History Characters / Elementary

* CanonForeigner: As with Morland the Holmes brothers' mother never comes up in any capacity in the books.

* CanonForeigner: Presumably Sherlock and Mycroft did have a father in the books but his name is never given and whoever he was he had little or no impact on his son's adult lives.

* AdaptionalJerkass: The literary Shinwell was also a reformed crook looking to take down his former colleagues but was far less abrasive, less obsessive and more loyal to Holmes.

->'''Watson''': ''You know, for a genius you can be a real nimrod.''

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Sherlock becomes this whenever he's around his brother Mycroft, calling him "Fatty" and needling him. It only gets worse after [[spoiler: he deduces that Mycroft slept with Watson.]]

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Holmes and Watson's relationship in the series grows into a close friendship and it's evident that they care for each other. Holmes even panics at one moment when he thinks Watson's been shot in "A Giant Gun, Filled with Drugs" and after a speech about his partnership with Watson and its complexity, he [[spoiler: gives her a chest filled with his cold cases so she can solve on her own and "succeed where he failed" in "An Unnatural Arrangement".]]

** Anything relating to [[spoiler: Irene's death]] is a huge trigger for Sherlock during the first season.
** Another button was in "A Giant Gun, Filled With Drugs" when [[spoiler: Rhys tempted Sherlock to take cocaine to help with the case]], he threw out and nearly strangled the latter while ''shouting'' for even suggesting such a thing.

** This trope is deconstructed [[spoiler: and then reconstructed]] in "Tremors". Sherlock (and by association, Watson) goes to court thanks to his bad attitude and lack of professionalism due to a shooting that affected Detective Bell. After the evaluation, [[spoiler: the judge recognizes the value of their work to the NYPD, but also recognizes how dangerous Sherlock's lack of control and bad mood can be, deciding to end his career as a police detective. After that, Detective Bell thinks it would be better if Sherlock kept the job, so he continues to work with the NYPD, but without Bell's friendship and on bad terms with Watson, although they all eventually become friends again.]]

* ChildHater: He's visibly uncomfortable with children, something that is implied to be caused by his own unhappy childhood. His reaction to seeing Watson look at a picture of a mother and her baby is a disdainful "who's the breeder?", and when [[spoiler: Kitty]] brings her son to meet him he gets a look on a face that she describes as "like I'd brought a giant spider into his house." [[spoiler: Subverted in the latter case - it wasn't the kid he had a problem with, it was that she had had a child and not bothered to tell him until now, which he interpreted as her not seeing him as a friend anymore.]]
** He seems to have softened with this: in season six when he discovers [[spoiler: Watson has been seriously considering becoming a mother (by adopting), he fully supports her on it and plainly states he would "lay down his life for him or her (the child)"]] as he would do for Watson. And in the first episode of season seven, Sherlock is seen spending time with [[spoiler: Kitty's son Archie]], rather cheerfully treating him to ice cream in the morning. Of course these could all just be exceptions.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler: "M." reveals that the death of Irene Adler caused his breakdown. Moriarty-Irene faked her own death using Moran's M.O. in order to get out of Holmes's sphere, and in the process, likely unintentionally sent Holmes headlong into his worst drug use.]]

** He comes close to crossing it again [[spoiler: in London when he is fired from his now job and his aspiring protogé Kitty walked out on him, but he was saved when Kitty returned.]]

** And then in "The Woman" [[spoiler: we see the sweet Irene Adler, the love of his life, revealing her real identity: Moriarty, the one who destroyed his life.]]
** In "Blood Is Thicker" [[spoiler: we see that his brother, Mycroft, is planning something behind Sherlock's back to bring him back to London and using Watson to make Sherlock fall into his gambit.]]

** Also, he is one for [[spoiler: Moriarty. While both of them share the genius, the intellect and the sensitivity, Sherlock is a good person who wants to make the world a better place, while Moriarty is cruel, criminal and wants to destroy everything.]]

* HeartbrokenBadass: The loss of Irene did a number on him. [[spoiler: And then the revelation that Irene ''is'' Moriarty broke his heart forever.]]

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: [[spoiler: Well, he fell in love with Irene Adler knowing she was an international art thief and yet still decided to go on with the relationship believing she was a good person because of ''why'' she stole: to preserve what would only be ruined by reparation.]]

* InTheBlood: [[spoiler: Morland reveals to Sherlock that his mother was also an addict. Sherlock is stunned, but concludes that she isn't responsible for her own actions.]]

* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler: As of the series finale he's the only remaining member of the Holmes family after his father is murdered by Odin Reichenbach.]]

* MenDontCry: Averted. Sherlock nearly cries in the second episode, nearly cries ''twice'' in "M.", nearly cries again in "Dead Man's Switch" and finally cries out loud in "Risk Management". [[spoiler: And then there's the moment where he discovers Irene is alive...]]

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Sherlock's attitude toward [[spoiler: Moriarty]] and then subverted. [[spoiler:It's Watson, not Holmes, who figures out how to defeat her. When Moriarty's caught, Holmes has no problem giving Joan full credit.]]
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: Acts this way when is extremely upset or jealous. This is more visible in "The Marchioness" when [[spoiler: he discovers that Watson slept with Mycroft and starts to argue with both of them.]]

* SiblingRivalry: With Mycroft. [[spoiler: It only gets worse after he discovers Watson slept with Mycroft.]]

-->"I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm not calm. I am merely presenting a calm exterior. Inside, I am roiling."
* TraumaCongaLine: [[spoiler:Courtesy of Jamie Moriarty]] before the beginning of Season 1 and [[spoiler: it only gets worse.]]

--->'''Joan''': So you plan on arguing on the internet all night?\\
'''Sherlock''': Yes.

* UnwittingPawn: In Moriarty's plan for [[spoiler: killing Moran]] in "A Landmark Story".

->'''Sherlock''': ''The thing that's different about me, empirically speaking, is you.''

* AnimalMotifs: Bees are a motif for the series, in general, but Watson is somewhat the one who is most associated with them. In "Pilot" Sherlock mentions her daily use of beeswax in her hands. In the same episode, she is the one who notices the honey falling through the ceiling of her bedroom. [[spoiler: And then Sherlock even names a whole new species after her in "Heroine".]]

** To [[spoiler: Moriarty]] in "Heroine": "You are afraid of him".
** To [[spoiler: Moriarty ''again'' (about Sherlock's interest in her)]] in "The Diabolical Kind": "That bothers you, doesn't it?"
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: In "Pilot", Joan discovers the whole reason of Sherlock's drug addiction and despair with ''one look''. As the series progresses, her background as a doctor has actually allowed her to notice certain aspects about a case and correctly deduce the facts before Sherlock. This was first shown in "The Deductionist" when Joan realizes that [[spoiler: Patricia Ennis deliberately destroyed her kidneys in order to aid her brother's escape]], Mycroft being [[spoiler:a cancer survivor from IV scars on his arms]], and in "Alma Matters" when she [[spoiler: deduces from Morland's eating habits that he had part of his stomach removed and that the the injury came from a failed assassination attempt.]]

* BatmanGambit: Her plan to [[spoiler: capture Moriarty in "Heroine" is flawless. She knows Moriarty wants to win over Sherlock at any costs and own him as an object. She also knows Moriarty would never let him go without trying to turn him to her side. Then she plans the whole overdose scheme waiting for Moriarty to show up at the hospital. It works.]]

* BigSisterInstinct: In "Lesser Evils" she quickly socializes with her friend's patient and is able to diagnose her within seconds. In "Dirty Laundry" she empathizes and truly cares for the victim's daughter and [[spoiler: thanks to it is able to find new evidence and put the missing pieces together, helping Holmes to solve the case.]]

* FlawExploitation: [[spoiler: Watson sends Moriarty to jail using her arrogance and her obsession with Sherlock against her.]]

* {{Foil}}: To Sherlock. While Sherlock is HotBlooded and emotionally dumb, Watson is TheStoic, emotionally intelligent and controlled. This makes the whole difference in the season finale, when [[spoiler: Watson's ability to stay cool and focused allowed her to deduce and capture Moriarty.]]
** [[spoiler: In "We Are Everyone" we see that Watson is also a foil to Moriarty. While Moriarty is selfish about her relationship with Sherlock and destructive, Watson is his MoralityChain and wants to share their friendship with the world.]]

* GutFeeling: In "Lesser Evils" she has a feeling that a little girl may be suffering from a serious condition and Sherlock encourages her to trust her intuition. [[spoiler: She was right]]. In "Déjà Vu All Over Again", she dislikes one person who was involved with the victim of the week. [[spoiler: She was right, again.]]

* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Watson is Light, [[spoiler: Moriarty is Dark]].

* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler: She has a paternal half-sister named Lin. Lin knew all about Joan and resents her.]]

* MirrorCharacter: For Sherlock. She essentially becomes him in Season 3, complete with an ArchEnemy all her own [[spoiler: who, very much like Jamie Moriarty, is a wealthy, ruthless, and extremely arrogant woman]]. However, unlike Holmes, she prefers to work alone without a partner or protege.

* MoralityChain: By the end of the first season, Watson becomes this to Holmes. Lampshaded in "Heroine" by Sherlock himself, when [[spoiler: he says he didn't use Vicodin for his back pain because of her]]. Holmes explicitly states more than once that he considers himself 'better' in Watson's company than he is on his own, and outright calls her his 'best friend' on more than one occasion.

* NervesOfSteel: In "Heroine", she stares down Moriarty without so much as a bead of sweat coming out. [[spoiler: Lampshaded by Moriarty herself, when she notices that Watson is not afraid of her.]]

* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: Watson and Moriarty [[spoiler: lunch together in "Heroine".]]

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Lampshaded in "The Marchioness". [[spoiler: The fact that she slept with Mycroft]] is this in Sherlock's opinion and he lampshades it by saying it is unlike her "to introduce such a free radical into an otherwise highly functional relationship". She doesn't like it.

* PluckyGirl: She's a lot older and more mature than the usual for this trope, but she qualifies through her sheer determination and ability to overcome her weaknesses. It's most apparent in "Heroine" where she manages to [[spoiler: bring Moriarty down all by herself.]]

** In "Heroine": [[spoiler: About Moriarty: "What say we go stop this bitch?"]]
** In "Blood is Thicker": [[spoiler: About Papa Holmes: "Screw him."]]

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Joan seems to like moral and virtuous men. She left Liam when he didn't want her help with his drug addiction (as we can see in "You Do It To Yourself"), she is interested in Jeff after he wants to see if she's okay in "We Are Everyone" and [[spoiler: she slept with Mycroft because he was "sincere, sweet and funny", as we can see in "The Marchioness".]]

** While not physically "badass" (not yet, at least), Watson is rapidly developing considerable deductive skills. Within a few weeks of meeting Sherlock, she's good enough at deduction to realize that [[spoiler: her date was lying when he said he wasn't married]] and a few episodes later that [[spoiler: Sherlock has a fear of planes]], just through body language cues. She also diagnoses a girl with a relatively rare condition through a minor foot injury, in an interesting confluence of her medical skills and burgeoning powers of deduction that makes her seem not unlike Series/{{House}}.

** Takes an even bigger level in "Heroine" when [[spoiler: she is the one who deduces and brings down Moriarty]].

** In "We Are Everyone" she is already an expert in lockpicking and [[spoiler: then she learns pickpocketing ''by herself'' and stoles the watch of the criminal of the week, being able to catch the evidence needed to solve the case]]. Even Holmes gets impressed and is speechless for a moment.
* {{Troll}}: In "Ancient History", Watson makes Sherlock panic for a few seconds by [[spoiler: telling him that her friend Jennifer could be pregnant with his child]].
* UnderestimatingBadassery: [[spoiler: Moriarty underestimated Joan, calling her "a mascot". Turns out that Joan was the one who solved the crucial Moriarty puzzle in "Risk Management" ''and'' was the one who solved Moriarty herself, being instrumental to her capture in "Heroine".]]

* TheWatson: As an audience surrogate, of course, from a female point of view. Downplayed as she's slowly becoming a decent investigator in her own right. [[spoiler: Deconstructed in the season finale, when she was underestimated by [[BigBad Moriarty]] and in the end was the only one able to "solve" her, being promoted from {{Sidekick}} to TheHeroine and Sherlock is the one who needs to explain to Moriarty (and the audience) her deduction and plan.]]

* WhamShot: In "We Are Everyone", [[spoiler: the screen of her computer when she starts writing the chronicles of Sherlock Holmes.]]

** Also demonstrated in "The Red Team": He's understandably disturbed by Sherlock's willingness to [[spoiler: kidnap and torture Moran]] in the previous episode. When Watson defends Sherlock by pointing out that he believed [[spoiler: Moran]] was responsible for Irene's death, this is his response:

* ByTheBookCop: "Details" show that this almost gets him killed as [[spoiler: his ex-girlfriend, a fellow police officer, tried to murder him and his brother because Marcus had gone to Internal Affairs with evidence that her former superior on a major drug case was a DirtyCop, thus blocking her chances at promotion.]]

* ADayInTheLimelight: "Details" centers around an attempt on his life, as well as his ex-criminal brother Andre. "All in the Family" centers around his [[spoiler: work for the Demographics Unit and his return to the NYPD.]] In season 5, his relationship with Chantal becomes the basis of a multi-episode story arc.

* FriendOnTheForce: After [[spoiler: Gregson stops trusting Holmes]]. Sherlock comes to refer to all the other detectives who are not Gregson and Bell as "Not Bell". {{Lampshaded}} in "All in the Family". [[spoiler:Holmes and Watson dismiss the cops they've been working with since Bell moved to the Demographics unit as a series of "[[SuckSessor bad dates]]".]]

-> '''Played by''': Creator/RhysIfans

* AdaptationalWimp: In the books and many protrayals, Mycroft is a member of the British Government and a "human database" with the influence that his brother once called him "the British government itself." Here he's a restauranteur and [[spoiler: even his work with MI-6 is that of an informant and intelligence asset rather than a position in the organization itself.]]
* AloofBigBrother: His relationship with Sherlock is so strained that he couldn't even bring himself to tell Sherlock that he was ill and needed a bone marrow donor. He genuinely loves and cares for Sherlock as evidenced by him [[spoiler: saying "I love you, brother" before disappearing in hiding.]]
* AmbiguouslyEvil: [[spoiler: His motives for separating Sherlock from Joan followed by his mysterious phone conversation is a bit suspect. Joan's kidnapping at Diogenes at the end of "The Man With The Twisted Lip" may or may not have been orchestrated by him.]]
** In "Paint it Black", it's revealed that [[spoiler: Mycroft is with [=MI6=], and while he didn't orchestrate Joan's kidnapping, he certainly allowed her to become collateral damage and gambled that Sherlock would find the real person who leaked the Swiss bank list.]]
* TheAtoner: Mycroft is trying to repair his relationship with Sherlock after he was unable to tell him he had cancer and needed a bone marrow transplant. [[spoiler: He also claims that due to the British government's interest in the brothers, his role with [=MI6=] was also his way of protecting Sherlock.]]
* BatmanGambit: The plot of "The Man With the Twisted Lip" and "Paint it Black" [[spoiler: turns out to have been engineered by Mycroft all along. Step 1 - pretend to be a UpperClassTwit and allow French mobsters to set up shop in your New York restaurant. Step 2 - rely on your brother and his partner's connection to the police and natural suspicion to begin investigating said mobsters. Step 3 - when Joan is kidnapped by the mobsters, rely on Sherlock's feelings for his partner to find the information the French mobsters want. Step 4 - when information is acquired, incapacitate Sherlock so your plan won't be disturbed. Step 5 - make the trade for Joan, allow the head of Le Milieu to escape with what is likely a doctored list, and rely on the mobsters to attempt to kill you and Joan. Step 6 - signal for your [=MI6=] sniper team to take the mobsters out.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: Subverted [[spoiler:at first. While the brothers' relationship is presented as prickly and distant at best, the Season 2 finale reveals Mycroft is extremely protective of Sherlock, despite former evidence to the contrary. He had in fact gotten out of the espionage world, but then Sherlock was used by a terrorist in committing crimes. [=MI6=] offered to drop treason charges against Sherlock if Mycroft rejoined them, and he did so promptly. When Sherlock finds this out, he is visibly confused as to why Mycroft would do this.]]
--> '''Sherlock:''' You... owed me nothing.\\

** Mycroft then goes on to [[spoiler: contact the NSA and allow his death to be faked, meaning he'll have to leave his entire life behind and disappear, probably permanently, all because the alternative would mean Sherlock and Joan being killed.]]

--> "It's funny that Sherlock's never mentioned me to you. I wonder why that might be? Maybe it's because the last time I saw him he was face-deep in my fiancée".
* IdleRich: Subverted. In Sherlock's opinion, he is this, but runs several successful restaurants and really is good at his work (his restaurant has 2 Michelin stars). [[spoiler: He's also an [=MI6=] agent.]]

** In "Paint it Black", he manages to one-up not only himself, but Sherlock as well: [[spoiler: Mycroft and [=MI6=] have been playing GambitRoulette with Le Milieu, Mycroft posing as a UpperClassTwit, allowing Le Milieu a foothold into the States with Diogenes, while he engineers their downfall. He allows Joan to be kidnapped and talks Sherlock into finding who leaked a bank list that many spy agencies and countries would like to get their hands on, tasing Sherlock when he's too close to the truth, and arranging for his team to extract him and Joan when the exchange is made with Le Milieu.]]

* OutGambitted: In "Blood Is Thicker", [[spoiler: Mycroft tries to make Sherlock move back to London and uses Sherlock's affection for Watson to convince him. Well, he didn't expect Watson's response at all (staying in New York with Sherlock even without money) and his plan failed.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: See BatmanGambit and ManipulativeBastard. Seems this version of Mycroft [[spoiler: ''is'' as cunning as Sherlock and is actually an [=MI6=] consultant.]]

* AntiHero[=/=]AntiVillain: He tends to go back and forth between the two throughout the fourth season. [[spoiler: He falls firmly into the latter by the end of it, choosing to become the boss of Moriarty's organization in order to dismantle from the inside.]]

* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler: Returns towards the end of season 7 and is promptly killed on Reichenbach's orders.]]

* CompositeCharacter: Despite being an original character, his "consulting work" makes him eerily similar to Conan Doyle's version of Professor Moriarty, the consulting criminal. [[spoiler: He eventually becomes leader of Moriarty's organization.]]

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: He didn't make his money honestly, that's for sure. In fact it's his job to bribe and exhort on behalf of corporations and governments. [[spoiler: He also has no problem claiming responsibility for the assassination of an INTERPOL agent in order to terrify someone, even though he didn't do it.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He comes by his money through dubious means and his actions have caused the deaths of countless innocents, but even Sherlock has to concede that he would never head up an organization that intentionally murders people for profit. [[spoiler: When he does agree to do so, it's for the explicit purpose of tearing said organization down from the inside. While he is unable to do this, he does manage to make less murder-oriented crimes the organization's focus during his time as its leader.]]
* EvilVersusEvil: [[spoiler: Him vs. Moriarty in Season 6 and him vs. Odin Reichenbach in Season 7. In both cases, he is the lesser of the two evils and thus on Sherlock's side.]]

* HazyFeelTurn: [[spoiler: He becomes the leader of Moriarty's organization, which means he'll have to start doing even more terrible things than even he's used to, but it's for the purpose of eventually destroying the group from the inside. Unfortunately for him, by the sixth season he's begun to accept that this task is impossible, especially in light of his failing health.]]
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: He denies that he's as monstrous as Sherlock makes him out to be, until he learns that the attempt on his life that cost him his girlfriend was all because of him possessing all the qualities required to lead Moriarty's criminal organization in her absence and having the record to prove it.]]

** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: In both Season 6 and 7, he's developed into this. In spite of his flaws and criminal position, he truly does love his son and is willing to do anything for him.]]
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: In "Unfriended", he returns after a lengthy absence. Turns out he was brought BackForTheDead.]]

* OffstageVillainy: In the Kitty Winter two-parter in Season 5, [[spoiler: we get to hear about several high-scale criminal operations that Morland has directed as the head of Moriarty's organization.]]

** [[spoiler: His return in Season 6 has him even more committed to doing right by Sherlock following Mycroft's death and his own unsuccessful attempts at dismantling Moriarty's organization from within. This time, it goes more successfully than it did before.]]
** [[spoiler: In Season 7, he teams up with his son to help defeat Odin Reichenbach. It costs him his life, and his last words are to concernedly ask what is going to happen to his son.]]
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: In "Unfriended", he seems to fully reconcile with Sherlock as they team up to stop Odin Reichenbach. Naturally, this means he ends up getting killed by the end of the episode.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler: He eventually becomes head of Moriarty's organization so he can destroy it from the inside. He is unable to do this, but he ''does'' manage to prevent it from engaging in any more mass murder.]]

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: He doesn't show much reaction when people refer to him by his personal name, but at the end of "The Cost of Doing Business", when [[spoiler: his Interpol contact, Lucas, attempts to blackmail him and in response Morland claimed to have had Lucas's predecessor murdered when he tried asking for more money,]] their meeting ends with:
-->'''Lucas:''' I'm sorry, Morland. I'm very sorry.
-->'''Morland:''' Lucas... (''{{beat}}'') Call me Mister Holmes.

-->Played by: [[spoiler: Creator/JoannaChristie]]

* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: She's remembered fondly by all of the Holmes men, even Morland, and her death greatly affected them. [[spoiler: Even the revelation that she was a drug addict like him does little to taint the saint-like image Sherlock has of his mother.]]
* TheGhost: Only mentioned in passing a few times and little is revealed about this particular member of the Holmes family beyond that she died years before. [[spoiler: Becomes somewhat literal in the final two episodes of Season 5, where the woman Sherlock has been speaking with is a hallucination of his mother.]]
* HistoryRepeatsItself: [[spoiler: Years after her death and a confrontation between Sherlock and Morland leads father to reveal this to his son: May suffered from drug addiction and it was part of the reason for her death.]]
* MissingMom: She died when both her sons were young and attending boarding school neither aware that [[spoiler: Morland divorced her in an attempt to convince her to get clean.]]

-> '''Played by''': Creator/AtoEssandoh

-> '''Played by''': Creator/CandisCayne

* TheMistress: Ms. Hudson's official job description is "[[TheMuse professional muse]]", but she's referred to by Sherlock and herself as a kept woman. [[spoiler: She gives up being one by the end of "Snow Angels".]]

-->'''Joan:''' So, did he behave himself while I was gone?
-->'''Kitty:''' That depends. Are you talking about the frowny one with the hard shell, [[BaitAndSwitchComment or do you mean Clyde?]]

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: He dies right before the two-part Season 5 finale, at the end of an episode that was mostly unrelated to him.]]

-> '''Played by''': Creator/SeanPertwee

* AttentionWhore: Deconstructed. Lestrade's a good detective, but he wants the fame more that comes from solving high-profile cases. He was disgraced and practically laughed off the force when one case blew up in his face. [[spoiler: He falls back into his fame hungry ways after Sherlock solves the case.]]

* BreakTheHaughty: When Sherlock left him, it did a real number on his career. [[spoiler: Got even worse when Sherlock left again. He was reduced to being a glorified pimp, which severely damaged his already fragile self esteem.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Non-lethal variation. The fact he willingly sacrifices his (high-paying, well-respected) job to catch a murderer instills great respect in Holmes and Watson.]]
* HesBack: [[spoiler: InUniverse when at the end of "Ears To You", he manages to return to being a excellent detective on his own.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler: Lestrade took credit for Sherlock's work for years, then ignored all Sherlock's attempts to help him and at the end of "Step Nine" took advantage of Sherlock's wit again.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler: His sub-plot in "Ears To You" shows he's actually become quite clever.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: The events of "The One Percent Solution" display more of his good qualities. [[spoiler: And across the episodes he admits his faults and becomes a much better person.]]

* JusticeByOtherLegalMeans: [[spoiler: Is willing to fabricate evidence to get what she perceives to be justice done]].

-> '''Played by''': Creator/TimGuinee

[[folder: Moriarty *Spoiler Character*]]

* AdaptationalBadass: As portrayals of [[spoiler: Irene Adler]] go, she even outclasses [[Series/{{Sherlock}} The BBC's]] version in this regard. That version managed to "bring the country of England to its knees", but she was ultimately still a minor villain compared to Moriarty. This version ''is'' Moriarty.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Moriarty holds an aspect the original one never did. [[spoiler: In [[Literature/SherlockHolmes the original stories]], Irene was nothing more than an unusually clever opera singer who happened to get her hands on a compromising photograph, and was smart enough to prevent Holmes from stealing it back. Here, she's a persona deliberately created by her true identity, Moriarty, to seduce and fool Holmes.]]

-->'''Moriarty''': I would never kill you. Not in a million years. You may not be as unique as you thought, [[spoiler: darling]], but you're still a work of art. I appreciate art. But, what I can do - what I ''will'' do - is ''hurt'' you. Worse than I did before. I have reserves of creativity I haven't even ''begun'' to tap. So please, for your own good, ''let me win.''

* ComplexityAddiction: While claiming to dislike certain schemes, such as kidnappings, as there are too many 'moving parts' that could go wrong, Moriarty seems to suffer from this, especially [[spoiler: when she is focused on Sherlock. She could've killed him years ago, but insisted on studying him, creating a whole new identity for this and messing with his head for years. The simple fact that she can't stop with the abuse and the mind-games is what allowed Watson to send her to jail]].

* CulturedBadass: A very talented painter and [[spoiler: art thief]] who does it for pure appreciation of art.
* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: A downplayed version. [[spoiler: She had a daughter she gave up for adoption after birth primarily because it would interfere with running her criminal empire but she also acknowledges that her nature would make her an unfit mother both of which make an unsuitable environment for a child to grow up in.]]
* DamselInDistress: Subverted. At first we think [[spoiler: Irene has been traumatized and held captive by Moriarty for months]] but turns out that [[spoiler:she ''was'' Moriarty and]] was the one planning everything.
* DatingCatwoman: [[spoiler: Irene]] was Holmes' ex-girlfriend in London. Seduced him to study his intelligence and methods and then destroyed him. She and Holmes still have this odd kind of relationship, even after they officially become enemies.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Sherlock Holmes ruins her plans? It's time to [[spoiler: create a whole new persona, seduce him, live with him for a while until you fake your own death and leads the man to despair and heroin addiction.]] Her original idea of just killing him would have been kinder.

** In "The Diabolical Kind" she ''tries'' to comprehend goodness and feelings, but fails, still asking Sherlock just how he does it as it's beyond her grasp. Even the care she has for [[spoiler: her daughter is something she doesn't really understand and gives the impression that she'd much rather be without it.]]

* FakingTheDead: Moriarty planned and faked her own death because she knew how this would affect Holmes and be good for her plans. [[spoiler: Does it again in the series finale after Holmes inadvertedly makes her realize its benefits. This time, Holmes is not fooled for one minute.]]

* GenreMotif: In the flashbacks of "The Woman", everytime Sherlock meets her, [[spoiler: a soft and romantic piano song starts playing.]]

** In "The Diabolical Kind" [[spoiler: she gets furious because her henchmen had the nerve to kidnap ''her'' daughter and try to take over ''her'' criminal empire. She likely wouldn't help the police if her henchmen were doing something else that didn't affect her in any way.]]
* ItsPersonal: Instead of just killing Sherlock as planned, Moriarty dropped her initial plans to murder him, [[spoiler: seduced him to understand his methods and his brain and became obsessed with him. Then she faked her own death, knowing he would be devastated, and continued to toy with him after his recovery for personal amusement.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Even though she cares for Sherlock, she remains arrogant, cruel, vicious, haughty, and obsessed with Holmes to the point of ruining his entire life and career without remorse. She later [[spoiler: rescues her daughter out of MamaBear instincts, but once she does so resumes having no personal interest in said daughter whatsoever.]]

** [[spoiler: Addressed in "The Diabolical Kind" where she refrains from killing her guard only because it would have looked bad to Sherlock. She asks him if caring how other people perceived him is what keeps him grounded.]]

* MamaBear: "The Diabolical Kind" reveals that [[spoiler: she has a young daughter, who is kidnapped by one of her former henchmen. She escapes from her prison, hunts down and murders the henchman and his team, while bleeding out from cutting her wrists to short circuit her handcuffs. She afterward implies that this is due to a biological maternal bond she can't get rid of, much to her irritation.]]

* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: To the point where [[spoiler: she willingly returns to prison at the end of "The Diabolical Kind", despite having the opportunity to escape. She tells Sherlock that she doesn't want to live like a fugitive, especially when she'll be free soon enough. By Season 6, she has finally escaped, the FBI having "gradually lost track of her".]]
* MinorMajorCharacter: Despite being the BigBad of the show, [[spoiler: Moriarty appears in 4 episodes, and in 2 others only as a voice-over.]]

* {{Narcissist}}: Moriarty is a cold, manipulative chameleon who believes she is superior to ''everyone''. The reason she [[spoiler: became Irene Adler]] was to examine Sherlock up close and personal as a warped experiment after she thought he was a threat but was intrigued by how similar their minds were; the reason she [[spoiler: faked her death]] was because she concluded that she was ''better'' than he was and hat he therefore posed no threat- she views his subsequent emotional breakdown and spiral into drugs not as a destructive but normal human reaction to a tragedy, [[InsaneTrollLogic but as proof that she was correct to judge him inferior after all.]]

* NonActionBigBad: Save for [[spoiler: personally shooting Isaac Proctor]], all of Moriarty's crimes are committed at a remove. In "The Diabolical Kind" [[spoiler:she averts this by going out personally to handle her daughter's kidnappers]].

* NotSoStoic: In "The Diabolical Kind", when [[spoiler: her kidnapped daughter is put on the phone she displays visible anger, which is how Watson figures out that something is not right.]]

* PetTheDog: Her one unambiguously good act was [[spoiler: giving up her daughter for adoption at birth, knowing full well that not only would a child interfere with her career but that her career plus evil nature would make her a terrible mother for the child, and she actually did want better for the girl.]]

** [[spoiler: She sees no need to escape from prison and become a fugitive. She's content to just sit back and wait for the corruption of the world to just secure her release, which it has by Season 6.]]
%% * ProneToTears: In "The Woman", [[spoiler: a traumatized Irene is the epitome of this trope]]. Subverted by the end when it turns out it was just an act.

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Rather possessive of people viewed as equals, which is basically only Sherlock. Has issued standing orders that he is not to be harmed in any way, and in "The Female of the Species" [[spoiler: Watson joins the list, as she arranged the murder of Elena March for almost killing Joan.]]
* ThisIsUnforgivable: How Joan reacts to Moriarty's [[spoiler: abusive and manipulative behavior in "The Diabolical Kind", directly warning Sherlock that "she's never gonna change".]]

* VillainHasAPoint: Moriarty may be a criminal, but it's hard to argue with [[spoiler: her reasons for giving up her daughter for adoption. As she points out, a criminal mastermind does not make an ideal mother.]]

-> '''Played by''': Creator/VinnieJones

* DrivenToSuicide: Was forced to commit suicide by banging his head against a mirror when Moriarty sent him this message: [[spoiler: "MORAN YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU HAD A SISTER. [[SadisticChoice SHE DIES OR YOU DO. YOUR CHOICE.]] M".]]

* GeniusBruiser: All of his crimes are perfectly calculated, and he is a frighteningly strong man. He becomes an even stronger example of the trope once it's discovered that his crimes [[spoiler: were paid assassinations]], even if they were not necessarily [[TheManBehindTheMan planned by]] [[TheDragon him.]] To whit - breaking into his victims' homes while carrying a large tripod device, killing the victim quietly using a fairly complex method, leaving carrying said tripod and the victim's body, ''all without being seen'' would not have been easy, yet he did it successfully three dozen times. [[spoiler:Moriarty]] chose a splendid tool.

* HeroKiller: [[spoiler: Subverted. Turns out he didn't kill Irene Adler. He still fits the type of character, however.]]

* NotMeThisTime: As noted above, he insists that he was in prison when [[spoiler: Irene Adler was murdered. Holmes soon verifies that he's telling the truth.]]

* SerialKiller: What he is believed to be. [[spoiler: He is actually a hitman.]]

* TheSociopath: He gleefully admits to having murdered 36 people. [[spoiler: Kills another person later while in prison, laughing and ''singing a song'' after he does it.]]
* TooKinkyToTorture: He laughs and mocks [[spoiler: Sherlock's torture.]]

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: On the receiving end from Moriarty]].

-> '''Played by''': Creator/FMurrayAbraham

[[folder: Isaac Proctor]]

-> '''Played by''': Creator/ErikJensen

--> Then a few hours ago, she tried to have me killed.

[[folder: Joshua Vikner]]

* ArcVillain: [[spoiler: Revealed to be the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on Morland Holmes and is now essentially at war with him.]]
* BigBadWannabe: He may have been Moriarty's hand picked successor, but he's not quite pragmatic enough to fill in. Several of his subordinates note that he's a hammer in situations that require a scalpel. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Morland Holmes makes a far more appropriate successor to Moriarty than he does.]]

[[folder: Del Gruner]]

* ArcVillain: Of [[spoiler: Kitty Winter's]] arc.

* FacialHorror: The consequences of [[spoiler: Kitty's revenge]] leave his entire face in bandages.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: He kept one of his victims alive longer than his usual MO after she became pregnant with his child and arranged for the baby to be adopted by a member of his company so he could influence the boy's life. After Holmes and Watson realise this, they're able to use the son's DNA (since it matches both the murdered woman and Gruner) to prove that he is a serial rapist and killer.]]

[[folder: Michael Rowan]]

[[folder: *Spoiler Character of Season 7*]]

[[folder: Cassie Lenue]]

* BaldOfAwesome: For a few episodes in season five, after Everyone makes him shave his head in exchange for their help.

* {{Expy}}:
** Like Finch from ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', he's a computer engineer who uses software and access to people's e=mails and personal data to predict crimes they're going to commit. One stationed in New York and who uses third-party proxies to prevent them rather than contact the authorities. Unlike Finch, Rechenbach is a public figure, personable, and more sociable... not to mention being the BigBad for the final season.
** He's also like Light Yagami from ''Series/DeathNote'', in that Rechenbach is also a VillainWithGoodPublicity who murders both criminals and innocent people who get in his way, while fully [[KnightTemplar convinced of his own self-righteousness]]. Also like Light, Reichenbach becomes [[SmugSnake more smug]] as he becomes more successful, which allows the detective they face to pull a ThanatosGambit on them where their successor would find a way to bring him to justice. It also worth mentioning that his first name, Odin, is the name of the most powerful god in Myth/NorseMythology, which fits into Light Yagami's god complex.

[[caption-width-right:270:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moriarty_343_220.png[[/labelnote]] to see Moriarty. Massive spoilers, obviously.]]

!![[spoiler:Jamie]] Moriarty [[spoiler:(alias Irene Adler)]]
%%[[caption-width-right:270:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moriarty_343_220.png[[/labelnote]] to see Moriarty. Massive spoilers, obviously.]]
->'''Played by''': [[spoiler: Creator/NatalieDormer]]

* FriendOnTheForce: After [[spoiler: Gregson stops trusting Holmes]]. Sherlock comes to refer to all the other detectives who are not Gregson and Bell as "Not Bell". {{Lampshaded}} in "All in the Family". [[spoiler:Holmes and Watson dismiss the cops they've been working with since Bell moved to the Demographics unit as a series of "[[ReplacementScrappy bad dates]]".]]

* {{Asexuality}}: Subverted. Joan initially believes him to be this, but she quickly finds out that he isn't.

** He's also like Light Yagami from ''Series/DeathNote'', in that Rechenbach is also a VillainWithGoodPublicity who murders both criminals and innocent people who get in his way, while fully [[KnightTemplar convinced of his own self-righteousness]]. Also like Light, Reichenbach becomes [[SmugSnake more smug]] as he becomes more successful, which allows the detective they face to pull a ThanatosGambit on them where their successor would find as way to bring him to justice. It also worth mentioning that his first name, Odin, is the name of the most powerful god in Myth/NorseMythology, which fits into Light Yagami's god complex.
* {{Foil}}: To Moriarty. Both were heads of international and financially successful organizations. One was a woman, and an international fugitive, whose stock in trade was murders and crimes with a network of spies and assassins. The other is a respected business man trying to ''prevent'' crimes from happening--even at the expense of innocents. [[BookEnds The former was the Arc Villain of the first season while the latter is the Arc Villain of the final season.]]

* BadBoss: Don't stop being useful to Moriarty; death by sniper rifle is the least painful retirement plan. Even then, being useful is no guarantee. See WeHaveReserves below.

* MixedAncestry: The pilot implied that her father was white and her mother Chinese. It's later established that this man is her ''step''father and that Joan and her brother took his name when their mother remarried. Their biological father is Chinese.

* BerserkButton: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]], as she doesn't get angry about it, but she doesn't like when people treat her as a lesser person because of her neuro-atypicality. She nearly breaks up with Sherlock over her belief that he is doing this, before he explains himself.

---> "It's funny that Sherlock's never mentioned me to you. I wonder why that might be? Maybe it's because the last time I saw him he was face-deep in my fiancée".

--->'''Moriarty''': I would never kill you. Not in a million years. You may not be as unique as you thought, [[spoiler: darling]], but you're still a work of art. I appreciate art. But, what I can do - what I ''will'' do - is ''hurt'' you. Worse than I did before. I have reserves of creativity I haven't even ''begun'' to tap. So please, for your own good, ''let me win.''

* StuffedInTheFridge: Invoked and deconstructed. [[spoiler:She fakes her death and counts on Sherlock's guilt to incapacitate him, and thus distract him from her actual plans. [[GoneHorriblyRight It worked better than she expected.]]]]

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: An unusual example since his behaviour isn't based on outdated mores but on ([[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment what he considers to be]]) cutting-edge science - for instance, at one point he tells Watson to go to bed because studies have shown that women need more sleep than men do. [[note]]Watson shoots back by noting that he neglected to mention that the same studies show that the reason why women need more sleep is that [[WomenAreWiser their brains are more active while they're awake.]][[/note]]

** Alistair offers a different interpretation; that Sherlock has friends but that being his friend is an on-again, off-again affair, that he'll show up when he needs something then vanish but the experience is worthwhile while it lasts. Joan is effective Sherloc's first full-time friend.

** When Watson is the one asking for information, Everyone usually make her indulge their fetishes, albeit in a way that's funny without being degrading. On one occasion, she had to livestream Holmes' bees while playing Creator/BarryWhite music. Holmes later tells her that one of Everyone's founders has an insect fetish. For another request, she had to stream herself crumpling up dozens of pieces of tissue paper, which some of Everyone's members found arousing.