Elementary Review: Through the Fog (Season 6 Episode 14)

There’s something rotten in the state of the NYPD when an attack sends the precinct into lockdown on Elementary Season 6 Episode 14, “Through the Fog.”

When an episode opens with a tortoise getting his toenails filed, you know you’re in for exciting times. That would normally be sarcasm, but on this show, not so much.

For two reasons, Sherlock and Joan spend the majority of the episode outside the department. Neither reason is much fun for anyone involved.

First, they can’t get in even if they want to, because they station is on lockdown. When Bell finds a bag releasing a possible toxin in the air, he runs it to  a locked room, quarantining everyone—and risking his own life.

I must admit, given that we are now expecting Marcus’s departure, the threat is nerve-wracking. I wouldn’t put it past the writers to kill a character prepared to ride off into the sunset, especially given recent events.

Thankfully, no such thing happens and Bell is fine. Very fine, in fact. In veering away from the traditional kind of case, we get a tense and exciting hour with a twist that actually works.

It’s only after Sherlock and Joan go to interrogate a cartel about their involvement that the squad realizes the entire thing is a hoax. Thank goodness Sherlock knows how to use fake car theft to his advantage.

Sure, a few details need to be fudged. (How exactly did that one guy fake a foaming at the mouth seizure? Would qualified CDC agents really underestimate the impact of stolen NYPD servers?)

Still, a fake out to get away with police property makes for a nice twist on the “the attacker is in the room with us” trope. By the end, we get not one, not two, but three perpetrators.

The other reason our main heroes spend so much time on their own is, unfortunately, just depressing. Yet another portrayal of Alzheimer’s on a show I watch reminds us all how terrible this disease is.

The immediate panic of Joan’s mother being missing is quickly countered by her arrival at the apartment. But when she expects to go to a restaurant that closed years ago, our hearts sink.

As with many of the other personal storylines we’ve gotten this season, this plot hands us some great moments between the characters. This is never an easy subject, but the show handles it with grace.

Part of that comes from seeing the impact on both Joan and her mother, who is facing the slow loss of her own mind. As Joan says, the good days can be worse than the bad because she knows what’s happening.

Sherlock also continues his pattern of progressing leaps and bounds beyond the terrible roommate and questionable friend his character is often portrayed as. He is gentle and supportive, pushing Joan to make necessary decisions.

Thankfully, despite resistance in the past, Joan’s mother now fully understands the difficulties of what lies before her. She accepts the aid of a nurse and goes to lunch with her daughter on what may be one of her last good days.

Everything here, and especially the last conversation between Joan and her mother, is poignant and heartbreaking. There’s a lot to handle this season, and this one is going to hurt a lot.

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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