[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdwyMUjzt8]

Elementary: All in the Family (2×13)

Synopsis: Detective Bell discovers a body on assignment at his new job, which leads to a case involving a subject Joan has been interested in from a young age: the mafia.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Detective Marcus Bell, I am so happy we’re getting so much of you. For a second, I was worried that Bell’s transfer to the demographics division, we’d be seeing less of him. But Bell’s transfer proved to be a mistake in two ways. First, especially if you asked Sherlock, he belonged back at the precinct, in the field, and not at a number-crunching desk job. Sherlock may have broached the subject not-so-subtly, but he was right, because putting Bell in demographics was also proven a mistake when he uncovered his new boss’s ties to the mafia.

He's not Sherlock Holmes, but don't think you can get one past Marcus Bell either.
He’s not Sherlock Holmes, but don’t think you can get one past Marcus Bell either.

It might have worked without Sherlock, Joan, and Bell on the case. If a counter-terrorism unit asks for email and phone records of two known mob associates, no one’s really going to ask questions. But between the body in the barrel – who turned out to be a son of an infamous crime family – and the death of his suspected killer by car bomb, it would appear that the pot was being stirred on purpose. Joan has familiarity with the families involved from when she was young and had followed the news.

Secret mob expert Joan Watson on the case.
Secret mob expert Joan Watson on the case.

Sherlock and Joan compile plenty of evidence, but it takes some convincing to get Bell to confirm their suspicions. Sherlock is trying a little too hard to remain close to Bell, since all the other detectives he and Joan have consulted with since Bell left weren’t really up to par (as proven by the detective working the case at the beginning of the episode involving items being smuggled in a prosthetic leg). In the end, Sherlock does make his point, and Bell returns to the brownstone with his boss’s file on the mafia associates, which is full of evidence that could have incriminated several of them years ago. Since the file was just taken from the office, it would never hold up in court, so Bell walks him right into a trap to bust him and one of his mob associates.

I think we’re all just as happy as Sherlock and Joan to see Detective Marcus Bell back at his old desk. It’s going to be a long road to recovery, but Bell is an integral part of the team, so hopefully, we’ll get to see him through it.

Leave a Reply