Watson Season 1 Episode 3 “Wait for the Punchline” made me realize that we do a lot of lying in our lives. Lies to please others when they want to fit everything into a little box. Then there’s lies we tell ourselves to deal with the disappointment from our loved ones. And then there are lies that we tell so we don’t hurt people’s feelings. Lies after lies. And every single character in “Wait for the Punchline” was lying in one way or another. Nevertheless, this episode was leagues ahead of Watson’s pilot episode. I said what I said.
What is Moriarty Doing to Watson?
Even though we haven’t seen Moriarty since the first episode of Watson, his presence is looming over everything that’s happening. At the heart of it is what Johnson is doing and his lying. This episode made it very clear that he doesn’t know what’s in the pills that he’s giving John but he’s still doing it. He’s pushing back a little bit on Moriarty with the middle woman. But that’s it. He is still giving John those pills while simultaneously worrying for him. And while I feel sympathy for him, I want to know what Moriarty has that is so bad that Johnson would betray such a close friend.
Whatever these pills are, they’re changing who John is. I think a part of it definitely has to do with the traumatic brain injury that John suffered through. That’s something that’s not going to go away. John knows it (enough to lie about his new TBI), his staff knows it, and Moriarty knows it. But the show wouldn’t emphasize those pills if Moriarty wasn’t experimenting on John. He wants to know what he can do to make John better. Because in my eyes, or in my opinion after watching TV for 30 plus years, Moriarty needs an adversary. And since Sherlock is apparently gone, he needs to make sure that John is in tip top shape to take him on the next time they encounter each other.
The biggest flaw in Moriarty’s plan is John has people that care for him. Even with his ex-wife Mary, what he did at the cafe was unacceptable. He crossed boundaries on a professional standpoint but also on a personal one. But if it really came down to it, she would fight for John and make sure that he’s okay. Because she’s a good person but also because she remembers what they had before the injury and lies. I also even think his students care for him. Some more than others and there’s plenty of development still to go on with these students. But the groundwork is starting to be laid down. And he’s been teaching them, has been for 6 months, on how to solve mysteries. By the end of the season they’re going to come together to solve what Moriarty has been trying to do with John.
Finally Something with the Twins
Stephens and Adams are the characters I like the least on Watson. They just feel mean and kind of one dimensional. I was told that there was tension between them because Adams is shacked up with Stephens’ ex-fiance. But that’s it. I was told. I wasn’t shown what that meant outside of barbs exchanged. In Watson Season 1 Episode 3 “Wait for the Punchline” I was finally shown how Adams dating Stephens’ ex-fiance has destroyed them as brothers.
A lot of what I came to realize had to do with Stephens’ comment to Adams about him being nice. For Stephens ,it’s clear he loves his brother. But he doesn’t process his emotions like others do. He keeps them a little bit closer to the chest. He’s been hiding that he’s hurt. And his brother reaching out to him to build some bridge, it matters. But Stephens is still too hurt by what his brother did and told him in his own way. It’s a small thing but it really expands on his character in a way that feels intriguing.
Adams, I like him less when it comes to the twins if I’m being honest. But it does say something about him as a brother that he wants to fix what was broken. He just didn’t understand until that moment how broken things actually were. And that just because his brother gave him permission to date his ex-fiance, doesn’t mean that he’s okay with it. There’s still groundwork to be laid out here when it comes to these two. But I’m finally interested to learn more.
Sasha and Stephens
I knew I was right in Watson Season 1 Episode 2 “Redcoat.” There’s a spark between Sasha and Stephens. It’s only a spark. And one maybe that’s not even being acknowledged by both of them at the same time. But the show is making strategic moves to have them noticing each other. And “Wait for the Punchline,” that moment came when Stephens asked her if she was happy. It was nothing about staking his territory. It was a friend asking another if they were okay. That’s the key thing. Are you happy and are you ok? And since she said yes, he’s going to go with that. So, this introverted little nerd is thinking about her.
But there’s also tiny moments that don’t need to be conversations that I think speak volumes of what Watson is doing as a show. When Sasha reveals that she is indeed engaged, the camera cuts to Stephens. He looks a little bit uncomfortable. And even though it’s a tiny moment, it says something. It signals to the viewer that this person had a reaction to the engagement that wasn’t happiness like everyone else. It’s groundwork being laid down. Groundwork leads to epic romances and I am more than willing to wait for a possible slow burn.
Whatever spark is between them, it’s going to take longer for Sasha to realize. Stevens is with his cam girl and lying about the seriousness of that relationship. But he’s not living with someone like Sasha is. She’s living with a man who knows that she knows there’s a ring but that he’s not ready to give it to her. He’s leading her along and wasting her time. Knowing what we know of her, she’s not a quitter. So she lies to her team about being engaged. But we’ve seen TV storylines like this before. The only way that it’s going to end is her leaving her boyfriend because she’s had enough. And even then I don’t expect a romance to blossom between Sasha and Stephens all of a sudden. It’s about groundwork. And Watson is laying it down.
Watson airs on Sundays at 9/8c on CBS.
Exactly!!