An "Elementary" Conundrum

[nightdog_barks]

So I loved both Person of Interest and Elementary last night, but there's something about Elementary ...



At the end of the episode, I thought Irene was real. But since then I've seen other sources suggesting she was a hallucination, and that Sherlock was "primed" to see her. Someone also suggested that perhaps Sherlock was drugged.

Which brings me back to the moment in the episode when Sherlock said he had a "horrid taste" in his mouth, and he went and brushed his teeth. So what was that horrid taste? Where did it come from? The line came out of nowhere.

Was the horrid taste a drug? IDK, I am just thinking out loud.

Comments

[black_cigarette]

I think the horrid taste was psychological. Literally a bad taste in his mouth from remembering the awful way he lost Irene and knowing he was being toyed with by the man who had her killed.

Irene, pretty sure was the real deal.

[nightdog_barks]

Yeah, I think the writers are tossing out some red herrings (which I appreciate as brain teasers), but that line by Sherlock kept nagging at the back of my mind. *g*

[black_cigarette]

I want to tell you to FANFIC THAT, except no, come fanfic with ME instead, because I am selfish like that.

[nightdog_barks]

Heh. I have been VAGUELY TEMPTED by both PoI and Elementary, but so far nothing has taken shape.

[hannah]

If you ever want on-site Manhattan consulting, I'm ready and waiting.

[nightdog_barks]

On some level, I find it charming that both shows film on location in New York City. :D

[taiga13]

I was wondering the same thing! The bad taste in his mouth stuck out for me too, but there wasn't any other signs except seeing Irene.
I think Irene was real because I can't see where they would go from having Sherlock hallucinate her. I'm curious to know what her explanation will be for how she went from being strung up dead in her living room in (presumably) London to painting in a studio in New York City over a year later, and why she hadn't, you know, CALLED HIM.

[nightdog_barks]

:D

I know! After the episode ended I had NO QUESTION in my mind that Irene was real, but then I read the AV Club review, and the reviewer thought she was a hallucination. And someone else on DW thought the same thing. So I reconsidered and remembered the "horrid taste" line, and I COULDN'T HELP WONDERING. Clever writers!

And this -- why wouldn't she have called him? Unless she wanted to "stay dead" because she feared for her life. Or Sherlock's life. IDK. I'm just extremely glad that wasn't the season finale!

[taiga13]

Another thing that struck me was that Gregson has lined up another sober companion job for Joan. Maybe they're setting up for Joan to leave Sherlock's employ in the season finale, or for him to disappear.
Also, I want to see Mrs Hudson again :)
ETA Watching it again while on my treadmill and remembered something I noticed the first time too: When Holmes tell Watson what Irene was like, he describes her intelligence, her work and her skill at it, and her personality. He doesn't mention her looks, although she's very beautiful. (OK he mentions the sex, but that's not the same thing.) I liked that, especially since in the last Holmes reboot I watched it was the MOST important characteristic of a woman to Holmes/House.

[black_cigarette]

As I recall, they found a lot of blood but no body when Irene went missing.

I think Moriarty has been holding something over her. Perhaps the threat of killing Holmes if she disobeys him (the same tactic he used to cause Moran to kill himself: do it or the one person you really love will die instead).

[taiga13]

As I recall, they found a lot of blood but no body when Irene went missing.
Oh, I must have missed that.

[sabra_n]

I totally didn't think of the "drugged" hypothesis until I read the AV Club review, either, but it's not totally implausible! I do hope that Irene is alive nonetheless, however.

[nightdog_barks]

I hope so too! I mean, I'm not totally averse to a story being told via flashbacks and/or a hallucination, and it would be interesting to see Sherlock doubt his own sanity (heh, as I type this out, it all sounds SO MUCH like House!). But I'd still like for Irene to be alive and real, just because I think that would actually be the more difficult story to tell.