'Elementary' Season 1, Episode 13: 'The Red Team' Recap

Watson discusses her issues with her therapist… the fact that she is staying on with Sherlock without pay since he is now suspended from the NYPD.

Holmes invites Watson into the house of a conspiracy theorist he knows. He thinks perhaps he had a heart attack or an accident and wanted to check on him after the hit-and-run of another conspiracy theorist. Watson is not pleased to find him hanging dead as they round a corner.

Bell isn’t happy that Holmes is getting himself involved in case again, especially for one of autoerotic asphyxiation—however Holmes thinks it was not a self-induced death. Holmes gathers up all the man’s conspiracy folders to take with him—as well as the tortoise, Clyde.

In Clyde’s case, he notices a fake rock. He opens it to find a listening device.

“Someone was bugging a conspiracy nut.”

Holmes takes it home and smashes it. He has determined it not available for civilians to buy. Government?

He says Len has never had any good theories—except The Red Team, which refers to war games. The Red Team would be the anti-American team. Len thinks that the games uncovered a gap in American security.

Len uncovered one name of the member of the Red Team—and he was killed.

Watson goes to talk to Gregson, pleading to let Holmes go back. He’s not thrilled to welcome back someone who was planning to torture and murder a man.

Holmes texts Watson. She meets him at a long-term care facility. Holmes has tracked down a member of the Red Team, who is hospitalized for early onset Alzheimer’s—odd since he has no family history.

The nurse allows them in to speak with him. He doesn’t remember anything about his time before the hospital. He can’t focus. Watson notes he is having a small seizure. Holmes thinks he was dosed with enough poison to make him seem like he has memory loss.

Holmes calls Bell to tell him they need to investigate the Red Team, but Bell says they have the man who killed Len. It was a man he got into a fight with on a chat room, and it was an accident.

Holmes goes to talk to the man, but Gregson is not happy to see him at the station. He threatens to arrest him for trespassing if he returns.

Holmes and Watson wait in car. Holmes believes the man who killed Len will come back—probably in the repair van that has been sitting there. Watson suggests that Holmes should apologize to Gregson. The fake repairman comes out of the apartment, presumably realizing the listening device is gone. They follow him into a strange room. Holmes waves the crushed bug in front of a surveillance camera, and the door opens.

 A man comes to greet them. The building is otherwise apparently empty. He claims they are a marketing research company. Holmes introduces himself and Watson to the man, Bill.

Holmes brings up the Red Team. Holmes tells him the names of the remaining members of the team. He tells him he will make sure nothing happens to them.

Bill questions why these men would still be alive if the army has wanted them dead since 2009.

Watson and Holmes go. Holmes says he listed off some names he thought were on the team, and by Bill’s teeth grinding, he confirmed who was and was not on the list.

Holmes gets a call from Bell. The man with memory loss was poisoned. Gregson is calling him in.

At the station, Holmes brings in a guy named Walter. He puts them in a room with the rest of the Red Team. He tells them all they’re in danger.

The members want to talk but are concerned. They took an oath—to speak of it is treason. They leave. However Holmes sees that one of them left a note for him in the trash telling him to look into an army leader.

Holmes does his research—and finds Bill, whose name is actually Todd.

They hear the bell and go to the door. Two suited people ask him if he knows a man named Todd Clark. Colonel Clark was shot and killed outside his home that day. They need to speak to him, but he is quick to shoot them down and remind them he has security cameras in his home for an alibi.

Holmes calls Gregson and tells them to have the police bring the rest of the members into protective custody.

Police knock on the door of one of the members. No answer. The landlord inserts a key… but we can see now that the door is triggered, a shotgun aimed at it. The officer opens the door, and the gun goes off.

Luckily the shells were full of rock salt. Bell and Gregson examine the apartment, which is full of weapons.

Holmes calls Bell to see if the others are safe, and Bell says they are, all but the missing Walter.

Holmes goes to see one man, Dresden, who hasn’t yet gone into hiding because of his ailing wife. Holmes notes he and Walter seemed to have a connection. He asks for help in finding him.

Dresden tells him the plan Walter came up with in 2009 was disturbing. He says Walter was convinced someone would sell their secret—and Walter used to joke he might as well be the one to do it.

Watson thinks that Walter is driving up the price of the secret by killing off other team members.

Bell calls. They found Walter—not the killer. He was shot in the back of the head, left in an alley. There are blanket fibers on him—Bell says his face was covered. Holmes suggests shame in the gesture—Walter was killed by someone he knew. He tells Gregson to get to the hotel where the other team members are hiding, as the killer is probably already there.

Dresden is leading his wife in, preparing to settle into the hotel room. He knocks out the officer showing them their safe space.

Dresden sees one of the team members at the vending machine. He goes after her with a gun, but a police officer sees him and draws his gun.

Everyone is there now—Dresden has taken a detective hostage. Holmes wants to speak with him.

In the room, Dresden tucks his wife in lovingly when the phone rings. Holmes tries to talk to him. Dresden is demanding the other members of the Red Team. Holmes says he knows that the only person he intends to hurt is himself.

Dresden lets Holmes in. Holmes goes to get something from the mini bar but Dresden has him sit. Holmes says he judges by behavior, and he doesn’t think Dresden is in for money. He thinks that he just wants to get the secret under control to keep the harm of it from spreading.

Holmes asks why he is so certain the plan would leak after two years. Dresden tells him that two years ago his wife woke up and her hands were twitching. Two years into her illness, and she’s entirely dependent upon him. He says he’s been approached many times to sell the secret. One man said he could help his wife—and Dresden thought about it. It made him realize they all had a weakness.

Now he can shoot Holmes, and everyone will realize he is serious about it.

Holmes says he figured out the secret. He wrote it down, and gave it to a colleague. The secret is out. Dresden cocks the gun and asks him what the plan is.

Holmes and Dresden leave the room, and Dresden is taken into custody. Holmes arranges to meet Gregson later. They meet.

Gregson tells him that he can work cases again—but he will never trust him again. He will never forget he was planning to murder someone on his watch. He has something to get out of his system—he punches Holmes and welcomes him back.

Holmes eats soup as he tells Watson that he is reinstated.