While I brushed off the Watson pilot as a Sherlock Holmes story only by name, Watson season 1 episode 2 “Redcoat” made me eat my words. This is the story I want to know. These are the characters I want to see the development of. And I can now see John Watson for who he is. Because he isn’t a doctor or detective first. He’s a teacher first. And the people that work with him are his students. That right there makes a world of a difference for how I see John’s character but also the team around him that I’m supposed to care about.
Let’s dive into Watson season 1 episode 2 “Redcoat” because apparently, I have enough things to say that I can divide them into sections.
John is a Teacher
As I mentioned in my review of the pilot, I had a hard time connecting with the title character. A part of it was because I know this character from the books and previous live-action adaptations. That’s absolutely going to give me a bias as to who John is as a character. Nevertheless, I persevered. Or I tried to persevere in the pilot because all I saw was a bully. It’s like John wouldn’t give his colleagues the correct answer and made them run around because he was above them. That carried over to the viewer. It felt like he was above me. And I was wrong in the conclusion that I came to because of his actions in the pilot.
John Watson is a teacher first. Yes, he’s a doctor and this show is tied up with cases and detective work for its main characters. But he’s a teacher above everything else. And the people in the office aren’t his colleagues. They’re his students. That distinction makes a world of difference. Because he’s not showing off and acting like he’s above them. He is setting the stage to allow his students to come to the conclusion needed based on the evidence in front of them. He’s allowing them to learn while also guiding them to where he wants them to be. And it’s because if you want a strong team around you, why not create it? And that’s what John is doing. He’s creating a better team for himself but also strong doctors who will go out there into the world to solve other cases.
Another facet of John that really humanized him in “Redcoat,” was the joking around. The pilot was a little bit too morose for me. In this episode, we got to see John goofing off, or having some good banter, with Johnson but also his soon-to-be ex-wife Mary. The whole bit about silent judgment showed me that John has actual friends. And then the whole scene where John was talking to Mary and he looked at her agenda before she closed it, she clocked him. It was funny. We need more of this. Because I don’t want a Sherlock Holmes-esque character to lead this show. I want something different. And I believe that Morris Chestnut’s John Watson can be that different that we need.
Then There’s Ingrid
Ingrid is not like the rest of the members of John’s team. Sure she works with Adams, Stephens, and Sasha. But she’s not on the same level as them. She’s not there to learn from John. She’s there to treat him. But what she didn’t expect, and what I didn’t expect, was for John to see her. Ingrid is so used to being in control of a situation and when John recognizes her tells and lies, it throws her for a loop. But it also makes her want to stay there longer. Because even when dealing with a patient, Ingrid has to be right but she also has to be in control. And John, he’s a threat to that control.
Eve Harlow, who plays Ingrid, is one of those actresses who takes the smallest role and makes it memorable. I barely remember the plot of The 100 but she’s the only other character besides the main cast that I remember. The same thing goes for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Do I remember her storyline? No. But I remember her. Even in The Night Agent, she took a small role as Ellen and made it so I remembered her. In Watson, she doesn’t have a small role. She’s the principal cast. And seeing her in the show finally made me realize that the reason why she’s so memorable is that she throws herself 100% into anything she does. She’s no longer an actress on screen. She’s that character. And you would think that would be the bare minimum for an actor, but yet here we are.
I don’t think Ingrid is going anywhere when it comes to CBS’s Watson. Or I hope she doesn’t go anywhere. Because Watson season 1 episode 2 set the stage that she is trouble. They did it in obvious ways with the surgeon who she totally screwed over to have an advantage for that grant. But they also did it in small ways like her anger on the street when the other surgeon told her yes to her face but then no via email. That came after stroking her ego. But there’s also the moment when she was in the bathroom reciting a lie over and over again. She knows that John can see her for who she is and she hates it. These are the kind of women characters I want to see more of on TV. Women who are liars, angry, and layered. And Ingrid is all three.
Is That a Spark of Romance I See?
Out of all of John’s students (yes I’m going to call them that) Stephens and Sasha are the most interesting.
Sasha is seemingly in the epicenter of a relationship that is about to collapse. And I found it really funny in the opening how she was destroying those balloons because she’s frustrated but she doesn’t want to show it. That’s someone tightly wound but also desperate for someone to choose them. And in “Redcoat” we got to see her eagerness to learn and willingness to step outside of her comfort zone. All of this is a recipe for something bigger, and Watson knows it.
Stephens is on a similar track to Sasha when it comes to wanting someone to choose him. He has some hidden trauma with his brother and keeps them at arm’s length. But he also has this cam girl who he sees enough for said cam girl to worry about him and his money. He wants someone to choose him. Outside of this romantic nature to both of them when it comes to similarities, Stephens’ is observant. He saw Johnson doing something in John’s office. And he’s going to lock that away until it becomes relevant.
Both of these characters I thought of as separate until the moment in “Redcoat” where Sasha thanked Stephens for the balloons. It seemed to be shocking to him that she went out of her way to find out who got her the balloons. But it was also a moment for Sasha when she realized someone she worked with actually cared for and thought of her. The exchange that followed made me perk up because that felt like groundwork. It felt like interest being laid out and a little string being tied between them. It could be nothing. But I’ve watched enough TV and romance to know what I’m seeing. And with the disillusion of John and Mary’s marriage, a little romance is exactly what this show needs.
Watson airs on Sundays at 9/8c on CBS.
Exactly. About the characters, about everything. Took the words out of my mouth. Total believer.