Elementary Review: The Adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu (Season 6 Episode 10)

Moreland Holmes returns in the wake of loss on Elementary Season 6 Episode 10, “The Adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu,” and hints we may be seeing someone else familiar very soon.

In the wake of the news of Mycroft’s (probable) death, Sherlock Holmes is a changed man. Well, sort of. But he’s willing to bury a lot of grudges, which sure counts as change for him.

This is good news for his father, who returns to bond with his remaining son. The details he brings about Mycroft suggest again the news is indeed final– unless the other news he brings leads to a second twist.

As ever, Moreland is being pursued by people to want to kill him. Sherlock has generally managed to escape this feature of Holmes men, perhaps by targeting mostly common criminals, and not Moriarty’s network.n

Now more passionate about the notion of family, he finds himself getting more involved as those attempts escalate. He tracks down a potential assassin and demands information. The man throws himself out a window.

This is the show’s “subtle” way of telling us what is coming next. Moriarty herself is coming back. Herself because, of course, our Moriarty is The Woman—Irene Adler.

While its required some suspension of belief, this twist is something the show has pulled off well and with great dramatic effect. I’m eager to see where it will go from here, with Sherlock potentially pledging to take out his family’s enemy.

Let’s not forget though, that Sherlock is awaiting the return of Michael, another murderer connecting directly to him. Or that Joan still wants to adopt. There are a lot of personal stories building this season.

None of this means we can’t still have a strange case, though. In this case, one that involves forging a human body into a mummy. Because that’s apparently something you can do.

The interactions with suspects range from painfully awkward to just painful. The first comes with the man who did kill the victim but was hired to do so. He wants a deal. He also has very little idea of what that entails.

Later, Sherlock and Joan accuse another man of doing the hiring only to realize he’s the victim’s father. Oops. And ouch.

The man turns out to be a forger himself—“Van Faux”, to be specific (insert your own discussions about the pronunciation of “Van Gogh”.) Between that and his dedication to vengeance, he winds up being useful.

As creepy and weirdly fascinating as forging a mummy is, the motive, again, is money. At least criminals are getting creative in their greed, but must they always resort to murder?

Also, I’m getting quite tired of the show telling me about horrifying things that may well be happening in real life, such as the idea of funeral parlors selling bodies. The story of the female pharaoh being forged, on the other hand, is actually very cool.

With much of the season remaining, we can’t be sure when we’ll see Irene Adler/Moriarty again. What will happen when we do? What is Sherlock willing to do for his family, especially now? The answers may be unpleasant.

 

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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