The first half of this season didn't fill me with much hope, but when the second half reached me at least I knew that the show had been given one more season to close everything out, raising my hopes that maybe the second half of the season did something worthy of continuing. Of course there is a certain naivety in that thinking, because network shows in their fifth season are very unlikely to suddenly innovate in an attempt to draw in new viewers. If anything they will hunker down and try not to shed anyone else. This seems to be the strategy with the remainder of the fifth season, and the show appears to be content to just focus on producing a base-level of case-per-week procedurals with the established characters doing what they always do.
On this level the season is fine, but nothing more than that, and frequently less. It offers solid enough cases which tend to work on the usual way; an elaborate crime, or an elaborate set-up to finding a crime. This is followed by an investigation with several red- herrings for Sherlock/Joan to look into and dismiss, before circling round on the real person with a nice neat presentation of evidence. Generally it is all done with a professional manner and an air of 'getting the job done' and for those like me who quite like the basics that the show does, it is fine. Not exciting, not engaging – just fine.
The lack of ambition for more than this is disappointing though. Every show like this needs its meat-and-potatoes of course, but it also needs to have that season arc in some form; something that pulls the viewer forward with the characters and bigger stories. In this season we have some narrative arcs relating to Shinwell, and also to Marcus, but within these there are no characters and everything feels like a plot device. This is particularly annoying regarding Shinwell as he has been there all season. After the finale I read the press about the "surprise death" of Shinwell, which was weird because it seemed to me so obvious that he was being kept around for the sole purpose of such a plot development.
Without strong narrative arcs, this leaves us with the characters to develop across the season, which is a good place to be. Unfortunately this also doesn't happen. There is no meaningful sense of movement, of real conflict, or tension. Shinwell is the instigator for some but not enough is made of this through the season. Instead it is all left to the final two episodes for this – another telling sign that the writers know this stuff is important, but can't/wont' put it into a season- long thing. The final two episodes see tension between Joan/Sherlock, each feeling alone and concerned for different reasons; it also offers Shinwell's death as a catalyst for tensions and drama. It is nice to find the characters in these final two episodes, but it seems too compacted and forced into the procedural element, meaning that the 'realness' of it is less convincing. I mean, Joan essentially being morally okay with the murder of a criminal via a deal with other murderers is a huge moral step, but it feels just like a 'thing' and I don't trust the show to do anything with that moving forward. We'll see – I hope I'm wrong, certainly the cast deserve something good. Miller is strong in the whole season, and the final two episodes show he can produce a lot not on paper. Liu continues to be less expressive but at the same time her tension works well in the character dynamic, and makes moments of her snapping more interesting; I understand her wardrobe is always going to be amazing, but sometimes I find the choice and location to be a bit distracting. Ellis died as I watched this season, and it is hard not to feel he is underserved by the material even if he does his best with what he has. Hill and Quinn continue to be solid, and the supporting cast of suspects all do decent work – and it was a nice thrill for me to find a run of episodes where cast from The Wire show up (Clay Davis, Rawls, and Landsman), as well as Howard from Better Call Saul.
Season 5 may close out with some strong episodes, but it doesn't cover that mostly the season was content not to reach for much beyond the basics. It plays out in a way that is solidly to formula but rarely offers more, instead preferred to worked harder in the finale – like a NBA player who slums it all season knowing they can pull it out in the playoffs. I'm not disappointed that the next season will almost certainly be the last – my disappointment will only be if that one is delivered with the same 'shrug' as this one mostly was.
On this level the season is fine, but nothing more than that, and frequently less. It offers solid enough cases which tend to work on the usual way; an elaborate crime, or an elaborate set-up to finding a crime. This is followed by an investigation with several red- herrings for Sherlock/Joan to look into and dismiss, before circling round on the real person with a nice neat presentation of evidence. Generally it is all done with a professional manner and an air of 'getting the job done' and for those like me who quite like the basics that the show does, it is fine. Not exciting, not engaging – just fine.
The lack of ambition for more than this is disappointing though. Every show like this needs its meat-and-potatoes of course, but it also needs to have that season arc in some form; something that pulls the viewer forward with the characters and bigger stories. In this season we have some narrative arcs relating to Shinwell, and also to Marcus, but within these there are no characters and everything feels like a plot device. This is particularly annoying regarding Shinwell as he has been there all season. After the finale I read the press about the "surprise death" of Shinwell, which was weird because it seemed to me so obvious that he was being kept around for the sole purpose of such a plot development.
Without strong narrative arcs, this leaves us with the characters to develop across the season, which is a good place to be. Unfortunately this also doesn't happen. There is no meaningful sense of movement, of real conflict, or tension. Shinwell is the instigator for some but not enough is made of this through the season. Instead it is all left to the final two episodes for this – another telling sign that the writers know this stuff is important, but can't/wont' put it into a season- long thing. The final two episodes see tension between Joan/Sherlock, each feeling alone and concerned for different reasons; it also offers Shinwell's death as a catalyst for tensions and drama. It is nice to find the characters in these final two episodes, but it seems too compacted and forced into the procedural element, meaning that the 'realness' of it is less convincing. I mean, Joan essentially being morally okay with the murder of a criminal via a deal with other murderers is a huge moral step, but it feels just like a 'thing' and I don't trust the show to do anything with that moving forward. We'll see – I hope I'm wrong, certainly the cast deserve something good. Miller is strong in the whole season, and the final two episodes show he can produce a lot not on paper. Liu continues to be less expressive but at the same time her tension works well in the character dynamic, and makes moments of her snapping more interesting; I understand her wardrobe is always going to be amazing, but sometimes I find the choice and location to be a bit distracting. Ellis died as I watched this season, and it is hard not to feel he is underserved by the material even if he does his best with what he has. Hill and Quinn continue to be solid, and the supporting cast of suspects all do decent work – and it was a nice thrill for me to find a run of episodes where cast from The Wire show up (Clay Davis, Rawls, and Landsman), as well as Howard from Better Call Saul.
Season 5 may close out with some strong episodes, but it doesn't cover that mostly the season was content not to reach for much beyond the basics. It plays out in a way that is solidly to formula but rarely offers more, instead preferred to worked harder in the finale – like a NBA player who slums it all season knowing they can pull it out in the playoffs. I'm not disappointed that the next season will almost certainly be the last – my disappointment will only be if that one is delivered with the same 'shrug' as this one mostly was.
