You’re welcome, readers. I missed most of the first quarter in last night’s thrilling Monday Night Football game to bring you this review. While I enjoyed the episode, it was the weakest one of the season. (Please understand that football in no way affected this review. If not for my love and dedication to Gotham I would have just recorded it instead of watching it live.)
Let’s begin with our summary of events:
The new captain takes the GCPD by force, and it was the most inspirational performance by a cop on this show since Gordon first showed up and Essen arrested Flass back in season one.
Gordon helps his new captain assemble a strike squad of four young graduated cadets to help the GCPD with major tasks.
Bruce Wayne begins school, proper training, and meets Silver St. Freaking Cloud!! Of course, Theo introduced her, so he’s obviously got something up his sleeve by putting her into the mix. We’ll see whether she gets shoved under the rug, at the bottom of a sewer, or on the side of the villains. Time will tell.
Alfred sent off Selina in this episode. He smacked her for killing Reggie and told her to stay away from Bruce.
Edward Nygma and Kristin Kringle begin a unique romance. His suave side convinces him to invite her to dinner at his dwelling, and the evening goes splendidly until he slips up in speech about her past boyfriend (whom he killed but hid) that almost ruins the evening until he tells her about his other side, the confident one. She understands him and identifies with him. (sniff) I’m looking forward to these two. It’s refreshing to see something like this, and these personalities help each other.
Theo finds Penguin’s mom and holds her hostage in order to blackmail the Penguin into killing the candidates for mayor and paving the way for Theo’s grand plan for Gotham.
Now, I promised to call out on this episode, so here we go:
What worked:
Someone FINALLY used the leverage I said should be used and took the angle at Penguin’s mother. Although, that raises the question: if he cares about her so much, and he’s got all this power, why can’t he get her protection? This still would have worked better at the end of last season.
Robin Lord Taylor was amazing in this episode. I’m a fan of this new Penguin, tossing out the old fat f**kwit stereotype of the comics and past movies. He provided a wonderful performance torn between his mother and the blackmail.
Camren’s acting is only getting better as well. She’ s been spectacular. Wish I could say the same for the terribly struggling David Mazouz. He hasn’t changed a bit.
Just a Jiggilo (love that song) and the new romance between Nygma and Kringle.
All right, it had it coming:
WHAT DIDN’T:
I don’t know who took the writing for this episode, but the dialogue SUFFERED. I haven’t cringed during this show so much since Pilot and the earliest episodes of Season 1. It was so cheesy and stupid! Theo pulled the same typical villain line: “soon…wheels turning…time is coming…” Bleh! Even Bullock gave us some cornyism: “Gotham has twists and turns and dead ends. It isn’t straight.” Sheesh.
A strike team of cadets was assembled to accidentally save someone Zsasz should have had in his sleep. His ineptitude was a convenience to the writers, who wrote it in to make the strike team look shiny and successful. Bleh.
The same strike team was assembled to “take down Penguin?” WHAT? He hasn’t been here for a week! He’s not earned a war on police, he can’t even find his mommy! This is something to try mid or end season, and I was right about Penguin’s mother, I’m probably right about this. If Penguin goes down, it’s too soon. If the GCPD loses, they’ll be flattened twice in three episodes.
Barbara drives me insane. She’s so useless and meaningless—she’s here to give pervs wet pants. Her meaningless flirting is making me puke. After getting all the action she got these past three episodes, she’s whining AGAIN that she wants to go “outside.” That’s the seventh time this series she’s said she wants to go out, and Theo has said “you’re time is coming.” Bleh!!!
Silver St. Cloud seems rushed and shoved in. She might die fifteen years early or so, and if she doesn’t, then she’s in Theo’s pocket. Both ways disrespect the character I loved from the comics. They better not.
So, this wasn’t a terrible episode (0-1 stars) or even a really bad episode (1.5-2 stars) it was merely a weak episode that shot itself in the foot despite its contribution to the great arc we’re getting out of season two and its good qualities. If the dialogue was better and the characters handled properly we would’ve had something special, but this war on Penguin and the downfall of evil genius to dull bore of Theo simply add the cons to a big pile compared to the pros.
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