It took me this long, but I now realize that I absolutely LOATHE this show. It’s not that it’s terrible; hell, I enjoyed most of Revenge’s gratuitous four-year run and I’m enjoying hate-watching Scream Queens this season. But Gotham is terribly inconsistent that even a pulse-pounding, entertaining episode like this one doesn’t make for a pleasurable viewing experience.
This show is horribly overstuffed (the “previously on” segment alone takes over a minute to fill us in) and it mixes several different mini-stories that are so far-fetched and different which makes it absolutely mind-boggling. The Selina/Silver banter, for instance, is by far the worst thing I have ever seen because it just doesn’t fit in with the kind of stories this show usually tells. Did we really need to make Bruce so dumb and clueless? And if I see one more scene of Selina crying and watching over him from afar, I’m going to scream and throw things on my screen.
On a completely unrelated note, Jim gradually learning about Galavan was a refreshingly nice pace for Gotham, not to mention extremely thrilling. This show finally figured out how to use its serialized storytelling to mix Penguin, Jim and Galavan into one compelling arc. That entire action sequence that starts with Penguin releasing an army of mini-Penguin look-alikes is the most fascinating scene this show has produced so far, as it leads to a truly nail-biting face-off between our three leads. I never doubted that the hour would end with any of them coming out alive, but the unpredictability of where this storyline is going next is at least exciting now. That’s a rarity for this horrendous show.
Tabitha continues to prove she’s hilarious and compelling to watch, and Jessica Lucas needs a show of her own (or at least a better one). Her gruesome murder of the police officer was shocking and badass; that gory image of her heels squashing his throat will be on my mind for the rest of the week. I just wish she was joined by Barbara for some more ass-kicking action. It’s a shame Babs missed out on all the fun this week.
Meanwhile, on what appeared to be a completely different show, Nygma rises more into villainous mode as he struggles to find Kringle’s body (which he killed and hid himself). I did enjoy the vending-machine bit and Nygma’s head getting the best of him, but I loved his little walk-in with Leslie more and wished it went on a bit longer. Even though I was worried she was going to end up dead, something about seeing Ed squirm and hide his murder was engrossing on every single level.
But then again, that entire subplot went absolutely nowhere by hour’s end because the show doesn’t know how to include Nygma or even Lee into the main arc. I seriously loathe this show.
Bat Bits
– On the bright side, at least the season is finally living up to its name “Rise of the Villains”.
– The trash talk between Selina and Silver is beyond infuriating. What is this, 90210?
– Surprisingly, Bruce was the least compelling thing about this episode.
– I never realized how much I hate the music on this show. It always contrasts with the tone of the scene and that’s fine if it hasn’t become an overly recurring thing.
– I love how the idea of Bullock getting a cat is so preposterous. Is it a Bullock thing or just a Gotham thing?
– I need to start a drinking game about the number of times anyone says “this city”.
– Look, it’s Harvey Dent! He’s still alive and on this show and everything.
– Jim and Bullock grabbing those rifles and shooting at Victor Zsaz and his army was kind of badass and awesome.
– Butch has definitely overstayed his welcome, no? I just can’t stand him anymore.
– Those mini-Penguins were terrific. They all have a limp too! Hilarious.
– When Jim tells Penguin he knows about Galavan, I really wish Galavan didn’t stare at him so surprisingly like that. I hate to nitpick, but that just irked me the wrong way.
– It’s a true shame to waste Morena Baccarin’s talents on nothing. Give her something to do!
Cracks From Gotham
Leslie: I love to watch you squirm.
Gordon: Let’s show this city what it means to carry a badge.
Conclusion
A poorly structured, overstuffed episode has become a weekly thing on Gotham, but at least the action was thrilling and exciting this time.
Chris Rating
B+
Tabitha with her own show now now now! Everything else, perfectly stated. I loathe this show too 🙂
Yeah, what you said about Gotham is very true. Based on what I've seen of the show, it has its moments of being an absolute mess which can be tolerable and intolerable at times. There are also moments on the show that expose some good material buried beneath the messy stuff like the storyline with the Penguin this episode. The scene when he lost his mother was so heartbreaking and adds the perfect dramatic fuel to the Penguin's conflict with Galavan. I hope the Penguin is the one who puts an end to the bastard and it seems it may be with Gordon's help.
I wouldn't say the subplot with Nygma didn't went anywhere. The way I see it, it led to the merging of him and his split personality. Now he's a complete psycho which makes him more dangerous than before. And I have a theory that the Galavans will occupy the first half of the season while the second half of the season is when we see will see Nygma take as the Big Bad with Gordon and GPD investigating his killings as the Riddler. I think the first half of the season have been planting the seeds for that.
Thanks for commenting, Justin! I completely forgot about Penguin's scene with his mother. I guess I just didn't find it as emotional as you did as I've always sort of disliked her as a character, but I liked what you said about Nygma merging with his split personality. I too think the second half of the season will be about Nygma and Gordon butting heads with each other, but I don't mind Galavan as the Big Bad so far.
Can't wait to see how messy and intolerable the show continues to be 🙂