Watson Season 2 Episode 1 “A Son in the Oven” is the culmination of everything that the show has been working on in Season 1. Every single character felt like they were taking the next logical step in their journey. And it was such an emotionally resonant story that brought everyone in and highlighted Rochelle Aytes immaculate acting skills.
That doesn’t mean that everything was perfect. I am a little bothered by this supposed time jump. Because every single character felt like they were taking the next logical step in their journey. But it was also partially due to me filling the blanks by picking up clues of the last couple months. And I don’t want to fill in the blanks. I want to see them.
Also the return of Sherlock Holmes. We knew that it was going to happen based on the trailer and photos for Season 2. But it’s kind of messy, in a good way for us the viewer and bad for John, because he’s let go of the pain of his past. And here that pain walks in again, probably aware of what John has been going through and still not doing anything to help.
Dr. Mary Morstan, the Woman That You Are
As much as I love Morris Chestnut’s John Watson, this episode was hands down Rochelle Aytes’ episode. Her Mary Morstan was breaking my heart left and right. Like, her face card has never been declined. Neither have her outfits on this show. And then you throw at me the ability to emote the devastation of your mother not recognizing her and being on the brink of death because she can’t donate a piece of her liver? Not fair. I wasn’t okay this entire episode.
Mary has been a consistent source of strength at this hospital. But she’s always been presented as this administrative figure. Either she’s someone that John works with or that he has to circumvent around her. And in “A Son in the Oven” they were working hand in hand to figure out what was going on. But John went above and beyond to show that no matter what happens, especially now that they’re divorced, he will always go to the ends of the earth for her.
Having this dynamic between Mary and John is an essential part of the show. And I think it’s so interesting to have both of them dating different people and working together after their divorce. It speaks on one of my favorite tropes in procedurals aka found family. Just as John has found a family with his circle of doctors, Mary will always be his family no matter where they go. And I hope that the show sticks to that and doesn’t get them back together. If anything, they need to show who Mary is dating.
Then There’s John Watson and His Past
The John that we’re getting in Watson Season 2 Episode 1 “A Son in the Oven” feels like a lighter version of himself. And this is the kind of progress and growth that we want to see in the characters that we tune in for week after week. But I will admit that I do feel a little robbed when it comes to seeing John relieved, happy, and dating someone for a couple months.
As a viewer, I deserved to see John flourish in these past couple months. In Season 1 he was going through so much trauma and he couldn’t trust his own mind because of what happened with Sherlock but also how Moriarty was messing with him. So to see him thriving like this in the first episode of Season 2, it’s a little bit jarring. Like, I’m happy for him. But I wanted to see the inbetween bits.
I wanted to see John take on cases without the threat of Moriarty over him. I also wanted to see him come to the decision to close the clinic down for a couple months. What did he do during that time? Where did he go? All I’m left with is a lot of questions of this golden couple of months for John before the show throws him into turmoil with the return of Sherlock Holmes.
Where John’s characters in his journey makes sense because I filled in the blanks with the crumbs Watson threw at me in the Season 2 premiere. But still, I wanted to see those months.
The Same Thing Could Be Said for Sasha and Stephens
You mean to tell me that Sasha and Stephens are practically living together, having kinky sex with pink handcuffs, and are well adjusted after a couple months of what I assume is dating? Last we left off, Stephens was just recovering from what Moriarty did to him. And Sasha had ended her engagement with the man that was stringing her along. Well not engagement. That’s why he was stringing her alone.
Point being, they were just starting something, Sasha and Stephens. And while I was delighted to see them in bed together, that’s not all there is to a relationship. Like with John, I wanted to see Stephens’ recovery and how Sasha helped him. I wanted to see if Stephens would even let Sasha help him. Maybe he’s super independent? I also wanted to see maybe their first date or how Sasha dealt with having someone in her space again after heartbreak.
A lot of times TV shows think that we want the case of the week more than the slice of life kind of stuff. And I feel like that’s especially true for procedurals. A procedural kind of show dictates that there is a case of the week. Yes, I get that. But the people who actually write these shows, I wish they would understand that people don’t watch necessarily for the case of the week. I couldn’t care less about the case of the week. What I care about are the human elements within this space and how their wins, losses, or personal beliefs/traumas/values influence the case of the week.
Just like I should have seen these last couple of months for John, I should have seen the last couple of months of Sasha and Stephens.
I also should have seen the last couple months of Stephens’ healing and working on his relationship with his brother Adams. Even Adams, I would have loved to see what recovery looked like for him. But the show, like many procedurals, decided to fast forward through all of that and give us a version of these characters that they can muck about with now that they’re more settled. I don’t want that. I want the journey to being settled. That’s just as worthwhile as the case of the week or the return of Sherlock Holmes.
Additional Thoughts About “A Son in the Oven”:
- Ingrid remains one of the most interesting characters on Watson. She wasn’t even there for that long in the episode and I wanted to know everything about her and what she’s been up to.
- For Ingrid, a mystery of what she’s been up to for the last couple months works, especially after her betrayal last season. It builds tension.
- Also she looked amazing with that blonde hair and that emo looking outfit.
- Super proud of Shinwell trying something new and being in his first year of nursing.
- Nurses are always undervalued within society.
- And I love when people that are 40+ decide to have a complete change of career and go for it. That’s the kind of hopecore I want to see more of on my screen.
Watch the promo for Watson Season 2 Episode 2 below:
Watson airs new episodes Mondays at 10pm on CBS.
