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Hey there Bat boys and girls. Sorry for the week off, but our shows went on sabbatical temporarily. “Gotham” will be back in a month or so, and “The Flash” as well as “Arrow” returned this week. Without further due, let’s begin. As always, a prior warning that there are SPOILERS AHEAD!
Episode 18: Everyone has a Cobblepot (aired March 2)
- Just like in the GCPD comics, Harvey’s good nature still shines over his darker past.
- Penguin has returned to a position he’s more used to, as broker. In this case, he’s brokering information and leveraging favors. This is very much Penguin’s role in Gotham, as a free agent who helps all sides. It’s better for business, right?
- We see a glimmer of the hatred that Nygma has for all people, because no one accepts or understands him.
- Commissioner Loeb and Jim Gordon went head to head. The last time they did that, in which Flass was also involved, was in “Batman: Year One.” It got pretty rough then, too.
- Harvey Dent returned. The theme of the episode really speaks to who Harvey is and will be. He has a darkness, a shamed secret, that he hides from everyone, and hides it within. This is his “Cobblepot,” hence the title of the episode.
- Bruce showed impressive deductive prowess!
- Selina showed she is very much the person that she will be one day, but she just lacks her method as Bruce does.
Episode 16: The Offer (aired March 18)
- With the new trio of Black Canary, Arrow, and Arsenal rolling together, one can’t help but remember when Babs, Bruce, and Dick all rolled together; Batman, Batgirl, and Robin. Batgirl had to prove herself to Batman before she got any of the gadgets, tech, and gear she would need to up her game as a crimefighter. Babs took down several villains in “Batgirl: Year One,” by Chuck Dixon and Steve Beatty.
- The plot of this episode is very similar to a Demon comic written by Denny O’Neil, when he first created Ra’s al Ghul. This was the first time that Ra’s offered Bruce the chance to be his heir. He even offered Talia’s hand to him freely, as Talia was very in love with Bruce then. Bruce went through several trials. Through the use of deception and traps laid by his men, Ra’s tests Bruce, who passes every one of them with flying colors. He proudly turns down the Demon, and escapes with Robin (who’d been kidnapped), out of a collapsing mountain base. (Longtime “Batman: The Animated Series” fans will remember that episode, which is nearly a frame by frame recreation of the comic)
- One thing Bruce and Oliver have in common (we will find out in future episodes for Oliver) is that they both know that when Ra’s al Ghul offers, he’s ordering. Malcolm Merlyn was indeed correct. Once Bruce declined his offer, Ra’s attempted to kill both him and Robin and then went through a with an ecoterrorism plot, which Batman and Robin then thwarted. Oliver had better be more careful.
- Nyssa al Ghul now walks her own path free of the League of Assassins and her father. In “Death and the Maidens,” the reader discovers the lone path of this daughter of the Demon. She also has access to her own Lazarus pits, had mortal descendants for a time, and has lived at least half as long as her father.
- Like Captain Lance and the Arrow, Batman and Jim Gordon have a special relationship. One thing they all have in common is that both Bruce and Oliver do indeed keep secrets. Bruce disappeared for a full year after having his back broken by Bane. He never sent word about himself, not even via Robin. Plus, Bruce and Jim have dealt with loss in both of their lives. Jim has buried a wife, at the hands of the Joker during “No Man’s Land.”
Episode 15: Out of Time (aired March 17)
- Barry saw another Flash that he thought was him. As we find out, it is indeed him. In “Flashpoint Paradox,” Barry literally has to run himself down. Since Barry actually did go back in time by running so fast, the parallels are becoming more and more evident.
- Harrison Wells admitted to poor Cisco that he is truly Eobard Thawne, from the future. Thawne prevented Barry from accessing enough energy from the Speed Force in “Flashpoint Paradox” to fix his mistake of changing time.
- Barry and Joe are very much like Batman and Alfred. The respective foster fathers speak bluntly to their respective foster sons, more often than not sometimes. Alfred always keeps Bruce on the right track, and points out Bruce’s mistakes in his lack of any emotion beyond anger. He reminds him who he is, and what is expected of him as both Batman and the last heir to the Wayne family.
That’s all for this week folks. Thanks for stopping by, as always. See you next time!
