Gotham 1×10 – Lovecraft

Perhaps Gotham’s biggest mistake was giving it 22 episodes in its first season. It made it harder for the writers to stretch the stories and develop a good season arc because the show has mostly been a hit-and-miss.

Apparently, many people didn’t like this fall finale, but I for one thought it didn’t disappoint at all. It seems like the show is on the right track because it’s developing Bruce in a way that is making me truly love him so much. Everything Bruce, Selina and Alfred-related was entertaining and it’s exactly what this show needed.

I’m really enjoying Bruce and Selina together. They had such a powerful opening scene, and watching them run off like that created some amazing character development (jumping off a roof is one example). I was even more delighted by Alfred. The man is a badass, and some cool fighting sequences were exactly what this show was missing. He is by far my favorite character on Gotham right now. He’s smarter than everyone, he was worried shitless about Bruce’s disappearance, and he always has the best one-liners ever. Fish, Harvey and even Gordon should take note.

Those three characters really got on my nerve in this fall finale. I’m usually fond of Jim, but his scenes all felt forced here especially any interaction he had with Dent. I’m totally not digging this guy either and was annoyed with the whole Lovecraft subplot as a whole; glad that’s over. And Fish was her usual annoying self, not adding anything to the episode. I hope Falcone has started to doubt her and is on his way to bring her down because I can’t stand this woman.

Everything else flowed perfectly. The league of assassins going after Bruce and Selina was effective because it brought everyone on the show together in one major arc and it was intense and pulse-pounding enough to keep me interested. I didn’t think Jim being assigned to the Arkham Asylum was as big of a development as intended, but it should be interesting where they decide to take this character when the show returns. That’s the best thing about Gotham right now. There’s no telling what’s coming at us in January, and this sort of intrigue and darkness is what this show should have been about all along.

Bat Bats

– Was the “Falcone Mansion” caption necessary during the scene where Oswald was being interrogated by him? It was pretty obvious where they were. You know, considering Falcone was there and everything.

– Loved Bruce jumping from roof to roof. Turning into Batman could have easily been a forced and cringe-worthy part of this show, but young Bruce Wayne has been nailing these training scenes. Outstanding.

– So who are these assassins? And why so creepy?

– Harvey Bullock is being so awfully written, it just makes me sad. I wrote once about how I love the character development he’s been given but right now, I hate everything that comes out of his mouth. He’s not even funny either.

– Seriously, Alfred is amazing. Let’s give this guy a big round of applause for giving me more reasons to watch this show.

– Ivy was as underwhelming and irritating as I could have possibly imagined.

– Selina and Bruce kissed! And it wasn’t a terrible moment.

– No Barbara this week so you can understand why the episode earns a high grade.

Cracks From Gotham

Bruce: She’s just a little girl. Why are you scared of her?
Selina: Because she’s scary; don’t look back.

Alfred: I’m coming with you.

Harvey: Alright. You’re pretty handy for a valet.
Alfred: Butler, mate. I’m the butler.

Oswald: With respect, I don’t understand why you still tolerate her existence. She has proved her disloyalty a hundred times. She wants your head.
Falcone: Like half the people who work for me.

Selina: You’re right about me. I’m not nice.

Jim: Whoever your next partner is, he or she will be a lot easier than me.

Conclusion
A satisfying and entertaining midseason finale. Hopefully, the show returns with this kind of momentum in January.

Chris Rating
A-