Elementary Season 7 Episode 5 Recap and Review: Into The Woods

(Spoilers ahead for Elementary Season 7, Episode 5, and episodes prior to it)

In my recap of Episode 4 of Elementary Season 7, I'd said that it looked like we might soon get some answers to the mystery behind Patrick Meers' shooting of Captain Gregson. And in this episode, titled Into The Woods, we do. Sort of. Episode 5 continues the two-thread storytelling of the previous episode. There are two mysteries again — one of them is the week's crime that needs solving, the other is the aforementioned overarching season-long mystery about the terror plot that was foiled, which eventually led to the captain getting shot. Only this time, it's not immediately obvious which is which. We are simply presented with the two cases and clarity comes as the episode goes on. But let's start at the beginning. 

Elementary S7E5 opens with Joan watching a video of a tech-mogul, who we later find out is called Odin Reichenbach (the last name is obviously a reference to the Reichenbach falls, where Holmes is assumed to have fallen to his death along with Moriarty in the short story, The Final Problem — what significance this holds remains to be seen). She tells Sherlock that this man has donated an extremely large sum to a charity in her name and wants to meet her. This is thread one. But without giving us anything more, the show immediately cuts to thread two — a runner in an adventure race stumbles to the finish line and collapses with a knife sticking out her back. The second thread, as it turns out, is the case of the week. And this time around, it's the more interesting story. 

Sherlock and Marcus begin investigating the woods where the race took place and find the crime scene, an old shack that someone's been using as a distillery. They also figure out that the runner was stabbed after becoming an unwitting witness to a murder. Sherlock deduces that the body of the first victim must have been dumped in a nearby pond. When this pond is dredged, they discover not one, but two bodies! A man shot to death with an old single-shot pocket pistol and also what appears to be his pet pig, or rather hog — both bodies weighed down and tied with the same knots suggesting that the same person killed them both. Joan figures out the hog was poisoned and now the team has to figure out who poisoned a hog and then shot its owner, and why. The resolution, as usual, ends up being not as satisfying as the mystery, but still holds our interest through the episode.

We also get to see a little more of Captain Dwyer, the acting chief of the 11th Precinct. I'm still not sure why we are being introduced to this new character so late in the game, especially since Captain Gregson will likely soon return to duty. But I must say I like the actor who plays him and the nonchalant air around his character. It's a nice change from the crazy intensity of his predecessor, especially towards the end of last season. 

Meanwhile, Joan meets Reichenbach, who asks for her and Sherlock to look into kidnapping threats against his niece. This turns out to be a ruse whose only purpose is to send them both on a wild goose chase that tests how far outside the lines they colour. And since our consulting detectives satisfy him about their tendency to use all means, legal or not, to protect an innocent person, Reichenbach tells them that he was the one who told Meers about Tim Bledsoe's terror plot. He says he did so because he believed Meers was a 'Patriot' who would take measures to avert the tragedy, and seems unapologetic about it. Sherlock isn't convinced by his "righteousness" and all but calls him a murderer. And there ends the episode.

Given his name and the significance that name has in Sherlock Holmes lore, it is safe to say Reichenbach will turn out to be a major adversary as Elementary rushes towards its grand finale. But will he be the only one? Will Moriarty return, perhaps? Last we heard she is still imprisoned, but Morland Holmes took over her organisation (leaving her bored maybe?) Only time will tell. That's five down and eight to go.

(Elementary Season 7 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and will soon premiere on television on AXN)