Marc Orbe

Professor Haas
Writing 37
26 November 2014
John Watson to Joan Watson
The 7 a.m alarm goes off, as the hand of a woman presses the button. She goes for a jog
across New York, until she receives a call regarding one of her patients escape from rehab. She
frantically visits the patients home, unknowingly of the fated meeting that she and him would
have. This is the first time we see Joan Watson, and it is also the first interaction she has with
Sherlock Holmes. In the beginning of a Study in Scarlet, a novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, John
Watson is also the first character readers are introduced to. Both John Watson and Joan Watson
are characters in which readers and viewers see the storys perspective through their eyes. Doyle
established the convention of the character Watson as a sidekick, someone following Holmes
footsteps in deductive reasoning, or a student following his teacher. Award winning literary
scholar, Leroy Panek, suggests that the sidekick convention could be seen as someone to Holmes
to tell his own exploits, so he must have a commonplace comrade as a foil(15). This is still
apparent in the CBS Crime Drama, Elementary, which is a modern adaptation of Doyles
Sherlock Holmes novels. But in order to appeal to the ever so changing audience of the 21st
century, many changes were made specifically to the Watson character. Originally, the target
audience for a detective story was the middle-class male (Panek 17). Since the audience of the
21st century is more liberal and defines the word equality through both genders, the convention
was adapted in order for the representation of both genders in the dynamic duo that is Holmes
and Watson. Elementary, an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes novels,

updates Doyles classic Watson, which allows viewers to see the development of Watson from a
sidekick to a partner.
As viewers first meet Watson, a sober companion, visiting Holmes apartment, something
sparks in Watson that causes her to pursue a career in being a consulting detective. What started
out as a companionship between Holmes and Watson, can also be seen through A Study in
Scarlet. In A Study in Scarlet, Watson is first introduced, and looks for a partner to move in with.
In Elementarys case, they give Watson the reason to follow Holmes around, in the form of a
sober companionship. The novels depicts Watson, a war veteran, as the student learning Holmes
deductive reasoning. Brian Chapman, a writer for What Culture, suggests that the reason why the
show interesting is because of the fact that it switches the gender of Watson, in order to further
the characters complexity. Instead of just expecting Joan Watson to be a student to Holmes
trade, she is also his sober companion and a past civil surgeon. Throughout the show, Watson
steadily leans toward wanting to become a consulting detective and takes the initiative in her
own hands. Zack Handlen, a writer for the A.V. club website, adds that Holmes and Watsons
relation ship can be seen as an equal partnership that allows Watson agency and standing
without diminishing Holmes gifts. Elementary goes beyond the classic Watson, instead it builds
and portrays Joan as more than just a mere sidekick.
We see the convention of a sidekick being portrayed in Elementary through the episode
"Pilot. After visiting the crime scene of a murdered woman, Holmes and Watson witness the
interrogation of the womans husband. They question him, because of the fact that he didnt
know about the safe room within his own home. As all of this is happening, Watson receives an
explanation from Holmes about how he was able to guess the answer to the case. Holmes
protests by saying he never guesses, but that he deduces.

At 13:05, the scene starts in low-key lighting, to show contrast between everything in the
room in order to focus on Watsons face. According to a cinematography professor, Stephen
Davega, low-key lightings contrast is usually used to set a serious mood throughout a scene. As
a result of the low-key lighting, Watsons surroundings is lit dimly. This truly sets a serious
mood, because of the fact that she is receiving an explanation from Holmes. As Holmes explains
his deductive reasoning, the camera is set to a low angle frame focusing on Holmes through
Watsons perspective. The camera purposely has a low angle view from Watsons perspective to
portray Holmes as a more superior character compared to her ,a lowly sidekick, who is trying to
figure out deductive reasoning. The same can be said when the camera is in Holmes perspective,
Watson is seen from a higher angle, to portray that she is beneath him. This suggest that Watson
is still merely a sober companion/ sidekick, because the audience only sees Holmes explaining
the scenario. As Holmes starts to explain how he got his deduction of Watson, the scene starts to
portray a shallow focus on Watsons face, as if her input was irrelevant to his explanation.
Holmes then states to Watson that the reason he knew about her past career as a surgeon, and
deduces that she must have had a bad experience to have made her switch professions. The
camera gives a close-up of Watsons reaction, because every single statement from Holmes is
true. Lastly after his explanation is over, Holmes and Watson, turn around to get a debriefing on
the situation of the case. As they turn around, the contrast on Watson has disappeared, as the
lighting illuminates her face. It is important to note that at the start of the scene, as Holmes and
Watson converse, only Holmes face receives proper lighting, whereas Watsons face is only
partially lit. This is to show that before the explanation, Watson was kept in the dark about how
Holmes is able to guess things. But after a small conversation with him, Watson has been
enlightened, and has a clearer understanding of him. Elementary has portrayed the convention

of a sidekick, in order to follow Conan Doyles novels use of the character of Watson. In this
episodes case, Watson was used as medium for viewers to receive an explanation from Holmes.
But as the first season progresses, Watson strays away from the sidekick convention, and enters
the crime scene as an equal to Holmes.
After countless crimes have been solved through the help of team work, Watson has
honed her skills as a consulting detective. Through out the season we see her grow from a sober
companion, into a . In the episode The Woman, Holmes and Watson discover that Irene Adler,
Holmes thought to be deceased lover, is alive and well. Instead they realize that Irene Adler is
actually Moriarty, who has setup a set of assassinations in order to win a bet she had made.
Holmes is furious for letting the assassinations happen, but Watson tries to protests states that
she is his partner, and explains that she is there to help him.
As the scene starts in 1:16:00, the office room is in a low-key lighting, but this time it has
both Watson and Holmes be the contrast to everything else in the room. This is used to show that
both Holmes and Watson are on even grounds, and they both know whats at stake if they dont
figure out a way to stop Moriarty. As they converse about letting things go, the scene is shot
through a handheld camera, giving a viewers a shake-like feeling. It shows the tension between
both Holmes and Watson. Usually the sidekick would be the one needing an explanation of
things, as seen in the Pilot episode, but in this specific episode of Elementary Watson is the
one trying to explain to Holmes this time around. The camera is also on eye-level angle, which is
used to portray both Watson and Holmes as equals. This opposes the earlier pilot episode with
the fact, that Watson had mostly low angle shots of Holmes, while Holmes had the opposite.
Holmes ends deciding to let Moriarty win, or at least to make it look like she had won. In the
end of the episode it explains that Watson, was the one to solve Moriarty, and that the only

reason she had come back was because of her love for Holmes. Watson explains to Holmes that
It is about time to let her win, as a sign for Holmes to follow up on Watsons lead. The Watson
of Elementary exemplifies the luminous light that Holmes talked about in the Hound of the
Baskerville. Instead of being the conductor of light, Joan is the clarity that Holmes needed to
capture Moriarty.
In the end, Elementary has stayed true to the classic conventions of the Watson character.
But as times have changed, it is necessary to show Holmes and Watson as equals. Not only
staying true, Elementary has updated the character of Watson by adding the the complexity of
Joan Watson in order to provide more character development. Watson is a foil to Holmes, in a
way where she has the more calm approach, as compared to Holmes abrupt and awkward
nature.
Viewers also see the changes that Watson goes through in the series. Watsons relationship with
Holmes in Elementary only started as a companionship, but by the end of the series they are both
considered equal consulting detectives in their own right. Holmes was first able to teach about
deductive reasoning to Watson, who was able to adapt to his way of thinking. She was even able
to solve Moriarty, which Holmes couldnt even do because of the fact that he was angry with
Moriartys actions. This shows the progress from sidekick to partner that Joan Watson has made
compared to the classic Watson. It was right for Elementary to update Doyles convention of the
sidekick, and has given its viewers a character worth development in the eyes of a modern
audience.

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