John is brought in to help investigate the theft of a diamond from a museum, little realizing that Karen is somehow involved.

This is the kind of episode that will keep this show running. Containing nothing about John himself, it relies on an interesting and clever premise and an exploration of two of the show's main characters, something that's been a while coming really, as the only person we've discovered much about so far is John himself, and more often than not that's more questions than answers. The solution to the robbery is effective and well thought through, and it's a big help that details come out gradually over the course of the episode. We're used to John being right all the time by now, so it's a perfect time to have him show off his techniques at the start of the episode, only to realize later that he's utterly wrong, having missed the human element from the equation.

A very well written script brings home the fact to John that not everything can be worked out by logic alone, and sometimes you have to feel things to make judgements about them. It's good point, as without any attachments or knowing anyone, John has been very much a player in his own world up to this point. It's here that he starts to learn how to interact with society again. Especially good in the construction is the way it comes full circle, from a blackjack game to solving the case. The blackjack game is a perfect example of John living or dying by the rulebook, and sometimes things aren't just like that.

I do like the way Karen is involved in the action at last, and we get a much better insight into her character here, looking at her past and why she acts the way she does here and in prior episodes. A relationship is starting to build between her and John, which is stronger after the events of this story. There is also more on offer here than the standard police procedural the show's been so far, with the court case scene a real highlight as John takes over from an inept public defender and clears Karen of any complicity in the events at the museum in a matter of seconds. It's his disarming and slightly bumbling presence that I love, as it really demonstrates the dichotomy of his vast knowledge and inability to act like a 'normal' person. Really good stuff.

****

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