– Spoiler Review –
“The Scarecrow” was a better episode than “The Fearsome Dr. Crane” because it did everything “Fearsome” refused to do for building up the Crane family. Even though it had some awkward dating material, Mooney and Fish continued to hold Gotham up this week.
Ending Gotham TV Show Reviews (9/26/15)
I probably should’ve done this more formally back when I called it quits with the show after its umpteenth break during the first season, but I won’t be reviewing this series anymore. I had been holding out hope the show would get better for the second season and the creative team behind it were saying all the right things, but the S2 premiere was just more of the same. Sure, there’s some promise for better things ahead in it so I’ll be tuning in, but this is more in regards to my own personal time constraints and my sanity. Sorry and thanks for checking out Mynock Manor for details on Gotham and I seriously hope the show hits its stride soon. We still have plenty of content on the site so browse around before heading somewhere else!
I’m not sure I understand the logic of introducing Dr. Crane and his son in one episode only to give them little to no character development, then almost restart one episode later. What little their was from “Fearsome” could’ve waited for “The Scarecrow,” to be seen or just not even used at all. Here Dr. Crane became an actual character instead of just the father of a name we recognize. Putting him on a mission to conquer fear made for a cool new story to the Crane background and even cooler was watching him actually succeed, something I wasn’t expecting. But it was a little disappointing that losing his fear also seemed to mean losing his common sense, running into a gun battle like an idiot. Alas, his legacy will live on in his now forever tortured son, Jonathan Crane, but whether or not we’ll see him on the show again is quite the question.
Not showing the battle between Mooney and the guy who attacked her on the boat was a big disappointment, considering “Fearsome” ended right when they rushed at each other to fight. However, Mooney’s new home, a weird prison-like environment, at least made up for it by giving Jada Pinkett Smith a lot of material to chew up. Her fight to the top might’ve been quick, but it’s cunning and allows her to start taking charge of a very messed up situation. Though there’re a lot of questions left with her storyline, like: where is she, who’s running the show, and the why behind it all.
Penguin has run-ins with several characters, but the best is his short, but confrontational meeting with Nygma. It was one of the scenes I’ve actually enjoyed Nygma in, who matches wits and keeps a false smile better than everyone. Penguin suffers a few disappointments though, with Gordon turning down his invitation (since Gordon’s regretting getting help from him in “Welcome Back, Jim Gordon”) and Maroni unveiling his patience for finding the perfect time to strike. But his one upside is being given Fish’s old place to spruce up and re-open, which he disappointingly calls Oswald’s instead of Iceberg Lounge. We’ll get there someday.
Falcone deciding to keep Penguin (alive) was surprising because after he was outed by Maroni, I couldn’t imagine what Penguin would be worth keeping around for, but when Maroni and Falcone chat up about Penguin’s fate, they discuss how he’s a great money-maker. We’ve not really ever seen evidence of this before on the show, making Falcone’s reasoning slim. And to have the two mob bosses together and they make a deal between themselves to share a judge Falcone attained by blackmail instead of killing Penguin leaves me with more questions than answers. Their dealings felt a tad unnecessary in an already busy episode.
Speaking of which, the two minor subplots which didn’t impress much were Gordon’s rule of no kissing at work and Bruce’s hike in the woods. While less annoying than their flirting or whatever in the previous episode, Gordon being a stickler about work PDA’s with Thompkins felt like filler rather than an anything worthwhile for either character. In a show so packed, you’d think they’d use their time more wisely. As for Bruce hiking in the woods, it at least gave us a cute shot of Alfred and Bruce bonding over the sunrise, just like he did with his dad before he died. But Bruce still hasn’t proven why he thinks he doesn’t need a detective to help him with the case.
Here are a few other things:
- In “Fearsome” I mentioned the end of the Joker Watch section in my Gotham reviews because they were planning on showing off the Joker before the season finale. And what do you know, check out this preview for next week.…though I can’t say I’m too excited with the actor they chose just yet.
- The fear toxin’s affects were very similar to the one’s seen in Batman Begins and man was that toxin induced scarecrow creepy as hell at the end!
“The Scarecrow” gave us a future Scarecrow we may never see in a more entertaining episode than the last. That about sums up viewing Gotham so far, though saying one episode is better than the other isn’t quite the overall compliment.
+ Focusing on the Crane’s, finally
+ Penguin’s many dealings
+ Mooney clawing her way to the top
– Maroni and Falcone chumming up
– Workplace kissing subplot
– Bruce’s hike was ‘meh’
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
GOTHAM REVIEWS:
S1, Ep. 14: “The Fearsome Dr. Crane”
S1, Ep. 13: “Welcome Back, Jim Gordon”
S1, Ep. 12: “What the Little Bird Told Him”
S1, Ep. 11: “Rogues’ Gallery”
S1, Ep. 10: “Lovecraft”
S1, Ep. 9: “Harvey Dent”
S1, Ep. 8: “The Mask”
S1, Ep. 7: “Penguin’s Umbrella”
S1, Ep. 6: “Spirit of the Goat”
S1, Ep. 5: “Viper”
S1, Ep. 4: “Arkham”
S1, Ep. 3: “The Balloonman”
S1, Ep. 2: “Selina Kyle”
S1, Ep. 1: “Pilot“