Why Elementary’s Joan Watson Is Just the Best

Let’s get this out of the way: Elementary lacks a certain je-totally-sais-quoi compared to other contemporary Sherlock Holmes TV series. Its mysteries often make little sense ; the bad guy is almost always the only next-tier guest actor who is not a canonical character; and in one of its recent episodes, the Master completely misunderstood the basic idea of the Turing test.

I don’t care. I will watch this show and not Sherlock until both go off the air.

Although Jonny Lee Miller provides a terrific turn as Elementary‘s Sherlock, prowling around with forehead bulging and shoulders hunched like he’s stepped out of a Paget illustration, his performance alone isn’t enough to keep me tuned in.

Nor am I an Elementary fan based only on the fact that this Holmes’s iconoclastic side shows in how he accepts people of all races, genders, and backgrounds, which is a refreshing change from the modern Sherlock Holmeses who display their “edginess” through sexism and racism. (After all, Doyle’s Holmes, it could be argued, may have been meant to be liberal for his time, what with his associations with the lower classes and acceptance of mixed-race children.)

No, over three seasons, I’ve fallen head over heels for Lucy Liu’s Joan Watson.

Why do I love her so much? Well, for a lot of reasons. But for the sake of brevity, let me count the three ways:

1. She is one of the most competent people on the show.

When Sherlock decides to leave his work at the NYPD and his partnership with Joan, she takes over his role with Captain Gregson like it ain’t no thing. And it isn’t. We see her detective business thrive. She impresses people she meets with her deductive skills, and she still has her medical expertise to roll out in the relevant situations.

Not only that, but she’s an expert at working with people, an often undervalued skill that we see other characters — her colleagues Captain Gregson and Detective Bell — appreciate. Sherlock’s clients praise his results; Joan’s clients are happy with their results and seem happy to be dealing with her.

The show does this without taking away from Sherlock’s genius. We see the difference between Joan’s mix of natural talent and hard work and Sherlock’s mix of preternatural genius and unhealthy obsession. Sherlock picks up on clues faster and is quicker to see the puzzle from a different angle. But, more importantly, we see that there are very few times this makes a difference in outcome and that Sherlock and Joan both respect each other’s abilities.

2. She loves Sherlock because she loves herself, not in spite of it.

One thing all Watsons must have in common is their unflagging love and support for Sherlock Holmes. However, so many Watson characters’ relationships with their Holmeses are fraught with dark undertones. Martin Freeman’s John Watson keeps coming back to a self-described “high functioning sociopath” who manages to treat him as a human being only on special occasions like Watson’s own wedding. Jude Law’s Watson gets dragged along by a best friend who’s unwilling to let him become content with his happy, domestic life. And despite Dr. House’s devotion to his friend, technically, his and Wilson’s relationship becomes physically and verbally abusive. These stories tell us that Watson gets along with Holmes because at the bottom, there’s something wrong with Watson, too.

Not Joan Watson.

Joan has her issues. She’s responsible for the death of a former patient. Like Freeman’s and Law’s Watsons, she isn’t happy in a life without puzzles and adventure. Like Wilson, she’s a natural nurturer.

But unlike her compatriots, Joan is confident enough to own her problems. She likes adventure? She’s perfectly able to connect with the police on her own and chase it down, thank you very much. Sherlock’s run away? Sad, but she’s got a nice new apartment and a hot boyfriend who makes her happy. Sherlock publicly doubts the motivations that cause her to do something he doesn’t like? Well, Holmesboy, thanks for your input, but Joan is confident in her decisions and sees your attack for what it is: an indication of your issues, not hers. If she changes her mind, it’s because she’s considered your arguments, not because she lets you tell her how she really feels and thinks.

This Watson still loves Sherlock and is there for him, but she doesn’t need him in order to be happy. He holds a special place in her heart, but she’s able to be friends with him not because she’s equally emotionally damaged in the opposite direction but because she’s so emotionally healthy that she can cope productively with his issues. Speaking of which…

3. She is emotionally healthy, and this is a thing the other characters strive for.

Many Holmes-and-Watson adaptations make you want to be like Holmes. He’s a pretty cool character: always right, allowed to express his opinions no matter how tactless, able to kick ass and take names. They also tend to glorify his mental health issues: they make being an addict or a sociopath look like exciting, glamorous things. We watch Watson strive to be more like Holmes, ignoring how Holmes is actually completely miserable being who he is.

Elementary does almost the opposite. True, Joan works to be a detective of Holmes’s calibre, but at the same time, Sherlock works just as hard to be an emotionally healthy human being like her. Joan’s abilities to empathize with others without losing herself, to cope with setbacks productively, and to identify and communicate her boundaries set her apart from the other characters on the show. We see those abilities help her stay balanced and negotiate what she needs.

Contrariwise, we see Holmes’s addiction and selfishness negatively affect his work. He admits his work on cases during the time he used didn’t meet his usually high standards. He claims that not being nice is part of who is and helps him work, but we see how messing up his relationships with his colleagues interferes with his ability to do his job.

Although he resists Watson’s interference at first, Holmes is able to grow as a person through her guidance. He still struggles, because there’s no magical cure for addiction or insecurity, but it’s interesting to watch him duel his problems instead of drown in them. Not only does this Holmes want to be healthy and stay healthy, he grows to appreciate the tools to which Watson introduces him — support groups, self-care, seeking help when you need it — to the point where he seeks her assistance to help his new protegee, the troubled Kitty Winters.

In short, Elementary fascinates me because it preserves the Holmes-Watson dynamic while doing away with a lot of the toxicity I’d previously assumed was necessary to their relationship. Joan Watson is the first so-called sidekick I’d happily watch as the heroine of her own show with Holmes or even Kitty as the second-bill.