Every time Sherlock Holmes graces Watson's presence in Season 2, it's a harbinger of ill-tidings. It's an unusual statement for a show centered around John Watson, but this series is so peculiar at its finest moments that the mere thought of Sherlock's connection being its worst sin is, frankly, the least of its problems. A myriad of issues are evident in Episode 10, "Never Been CRISPR'd," a sloppy midseason finale that reintroduces a ridiculous subplot and character from Season 1, brings Sherlock back in peculiar circumstances, pays lip service to a few supporting character subplots, and seems oblivious to the fact that it's supposed to pique the audience's appetite until the show returns in March 2026. That seems an alarmingly distant date, especially considering the lackluster cliffhangers we're left with. Beck continues to stalk Sasha, whose mysterious fake uncle is now deceased, but both developments are unengaging. Sherlock may have a brain tumor, but we won't know for a while since he disappears by the end of the episode, and Watson catches Mary with another man...which shouldn't matter since he's also with another woman, but the show keeps forgetting her existence. Outside of last week's unremarkable episode, she's spent most of the season AWOL.
Is it a delight to see Hobie again? I'm still stung by how Season 3 of Loot treated Nat Faxon, so it's nice to see one of his dorky characters get a happy ending here, but he isn't exactly midseason finale material. Recall that he was the biohacker from Season 1 with the glowing chest. He returns in "Never Been CRISPR'd" (a pretty funny title), because his new girlfriend is into extreme genetic body modification like he is, but their well-planned and romantic hotel gene therapy session almost kills her. Oops. Now it's up to Watson to solve it, since he apparently has nothing better to do.
On a side note: Does Watson's clinic have any patients other than those that suddenly rush in under extreme circumstances and somehow garner the attention of the entire staff? It's no wonder Mycroft is annoyed about the funding.
Anyway, the A-plot is the least interesting thing going on in Watson Season 2, Episode 10. Let's delve into what's happening around it. By the way, I think its inclusion speaks to a larger issue I've briefly discussed before: the season feels chopped up and shuffled around, with episodes seemingly coming out of order. I mentioned it when no one commented on Laila's sudden reappearance after weeks of absence. But it also explains how you go from a really good episode about a suicide bomber threatening to blow up the office to a run-of-the-mill one about some idiot causing his own problems.
In the absence of a Moriarty-like antagonist, and with Mycroft's enigmatic disappearance adding to the intrigue, Beck is gradually emerging as the season's primary antagonist. He has already entangled himself with Ingrid, who is still undecided about her relationship with him, but his ultimate target is Sasha. As a narcissist, he is likely targeting Sasha because she challenged him during the bomber episode—a behavior that narcissists tend to dislike. It's not a meticulous master plan, but it's also peculiar that Sasha is dealing with this while also navigating the deception surrounding her 'uncle'. As for Watson and Mary, their situation is a tangled web that is hard to unravel. There's a subplot about Hobie's sincere love for his new girlfriend, whom he had never met before using his homebrew glowing tattoo serum to alter her genetics. This inspires Watson to confess his feelings to the woman he loves, and we can infer that he had settled on Mary as that woman until he caught her kissing another man. However, the show has consistently reiterated that these two are separated throughout the season. Watson has had another partner all season, and the show has avoided this problem by simply excluding Mary from almost every episode. Now we are supposed to believe that he's crushed because Mary is moving on? None of it feels like compelling mid-season developments at their best, and they're not even interesting on their own terms. The idea that Sherlock Holmes, a character known for his intense logic but also his eccentric and inscrutable nature, could have a brain tumor simply because he's acting eccentrically and inscrutably, rings false to me. I suppose we'll see how it all plays out in March. But the bigger question is whether anyone will still tune in by then.
