When Detective Bell is attacked, the investigation ends up being more complicated than Sherlock initially expected; Sherlock wants Joan to take self-defense classes.
Tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: From Andre's hospital room, Andre and Marcus watch the arrest of Marcus's ex-girlfriend on the news, for shooting Andre and trying to frame Marcus for murder. Andre remarks that the worst thing any of his exes did was to cut the tires on his bike back in eighth grade. The brothers share a laugh (even though laughing is painful for Andre).
- A Day in the Limelight: Detective Marcus Bell and his older brother Andre.
- Big Brother Instinct: Even though he and Marcus fought the day before, a wounded Andre used his remaining strength to write out a message in his own blood ("WAS NOT MARCUS") to warn the police that Marcus was not his shooter. This provided a vital clue for Sherlock and Joan that someone was trying to frame Marcus after their previous frame-up failed. As Andre recovers from his surgery, Marcus asked how he could have been sure that he was not the shooter even after they had fought earlier, to which Andre answered that he knows him and he was doing what he could to protect his brother.Marcus: Andre, about what I said the other day, asking you if you, uh...
Andre: Don't. You don't have to say anything.
Marcus: No, I do. I do. I'm sorry...
Andre: It's cool, Marcus. It's cool, seriously.
Marcus: I-I got to ask. The note you left? "Was not Marcus"?
Andre: You told me someone tried to frame you for a shooting. I-I don't know. I just figured maybe it was the same guy.
Marcus: No, I know, but we-we fought yesterday. You were shot in the back. No way you saw who did it. No way you could've known for sure it wasn't me.
Andre: But I did know. I know you. And you got to look out for family. Even when they disappoint you. - Call-Back: To "M.", when Sherlock says he "speak[s] from experience" that Revenge Before Reason can afflict even the smartest people.
- Cat Fight: Holmes suggests that Watson take some self-defense pointers from Marcus's ex-girlfriend, since his Sherlock Scan has noted that she's a boxer.Watson: Are you sure this recent interest in my safety has nothing to do with watching two women engage in some foxy boxing?
Sherlock: You think you're foxy? - Do Wrong, Right: Bell is suspended on suspicion of having assassinated a gang leader, and the murder weapon is found hidden in a vent inside his apartment. Holmes says he's quite convinced that Bell is innocent - not because Bell is too moral to kill a man in cold blood, but because he's not dumb enough to stash a murder weapon in his own home after using it.
- Enemies Equals Greatness: After Bell is attacked, Sherlock says he has a very Long List of enemies who could have taken the shot, and it's a testament to his work as a police officer.
- Oh, Crap!: Marcus is horrified to find Andre lying on the floor, shot.
- Revenge Before Reason: Reviewing Curtis Bradshaw's criminal record, Watson notes that he always ran his burgeoning drug empire through lieutenants, which makes it uncharacteristic for him to have attacked Bell in person. Holmes shrugs and says it is no great mystery: "Nothing makes a smart man stupid like a thirst for revenge."
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Played With. Watson comes home and finds the stereo turned up high, with Holmes firing a pistol into his practice dummy. Instead of fleeing the house, she turns off the stereo and asks Holmes:Watson: Is this another test of my reflexes? Because you're about to see how fast I can dial 9-1-1.
