– Spoiler Review –
I thought this episode of Gotham should’ve been called “Welcome Back, Bruce Wayne,” since he’s been absent after the midseason finale, but I’m happy it wasn’t. Instead “Welcome Back, Jim Gordon,” is fitting enough because Bruce’s part wasn’t entertaining, while the parts involving the new gun-ho Gordon and Fish Mooney’s escape from captivity certainly were. Gotham continues to be better, but not by much.
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!
Keeping Gordon on his path of righteousness is a good idea, because it makes for more entertaining episodes and less frustration with his character (unlike the first 9 to 10 episodes). His crusade to peg, and rightfully so, the murder of a innocent witness on a possible police officer is a big push for him and a giant wake up for the department as a whole. While I understood his decision to go to Penguin for help, even when it was obvious how considerable his doubt about doing so was, I was surprised by his confusion when Detective Delaware was groveling at his feet, begging for Gordon not to send anyone after his wife and kids again. I just don’t think Gordon was really naive enough to assume Penguin’s help wouldn’t be done in some type of illegal manner, or the conditions of nobody being hurt were too broad a directive, but alas it seems not to have completely occurred to him. Now he has to not only wonder if this win against the corruption protecting Detective Flass was really worth such a reputation, but what other methods can he employ in the future? I’m sure we’ll be seeing Gordon pondering that as we move forward, but it makes me worried he’ll go back in inaction mode again and then we’ll be right back where we started with his character.
Thankfully it’s been a long while since we’ve been treated to an appearance from Penguin’s mother, but it didn’t diminish the fact she’s so far been a character used to fill up precious screentime for no good reason. In fact, she had begun to annoy Penguin too, who just wanted to get drunk and bask in the glory of defeating Fish, so he sent her away after dealing with the visit from Gordon. In the mean time, Fish had been rather busy. I’ve been saying it for awhile, but again Jada Pinkett Smith is one of the top performers on this show and with Fish being let out of the bag here, we got to see Smith unleash a more animal and instinctual side to her character. I enjoyed Mooney’s scenes with her would be torturer, who revealed her full name, making me wonder anew how her nickname came to be “Fish.” Their time together was cut short after Butch somehow freed himself from his restraints early in the episode, but it led to a fun scene with Fish and Butch laying the smackdown on Penguin in her old club.
Fish threatening Penguin was by far one of my favorite moments, but again a moment was cut short, this time thanks to Zsasz’s appearance. I was disappointed in the ensuing gun battle, primarily since Zsasz’s first episode on Gotham made him seem cunning and intelligent, but here he and his assassin pals just stand in the open shooting at Fish and Butch. If it was to frame their battle like a comic book panel, I might understand, but it’s still odd for them not to have taken cover or anything. And with Fish’s plot thread ending with her possibly shipping out of Gotham City for the time being, it makes me worried how this show will be if she’s not around for several episodes.
Outside of the bigger plots, both Nygma and Bruce had perfunctory moments at best. Bruce obviously has a thing for Selina and she may feel the same way, but his quest for vengeance about his parents and social awkwardness blind him to that fact, ruining his budding friendship with Selina. However, the biggest thing from his scene with Selina is her telling him that she lied and didn’t see the man who killed Bruce’s parents; Whether she’s lying to him now because his offer for her to stay at his house was due more for her supposed knowledge over his interests in her remains to be seen, but an interesting thread considering how important the Wayne’s deaths were. As for Nygma, his odd tactics of seduction are slowly and surprisingly working on Kringle. Somehow I don’t picture this ending well for Kringle, which will likely cause Nygma to snap for good (or at least that’s what I’d really like since he’d be a more interesting character unhinged). That’s about it for those two.
Here are a few other things:
- They ruled that witness’ death a suicide? And everyone was just going to be okay with that? That doesn’t scream of corruption, but just plain stupidity.
- Having the Captain step in at the end, with Gordon rousing the troops to finally stand up to Flass, was really great to see. She’d be a powerful alley to have for Gordon in the future…
- Much like the comic inspired officer introduced in “The Balloonman,” Flass is gone just about as soon as we meet him. Alvarez so far has been the only background police officer to be named and not be either corrupt or killed. Though at least Flass has a chance of reappearing again.
- How about that kiss between Harvey and Fish?
“Welcome Back, Jim Gordon,” kept our intrepid hero on a path worth watching, slowly but surely bringing change to the GCPD and eventually Gotham City too. Fish Mooney on the run led to some fun scenes and I surely hope this won’t be the last of her for awhile, because at the moment she and Penguin are the two biggest reasons to really watch this show. And was Selina lying to Bruce regarding her lack of knowledge about his parent’s death? The shakeups continue as Gotham does a little better in its second half.
+ Gordon continues to do actual things
+ Captain stepping in
+ Mooney and Butch’s scenes
– Bruce’s scenes
– Accomplished killers and assassins standing in the middle of a gun battle?
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
GOTHAM REVIEWS:
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“