Watson Season 1 Episode 13 “My Life’s Work Part 2” worked against the grain when it comes to my expectations of TV today. By that I mean that TV has changed so much that I expect disappointment first and happiness second. I also expect shows to go for shock value that leads nowhere because they want to titillate the audiences instead of giving them something compelling. This season 1 finale of Watson was compelling.
Furthermore, I feel like everything that I’ve watched over this freshman season has clicked into place. I will be the first to admit that at the beginning of this show, I was a little lost. And I think that the show was lost too, with the weight of such heavy material like Sherlock Holmes to work with. But this season finale manages to tie everything together while giving me satisfying development for its characters and an ending that was kind of happy. And it did all of that while setting up a Season 2 mystery.
Shockingly enough, I’m happy with this season finale. I haven’t been happy with a show in ages, but here I am after 13 episodes of a show that surprised me. So let’s talk about Watson Season 1 Episode 13 “My Life’s Work Part 2.”
MORE: Need a refresher of Watson Season 1 Episode 12? Read our review!
John Was Stone Cold
Let me be clear about something, John Watson did not kill Moriarty by himself. Others in his life, like Mary, knew what he did. And from the context clues that we got earlier on in this episode where all the doctors and Shinwell agreed to “do this,” led me to believe that they decided that the death of Moriarty was warranted. Nevertheless, it was stone cold how John delivered the news to Moriarty, gave him his sight back so the last thing he would see would be John, to then watch the life drain out of Moriarty’s eyes.
Moriarty inserted himself in John’s circle. Last time that Moriarty did that, Sherlock Holmes died and John’s life exploded. And John could see the beginnings of that with the twins getting sick and Shinwell and Ingrid being turned against him. John has come to care deeply for these interns. You can see it in the way that he talked about how brilliant they were to Moriarty. He cares for Shinwell as well, even if he betrayed John. And he wasn’t going to risk Moriarty coming back or getting lawyers to release him because of some technicality. John couldn’t risk that.
The decision to kill Moriarty, it’s going to haunt John in Season 2 of Watson. That’s for sure. But the actions taken in this episode make me think about superheroes and how they let the bad guy live, no matter how much damage they do. And it has a lot to do with not wanting to be like the bad guy. Personally, I’ve always found that frustrating. If you know someone is a villain and they will kill indiscriminately, something needs to be done. John and the group did something about it. No judge or jury. They stopped Moriarty. And it’s going to lead John and the doctors down a path different from superheroes. They won’t have to deal with the pain of loss because of the bad guy. They’ll have to deal with being responsible for the death of the bad guy. And that’s infinitely more interesting.
MORE: Watson Season 1 Episode 3 “Wait for the Punchline” was the first time Stephens and Adams got some backstory.
Choosing Between the Twins
After the way that last week’s episode ended, I was sure that Watson Season 1 Episode 13 “My Life’s Work Part 2” would hem and haw the entire episode over which twin to pick. That didn’t happen here and that itself is shocking. Instead the show let a coin flip decide which twin was going to get the medicine. Other shows would have had toxic arguments and it would have ended up with Sasha stealing the cure and making a decision for everyone. That didn’t happen here and I love it.
Better yet, when it came to caring for the twins, they did it together. Every decision that came around, they did it as a group. That strengthens their bonds but also leaves the twins feeling like they are in a place that cares for them in a way that maybe they haven’t felt before. And that caring allowed Adams to be honest with his brother in a way that we haven’t seen before. In response, Stephens essentially forgave Adams and started a new chapter in their relationship.
Even though I like the writing choices in “My Life’s Work Part 2” when it comes to the twins, I’m not foolish enough to think that Stephens being sick didn’t leave some problems behind. Stephens went through something really traumatic and spent more time being sick. And with this show surprising me at every turn with this finale, I don’t know if I can even predict how they’re going to deal with Stephens brain working a little differently now. That’s why I’m excited for season 2 and why I’m going to be telling my friends about the show.
MORE: Watson Season 1 Episode 2 “Redcoat” was the first spark we saw between Sasha and Stephens.
Sasha and Stephens ❤️
So Sasha and Stevens kissed. Not only that, but Sasha had a conversation while he was laying in a hospital bed about how she saw him and what they could be. And it was a great writing choice to have her make peace on what could have been if he didn’t wake up. But he did. And when he did, I once again expected the show to hesitate or make it that Stephens suddenly didn’t remember her and had amnesia. That didn’t happen. Instead they had a conversation that I would definitely see in a romcom and they kissed.
Truly, I don’t know where we go from here. And it has everything to do with this show surprising me with its writing choices. And that clashes with my TV knowledge that couples that usually get together in the first season are the starter couples. They’re the ones that don’t make it a couple seasons down the line. But Watson got Sasha and Stephens together. And if the show surprised me once, twice, and three times, maybe they’ll do the same thing with this couple and give them problems that they’ll work through together. I know, crazy to think about. Good writing that entertains happening on TV?
All of this makes me think back to the entire first season of Watson and why I think Sasha and Stephens work. They see each other. And I don’t mean the person that they present to the world. Sasha presents this prim and controlled version of herself and so does Stevens. Maybe that’s why they work. Maybe that’s why they see the curious and gentle nature that they both hold close in vastly different ways. And if they’re going to try something real with each other, I’m looking forward to the show allowing them to grow by each other’s side. Come on CBS, mix it up. You’ve done so, so far.
Ingrid Choosing Who She Is
I will say that Ingrid had me convinced for a second that she was working for Moriarty. She’s just that good and really sold it to the point where even Moriarty believed her. But she turned it all around and decided who she was going to be. And this is a pivotal moment for the character because Watson took her from being a self-serving narcissist to someone who was slowly but surely letting someone like Sasha into her life. This is Ingrid’s declaration on who she’s going to be.
But just because Ingrid declared who she was going to be, doesn’t mean that the journey is over. If anything, making Ingrid choose John and the gang, it gives the show a lot of material to work with. Because if you change the direction of your life in such a big way like Ingrid did, that’s going to open a pandora’s box of feelings and new experiences. That’s prime real estate for writers and I’m interested to see that. Because Ingrid has chosen, while also remaining herself.
With change comes the consequences of Ingrid’s actions. And it’s kind of really tragic for a character like Ingrid that just as she’s finding a home for herself, Stephen’s tells her that he can’t work with her anymore. And I feel like Ingrid of Season 1 Episode 1 of Watson would have fought back and said something like, “I saved you even though I put you there in the first place. Saving you is the important bit that you should focus on.” But Ingrid doesn’t do that. Ingrid chooses a path of acceptance and it really reflects how much she has learned during her time in Watson Season 1, particularly from John and Sasha.
Whatever comes next for Ingrid or the rest of the gang, I’m invested. And in a landscape where everything gets canceled, that in itself is a miracle.
Watson airs on Sundays at 9/8c on CBS.
great review! i agreed with a lot of your thoughts but for me things ended up a little safe and underwhelming. i appreciate that things were wrapped up in case of cancelation but i feel like they didn’t take as many risks because of that. i also don’t love how quickly sasha and stephens progressed—fully on the sasha and ingrid train and i saw that in your ep11 review you also saw a bit of a spark—but I’m hoping their s2 interactions convince me that they’re good together. i also hope ingrid doesn’t actually leave, because she’s grown so much because of these people.