(Warning: Spoilers for S5E22 of Elementary lie ahead!)
Elementary fans were in for a shock last night (May 7), when SBK gang member-turned-informant Shinwell Johnson (played by Nelsan Ellis) was killed as he tried to take down SBK from within.
After asking Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) for help in getting an SBK lieutenant arrested so that he could be promoted, Shinwell was promptly found dead in his department.
Chatting to Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Rob Doherty revealed that Shinwell's death will not only have an impact on Sherlock and Joan's case, but their relationship as well.
"We wanted an opportunity to watch his death wash over Sherlock and Joan," he said. "It affects them in very different ways... it's going to be a point of friction."
Despite their complicated relationship with Shinwell, Sherlock and Joan will now apparently find themselves on the back foot as they try to take SBK down without their inside man.
What to Read Next
"Shinwell's death changes things," Doherty said. "They lost their greatest wedge into that organisation. In a lot of respects, Sherlock and Joan are starting from scratch as we get into the last two episodes."
Related: CBS renews 11 shows including Elementary and 2 Broke Girls
Teasing what fans can expect from the upcoming season finale, Doherty added that the brains behind SBK will finally be revealed.
"Sherlock and Joan will realise they've underestimated a certain shadowy member of the group. They're going up against a very different kind of gang leader, to say the least...
"With Shinwell's passing, it was absolutely time to look at the individuals that he was going up against. He said repeatedly that he's one of the shot callers."
Elementary continues on CBS in the US.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
![hollywood, california july 08 hubert point du jour attends the pre screening reception for the premiere of peacocks new series dr death at neuehouse los angeles on july 08, 2021 in hollywood, california photo by matt winkelmeyergetty images](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-1327739589.jpg?crop=0.570xw:0.820xh;0.168xw,0.0468xh&resize=360:* "Peacock's New Series "Dr. Death" Los Angeles Premiere - Arrivals")
