What I love about this show—at least, so far—is that it’s done everything it has promised to do. It’s done everything we’ve hoped. Here we have this dynamic, famous duo depicted in a very different light, and it’s perfect.
The thing is, people were really skeptical about this show (some for…more valid reasons than others). Many, myself included, were worried that making Watson a woman—on a show that airs on CBS as a typical crime drama in a typical crime drama slot—would promote what too many male/female crime drama duos represent these days: the ‘chase’ for a relationship. We were afraid Watson, because she is a woman, would be defined by pursuing a will-they-won’t-they dynamic with Holmes. Because, sadly, that’s how women are often.portrayed in TV when paired with a man. But so far (so far), Elementary hasn’t done that. Not only is Joan Watson a woman who can hold her own—but she’s a woman who addresses the misogyny she faces and gives no fucks about it (“I worked out your cycle. You are good for ten more days.” “[sarcastically] Couching it as a scientific observation totally negates the misogyny.”)
And furthermore, as this gifset illustrates—this duo is depicted as just two people who genuinely care about each other. They are each other’s number one priority. Their trust in each other has been a gradual process, but look where it’s gotten them—to being able to help, to rescue each other. That’s what Holmes and Watson have always been to each other since the day Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first picked up a pen to write his stories, and I’m glad Elementary is thus far preserving that. Kudos, writers. Kudos.
