and that it was related to a local murder of an Iranian man. Her news is good but he still seems distracted by the fact that she's been in danger of late because of Mycroft. She says it's partially his fault too and tells the story Mycroft told her about Sherlock working for a terrorist and forcing Mycroft into service.
Sherlock goes to see Mycroft and catches him on Sharington visiting Joan. He tells him he also knows the truth about him and MI-6 and himself. Sherlock says he is confused as to why Mycroft helped him since he owed Sherlock nothing. Mycroft simply says "You're my brother." Sherlock is clearly moved and confused and hurt by this. He notes that he is in the program and that he will need to make amends and at the appropriate juncture he will but in the meantime he will fix this, every last bit of it.
Sherlock and Joan visit the apartment in which the Iranian man was killed. Sherlock recreated the blood spatter on the wall because the pictures were bothering him. He thinks the murder was staged/made-up. On the verge of a breakthrough he begins talking about their working together and how beautiful it can be and that their collaboration works even when things are not ideal with them. He talks about the last 18 months being a grand experiment and he realizes he is capable of change and says he will change for her. For the sake of their partnership/work, he asks her to stay. She talks about his gravitational pull effect and says she's lucky to have fallen into his orbit but if they live together it will always be that way-- her orbiting him and it's an exciting place to be but it also has consequences. She says they will work it out and she will get her own place. She asks if he's okay and he says he figured out the man was murdered.
Mycroft goes to see Sharington in a pub enjoying a shepherd's pie. Sharington says for what it's worth he's sorry. Mycroft asks why he's done this, become the mole, and assures him he's not recording him. Sharington says he knows he wouldn't, Mycroft would think it ungentlemanly. He notes it was his boss who brought Sherlock into it. Mycroft asks how much it will cost to undo this. Sharington says all rich people think they can buy their way out of trouble but he's just a simple street guy and that's why he never got promoted at MI-6 and why he turned. Sharington realizes that Mycroft has a gun on him but says he has a failsafe, a letter gets mailed if he dies, burning Mycroft to all the people he helped bring down and who will come for his head and those of Sherlock and Joan. Sharington instead proposes that he take Mycroft somewhere quiet and kill him. So, Mycroft says he will die a traitor and Sharington will get off scott free? Sharington says it's really the only option.
Gregson calls in the bookstore owner regarding the murder of the Iranian man. Sherlock advances the theory that the bookstore owner stoned him to death, which is a personal way to murder him. Turns out the guy was sleeping with the bookstore owner's wife and the owner used his MI-6 contacts to ferret out the affair. His angry wife gave them the undershirt he was wearing when he killed the guy. Gregson presses him to tell him about his work with MI-6 and how Sharington is the mole. Bell reports that the body of a British national just landed in the morgue. It's Sharington. Gregson suspects Mycroft.
They go home and Mycroft is there. He says he didn't murder Sharington but he had a hand in it. He tells them about his meeting and the letter that was going to be sent in the case of his death to Le Milieu. He says he told the NSA and made a deal with them and they filtered the info to Le Milieu who took care of Sharington. The NSA have arranged to fake his death-- an accident at Diogenes-- to protect Mycroft himself from Le Mileu. So he has to leave and disappear, probably forever. Joan is crushed. Mycroft apologizes and says he did what he has to do and she leaves. Sherlock calls him lazy and stupid and self-absorbed sloth. Mycroft hugs him and says he loves him and this last year has been a gift. Sherlock is unmoved. Mycroft leaves.
Later, Sherlock overhears Joan making plans to look at an apartment. He goes downstairs, takes down the book in which he hid the packet of heroin and puts it in his pocket.
Sherlock goes to see the main MI-6 guy. The man offers his condolences about Mycroft and agrees good riddance to bad rubbish on Sharington. Sherlock tells him that Sharington offered him a job and was this a real attempt or Sharington trying to keep his enemies close. The boss says the offer came from him. Sherlock says he'd like to take him up on it.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content