Elementary, one of our favorite detective drama/comedies continues tonight with an all new episode entitled, “Paint It Black.” On this evening’s episode, Sherlock is forced to partner with his estranged brother, Mycroft, to investigate a case with life-or-death consequences.
On last week’s episode when Sherlock’s brother Mycroft made s a surprise return to New York, his motivations caused discord between Sherlock and Joan. Meanwhile, a missing person case took Sherlock and Joan inside the world of unmanned aeronautics. Did you watch last week’s episode? If you missed it we have a full and detailed recap, right here for you.
On tonight’s episode the line between business and personal gets blurred when Sherlock is forced to partner with his brother, Mycroft, to solve a life-or-death case.
Are you looking forward to Elementary season 2 episode 22 “Paint It Black.” Be sure to come back here later tonight at 10 PM EST for our live recap of this episode, which is sure to be an awesome one. In the meantime, hit up the comments below and let us know what you think has been the best part of this wonderful season!
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Mycroft comes out of his restaurant with a case of wine and loads it into his car. He gets a call from Joan. He tells her he’s sorry he’s late. It’s not her. He tells him he crossed paths with a friend of his earlier and he wishes he had not. Sherlock leaves Joan another message and asks if she’s having marathon sex with his brother. He says due to his brother’s age, he doubts it and thanks she’s mad at him for pointing out Mycroft’s duplicity.
The voice mail cuts him off and he calls again. He leaves another message asking her to let him know he’s okay. The doorbell rings. It’s Mycroft. Sherlock says something is wrong and Mycroft says they need to talk.
Joan comes to but her vision is blurry. She hears a man speaking French and realizes her hands are zip tied. A man comes into the room and says he worried he used too much chloroform. She asks why she’s there and he reminds her she was following him. He tells her she’s beautiful for a cop and she tells him she’s not. He asks why she has an NYPD ID in her purse and she says she’s a consultant. He says there is no difference. She says she was checking into him because she was worried about her friend Mycroft.
He tells her that he and De Soto are regulars there and says De Soto noticed her. He says De Soto called Mycroft and made a deal. Mycroft will help De Soto with a problem or she will be gone.
Sherlock attacks his brother and says he warned Joan that he was an idiot. He asks why he let a criminal operation set up in his restaurant. He did it for the money and Sherlock tells him he could have asked their father for the money. Mycroft says at first they made small requests like getting a work visa or buying wine from a certain vendor. He says he opened the New York branch of Diogenes for them.
Sherlock tells him he wishes the leukemia had killed him and rotted him to the bone and Mycroft says sometimes he wishes the same. Sherlock asks what deal he struck with them. He shows Sherlock a pic of Pierce Norman – a former VP of a private Swiss bank. He says four days ago he downloaded names of wealthy customers and info on private accounts.
Sherlock says he broke Swiss law. Mycroft says he’s gone into hiding from the Swiss government but is selling the list to the highest bidder. Mycroft says that criminal groups and governments all want the list. He says they want him to find Norman and get the list. Sherlock asks why they think they could get the list. Sherlock realizes it was Mycroft’s idea. Mycroft says he tried to tell them Joan wasn’t a threat and Sherlock realizes he told the group that Sherlock could do it and Mycroft says they have given them 48 hours. He’s furious with Mycroft.
Mycroft tells him he knows why he’s upset. Sherlock says his good friend could be murdered and Mycroft says he thinks he can’t do what he needs to do without Joan there to keep him balanced. Sherlock says she’s more than a counterbalance and Mycroft says she is the person Sherlock loves most in the world. Mycroft says he knows him well and can keep him on track – not as well as Joan but well enough. Mycroft tells him he promises he won’t let him fail.
Sherlock tells him that after they are done, Mycroft will go to the police, tell them all about the criminal organization and then leave he and Joan alone forever. Sherlock says Norman’s apartment will have been picked apart. Mycroft says they should start at their office. He says their security there is uber-tight and Sherlock mocks him and says are they going to go through the vents.
Mycroft tells him all they need to get in is to be his father’s sons. Sure enough, the Swiss bankers are happy to see them. Sherlock basically tells them their father is a monster who bashes others for profits. They have no problem with this but Sherlock tells them he is there to offer his services to get Norman’s list back to them and that no other party will see it.
The woman asks if she should get security. Sherlock tells him that if he throws him out he’s going to reveal to all his employees about his condition. He asks what condition and Sherlock throws out some details about his finger swelling and the smell of his breath from certain drugs and says he knows he’s a manic depressive.
The man looks shocked. Mycroft tells him that he can tell his brother is a deductive genius and he shouldn’t underestimate him. He says he can be your salvation or demise and the banker tells them they need to sign NDAs then they will share what they know. Sherlock tells the head of security whose name is Yoder that it’s close to yodel which must be troublesome for a Swiss. The man says no one makes that joke twice.
Sherlock asks for his computer and Yoder says he’ll get it. Sherlock looks at a ficus and is intrigued. He lifts it out and then looks at the other and says it seems stunted. He lifts the other one out and finds a handheld game console with one game on it. Sherlock gets upset and throws it at the wall. Mycroft tells Yoder to please excuse him.
There’s a commotion and Joan asks what happened. The man says one of theirs was shot and she tells him she can help – that she was a trauma doctor. She takes over treating the man. Joan tells him they have to operate or he’ll die. The kidnapper tells her the man is his cousin Jem.
Back on the street, Mycroft asks what Sherlock found because he knows his tantrum was misdirection. Sherlock says he doesn’t have time for this and two cars pull up. He tells him to let him do all the talking. Agent McNally gets out and tells them to get into the car. Sherlock tells his brother they are NSA.
[10:46:41 PM] Rachel Rowan: The NSA holds the brothers at a closed up shop. Sherlock tells them he’s in a hurry and says they must want to know what he knows. McNally says they want the list because the Swiss bank launders money for terrorists and drug cartels. They want to know who hired Sherlock and he says he is working for a government friendly to the US but without intelligence resources.
Sherlock says their agreement includes handing the list over to them and the US and says that means he’s essentially working for them. McNally says if that’s not what he’s doing, he’ll charge him with espionage. McNally tells Mycroft he’s been meaning to try Diogenes and Mycroft asks how he knows about it. The agent says they have good food and “interesting” clientele. That shuts Mycroft up. They release the brothers.
Sherlock gets a call from Bell who tells him Joan asked for some Interpol files. Sherlock asks if he wants to talk to her and he says no. Sherlock stomps his phone to bits then asks for Mycroft and stomps it. He also takes off Mycroft’s watch and stomps it. Sherlock tells him the video game was crucial. He logged 50 hours playing a game without scoring a point. He was using the chat function.
There was just one person he was chatting with. He says he memorized Norman’s user name, figured out his password and is now online posing as Norman. Mycroft says he needs to apologize for what happened to Joan. Mycroft says it’s complicated and Sherlock asks why. He says if anything happens to Joan, he couldn’t forgive himself. Sherlock says he won’t have to because if anything happens to Joan, he will murder him.
The burner phone Sherlock got Mycroft rings and he goes to answer it. It’s a man who wants to know how it’s going. He says they may have a lead. The man tells him that there would be no problem if he had gotten Sherlock out of New York like he told him to. He tells him to get him Norman’s list or else.
Sherlock wakes up Mycroft and says the other chat person is Norman’s lover – a married guy with kids. He says they need to go meet with him. They meet the man who tells them they’ve been seeing each other for about a year and a half. Mycroft asks about unusual behavior and Sherlock glares at him and calls him a buffoon but then asks the same question. He asks how they met and he says an app called Discretion. He shows them his profile and Mycroft says that is useless. Sherlock says the pic is the location where he is and says that he had photos of the same place in his office from other angles.
The kidnapper tells Joan that Jem is stable. She tells him she had to operate with a boxcutter and vodka and that he needs to go to a hospital. He says she didn’t have to help and she says he was dying. The man tells her if Mycroft doesn’t deliver, she will be as well.
Mycroft and Sherlock head to upstate New York and knock on Norman’s door. They get no answer so Sherlock checks the windows then picks the lock. Mycroft says no one is home but Sherlock says Norman’s car is in the garage and doesn’t look like it’s been moved.
Sherlock tells Mycroft that it’s a constant source of befuddlement to him that Mycroft has the intellectual tools to make deductions but doesn’t. He tells him to look around. Mycroft notices signs of a scuffle. Sherlock says it looks like a body was dragged out the door. They head into the back acreage of the house and follow the drag marks.
Sherlock digs through some leaves and uncovers a fresh grave. He digs with his hands and uncovers a face. It’s Norman. Mycroft says they were supposed to trade him for Joan!
[11:07:00 PM] Rachel Rowan: They bring the body into the house and lay it on the kitchen counter so Sherlock can examine it. Mycroft says someone killed him and made off with the list so they need to make another plan instead of sitting around. Sherlock says he’s thinking about the most efficient way to slice an artery. He says Norman was killed by someone he knew.
Mycroft says there is no sign of a break in. Sherlock says he was cut just once in a precise slice to the neck – signs of a highly trained attacker. Sherlock looks at the wound then searches the kitchen drawers. He grabs some chopsticks and plucks out a bug pupa. He says this may be their salvation. He says it takes eight days to form a pupa.
Mycroft says the data breach was just six days ago. Sherlock says someone murdered him and then used his access to steal the files. He says he was murdered and framed. Mycroft says that means there is someone they can still trade for Joan. They need to figure out who had access to his computer.
Back at the house, the doorbell rings and Sherlock lets Yoder in. They tell him they needed to talk to him offsite and says it may have been an inside job. They ask if he brought the list of who had access to the computer. He hands it over and Sherlock tazes him. Yoder wakes up tied to the chair. Sherlock tells him they know it all. Know he murdered Norman and assembled the list.
Yoder asks where the proof is and Sherlock says he is the only man with skilled military training and access. Yoder appeals to Mycroft and says his brother is insane. Mycroft says it’s true and the family tried to treat it for years. Yoder says all Swiss serve in the military and Sherlock says he was in an elite military unit that perfected him for the assault.
Yoder says they can’t prove it and Sherlock says they have enough proof for their needs. Sherlock explains that they need to save someone. Sherlock takes out tools and lays them on a plastic wrapped table. Sherlock tells him he’s going to use these tools on him until he gets the answers he needs to save her. Yoder asks Mycroft to stop him and he won’t.
Sherlock says he will get the answers eventually and will enjoy getting them out of him. Sherlock explains that you can choke any area of the body and tells him to say good-bye to his left hand. He applies the pressure and Yoder cracks and tells them where the hard drive is hidden in his car.
Jem is feverish and ranting. Joan tells him he’s in shock and needs a hospital. The kidnapper tells her she doesn’t have a lot of time left and she says her friends will come through. He tells her Mycroft was not forced to do business with them. He says Mycroft needed money and the expansion to New York was his idea. She asks why he’s telling her and he says she should know the truth before he gives her back to him.
Mycroft and Sherlock check the list and Sherlock says he needs to call McNally. Mycroft asks why. Sherlock says that as soon as they hand over the list, they will all be murdered. Mycroft says he has worked with them before and they can be trusted. Sherlock says they need back up but Mycroft says it’s not wise. Sherlock insists and dials the phone. Mycroft comes up behind him and tases him. He collapses.
Mycroft takes the phone out of his hand. He calls the man he spoke to before and says he has Yoder and the list and is on the way to him now.
The kidnappers bring Joan back to Jem and tell her something is wrong. She says he’s bleeding internally and his liver was nicked. She tells him to take him to the hospital or he will die. He pulls out his gun and shoots his cousin. He gets a call and tells her it’s good news. He says her friends came through and the exchange is on.
Sherlock goes to see McNally and he asks why he didn’t go to the NYPD. He says he has better resources and McNally rattles off all the problems – his brother betrayed him, his partner is gone. Sherlock is worried that Mycroft won’t even make the trade to save her. Sherlock says his brother’s character flaws may be worse than he ever suspected. McNally says all he can do is tell his people to keep their eyes open. Sherlock begs him to help him find Mycroft and says he’s also going to the NYPD.
At the meet, the kidnappers tell Joan that Mycroft is late. But then a car pulls up. Mycroft gets out and says what the want is in the boot (trunk). They open it. Mycroft walks closer to Joan but she still looks doubtful. They tell him it’s not Norman and he says Norman has been dead for over a week and didn’t steal the list – he says that’s the man that did. They ask for the list and he hands it over. Mycroft thanks them for the opportunity and says Joan poses no threat to them. The man tells his people to kill them.
Mycroft tells them he’s been an excellent partner to them and the man says all good things must come to an end. He drives away and leaves them to be executed. Mycroft walks closer to the man with the gun and asks if there is any way he can talk him out of it. He says no and then Mycroft asks for a few last moments. He says “paint it black” and the gunmen are shot down by unseen gunmen. Cars pull in and people pour out and they ask him if all is clear and call him “sir”. Mycroft tells Joan there is much he needs to help her.
