Elementary, one of our favorite detective drama/comedies returns to CBS tonight with an all new Thursday January 14, season 4 episode 8 called, “A Burden of Blood,” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode, Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu) investigate a homicide in which the victim was murdered in a manner reminiscent of crimes committed by an infamous and already incarcerated serial killer.
On the last episode, Watson was enraged when her stepfather wrote a crime novel based on her work with Holmes without her knowledge. Meanwhile, Sherlock and Joan investigated a retired FBI agent’s murder and learn the man’s death was linked to an unsolved case from the victim’s career. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed the episode we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the CBS synopsis, “Holmes and Watson investigate a homicide in which the victim was murdered in a manner reminiscent of crimes committed by an infamous and already incarcerated serial killer. Meanwhile, Bell gets tutored by Sherlock and Joan for a police sergeant’s exam that could lead to a promotion and a post at another precinct.”
Are you looking forward to the season 4 episode 8 tonight? Be sure to come back here later tonight at 10 PM EST for our awesome recap of this episode. In the meantime, hit up the comments below and let us know how excited you are for season 4.
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#Elementary begins with Sherlock coming home annoyed to find the door locked. Marcus comes downstairs and opens it. He says he was helping Joan move furniture then he leaves as Sherlock enters.
Sherlock asks Joan about her shagging Marcus. He mentions dipping your pen in the company ink and she shuts the door in his face. He says she’s lying and they need to go to a murder scene. Ellen Jacobs was suffocated with a plastic bag after picking up takeout.
The delivery guy found her car idling two hours later. Sherlock says the attacker must have been in the back of the car. Joan says it’s not a robbery since her valuables are there. Sherlock finds her phone in her hand.
Joan asks about witnesses and Gregson says no and no security cameras. Sherlock gets into her phone and says she called home. He uses the same PIN to get into her home voice mail. They hear her start to leave a message, crank her car, then scream when she was attacked.
Sherlock listens to the voice mail again then plays it again for Joan. Sherlock says he thinks Ellen recognized her attacker and thought she wasn’t in danger then was. The coroner hands them the autopsy report.
There was a strange chemical in her lungs and she was two months pregnant even though her tubes were tied. The coroner says he thinks Ellen knew since she had a lot of folic acid in her bloodstream. They consider the husband a suspect.
Joan and Sherlock go see the guy. They find him working on the house – he says he missed Ellen’s call because he was on the way to pick up refurbishing supplies. Joan asks about the pregnancy and he seems clueless.
Sherlock asks if he knew about the affair. He says he knows he can’t be the father and says he has all the signs of Kallman Syndrome and that means he’s infertile. Sherlock asks who Ellen was sleeping with – the guy says it’s bull.
He says she wasn’t pregnant or cheating. He tells them to leave and says he’s getting a lawyer they can talk to if they have any more questions. Joan asks if Sherlock buys his alibi and he snaps a pic of the guy’s license plate to check it on traffic cameras.
Sherlock tells Joan to go see the OB/GYN. The doc won’t talk and Joan says confidentiality is a gray area since Ellen is dead now. She says she was excited about being a mother but came in alone. She asks if the doc knows Ellen’s husband didn’t know about the pregnancy.
The doctor is called away and Joan asks if she can wait and ask some follow-ups. The doctor steps out and Joan gets on her computer. Sherlock tells Marcus he knows he’s not sleeping with Joan and she was helping him study for a work test.
Sherlock asks why he didn’t come to him for help. Marcus says he didn’t want to bother him then says he doesn’t want another speech from Marcus about wasting his talent. Sherlock says he’ll take over tutoring him then Joan calls.
She says Ellen never told the doctor the baby daddy’s name but did give them a burner email address. Joan says she checked it and found messages from the baby’s father and it seems like her hubby Ernie didn’t know about the affair.
Joan only has an email for the father. Joan says they were going to meet at Sing Sing tomorrow. They go to the prison and find her call in the log and tell them Ellen was going to bring a visitor with her.
They were coming to see Harris Waylon Greer – a New York area serial killer. Sherlock notes that Ellen died the same way that Greer’s victims did. The warden tells them Ellen was Greer’s daughter. They go talk to Greer who calls Ellen “Megan” and acts sad.
He says she changed her name and he says he hasn’t seen her since 1983 and says she never answered any letters then a few days ago, she asked to visit so he was counting the days. Sherlock says it’s odd she was killed the way he did.
He says he doesn’t call or write anyone and is locked up 24/7. He says check my records. Then he says in the Bible, the sins of the fathers visited on the child and says it’s his fault. He says justice was served on him and Ellen’s death is not that.
He says he has a son named Nolan. He says he changed his name to Craig Crismond. He says find his son and tell him he’s sorry. They go see Craig and Sherlock says he seems remorseful and the guy says too bad he didn’t change 30 years ago.
Craig says Ernie called them with the news and says Ernie didn’t know about their father and says they kept the secret since they were kids. He says his mom suffered when his dad was arrested. He says they got death threats so they moved and changed their names.
Craig’s wife asks if they’re in danger and they promise police protection. Craig says it has to be related to one of his dad’s victims. Sherlock says the person seemed to know about Greer. They ask if they knew about the pregnancy. He says Ernie told them.
Craig says they knew Ernie was sterile. They ask about Ellen’s affair. Craig says a month ago, he and Jen saw Ellen go into a restaurant with a guy but didn’t meddle. They tell them tall guy dark hair and the restaurant was La Port Blanche.
Sherlock tutors an annoyed Marcus. Sherlock says he doesn’t want the promotion then asks why he’s taking the test. Marcus says he needs the money and says his mom lost her job two years short of retirement. He says Sergeant means a raise.
Sherlock offers him money and he says no. Sherlock and Joan watch security footage from the restaurant but the guy’s back is to the camera. Sherlock says Marcus only wants a raise, not the promotion.
They notice that someone takes his photo and Joan notices the pose – he’s a well-known realtor. They go see the guy – Warren – and he says Ernie and Ellen are clients. He says he’s selling their home. Joan says it looked like more than a business lunch.
Warren admits he liked her and says he feels bad about what happened and says he and Ellen never had sex. Sherlock says he’s lying. Sherlock says her pregnancy was about to blow up his life and he seems shocked.
Joan says Eddie is sterile so he wasn’t the father. Warren says they hooked up a few times but says he loves his wife. Joan asks if that’s why he killed Ellen. He says no more questions without a lawyer. Sherlock says wise choice. They leave.
Joan says Warren doesn’t seem crazy but Sherlock reminds her he had a photo of his mother on his desk. Joan says they should look at her dad’s victims. Sherlock agrees then shows them the photo of Warren’s mother was one of Greer’s victims.
Sherlock says Warren approached them because he knew Ellen was Greer’s daughter. Marcus and Gregson come back to see Warren with a warrant. They go into his office and an assistant says she was expecting them and says she’s ready to help.
She asks if they went to the hospital. She says Warren was attacked and beaten with a bat last night. Joan and Sherlock go see Warren at the hospital. Joan checks his chart and says he’ll be fine. Gregson is with them and he says he didn’t kill Ellen.
Sherlock says they knew Greer killed his mother and they tell him that’s why he killed Ellen. He says he wanted to talk to Greer and tell him what he did to his family. He says he tried to get in to see him at the prison but was denied.
He’s the guy that Ellen was going to take to the prison. He says the affair was unintentional. He says he didn’t know she was pregnant. He says his attack can’t be a coincidence. He says maybe it’s the guy she’s sleeping with – he suggests her husband Ernie.
Warren admits he didn’t see who attacked him. They step out and Sherlock points out that he was hit with a scaffolding pipe – something that was on Ernie’s porch. Gregson sends Marcus to pick up Ernie. They have a pipe with blood on it they found at his house.
Ernie says he rented the equipment. He says they have a witness that saw his truck leaving the scene of the attack. Ernie says he didn’t kill his wife and says Warren did this and that’s why he went after him.
He says he didn’t know about the affair until they told him then he thought about who she was spending time with. Marcus studies when Joan comes up and he says Ernie wants a lawyer and won’t talk.
She says Sherlock is at the Jacobs’ house. She asks about his studying and gives him a case study she and Sherlock put together to test him. Sherlock listens to Ellen’s voice mail over and over again – it’s loud and wakes Joan.
He has a photo album of a young Ellen. Sherlock says he thinks he knows who killed Ellen. Craig’s name was Nolan before and her nickname for him was “No.” Joan realizes when she first said “no” it was a name.
Craig is in an interrogation room and Joan says the chemical that the fish in his pond need is the same one that was in his sister’s lungs. He says they thought it was Ernie and then Warren who killed her and Sherlock says they know he killed her but don’t know why.
The bag she was killed with was from a fish store where he bought his koi fish. Sherlock says she called home and this was recorded and she said his name “No.” They play the message again and again and he asks them to turn it off.
Sherlock says he changed his name, but not who he is. Sherlock says he’s his father’s son. He says he’s nothing like his father. He says they had a deal – he says his father was a monster and was part of them.
He says they agreed no children. He says his kids are adopted and says he had a vasectomy and Ellen had her tubes tied then she got pregnant. He cries and says – we had a deal. Marcus sees someone brought in cuffed up and Sherlock says it was from the case study.
He says they found him right where Marcus said. They changed the names but the rest was accurate. Sherlock hands him an envelope with a check inside for $36k and says there was a bounty on his head. The check is made out to his mom.
Sherlock says he took a 10% finder’s fee. Sherlock says good luck if you still want to be a sergeant. Marcus throws the study book away.
THE END!