Elementary

Season 1 Episode 5

Lesser Evils

30
Aired Thursday 10:00 PM Nov 01, 2012 on CBS
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8.5
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139 votes
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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

Sherlock searches for an angel of death after coming across a series of murders during his research in a hospital morgue. Sherlock finds out more about why Watson left her surgical career.

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Fan Episode Reviews (10)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • When is a lemon tree not a lemon tree.

    3.5
    By MarkNash1, Oct 05, 2013
    It's Watson time! We get Watson development this week by... putting the former surgeon back in a hospital.. and oh my bumps into a passive aggressive former female colleague. So how does she develop.. well she gives up more hints about her fall from grace and learns from Holmes' clever ways by.. badgering her friend over a guess, insults her professionalism and, because this is her story, she is right and her friend is wrong. That is not clever, Holmesian or even interesting writing.



    What really damned the show (as if you couldn't guess the ending before 30 mins in) is casting a known major character actor in a minor role.. gee i guess who could have done it.. could it be the guy whose first role this is.. or the guy who has had a half dozen major roles in big shows this year that we see for 30secs.. oh and after last week.. well it's the same plot again.



    Again the plot is slow plodding you know there is gonna be a minor twist and by the end i couldn't care enough to try to guess it this week, the plot was so sloppy there was only 2 choices for the bonus crime solve.



    What annoys me most is that Holmes isn't clever, insightful or even competent in this incarnation.. he doesn't make logical jumps instead he just hammers down the obvious path (something the police did in the classic Holmes while the detective watched with glee as he found the real criminal right under the laws nose) then right at the end he finds the culprit.. I wanted a Holmes who was onto the killer from the start through clues but the killer is too clever to be exposed without some effort.. here the killer keeps notes and photos and does nothing to disguise his crime.moreless

  • Sublime again!

    10
    By amazing_race, Mar 03, 2013
    This episode featured another really interesting case! I loved how it all started up. That was very intriguing. And I loved the little twist at the end with the girl who was the 8th (?) victim. It was definitely very well written and very intriguing to watch.



    Great character development for Watson as well. Nice to see her back in her element but I wonder if she will go back into the medical field? Even in some small capacity...



    Anyway, the case was brilliant! I loved it a lot, and I can't wait for more!moreless

  • Another solid episode of "Elementary"....

    8.5
    By uk6strings, Nov 07, 2012
    .... "Lesser Evils" continues the streak of quality, entertaining episodes from this revisionist Sherlock Holmes series. In this episode, Holmes and Watson are on the trail of an angel of death, someone who murdered patients they felt were in too much pain to go on living, lurking through the halls of a New York hospital. The mystery itself is enjoyable although more on the predictable side than other episodes of the series (not helped by the recognizable guest stars) but what really makes this episode interesting is the greater exposition of Watson and the further development of the Holmes/Watson dynamic. I really enjoy how the series is taking its time to create a relationship between the two characters in a believable fashion, rather than build it up prematurely. Also, the nods to Arthur Conan Doyle are beginning to trickle in and I hope to see more!moreless

  • Pretty Good but

    8.0
    By Mike_Schmidt, Nov 06, 2012
    I was going to give the program a big thumbs up because... acting is good, script good, directing good and so on and so forth - great charcater development for Watson and so on and so forth but...



    I was reading thru some of the other views below and I felt that "Stanking" makes a good point... it is becoming very common now that, in many series, as soon as you see certain charcater actors (and many of them very good actors) you just know they are guilty!

    If they have a taling part or hide in the background you just think... uh oh... somethings up... and in this particular episode there were two such actors!



    With the amount of great talent around I hope that the casting team willbe a bit more adventurous and choose some lesser known actors, give them and us a break, and put them into small but vital roles.moreless

  • Holmes investigates a series of murders at a local hospital and discovers that an "Angel of Death" is at large.

    8.5
    By meathead704, Nov 05, 2012
    Quite a few of CBS's popular shows, "CSI", Survivor", "Vegas", have aired their best episodes of the season to date in the same week. "Elementary" can be added to that list. "Lesser Evils" is a great episode. The best of the series so far. Both Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are excellent here. If you had any doubts about their casting they were certainly erased with this episode. I normally am not a person who likes dwelling into the pasts of characters but hearing more about why Dr. Watson decided to stop practicing medicine works well here. Sometimes those backstories take away from the overall enjoyment of an episode. That's not the case here. What also makes this episode work so well is the twist at the end once the Angel of Death is discovered. I certainly did not see that coming. When "Elementary" was announced a co-worker of mine who is a fan of the original British series "Sherlock" told me that he doubted this series would be any good. I think it's safe to say that he is wrong.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

Jonny Lee Miller

Jonny Lee Miller

Sherlock Holmes
Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu

Dr. Joan Watson
Aidan Quinn

Aidan Quinn

Captain Tobias Gregson
Jon Michael Hill

Jon Michael Hill

Detective Marcus Bell
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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

David Harbour

David Harbour

Dr. Baldwin

Guest Star

David Costabile

David Costabile

Danilo Gura (Janitor)

Guest Star

Anika Noni Rose

Anika Noni Rose

Dr. Carrie Dwyer

Guest Star

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Episode Photos

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (1)

    • When Holmes confronts Dr. Baldwin, he shows him the copy Danilo Gura took with his cell phone of Samantha Cropsey's final pathologic diagnosis with Baldwin's signature. The QR code in the photo contains contact info for Kelly Goto of gotomedia LLC, rather than that of the patient on the document. Kelly Goto is a principal and design ethnographer of gotomedia LLC who developed a fresh look and feel for the design palette of the CBScorp website. The QR code is readable with a smartphone while watching the episode in HD.

  • QUOTES (1)

    • (after Watson saved Carrie's patient's life by anonymously requesting a TEE test)
      Watson: Remember on our vascular rotation, how the chief resident always used to say, "better lucky than good"? Sounds to me like you were lucky.
      Carrie: Yeah, I guess I was.
      Watson: I know what it's like not to be lucky. It turned my life upside-down.
      Carrie: You were always a good friend, Joanie, but you were a better doctor.

  • NOTES (3)

  • ALLUSIONS (0)

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Watch Full Episodes: Elementary

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Season 1 Episodes

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One Way to Get Off
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Flight Risk
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Lesser Evils
Ep 4
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Ep 2
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