Henny Penny the Sky Is Falling

"Henny Penny the Sky Is Falling"
Season 5
Season 5
Episode 4
Episode 4
Directed by	John Polson
Written by	Bob Goodman
Aired	October 30, 2016
Viewers (millions)	4.80
Episode guide
Previous	"Render, and Then..."
Next	"To Catch a Predator Predator"

Cast

Main cast

Jonny Lee Milleras Sherlock Holmes

Lucy Liuas Joan Watson

Aidan Quinnas Tommy Gregson

Jon Michael Hillas Marcus Bell

Featured cast

Gordon Clappas Deputy Chief Prosky

Daniel Cosgroveas Len

Suzy Jane Huntas Susan

Myra Lucretia Tayloras Shelley

Richard Thomasas Mitch Barrett

Bridget Whiteas Laurie Barrett

Owain Yeomanas Julius Kent

Maechi Aharanwaas Waitress

Linda Powellas Congresswoman Salazar

Rob McClureas Grant Huber

Plot

"I'm better at the work I do because of you. But over the years the relative importance of those two values has flipped. I now value the work that we do, first and foremost, because I do it with you." — Holmes to Watson

At the 11th Precinct, as Holmes shows Detective Bell how a wanted wildlife trafficker was covering for a murderer, they notice Deputy Chief Prosky meeting with Captain Gregson. Holmes is concerned that Prosky may have an issue with their work. A couple who find their condo trashed by short-term renters work out the repair details with a rep from the rental company. Noticing a fireplace poker protruding through the wall, they don't see that it has been stabbed through a man in the next condo. At The Brownstone, Watson sees Holmes looking at an evidence wall comprised of many past solved cases. He tells Watson of Gregson's meeting and has discovered that the cases being reviewed were theirs. Receiving a call from Bell, they meet him at the crime scene of the man stabbed with the poker, Russell Cole. A quantitative investment analyst, Cole worked for Barrett White Capital.

So, why the trip down memory lane?

No forced entry indicates the killer knew Cole and when Holmes finds a gun behind a book shelf that failed to fire, he posits the poker was used as a weapon of convenience. Holmes also sees a laptop pouch missing from an overnight bag and believes that the laptop was the killer's target. Bell and Watson visit Cole's boss, Mitch Barrett, at his office where Mitch is shocked and relates that Cole was his "mad genius." Mitch would leave Cole to work independently on various projects which always paid off. As Mitch mentions that Cole was like family and that his wife Laurie will be devastated, Watson sees a photo of Laurie in Hawaii on Mitch's shelf. Mitch offers full cooperation and provides access to all Cole's work files. Holmes meets Gregson in his office where he's told that Major Cases is receiving a unit citation. Gregson wants Holmes and Watson to be included in the citation but is receiving some resistance.

Looks like there was a struggle.

Watson surprises Laurie on the street and tells her that from an irregularity in photos she saw at Cole's and the photo of Laurie in Hawaii, Watson's deduced that Cole was on vacation with her and they were having an affair. Laurie admits to the affair and she provides a secluded cabin near Bear Mountain that Russell would work on projects. Holmes meets Bell and Watson at the cabin where he notes copious amounts of poison ivy outside and no recent sign of visitors besides Cole. Inside, they find Cole was working on an astronomy project. At the precinct, Holmes and Watson explain to Gregson that Cole had submitted a paper showing that the method for determining what asteroids were potential hazards to the Earth, was flawed. No sure why an investment analyst was working on an asteroid project nor why he was killed over it, Holmes reluctantly mentions he knows an expert in astronomy who Gregson forces him to consult with.

They pose a threat of cataclysmic collision.

At the New York Science Museum, Holmes admits to Watson that he knows the Director, Julius Kent, from childhood and, that he has an acrimonious relationship with him. Holmes also tells her about the citation and that he's taken steps to stop them from being included. Beginning to protest, Watson is interrupted by Kent who is charming and pokes fun of Holmes, which he doesn't take well. He explains that an asteroid's location and size is determined by the heat it generates. Cole proposed that not taking into account what the asteroid is made of, such a shiny rare metals, results in the asteroid sizes, and their potential threat to the Earth, being measured wrong. Kent indicates that Cole's paper was poorly written and that it will take months to determine its validity. Because of the paper, NASA cancelled a $500M project for an infrared telescope, called Piazzi, and that companies who depended on such projects might be behind Cole's murder.

Music

• The Edgar Winter Group - Frankenstein plays as Watson and Bell question a waitress in a diner frequented by Russell Cole.
• The Draxculas - Side by Side plays at episode end as Captain Gregson gives a speech congratulating the Major Cases unit on their unit award.

Trivia

• This was the 100th episode of Elementary.
• The angry condo owners, Len and Susan, have problems with renters using AwayKay, the same service that Trent Garby used for the Brownstone next to Holmes and Watson. ("A Study in Charlotte")
• Past cases which Holmes reviews with pictures on The Brownstone wall include (left to right beginning at top left):
  • One of Moran's notes. ("M.")
  • The black-crowned squirrel monkey which Sherlock uses to force one of Morland Holmes' competitors, Donya Esfandiari, into a deal. ("Tag, You're Me")
  • Magazine cover of Ian Gale. ("Blood Is Thicker")
  • A John Douglas composite photo Holmes took using a camera while a train was passing in front of Douglas. ("A Landmark Story")
  • Photos of the burnt body of Clay Dubrovensky who was "necklaced." ("Seed Money")
  • Magazine ads for 1980's video game "Nottingham Knights." ("The Games Underfoot")
  • Photo from a book of "trepanning" (for the release of evil humors) that Holmes views as he prepares to drill into a skull until interrupted by Randy. ("Dead Clade Walking")
  • A picture and newspaper articles on "the Hound." ("Hounded")
  • Picture and magazine article on Elana March. ("Enough Nemesis To Go Around")
  • A photo of Moran and another of his notes. ("M.")
  • Photo and magazine ad of the "Pipz." ("The Five Orange Pipz")
  • Photos of Cassie with her head shaved and un-shaven. ("Miss Taken")
  • Morgue photo of the obese Ike Wallaczek, killed during the math hunt played by Harland Emple. ("Just a Regular Irregular")
  • Two photos of the brand marks Del Gruner would inflict on his victims and a photo of Gruner. ("The One That Got Away")
  • Mug shot photo of Alphonse Bertillon which Holmes uses to explain Bertillon's contributions to criminology to Watson including inventing mug shots. ("Ears to You")
  • Photo of Jonathan Bloom. ("The Past Is Parent")
  • A photo of bite marks left on a murder victim by Ruth Colville, using prison dentures from her death son, ex-con Aaron Colville. ("The Many Mouths of Aaron Colville")
  • X-ray of the nanotyrannus discovered by Watson and Gay. ("Dead Clade Walking")
  • Photo of the mask, two photos of the body armour, one photo of the boots all worn by the Midnight Ranger vigilante Mike Stratton and, a picture of the cartoon Midnight Ranger. ("You've Got Me, Who's Got You?")
  • Photo of the failed "super-dog" under development for the Army Research Lab. ("Hounded")
  • Photo of balloons left by child abductor Samuel Abbott and later, Adam Kemper, when they would take a child. ("Child Predator")
  • Newspaper article on the Chinatown arcade shooting. ("Who Is That Masked Man?")
  • Photo of Charlotte Koenig's "R.A.C.H.E." tatoo. ("A Study in Charlotte")
• Julius Kent making fun of an 8 year old Holmes believing the Sun revolves around the Earth is a reference to Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet in which Holmes tells Watson that such knowledge makes no difference in the work he does.

Quotes

Because apparently the world needs science explained to it with jazz hands.

— Holmes about Julius Kent

This squad is the finest group of men and women I've ever had the honor to serve with.

— Captain Gregson

Gallery

Episode Stills

Behind the Scenes