Elementary Review: On The Scent (Season 7 Episode 9)

On Elementary Season 7 Episode 9 “On the Scent,” a woman is killed over her foster dog and some secrets come to the surface.

What do you get when a pot dealer adopts a former drug-sniffing police dog? As you may guess, a situation that doesn’t end well for anyone.

At least I can commend Caroline for taking in foster dogs in the first place. We can reference the adage of ‘no good deed goes unpunished’, even as the episode highlights the acts her neighbors found less than savory.

There may be a discussion here about how we portray the worst sides of victims, but with Odin Reichenbach returning, that discussion is considerably more relevant elsewhere. At least Sherlock and Joan hold little bias in seeking justice.

Of course, once we pull an animal into the story, many of us don’t care about much except that animal’s well-being. There’s little reason to worry, though. Ollie is alive and well, and winds up saving the day.

Before we get there, Watson and Holmes follow drug cartels through several of their favorite haunts as unfazed as ever. At this point in the final season, a few more deadly enemies won’t make that much of a difference.

We learn that even modern-day drug smuggling can involve tried and true methods like secret compartments in empty train cars. For fans of secret codes, the method of hiding schedules in fake sports betting language is admirably clever.

Also clever is using a dog like Ollie to perfect a product that other dogs like Ollie will be unable to detect. Unfortunately for the smugglers, they are unable to meet this goal before Ollie shows just how good at his job he is.

The culprit is again someone only tangentially involved- i.e. not one of the stereotypical baddies. I appreciate the push back even if red herrings do get a bit old sometimes.

Looking past this case to everything else Sherlock and Joan continue to investigate brings Reichenbach back into the fold, along with crimes in the distant past and people he may have killed for committing them.

Here we get back to that note about portraying the sins of victims. You can probably guess that my distaste for Odin hasn’t changed. I’m happy to say that Joan and Sherlock seem to share these feelings and are following up.

I’m still a bit concerned about the relatively slow progress of this storyline, told in only brief snippets, and sometimes (as with the previous episode,) forgotten altogether. The time constraints of a final season aren’t going away.

Yet progress is being made even if it is slow. Reichenbach is aware that his supposed accomplices are plotting against him and is planning to respond appropriately.

What does that mean? Likely a dynamic where all parties play nice in the short term as their efforts to undermine each other continue in the long run. I am totally here for that.

I will say this for Odin Reichenbach—he is shaping up to be an excellent antagonist, and one who should be worthy of the final major villain we’ll see in the show.

And so we come back to the question of who will come out on top when the inevitable confrontation occurs. I want to believe it will be our heroes. I do think a happy ending remains much more likely than the alternative, but the threat of the name looms nonetheless.

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Elementary airs Thursdays at 10/9c on CBS.

 Follow us on Twitter! 

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Emmys 2019: ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ and ‘Killing Eve’ Among Nominees