Watson Season 2 Episode 11 Review: The Tunnel Under The Elms

On Watson Season 2 Episode 11 “The Tunnel Under the Elms,” Keith and Marnie are already having issues when she, heavily pregnant, goes into active labor while they’re trapped underground.

The sinkhole destroys their entire street and many homes. Marnie is first knocked unconscious, and while helping her, Keith finds divorce papers in her bag. Watson guides them to temporary safety, but Marnie’s water breaks while they’re stuck.

They make it out before the birth, but the doctors notice that baby Rose is black—unlike either of her parents. Both baby and mom take a turn for the worse as Keith wonders whether it’s even possible he’s the father.

Thanks to a genetic condition, it is. The family recovers and bonds. Elsewhere, Shinwell continues to bond with Carlin, confessing some of his worst actions to her as they watch another victim of the sinkhole have a rod removed from his neck.

Finaly, Beck continues to be an all-around a**hole, now suing the entire clinic for the (largely self-induced trauma) he endured during the hostage situation. Ingrid is forced from therapy but may at least make some new bonds.

It does sometimes feel like we’re packing as many twists as possible into every story, possibly for the sake of ratings. I can’t really blame them after such a long hiatus and with the show’s renewal still up in the air. More importantly, it works.

From simply wanting this young couple to survive to hoping they can make their marriage work, we’re with Keith and Marnie from start to finish, and there’s enough tension the entire time that we’re never sure of a happy ending.

The circumstances are even grimmer for the patient Carlin and Shinwell treat. I genuinely didn’t think he’d make it and am a little disappointed his survival is so anticlimactic, but their conversation more than makes up for that intensity.

Much as I’m rooting for them, her ex will still be a factor and is just one of many elements from where we left off before the hiatus that barely get touched on in this hour, including Mary and John’s feelings and Beck impersonating Sasha’s mother.

Of course, Beck being Beck, he stills finds plenty of other ways to make himself as unlikeable as possible. Alarming as the lawsuit is, he’s more annoying than anything this time around. I’m sure he’ll be back to being a real threat soon.

On that note, I really like the young firefighter who helps our team. While the first sparks between him and Ingrid are fun to see, though, the timing has me nervous. He could be an easy pawn for when Beck does raise the stakes again.

Hopefully we’ll start rebuilding some of the plot threads that have been left hanging in the next couple episodes. I’m not super confident we’ll be getting a season three, and I’d like everyone (who survives) to be left in a relatively good place.

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Watson airs Sunday at 10/9c on CBS.

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