Review: Gotham Season 3 Episode 1, Better to Reign in Hell... [SPOILERS]

OVERVIEW
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I love Gotham and very much want it to succeed, but I have to be honest and say that I was a little disappointed in this episode. 

I recently became aware that Gotham receives a lot of hate. I think such hate is completely unwarranted, since so far, Gotham has been an incredible show. Not just a great comic book show. Just objectively a great show.

Gotham is complete with a solid plot, great character moments, great character development, great performances, great visuals, great musical scores, and interesting philosophical points. Nonetheless, people hate on it a lot more than people hate on some other shows, shows that I think showcase some severely inconsistent characters and plots. 

Character consistency is extremely important to me. (Plot consistency too, but not as much.) And the character inconsistencies in this episode makes me wonder if the Gotham writers have halfway given up...but are halfway still trying...but have halfway given up. 

Glass half full/empty/who knows? 

It is true that Gotham's ratings have been steadily decreasing, in spite of the great writing. So, hey, if I were the Gotham writers, I might halfway give up too. And the saddest thing is that their ratings might go up now. Viewers seem to prefer inconsistent characters and plots. 

Oh, well. We original Gotham lovers will always have the first two seasons. And this awesome picture.

Gordon holding a snow globe of the rest of the characters
Source: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CrM-iF_UEAAaUxS.png

As you might guess, most of today's items will be located in the MEDIUMS section, since it seems the Gotham writers are halfway trying, halfway not.

LOWS

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1. Tabatha and Captain Barnes

When Tabatha and Barnes both fell into comas last season, I was nervous that it was just the cliche method of getting them out of the way until the writers could think of something interesting to do with them and the comas would have no lasting consequences. 

Well, I was right. Tabatha and Barnes are right back at it now at the very start of the new season, no worse for wear, except mayyybeeee Barnes who gave a small cough after scolding Gordon and Bullock.

MEDIUMS

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1. Penguin

Consistencies:

Penguin explains why he holds no grudge against Nygma for the way Nygma turned Penguin away when Penguin was brainwashed.

Penguin admits to struggling to make it through every day. To Nygma, Penguin says that he doesn't know how he would have made it through the last few months without Nygma, since Fish is out there plotting and Penguin is surrounded by idiots and lunatics. But none of that is new for Penguin and he got through it with ease in the first season, so that means he really isn't doing as well now without his parents' love.

Penguin is still mad at one of his mother's murderers, at least. He says he will kill Tabatha as soon as Butch gives the ok.

Inconsistencies:

If Penguin is large and in charge again and such good friends with Nygma, why can't he break Nygma out of Arkham? Falcone broke Gordon out of jail once, and  Falcone wasn't even the number one mob boss at the time.

Penguin appears as affectionate as ever to Gordon, even though Gordon left Penguin to be tortured in Gotham last season and Penguin was quite upset about it at the time.

Penguin seems as trusting as ever toward Butch, even though Butch took Fish's side (as much as he could while brainwashed) at the end of the first season. Well, Fish is back again and Butch isn't even brainwashed this time. So how can Penguin trust Butch?

Penguin spares Tabatha on Butch's behalf, even though Butch himself helped to kill Gertrude. So why does Penguin spare Butch?

2. Nygma

Consistencies:

Nygma remembers how he treated Penguin when Penguin was brainwashed, and asks why Penguin is so nice to him anyway.

Inconsistencies:

Personally, I am really not a fan of the whole smartest-person-in-history-at-such-and-such schtick.

Said schtick boring, both for me, the audience, as well as for the character himself, if he were a real person. I can only imagine the mental frustration of never finding an entertaining challenge. And I dont want to imagine it. It's frustrating to imagine.

And it always, always raises the valid question: "If you're so smart, why can't you figure a way out of the mental asylum?"

AND said shtick is inconsistent in a character who once (in Season 1) said he enjoys video games. Regular old video games that never drove any mathematicians mad or went generations unsolved in any family. 

Therefore, I was not pleased by the puzzle box scene.

3. Butch

Consistencies:

Butch is still in love with Tabatha, consistent with what we last heard from him.

Inconsistencies:

Butch is on Penguin's side instead of on Fish's side. What we last heard from Butch was that he had accepted Fish's death, but before THAT, Butch said that he loved Fish and would never hurt her. Even when he was brainwashed to hate Fish and obey Penguin, he loved Fish and disobeyed Penguin in order to save Fish. Butch isn't even brainwashed any more. Why is he not on Fish's side?

HIGHS

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1. Music
As always, Gotham's score goes above and beyond to set the mood for each scene. In this episode, the music is especially effective when Bruce's doppelganger is on screen. The music really helped to sell the doppelganger's creepiness.

2. Barbara
"Boop." I loved Barbara's scenes this episode. I am happy her friendship with "Ozzy" continues. 

Also, I thought about it, and her transition back to evilness seemed very sudden in this episode, but when you think about the last 3 or 4 episodes she was in, it has been fairly gradual. She "helped" Gordon by kidnapping him; she went crazy channel-surfing (she was clearly in pain); she helped Penguin decorate his home with a severed head; and finally, she nearly beat a man to death (he was a bad guy). Makes sense. I have no complaints.

CONCLUSION

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Gotham is a character-centric show, like all great shows. It never missed an opportunity to show the main characters' personalities and it made sure the main characters always acted in-character. And it continues to focus on the characters with great energy (I had fun watching this episode) but less consistency.

RATINGS

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General: 7/10

Compared-To-All-The-Content-I've-Ever-Loved: 6/10

Review: Gotham Season 2 Episode 22, Transference [SPOILERS]

OVERVIEW
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Exciting, action-packed, and beautifully shot as ever, this episode wraps up Season 2 with a big cliffhanger.

"Jim Gordon"
Source: http://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/article_main_wide_image/public/2016/05/gotham_finale.jpg?itok=7THDvZLa

LOWS
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1. Possible Lost Story Threads

Because Season 2 is now over, I feel justified in criticizing a few big-picture things about the show. Mostly, I am nervous that some story threads have been lost. I mean, what happened to Strange's plans for Penguin? What good did it do Strange to find out that Gordon actually did kill Galavan? I fear we may never know.

MEDIUMS
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1. Penguin/Barbara/Butch Team

Okay, I've wanted Penguin and Barbara to be friends ever since they first met in Season 1.

They hit it off so well. Barbara seemed to genuinely appreciate the sympathy from Penguin regarding Jim. And sure, Penguin most likely wanted to use Barbara to get closer to Jim, but still! Penguin and Barbara do have compatible personalities. Just listen to their exchange of high-class, dainty chit chat the first time they met.

My desire for a Penguin/Barbara friendship grew stronger when Barbara remembered Penguin at their next encounter. They had only ever spoken for maybe five minutes, so he must have left an impression.

However, I honestly thought there was no chance of a Penguin/Barbara friendship after she was an accomplice (after the fact, at least) to the kidnapping of Penguin's mother.

(Barbara offered Penguin her drink, saying he needed it more than her, and then left the room just minutes before Galavan revealed that he had kidnapped Gertrude. So, Barbara definitely knew about the kidnapping. Who knows? Maybe Barbara even helped with the kidnapping.)

But after this episode, maybe there is a chance of a Penguin/Barbara friendship.

Penguin actually sought out Barbara's help in decorating his house. They utilized a severed head and everything. Doesn't that sound like the perfect bonding activity for a couple of high-class, dainty psychopaths?

Also, it gave me great satisfaction when Penguin praised Barbara both in front of Butch (who kicked Barbara out of his house, just a couple episodes ago) and on the phone. It gave me satisfaction because Barbara obviously appreciated it.

As for Butch, I think it's a fun dynamic he has with Penguin. Butch is the sidekick who rolls his eyes in disbelief at all the twisted things Penguin does. That dynamic works well, so I can see why the writers would bring it back as quickly and easily as they have.

HOWEVER, this brings me to the problems with this Penguin/Barbara/Butch posse:

Problem 1: No explanation has been given for what motivates Penguin after losing his mother AND his father, the only sources of love in his life. (Love is the only real motivator, a theme that I thought the Gotham writers were building into the story. See my previous Gotham reviews.)

So, basically, I have to assume now that Penguin has snapped back to his old self after killing Galavan and I have to assume that Penguin really does not intend to kill Butch and Tabatha. Now, our only hope is if the writers reveal in Season 3 that Penguin is really not ok. (See my Review of Unleashed for my thoughts on Penguin snapping back to his old self.)

Problem 2: No explanation has been given for why Penguin decided to exact revenge on no one else but Galavan. He did, at one point, vow to kill Tabatha and he did, at one point, send Zsasz to kill Butch. So why has he just now decided that Butch and Tabatha and Barbara are all off the hook?

I mean, maybe Penguin realizes that, usually, exacting revenge just causes more trouble. But doesn't he also realize that his reputation is at stake?

How does he expect anyone to take his threats seriously now? Remember when he tried to save himself from being tortured by Ms. Peabody by telling her that everyone who has ever crossed him has regretted it? Well, if that threat didn't work then, it certainly won't work now. I'm just saying.

Problem 3: No epic battle ever took place for kingship of Gotham's crime world. It seems that Butch has just given the crown back to Penguin. Easy as pie.

Problem 4: Lately, Penguin's role has been reduced to that of a Gotham staple who's just always there and always happens to be helpful to the good guys, because, really, that's what the fans want to see. But I want to see what's going on in his head, and that insight has been denied us for so many episodes and so many major developments now...

3. Firefly and Freeze
I loved that Firefly seems genuinely attached to Selina now, and I loved the epic battle between Freeze and Firefly. I didn't love that after the battle was over, they both seemed to just sit there, like mannequins, with nothing going on in their heads. I also didn't love that we didn't find out what happened to them at the end of the episode. I guess they were arrested? I dunno. Did they fight back? Or did they cooperate like mannequins? Once again, I dunno. Let's hope we find out early in Season 3.

HIGHS
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1. Humor
There were a number of laugh out loud moments in this episode. I always appreciate a good laugh.

2. The promise of an exciting Season 3
There's apparently a Bruce clone, and I'm pretty sure I saw Jerome's red hair and heard his laugh. a lot of fans were hoping Strange would reanimate Jerome. It's nice to see that the Gotham writers are giving those fans a little something to hang on to.

3. Nygma
Nygma's always great, and Lucius Fox is always great, too. Fox is a very likable minor character, but he's especially likable in contrast to Nygma. Fox is living proof that being very smart doesn't mean you have to be insane, arrogant, or violent.

4. Music
The musical score in Gotham is always spectacular. It really sets the mood. The opening scene in this episode shows us the layers underneath Arkham, Gordon tied to a chair on one layer, and the bomb on the next layer. I mean, we all know Gordon and the others are going to get through this. They're the main characters. But the music puts you on the edge of your seat anyway.

5. Hugo Strange
"Guilt is useless. Love is our guide." It's interesting that a sociopath like Strange can be so wise. I mean, that whole creepy therapy session/interrogation with Jim Gordon offered a lot of insight into both characters. Gordon is burdened by guilt, and while Strange loves to play God, he likes to play a benevolent god sometimes.

And I agree with Strange's final thoughts on love and guilt. People say the mark of a sociopath is a lack of guilt, as if guilt would guide them to be better people. But when it comes down to it, love guides you to be a good person, not guilt. If you love others, you not only feel sorry for hurting them, but you also try to avoid hurting them in the first place, and you ALSO try to do better than just "not hurt" them. You're kind to people if you practice love.

6. I love Gotham
I've realized that some shows you love because you think those shows are GOING somewhere interesting. Often, however, they go nowhere. And then you look back on those shows and realize they were a complete waste of time because you didn't enjoy each episode for what it really was; you just thought there would come a point where you would love each episode for what it really was.

Not so with Gotham.

I love every episode for what it is. I love it for the amazing performances, the mood, the cinematography, the musical score, and the philosophical insights. Even if this series does go to crap -- which I highly doubt it will -- I will still look back on it as a decent use of my time.

I love Gotham. It's brilliant. And I'm so excited for Season 3 in just a couple weeks!

RATINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General: 9/10

Compared-To-All-The-Content-I've-Ever-Loved: 8/10

Review: Gotham Season 2 Episode 21, A Legion of Horribles [SPOILERS]

OVERVIEW
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Fish Reanimated
Source: http://hitshowstowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gotham_221JN_0406_hires1-1000x600.jpg

This episode set up the finale for Season 2 with exciting confrontations.

LOWS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
None.

MEDIUMS
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1. Bridget as Firefly

I liked Bridget's creepy voice and constant theatrical declarations of her own goddess-hood. 

I also thought it was interesting that Selina clearly WOULD kill Bridget if it came down to her own life vs. Bridget's, but at the same time, she obviously really cares about Bridget and has taken great risks to save her. Also, Selina jogged Bridget's memory a bit, and Bridget decided not to kill Selina. 

I want to get excited for more Firefly and for more exploration of her relationship with Selina, but the season is already almost over. I'm just not sure how much of Firefly we will see.

2. Fish

I was excited to see Fish come back to life, but the fact that she came back with her memory intact -- that's just fabulous. And her powers! Can Fish get any cooler at this point? I mean, in terms of everything except her evilness. That's not cool of course.

I have reservations, though, because when Galavan came back, he had a brief 3-episode arc and then he was torn away from us. I hope Fish 2.0 will last longer than that.

HIGHS
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1. Bruce Confronting Strange

I love seeing little philosophical conversations popping up in the middle of stories, especially when such conversations are relevant to the subject matter. Bruce and Strange had a conversation about the certainty of moral principles and the doubt of scientific inquiry. And finally, Strange asked Bruce whether he would prefer his father be moral or be alive. Bruce chose as probably few people would choose, but I think he chose right, and I guess that's what makes Bruce Batman.


RATINGS
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General: 8/10

Compared-To-All-The-Content-I've-Ever-Loved: 7/10

Review: Gotham Season 2 Episode 20, Unleashed [SPOILERS]

OVERVIEW
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A very entertaining and action-packed episode in which Gordon goes after Galavan as Azrael, Nygma attempts an escape from Arkham, and we check back in with Penguin.

Penguin all dressed up
http://media.comicbook.com/2016/04/gotham-220-0034-hires1-179274.jpg

LOWS
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None.

MEDIUMS
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1. Azrael's death

I like that at least there's a possibility that the "real" Azrael will eventually show up (he supposedly just disappeared in olden times). But I really liked Galavan as Azrael. I thought he was dark and menacing and soulless and a great villain. I'm sorry to see him go so soon.

2. Firefly

I was excited to see firefly back. I liked how they charred the Gotham logo for her. But I'm not sure how much her reappearance will amount to, since the season's already almost over.

3. Penguin
We see Penguin decide to go after Galavan, and Penguin's subsequent scenes are fun, but I worry.

I worry because he seems so much like his old self and so readily forgives Butch and Tabatha. At this point, Penguin's behavior could be an act or a temporary state of mind. But, it also may not be.

If it is an act or a temporary state of mind, it needs to be reasonably explained in the next episode.

Another option, I suppose, would be to explain it in the next season, since this season is almost over. I mean, Penguin seemed ok near the end of Season 2a, but was clearly not ok at the start of Season 2b, and I had no complaints about that

However, if Penguin's current behavior is not an act or a temporary state of mind...I'll be disappointed. The Gotham writers have written Penguin so well so far. Too well to have him pull a Selina Kyle now.

Selina, at the end of season one, became evil as a result of seeing Fish Mooney sail out of the mist on a boat. I couldn't understand Selina's reaction, until recently, when I saw a video of Camren Bicondova explaining that Selina saw Fish as a mother figure.

Ok, yeah. That makes sense. I remember the longing that Selina expressed when she told Bruce that her mother would eventually come back for Selina.

However, there was no indication that Selina saw Fish as a mother figure, and frankly, there needed to be. The story needs to speak for itself. It shouldn't have to be explained after the fact by actors on a panel.

I mean, I could come up with several, different explanations for why Penguin snapped back to his former self.

For example, maybe Galavan's return showed Penguin that there is always hope for his wishes to come true. A few episodes back, Penguin said that he wanted to be able to kill Galavan more than once. Impossible. And yet it happened.

I could see how, in a twisted way, this would instill a great sense of hope in Penguin. That hope could definitely fuel Penguin for some time.

The thing is I shouldn't have to come up with explanations of my own. The writers are supposed to tell you why the characters act the way they do, or at least, give you clues that allow you to figure it out with reasonable certainty.

HIGHS
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1. Nygma and Selina

It is in this episode that Nygma decides to try and escape by himself, without his Arkham "friends", through the air vents. He had a hilarious encounter with Selina and showed us in the audience that he still has some good in him. 

Without asking for anything in return, he cautions Selina against entering Arkham because there are monsters in the basement. He does end up making a deal with her for his own benefit, but at least he cared enough to try and keep her out.

2. Barbs got kicked out of Butch's and Tabatha's place

Obviously, poor Barbara. But I think the fact that Tabatha let Butch kick out Barbara shows why Barbs didn't wake up from her coma thinking, "I need to reunite with Tabatha." She woke up thinking of Jim Gordon, Makes more and more sense all the time.

RATINGS
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General: 8/10

Compared-To-All-The-Content-I've-Ever-Loved: 7/10

Review: Gotham Season 2 Episode 19, Azrael [SPOILERS]

OVERVIEW
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Thus episode was gorgeously cinematic in terms of the visuals and action. The supernatural elements and character moments were especially gripping. I have almost nothing but glowing compliments to give about 'Azrael.'

LOWS
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None.

MEDIUMS
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1. Penguin
Penguin had two brief scenes this episode. The first had him talking to corpses amid torn-up furniture, apparently going mad as he hung around the house with no purpose in life. A promising scene, because it showed an obviously understandable response from Penguin to all the recent losses in his life.

As I have said in nearly every review of Gotham I have written, I am so very pleased with how the Gotham writers have handled Penguin since the loss of Gertrude, his mother. It has had a lasting effect on Penguin, as it obviously should. It's notable, however, because most TV shows tend to gloss over their characters' pain and adjustment to loss. Perhaps most TV writers consider such subject matter too dull to hold an audience's attention for more than an episode or so. The Gotham writers, however, have shown that they trust their audience to be smart enough to appreciate psychologically realistic characters.

Penguin has been shown dealing with the loss of his mother in every episode he has appeared in since that loss. That's at least 12 episodes, over half a season. And he lost his father, too, and has also been dealing with that ever since. Honestly, since the loss of his mother and father, all his responses have been obviously understandable responses to pain and loss.

In Penguin's second appearance this episode, he sees Galavan on TV. "Hello, old friend," he laughs gleefully with no hint of anger. (We will have to wait until the next episode's review to see exactly what this means, but honestly -- tiny spoiler alert -- it might mean the end Penguin's obviously understandable responses, which troubles me.)

HIGHS
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1. Galavan as Azrael
The supernatural aspects of the show were front and center this episode, with the return of Galavan from the dead, and him finding his identity in a story of saints and demons and resurrectected knights. I much prefer Galavan as Azrael. The overly calm attitude that made Galavan boring made Azrael interesting, after he did calm down, that is. And somehow, Galavan's voice sounded so much more badass coming from behind a metal mask. I am really liking Azrael.

2. Nygma
Oh, Nygma.

In just this episode, the audience gets half a dozen new reasons to love Nygma.

For those of us who would secretly like him to be our hero (in spite of everything he's done), he plays the role of a hero to some extent in this episode.

Near the start of the episode, he (very entertainingly) mediates a conflict between some of the lesser minds of the asylum. On more than one occasion, he protects them from getting hurt or from hurting each other. (Take, for example, even the brief moment wherein he fly-swatted one inmate as that inmate reached out to strangle another inmate). He does a better job of being a therapist to the inmates than Professor Strange does, as Nygma himself points out. "Everyone has a story," says Nygma, "and they just need to be listened." What an understanding and empathetic thing to say.

HOWEVER, at the same time, Nygma fulfills the desires of those of us in the audience who want him to be a crazy evil genius.

At the same time as he is 'mediating,' he is manipulating the inmates of Arkham. He says so himself. As he protects them, he earns their loyalty and builds a little group of followers. There is certainly much he can accomplish on his own. At one point, he rather casually escapes the rec room, like he could have done it all along. However,  using his new friends, he's able to do much more than that, and he discovers Strange's secret experiments.

Of course, he's terrified by those experiments and decides to escape alone without his "friends."

The thing is it's still easy to believe that his kindness toward the other inmates was more than manipulation. Slight spoiler alert -- the next episode has Nygma trying to help someone, this time, obviously not expecting anything in return. That's a testament to...well, something!

Nygma is a great balance of good and bad, and he's complicated enough to be interpreted in slightly varied ways.

3. Barbara
Poor Barbara just doesn't fit in, even with her evil friends (as opposed to her righteous acquaintances). Butch thinks she's scary, and Tabatha just doesn't really understand Barbara. I mean, Barbara is clearly in a lot of pain, as she flips hurriedly through TV channels. In a frenzy. With no clear goal except to distract herself from whatever it is she can't stop thinking about anyway.

If you ask me, the fact that she didn't even notice when Butch took the remote away shows that she is desperately trying and failing to forget about something very unhappy. That very unhappy thing is most likely her situation with Jim and her overall loneliness. But all Tabatha can say is, "Relax." Not helpful, if you ask me.

4. Strange's Collection of Books
King Arthur, Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass...Strange's evil laugh as he held those books in his hands. Can you say exciting? =)

5. Beautiful Visuals
The red and black Gothic theme, the large scope, the cinematic action scenes -- wonderful!

6. Azrael's Effect on Batman
I thought it was interesting that Bruce was clearly affected by seeing Azrael jump around all Batman-like with his cape and everything. I don't know much about Azrael, but I seem to recall that he takes over as Batman in the comics for a while, so maybe that's part of what this episode was alluding to. For me, it was just neat to realize that that's probably what Batman will look like if he ever shows up in this series, and to think that apparently Bruce took inspiration from a villain.

7. Captain Barnes's Ideas about the Moral Compass
Barnes once again brought up his philosophy that the law is the line you don't cross. It was more thought-provoking this time because Gordon was much more resistant to such a philosophy, having seen for himself how the law can fail.

I agree the law is no concrete indicator of where to draw the line, but then you have to ask where DO you draw the line? Gordon said that HE decides that. Of course, if everyone said that, it would be chaos. So, it is interesting to see how this same conversation is different between Gordon and Barnes this time, and it is interesting to ponder where this conversation will go next.

RATINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General: 9/10

Compared-To-All-The-Content-I've-Ever-Loved: 8/10

Review: Gotham Season 2 Episode 18, Pinewood [SPOILERS]

OVERVIEW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was a good episode, but, due to the absence of Penguin, it was not as captivating an episode as the average Gotham episode. At least, not in my opinion. Let's go through the lows, mediums, highs of the episode.

LOWS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Penguin
This episode suffered from a severe lack of Penguin. A complete lack of Penguin, actually. Combine that fact with the fact that the promo for Episode 19 showed no signs of Penguin either AND the fact that I was finishing up my classes and graduating college, and you have the explanation for why I didn't finish up Season 2 of Gotham until quite recently.

(Now, having finished Season 2, I do recognize that Penguin's lack of screen time in the last few episodes allowed other characters more screen time. And I did really love seeing more of Nygma, for example. But the simple truth is that Penguin is still the main draw for me when it comes to this show.)


MEDIUMS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Freeze
Freeze was back, and I was glad to see that he had changed drastically as a result of his wife's death and his own near-death. I was glad to see that he was angry. That makes sense. He was only in the episode for a couple of minutes, though, and so, we didn't get much of an insight into what he's really going through.

2. Karen Jennings
First off, I liked Karen for the fact that she, with her awesome crocodile hand, helped edge the show into the supernatural realm it sprang neck deep into at the end of the episode when Strange brought Galavan back from the dead.

I love me a good helping of the supernatural.

However, I feel like Karen was supposed to be -- and genuinely could have been -- this really awesome female version of the type of badass, lives-alone-in-the-woods, tragic-past, heart-of-gold character we all love.

But something about her just didn't click. I don't know if it was the dialogue or the actress they chose for the part (even though she did a fine job, nothing against her, sorry) or what, but it felt like a major missed opportunity.

I feel like, if she had clicked as that type of character we all love so much, we, the audience, would have been much more heartbroken by her death and Bruce's intense reaction over losing her would have been more poignant.


HIGHS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Barbara
I like how well Barbara manipulated "The Lady." Barbara really did have all the answers. And as a viewer, I never really thought that Barbara wanted to team up with The Lady and kill Gordon, but if I were The Lady, I totally would have believed it.

This episode used Barbara and her journey to bring up an interesting paradox -- no one is an island, and yet, at many of the most crucial points in our lives, we all HAVE to be islands.

I mean, when Gordon told poor Barbara that, if she wanted to be a good person, that was entirely her responsibility and he couldn't help her at all? Half of me said, "Well, how can you expect her to be a good person with no support from anyone?"

The other half, however, said, "You know what? You're absolutely right, Gordon. To be a good person, the desire to be good has to come from inside yourself." If Barbara wants to be a good person, she has to do it because it's the right thing to do, and not simply to please Jim. If she does it simply to please Jim, it won't last. It can't.

And it made me realize the answer to a question I had been pondering. Remember how Penguin couldn't change and be a good person, and I was like, "Why not? What are the Gotham writers trying to show by having Penguin and Barbara return to a state of innocence only to relapse?"

The answer was so obvious that I completely missed it: the desire to be good was simply not an authentic desire of Penguin's. It was a product of his environment (if you can call Strange's horrible experiments an "environment"), and it was dependent on his environment. Placed in a murderous environment, of course Penguin relapsed into his murderous ways.

Barbara gave me a lot of food for thought this episode. I still don't see how she can be a good person without any support, and yet, I see why she has to be.

2. Gordon
I liked that Gordon didn't appreciate what Barbara had done. I liked that he didn't feel "gratitude" just because she'd gotten him the information he wanted. After all, she accomplished her task by kidnapping Gordon and threatening him with a electric...zapper thing.

The emotional damage from something like that doesn't just go away because it "turned out alright in the end," although the narcissists and manipulators of the world would have you believe otherwise.

This is what I love about Gotham. It's a smart enough show to consistently express the fundamental truth that emotional damage is the only real damage you can do a person.

3. Timeless Atmosphere
Another thing I love about Gotham is the timeless atmosphere of the show. I know that this atmosphere was purposefully created in the show by combining elements from several different eras. Cell phones from the early 2000s, computers from the 80s, architecture from the Middle Ages, etc.

When I binge-watched the first season of Gotham last Fall, I KNEW that it was a current show, barely more than a year old, but I FELT like it was an old classic from the 80's or 90's. It was in fact jarring to start watching the show weekly, as new episodes were released, because it forced me to acknowledge the fact that... well, it's not an old classic from the 80's or 90's.

Now that I've gotten used to watching it weekly, however, it's just like it was last Fall. I KNOW it's a current show, but it's so hard to remember that as I'm in the midst of watching any particular episode. It feels so much like a timeless classic, and I love that about it. =)


RATINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General: 7.5/10

Compared-to-All-the-Content-I've-Ever-Loved: 7

Review: Gotham Season 2 Episode 17, Into the Woods [SPOILERS]

This was a very good episode. It was surprising, intense, and emotional. It was definitely worth the two-week wait, even if the two-week wait did leave me overly attached to a certain Penguin-is-hallucinating theory.

 Let us begin. Here are the highs, mediums, and lows of the episode.

LOWS

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None.

MEDIUMS

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1. Penguin

a) Penguin is not hallucinating?

With every episode that Penguin spends in the mansion and/or with his family, it becomes less and less likely that Penguin is hallucinating all this stuff with the mansion and/or his family. At this point, it's very unlikely that Penguin is hallucinating it. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem because, normally, I hate it when large, exciting portions of a story turn out to be hallucinations.

However, I spent the last two weeks thinking about how much sense it would make if Penguin was hallucinating (see my Review of Episode 16 to see why I thought so), and how good a twist it would be if it turned out to be the case.

If it turned out to be the case that Penguin was hallucinating, it could still be very exciting, depending on the reveal of what Penguin was actually doing this whole time. Maybe he found an abandoned, broken-down mansion near Gotham and wandered around it for weeks, surviving off of who knows what.

Or, maybe -- and here's the really exciting option -- maybe he wandered straight into another of Hugo Strange's "medical establishments."

I think that's the exciting option because it would demonstrate the terrifying extent of Professor Strange's power. Imagine if Hugo could program everyone to wander straight into one of Hugo's establishments, all the while hallucinating that they had found happiness. (Even if he had that power, he probably wouldn't use it, though. This episode basically established that Hugo just likes experimenting on people.)

And Hugo did say he had plans for Penguin, post-Arkham. The longer we, the audience, go without knowing what those plans are, the bigger our expectations grow. If an ongoing hallucination had been the extent of Hugo's plan, I would have been satisfied. It would have been an immediate and adequately shocking plan.

I can't say I'll be as satisfied with whatever it turns out Hugo's plan for Penguin actually is, especially if it's very far off in the future.

But the thing is, I'm still not mad. I LIKE that Gotham knows how to keep it simple. See, a lot of shows these days are like, "Here's an exciting story development...Psych! It's really this other exciting development." Which is entertaining enough the first couple of times, maybe.

But when the "twist" is used too often, it negates every exciting development, because who knows what the truth is anymore?! When everything's a plot twist, nothing's a plot twist.

If Gotham had been like, "Here, Penguin found his long-lost family and then lost another parent...Psych! It's really a hallucination designed by Hugo Strange," I think it would have worked for Gotham because Gotham has been saving up its twists and keeping things simple.

Most Gotham story developments are just as they seem. For instance, Lee really did move down South and, almost definitely, lost the baby. She hasn't been kidnapped (a possibility that didn't occur to me until after I wrote the review for Episode 16). And it's intense enough that she lost the baby and moved away. Gotham does not need to replace that story development with another intense story development. I appreciate that the Gotham writers seem to know that.

b) Penguin is Penguin again

Anyway, back to Penguin. It seems he is once again himself. At first, he begged to stay with his step-family because his father loved them all so much and wanted them all to be together. By the end of the episode, though, Penguin had discovered the truth about his step-family, murdered and cooked his step-siblings, tricked his step-mother into eating them, and stabbed his step-mother to death.

I have to say, for a moment, I was shocked that Gotham went that far with the cannibalism thing. However, for a moment BEFORE that moment, I thought Penguin had cooked the dead dog and was feeding it to Grace. THAT idea was upsetting to me. As a vegetarian, I personally feel that it's no worse to eat humans than to eat other animals, so upon reflection, I realized I wasn't that upset about the cannibalism thing.

I was still upset about the dead dog, but let's talk about that.

At the start of the episode, Penguin said that he couldn't hurt a fly even if he wanted to. Maybe he was mistaken...or maybe -- after all, Strange brainwashed Penguin pretty well -- he wasn't. See, later in the episode, when he finds the bottle his father last drank from, he offers some of the beverage to the family dog, who drinks it and dies. At that moment, Penguin turns evil again.

Now, either Penguin consciously tried to kill the dog to prove the wine was poisoned (in which case Penguin COULD hurt a fly) or Penguin inadvertently killed the dog because Penguin COULDN'T consciously distrust his step-family.

If so and if that inadvertent murder triggered Penguin's evil side, that scene might be an interesting statement on how sometimes two perfectly good values (trust and kindness) conflict with each other, and a Catch-22 like that can break a person.

I'm probably reading too much into it, but if the Gotham writers explore such an idea further, I'd be very interested in what they have to say.

c) Penguin still has nothing/no one he loves

Finally, on Penguin, I'm still concerned by the fact that he hasn't gone anywhere new as a character. As I said in my Ep 16 review, we've seen Penguin lose a parent and exact vengeance on the people who murdered his parent. We've seen where that gets him: left with no one to love and no reason to go on.

So far, the Gotham writers have done an excellent job of not just dropping Penguin's issues (of having no love and therefore no motivation to do anything). I'd hate to see them come this far just to drop Penguin's issues now and have him inexplicably begin re-conquering Gotham.

His situation is no different now than it was at the start of Season 2b. I mean, sure, he has a mansion now, but is it even legally his? And how is it going to help? A mansion can't replace a parent.

As I said, I'm concerned. But I'm going to wait and see what happens.


2. Easy Three-Episode Wrap Up

By the fourth episode of Season 2b, I was seeing a pattern: the three-episode story arc. I had hoped the story arcs would be longer than that, but this episode wrapped up the Gordon-as-a-convicted-criminal arc, the Nygma-in-his-first-outing-as-a-supervillain arc, and the Penguin-family arc. It seems three-episode story arcs are to be the format for this half-season.

On the downside, this format gives us some artificial-seeming wrap-ups, like the resolution to the conflict between Gordon and Captain Barnes. On the upside, this format has been giving us a particularly kick-ass episode every third episode, and there are some threads that do continue, like Lee being gone and having lost a child.

HIGHS

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1. Nygma

This was one of Nygma's best episodes.

It revealed Nygma's insecurities about his "friends." For instance, Nygma couldn't convince himself that Penguin was a good friend who wouldn't snitch, and Nygma outright asked Gordon if he was really his friend or if Gordon just felt sorry for Nygma.

The emotion felt extremely real when Gordon confronted Nygma in the woods. I very much appreciate the fact that Gordon did not jump straight to "Me good. You bad. Me puts you in jail." He expressed the confused, hurt emotions anyone would feel in Gordon's position. I like that that whole scene was allowed to happen. It made sense.

See, a practical villain would have shot Gordon right away, but we have already established that Nygma is not a practical villain. He's a narcissistic, hammy super-villain who voices his evil thoughts out loud to himself. He WOULD have a whole conversation with his prey at gun-point or reveal to them the reason he framed them for murder.

It makes perfect sense and it's emotionally satisfying to see Nygma and Gordon have the conversation they had in the woods.

I also enjoyed the conversation that Nygma and Gordon had in Nygma's apartment. I'm glad Gordon was at least called out for being a murderer. That is, I'm glad that the Gotham writers are bringing up the spectrum...of evilness.

I mean, I think it's clear that Gordon doesn't need to be locked up like Nygma probably should be. I think Gordon is not as dangerous as Nygma. Nygma thinks murder is thrilling, while Gordon is in fact basically a good person. Just this episode, he put himself in jeopardy to save someone else from a mugging, for example. However, the difference between Gordon and Nygma is by no means crystal clear, and I'm glad that fact was brought up.

Also, I was surprised when Nygma knocked Gordon out by electrocuting him after Gordon found out that it was Nygma who called internal affairs. I genuinely didn't expect that.

I wasn't surprised when Gordon got Nygma by having Captain Barnes and Co. hide behind the trees to overhear Nygma's confession, but Gordon's plan was smart, start to finish. And once again, it made sense with Nygma's character, since we'd previously established that Nygma is paranoid and would absolutely fall for a plan like Gordon's, which preyed on Nygma's paranoia.

2. Barbara Keane "just really needed some sleep."

Is that really the explanation they're going to go with? Well, I'm all for it. I've always thought that there would be, like, half as many wars in the world if people just slept more. If only because they'd have less time to fight.

Make sleep, not war.

On the other hand, it does seem a little too convenient that Barbara just woke up all sane and good. If it turns out that Dr. Strange actually brainwashed her in her sleep somehow, I'd accept that explanation too.

Either way, I think I'm seeing a pattern here of the villains returning to a state of innocence in order for the writers to answer the question, "Can people change? Explain why or why not."

Obviously, Penguin couldn't change, and from the promo for next week, it seems like Barbara can't either. For both Penguin and Barbara, I think it's a bit early to explain why or why not.

I'll need some time to think on it.


CONCLUSION
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Overall, this was a very exciting, emotional episode and offered a lot of food for thought.

RATINGS

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General: 9/10

Compared-to-All-The-Content-I've-Ever-Loved: 8/10