Wait, what happened in Season 2?

[frayadjacent]

I've been enjoying Elementary, especially the last few episodes, which gave more attention to Joan and a likeable one-off character.  But is anybody else realizing we're damn near the S2 finale and it kind of feels like the season never picked up?  I mean, there have been a lot of fun character interactions this season, a few moments of important growth for Joan and Sherlock, and a few interesting plot threads that have been mostly left to dangle.  But it doesn't feel like a coherent season.  Like, if someone were to ask me what this season was about, I don't know what I'd say.

And it was an easy question to answer for S1.  Character-wise, S1 was about Joan and Sherlock meeting and developing trust and friendship.  It was about Sherlock's recovery and Joan's career change.  It was about both of them connecting with each other and, through their relationship, to other people as well (Marcus, Alfredo, Ms. Hudson, etc).  Plot wise, it was mostly one-offs, but the Moriarty plot was in the background for over half the season, and when you consider how it connects to Sherlock's recovery, it was there all along.

This season, I don't know.  I keep waiting for it to really pick up, and a couple of weeks ago I was a little surprised to realize that we're closing in on the season finale and it hasn't.  Not that I haven't liked watching it, not that Joan and Sherlock don't charm me every episode, but it's starting to wear a bit thin.  I want my slow burn just a little less slow, please.

Maybe this is normal for this kind of show?  I never really watched ER or Law and Order or other shows that seem close in genre to Elementary. 

Comments

[naushika]

That's pretty much the status quo for procedurals, sadly. I watched Law and Order (all flavors) for many years, and they were all like that the whole way through, with just the occasional longer story arc. I never quite got the satisfaction I wanted out of those kinds of shows. I generally don't watch procedurals now, I prefer shows where the story has weight from episode to episode. I only watch Elementary because I like the characters so much, haha.

[frayadjacent]

Yeah, the characters are great! I guess I was hoping this one would be able to buck the formula a bit more (as it somewhat did last season).