'Elementary' season 5 spoilers: Joan, Sherlock to clear Shinwell's name from murder

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) and Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) will run against time in order to help Shinwell Johnson (Nelsan Ellis) in the next episode of "Elementary" season 5.

In the episode where actor Aidan Quinn will assume the director's chair for the first time, Sherlock and Joan will be approached by Shinwell after the reformed criminal got framed up for being involved in a gang killing. But the detective pair only has three days to prove Shinwell's innocence and find the real culprit of the crime.

Shinwell was first introduced in the series during the premiere episode of "Elementary" season 5 as Joan's former patient when she was still a surgeon. Sherlock and Joan first approached him when they needed his help to locate the person responsible for a series of IED bombings.

This is not the first time that Joan will repay Shinwell's help during the bomb incidents. In episode 2, the former inmate asked Joan to help him locate his teenage daughter since the two of them lost touch when he was imprisoned behind bars.

When he first appeared in the series, the duo had opposite views about Shinwell because Sherlock felt that his dark past can haunt him back in the future. Joan, on the other hand, believed that he is already a changed man after spending time in prison. Yet the duo will now find themselves proving the police wrong about the involvement of Shinwell in a new crime for which he claims his innocence.

The synopsis for the episode titled "It Serves You Right to Suffer" was posted on The Futon Critic. It reads: "When Shinwell comes to Holmes and Watson for help after he's framed for a gang killing, they have three days to find the real murderer before he is arrested and sent back to jail."

The upcoming episode of "Elementary" season 5 is slated to air on Sunday, Dec. 11.