What an extremely confusing hour.
Let me start by saying this was probably one of the better episodes this season, but it doesn’t deserve a higher rating because of its mind-boggling tonal shift. The dark and gritty aspect has never been this show’s strongest suit, but when an episode itself juggles comic (if not cartoonish) scenes with dead-serious ones so randomly and messily, it becomes apparent how terribly written this show is (and always will be). I wish they’d stick with a certain tone (or even format) because this is just confusing as hell.
Selina has undoubtedly been the weakest link this season, and this episode hardly rectified its pre-Catwoman mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, the writers have been trying—and failing miserably—to give this pathetic excuse of a character an actual storyline that sticks. But after watching an entire episode of her bonding with Bridgit, I’m left with a sour taste in my mouth: was this a terrible arc? No. Was it good? God no.
The problem here is that I feel like I actually enjoyed each storyline when taken independently. Butch’s hammer-head provided some uneasy laughs and Nygma’s transformation was frighteningly intriguing by all means (RIP Kringle, by the way). The same goes for Bruce’s always-incredible training scenes with Alfred, or even that jaw-dropping twist at the end (there’s a secret Wayne-related underground facility that’s creating monsters, in short).
But while all of this episode’s storylines were mildly entertaining on their own, the sum of its parts and the way they all came together in the end felt like they came straight out of a melodrama and can hardly be called good television.
Bat Bits
– I’m sorry, Ben McKenzie fans, but I’m starting to loathe him and his iconic character now. That scene in the alley where he’s beating up a guy and the two other newbie cops are telling him that’s against orders was just so terrible. I know we usually blame the horrendous writing on this show, but the acting can also use a lot of tweaking here.
– Jim and Bullock finding Bridgit’s two cartoonish brothers “fried like taquitos” was aiming for comic relief, but sadly only came off as uncomfortable and weird.
– Say what you want about Tabitha, but she looked sexy in that black dress.
– Why Selina continues to make all those unnecessary, laughable back-flips is beyond me. Hysterical.
– So, the cops found out about the women trapped in that sex-slave but decided to do nothing about it?
– I really loved Nygma/Kristen’s scenes this week, but I might be a little disappointed with the climax. Killing off Kristen so soon is shocking (even with the limited amount of screentime she’s been receiving) because I thought she was actually going to be okay with him killing her abusive ex. Think of all the wasted potential there.
– I hate when this show makes soapy montages in the end and they all include Selina crying.
– The cliffhanger was pretty good but also confusing. I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve seen more of Indian Hill. I was really scared, though, because I thought that girl was Fish Mooney at first.
Cracks From Gotham
Tabitha: Oh, yes! We can put cool things on his stump, like knives and mallets and stuff!
Penguin: Go find my mother before I chop off your other hand.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, this was a lousy episode. This show still doesn’t know what story it’s telling or how to do it.
Chris Rating
C
Can I just say that while this episode is absolutely horrible (yay Gotham's sucky quality is back), I am in love with Jessica Lucas' performance as the demented Tabitha? She owns every one of her scenes and you can tell she's having a ball! Can we just kill everyone else and make her and Galavan the leads? I'm in love! She's so wicked!
You're absolutely right, she's having SO much fun in the role! I want to see her and Barbara rule Gotham. Babs needs a whip too perhaps?
And indeed the sucky quality is back, woohoo!