I am not one hundred percent sure how I feel about this episode yet, but for now I have to say it was one of my least favorite so far.
The episode centers on 'Watson's' attempts and schooling to become 'Sherlock's' partner as a consulting detective.
After the introduction of a 6 month old crime, we then skip to 'Watson' attempting to break into and hot wire a car. We find out it is part of her training.
We then move to 'Holmes' being asked to take a case by his father, this case being the disappearance of a young woman some six months earlier. While discussing the case with the client, 'Holmes' comes across another case involving the pushing of a young women into an oncoming train. Instead of 'Holmes' excepting the case, we see him passing it off to 'Watson', leaving us to assume he finds it to trivial or to related to his father or a good case for 'Watson' to learn on.
As Sherlockians most of us probably assume he has already found a relationship between the two or at least believes he has already figured it out so therefore can test 'Watson's' conclusions.
We find none of this to be true as the case goes on.
So they go their separate ways and attempt to solve their individual crimes.
After a brief interview with the missing women's husband, 'Watson' comes away with a hunch, or gut feeling that the man is the one responsible of her disappearance. No facts or deductions to back this up.
Well, I don't want to summarize the whole episode, but for me at about this point the whole story becomes pretty convoluted.
My first problem with the show is 'Watson' trying to become a consulting detective. Canonically Watson is a catalyst to Holmes, a steadfast companion and a reliable "I-got-your-back" person. Holmes is the Blood hound and Watson is the Bull dog. Most attempts by Watson, in the Canon, to become a detective result in disappointment.
Realizing in this day and age any female character can no longer be used just as eye-candy and must have (and should have) and active and equal roll, the results in this episode were disappointing.
Up until this point 'Watson' had been played and written as a very smart women who was not only able to be a spring board for 'Holmes', but was also able to actively contribute to the cases she was involved in. Her medical knowledge, and even her observation skills were of great help in many of the earlier episodes.
But tonight we seemed to be more on a path of a 'Sherlock' clone. Instead of her becoming the moral, social and emotional rock of the show, tonight she became another Sherlock wanna-be. Even going so far as to distance herself from her friends and other relationships. Watson was the social one of the Canon, not the isolated thinking machine.
It has become a little tiresome in the show when clues are accidentally stumbled upon, but even more so tonight.
Not a whole lot of deduction was going on this evening.
The best use of observation tonight was in the references to the violin busker.
The show resulted in no firm conclusion, and in the end we are not sure why or how the young women was murdered. In the end, did the trunk really have anything to do with the case?
'Holmes' said no.
In this day and age when police, at least on TV, automatically check all emails and computers, the finding of the emails from the late women six months after the fact should get 'Gregson' fired.
When the episode first started I was hoping for something along the lines of Hound where Holmes sends Watson off to gather clues because he is unavailable at the moment. I realize for modern sensibilities it would have to be rewritten to place Watson in a strong light, but it could have been done.
Not only did this episode also lack the hookers, it also lacked the humor that has become a part of the show.
The acting was still good, although I am finding Millers 'Holmes' is not maturing very much.
But over all, at this point, I can only give the episode -
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