Elementary Review: Breathe (Season 6 Episode 13)

On Elementary Season 6 Episode 13, “Breathe,” Joan’s adoption process takes one step forward, two steps back—and then another step forward.

I’m not sure how often you’re going to run into a “hitman with a heart of gold” in real life. Probably less often that you do on TV. Still, it’s a trope people seem to like.

Our victim of the week, a “relocation expert” named Frisk, fits the definition well, helping his assistant’s son, who has cerebral palsy, when he’s not working his other job as, you know, an assassin.

A “relocation expert”, by the way, is someone who helps employees when they move for work. Which is apparently not only its own field of work, but one that pays very well.

In our first meeting with her, the assistant claims a complete lack of awareness of her employer’s activities despite working for him for fifteen years. People have fallen for more for longer. Still, we’re not too surprised by the truth.

More surprising is how few red herrings there are in this episode. We get two main associates of Frisk—the assistant and one of his clients. The latter is decidedly shady, even by the definition of people who hire hitmen.

Sure enough, he’s our guilty party, though rather indirectly. Frisk sets up his own death to pin it on the man. It’s a plan that would probably work well, if not for Sherlock’s involvement.

Thankfully, this is still a person who hired someone to kill other people, so it’s not like there’s no reason to arrest him. The bad guy goes to jail, the assistant gets money for her son, and we get a happy ending with some pretty big hurdles in the way.

It’s a storyline mirrored in Joan’s as she continues to progress through the adoption process. The hurdle comes through some jerk named Gary, and the happy ending comes by way of…the king of Bohemia?

An aside: if you’re familiar with the original Sherlock Homes canon, you may remember that the king of Bohemia shows up there, too. The two plots have little in common, but it’s a fun connection.

With going directly through a surrogate off the table for now, Joan is making connections with adoption agencies. And the one she’s working with now could really stand to perform some employee reviews.

Gary is not only absent-minded enough to screw up two of Joan’s appointments—and after Sherlock is kind enough to put away his bear trap for a visitation—he has the audacity to try and blame her for not being more through with him.

This is where the king of Bohemia comes in. Not wanting to get Gary fired at risk of his other clients, Joan instead opts for blackmail. Something to do with disowning sons. It’s not all that important.

What does matter is that, by the end of the episode, she’s set for more visits and back in the good graces of the adoption agency. Better yet, she’s doing it all without Gary.

Her biggest concern remains Sherlock. Despite all he’s said, she’s worried about how her upcoming life changes will affect him, reminding him again that he should feel obligated to nothing.

Sherlock’s response is part of the reason I love this version of the Holmes story. He’d die to protect her and will do the same for her child. In his own way, he wants to be a co-parent to this kid.

…The jury’s out on whether we should be concerned about what that means.

What did you think of this episode of Elementary? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Elementary airs Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.

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