Episode Title: “Poison Pen”
Writer: Liz Friedman
Director: Andrew Bernstein
Previously on “Elementary:”
Episode 2.03 “We Are Everyone”
Once again, the past comes into play in an episode that brings up some interesting ethical issues while giving us a glimpse into Sherlock’s (Jonny Lee Miller) psyche. It’s not surprising to learn that a teenager whom Sherlock once corresponded was a young woman on trial for poisoning her abusive father. But what is odd is the fact that that very same woman turns up in a case involving the death of another father, killed by the same poison.
When Titus Delancey, the wealthy CEO of a financial firm is found dead by dominatrix and friend of Sherlock’s (no surprise), Mistress Felicia, NYPD zeroes in on the employee who bought Delancey the latex suit he was found dead in. While the man does admit to putting his dead boss in the suit, he denies killing him. Rather, he explains, his motive for putting the dead Delancey in a fetish suit was all financial. Should Delancey die, his family stood to receive his hefty retirement bonus unless there was a breach of the company’s “morality code,” which being found dead in latex suit apparently violates.
So who killed Delancey? While interviewing the family, Sherlock realizes Anne (Laura Benanti) the nanny is actually Abigail Spencer, a young woman who went on trial for the murder of her father back in the 1991. Sherlock was fascinated with the case at the time and began exchanging letters with Abigail. And though he’s certain she killed her father in order to put an end to years of abuse, he’s also certain she didn’t poison Delancey.
Still, the similarities between the two cases are impossible to ignore – which is exactly the point. Sherlock believes Abigail was found out and then framed for the murder by a family member. And though Delancey’s wife, Peri knew the truth about Abigail, thanks to the P.I. she hired to follow her husband, she’s got a solid alibi – she was too busy plotting to kill her husband the night of his murder to actually do it.
It’s one heck of an alibi, but it sticks, leading Sherlock and Watson (Lucy Liu) to focus in on Delancey’s son, Graham (Samuel H. Levine). He tells Sherlock and Watson that Abigail had to be the killer and shows them a video of Abigail and his father arguing over his missing tablet. However, the video ends up backfiring on Graham, as it leads Watson to look for the tablet which contains evidence of Graham’s father sexually abusing him, a strong motive for murder.
It would appear Abigail is off the hook, but rather than let Graham serve time and live with the reputation of a murderer, no matter how justified his motive, she instead confesses to killing Delancey. And though he’d rather see her absolved of the crime, Sherlock respects Abigail’s decision. He also warns Graham that he’ll be watching him and offers to listen should he ever want to talk about what he went through with his father.
While Watson does a lot of the heavy lifting in this case, putting her medical expertise to good use, it’s Sherlock who shows a softer side in this episode. We learn that as a teenager, Sherlock was severely bullied at boarding school and found a kindred soul in Abigail, who was also struggling with abuse. And while he knew she killed her father, (though she never admitted it), Sherlock kept her secret. Watson is quick to recognize that Sherlock was in love with Abigail as she was his first – his first, killer that is.
Unfortunately for Abigail, an acquittal didn’t put an end to her torment. She changed her name and had plastic surgery in order to begin a new life, which only led to her, once again, being accused of murder. In the end, Abigail decides to take what she believes is coming to her and spare Graham the pain she went through. It’s an incredibly noble gesture and even Sherlock appears moved by it. “Poison Pen” is light on humor, but it does an excellent job of showing Sherlock’s vulnerable side. And there’s nothing wrong with letting Watson do her thing in the present while we get to know Sherlock and his past, a little better.
