‘Elementary’ Season 6: How Will Sherlock’s Health Affect His Partnership With Joan?

Sherlock’s health will put some pressure on his partnership with Joan in Season 6 of CBS’ “Elementary.”

“It’ll put more stress on other parts of his life, and that will include his partnership with Joan (Lucy Liu),” series creator Rob Doherty told TVLine of how Sherlock’s (Jonny Lee Miller) condition will affect his work and his relationship with Joan. “They have a partnership now; she’s not his sober companion. They share a home and a job, and when one of the partners is suffering, the other has to pick up the slack.”

In the trailer for the Season 6 premiere of the crime procedural series, Sherlock reveals to Joan that there’s something wrong about his health. “I’m not well,” the British sleuth says, before expressing worry about his medical condition.”Things could get worse before they get better. If I can no longer function as a detective, I hope for a quick death.”

When Joan gives Sherlock a tight embrace after hearing about his condition, the latter reminds his partner that his diagnosis doesn’t make him a hugger. “My personality hasn’t changed, Watson,” Sherlock says, as Joan continues to cling to him.

While the promo clip clearly shows that Sherlock and Joan have already resolved their differences following their misunderstanding at the end of Season 5, Doherty said that the tension and distrust they had last season will resurface.

“We will see some residual tension and some distrust as we begin the season, but we’re also going to see an attempt from Sherlock to heal the rift,” Doherty said of how Sherlock will try to make it up to Joan after he missed Shinwell’s (Nelsan Ellis) funeral in the Season 5 finale. “At the end of last season, he took positive steps in that he did something which is difficult for him, and he sought the help of another professional. He’s got a diagnosis, and now it’s on him to explain to Joan to what degree it did or did not create problems that existed between them at the end of last season.”

“Elementary” Season 6, episode 1, titled “An Infinite Capacity for Taking Pains,” premieres on Monday, April 30 at 10 p.m. EDT on CBS.