Finally, "Elementary" had one of the most interesting mysteries on the show so far with the episode , "The Long Fuse." One piece of the puzzle required a "suspension of disbelief," but that part was easy to ignore while following the entertaining storyline. The show has, in the past, been more focused on the strange and strained relationship between Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu) with the the mystery taking a backseat. That element still exists in this episode, so we get the best of both worlds.
A four-year-old bomb
The episode begins with a bomb going off in an air vent, killing a couple of web designers and injuring 11 others. Sherlock finds the circuit board to a pager, which had to have been the detonator. They track the call to some poor sap who dialed a number that was off by one digit when he was trying to order food. Gregson (Aidan Quinn) and Bell (Jon Michael Hill) are certain "he's the guy," as usual. Why are TV cops always so quick to put an innocent man in jail?
Sherlock deduces that the man is innocent because the bomb was made four years prior to the explosion. A PR firm had been there four years ago. Whoever tried to detonate the makeshift bomb didn't realize that there was no cell tower nearby at the time, so the call to the detonator couldn't go through.
What was on that seventh TV again?
The episode opened with Sherlock's memory-building exercise of watching seven TVs, all while reading a book. The exercise comes in handy when Sherlock remembers something from the seventh TV, which requires him to remember the inane (and hilarious) content from the other six TVs to enhance his ability to remember what was on the seventh TV.
Sherlock had seen a man who turns out to be an eco-terrorist on the seventh TV. The terrorist had planted other bombs that had destroyed property, but no people had been injured. His speech patterns matched some threatening letters that had been sent to the PR firm. He takes credit for the previous bombs, but not the one that killed two people. Sherlock realizes that he's telling the truth when he thinks about the odor left hanging in the air after the explosion. The bomb had not been constructed with "earth-friendly" fertilizer, which is supposedly the only type of bomb eco-terrorists use. Once again, Gregson and Bell are certain "he's the guy."
The "dodgy egg" excuse
Sherlock carefully pieces together the bits of paper that had been packed into the bomb but blown out before being singed. Once the puzzle is complete, he notices an impression left on one of the pieces, which spells out "Novocaine."
The CEO from the PR firm, Heather (Lisa Edelstein), flirts with Sherlock on the subject of crossword puzzles. He, however, informs her that if she wants to sleep with him, it will have to be purely physical. He's just not the type of guy to get attached.
Combining "Novocaine" with the crossword puzzle flirting results in Heather being discovered as the culprit. It turns out that she used to be a prostitute and had intended that the bomb to go off next to Pradeep (Vedant Gokhale), the man who was blackmailing her with a sex tape. He had recorded himself with her years before. Instead, she shot him and hid him in her wall. Sherlock uses the "you go outside while I deal with a dodgy egg excuse" to bash in the wall, revealing the dead guy.
"I'm Alfredo." "Hi, Alfredo."
Watson tries to find Sherlock a sponsor, so he'll have someone after her contract as a sober companion expires. The guy she chooses is boring. The guy Sherlock chooses during a drug abuse meeting, Alfredo (Ato Essandoh), claims to be adept at lock-picking. Fortunately, he's also very patient. He doesn't mind being stood up, knowing that he'll find a way to grow on Sherlock eventually. He succeeds by luring Sherlock in with the prospect of being able to try out new lock picking equipment.
More from this contributor:
'Elementary' episode 'One Way to Get Off' recap: Gregson makes Sherlock suspicious
'Elementary' episode 'Flight Risk' recap: Trust issues
'Elementary' episode 'Lesser Evils' recap: Terrific but terrible guest role casting
