After months of anticipation and an amazing season promo to keep us watering at the mouth with geek out worthy implications, Gotham makes its grand return to the small screen. This season so far has been nothing short of solid quality with quite a few character spotlights and moments for audiences to soak in the high quality production of the show. One of those character spotlights being the return of Jerome who absolutely stole the scene with a notably positive critical reception while also gaining the attention of non Gotham fans to perhaps tune in with everyone else.
In this week's episode, we're treated to another major villain arc while also setting up some pretty integral story points for our heroes. What this episode strives on mostly is in its character pairings and development, so let's dive into the interesting dynamics and moments that takes place here.
The Riddler's Origins
Since the first season did a great job in introducing us to the socially awkward and peculiar character of Edward Nygma, fans like myself have been speculating and eagerly awaiting the moment where the riddle loving forensics guy would officially transform into one of the most menacing villains in Batman's rogues gallery. Well, after this week's episode, fans can finally feel relieved as not only do we get to see the Riddler sport his iconic green suit, but even more importantly, we get to see the actual transition take place both visually and psychologically.
After killing off his best friend during the cliffhanger of the previous episode, Ed is shown being completely unhinged killing a professor due to them not being able to solve his riddles while also taking hallucinogenic drugs enabling him to speak to Oswald. This stirs up some pretty interesting conversations between the two throughout the entirety of the episode paving the way to Ed's inevitable transformation. First is the fact that Oswald (or Ed's inner thoughts in the form of Oswald) scolds him on his idea of finding someone smart enough to teach him how to become a "villain". I liked the idea of him telling Ed how he became the Penguin by killing Fish Mooney. I honestly can't think of another time where I've seen a villain listen to another villain's origin story as motivation.
There's a great moment where Oswald suggests that Ed simply ditches the riddles which he immediately shuts down the idea stating that if someone can solve his riddles, perhaps they can solve the mystery to his own life by helping him. This adds a whole new layer to the complex puzzle solving traits of the character that I like. Ed eventually decides that in order to become a villain, instead of finding a teacher, he would need an arch enemy of sorts in which he chooses Gordon. What's interesting here is that Oswald, although being just a figment of his imagination, tries to stop him from making that decision. Again, it's pretty fascinating taking all of Penguin's opposing lines in this episode as Ed arguing with himself.
Oswald even brings up the fact that in being part of Ed's imagination, he knows everything that Ed knows as well what he's avoiding to accept. After making fun of Ed's chess related criminal name given by the news headlines after his chess tournament trap, he eagerly states that his name will be changed which is of course the first of many nods towards fans of the Batman universe. After a pretty bizarre song number by the Penguin highlighting that Ed is lost without him, Ed quickly leaves him behind intending to officially break out into his own. Not only was this brief "old timey" music video brilliantly creepy, but it's also entertaining watching Ed fight with himself to push forward as individual entity. This is something that has been consistent with the character.
The Riddler's Arch Nemesis
This leads to one of my favorite components of this episode involving Ed encountering a very unexpected, but sensible adversary. In a refreshing change in character spotlights, we get to see Lucius Fox rise above everyone else as the closest thing to Ed's equal as far as puzzle solving goes. This was a nice callback to Season 2 where Lucius was able to solve one of Ed's riddles at the GCPD which surprised him as well as the fact that Fox and Bruce were the ones forced to try to escape his trap at Arkham. Throughout the episode we see Ed happily noticing that Fox is the one to figure out the intricacies within his schemes making him the prime target of his life threatening puzzles.
During one of these puzzle traps involving Harvey's life, Lucius comes up with a serviceable answer for one of the riddles which angers Ed as he states that it can only be his specifically chosen answer as the correct choice. What's interesting about this episode is the idea that not only are we watching the beginnings of the Riddler persona shine visually through Ed's custom attire, but also his rules and traits. The Riddler is a villain that is known for his obsessive mentality of being the smartest mind around with no parallels which leads to an extremely unhealthy level of narcism. This is perfectly presented here with Ed not being able to accept the idea of Fox having an answer that is just as adequate as his own.
When Ed eventually slips up in alluding to the Penguin's mysterious disappearance during a mental breakdown, Lucius uses that opportunity to catch him mentally off guard by getting him to admit to the possible murder. I thought it was a nice touch to have Ed slightly slip up on his words while repeating the final riddle to Fox in order to focus on the task at hand right before Lucius successfully solves it. Ed's smile to Fox's correct answer leading him to walking away from the scene was a great indication that he is slowly becoming whole as someone with a worthy opponent to face and a purpose.
This is made even more clear moments after when he ambushes Lucius in his car telling him that he finally understands how to become the powerful force inside of him. The conversation between the two is honestly one of the most intriguing villain discussion scenes that I've seen in quite some time. Lucius tries to open Ed's eyes to the fact that he is simply someone in dire need of help given his extreme actions. What makes this scene so interesting is that fans of the show are able to see Ed as the complicated guy who worked at the GCPD during the first two seasons over the unhinged criminal mastermind grasping for a purpose.
Of course the highlight moment here is actually hearing Ed finally call himself "The Riddler" when Lucius asks him who he has become now. It's by far one of the best villain name debuts in the world of live action comic book TV shows being that we've followed this character from being a misunderstood human being, to a damaged man on the edge of completely losing his mind, and now a powerful and dangerous criminal accepting his destiny as a self created diabolical persona. He officially seals the deal of his new direction in life by visiting the docks where he shot Oswald and throwing away the hallucinogenic drugs used to talk to his supposedly dead friend.
After having one last chat with Oswald and saying that the city will indeed fear the name "The Riddler" in time, he walks away sporting the character's iconic bright green outfit and hat from the comics. Seeing this villain arc from the very beginnings up to this point has been some of the most fun and fascinating journeys that I've ever experienced with a comic book antagonist. The Riddler's story arc, aside from Bruce Wayne's, is without a doubt Gotham's prize jewel regarding their central cast of characters. After watching this episode, I am now legitimately excited for what's to come as we finally get to see the Riddler in his full attire and potentially at his full mental capacity.
Gordon's Introduction To The Court
With a pre-Joker running rampant in the city, the Mad Hatter's debut and influence spanning over half the season, and the Riddler finally being fully realized, one is forgiven to have forgotten about the Court of Owls story in the midst of everything. However, audiences should definitely keep this mysterious society in the forefront of their minds as things are definitely starting to stir up in that shadowy corner of Gotham's expansive universe. The previous episode left us off with Gordon's uncle showing up at his door (who we saw as being part of the Court) which leads to a fantastic lore building highlight with this week's installment.
Throughout the entirety of the episode surrounding Gordon and Frank, we're given some notable tidbits about Jim's family past as well as the history of the Court itself. I was actually surprised to see Frank quickly reveal that he is indeed part of the Court as well as Jim's father as I was expecting the series to stretch that secret out a bit more. Frank tells Jim that the Court was a secret society who controlled Gotham for centuries and was founded by its most powerful families. The sole purpose of the organization was to bring balance to this city but time and power corrupted them. I honestly would've loved to see a flashback of its origins, but the description given here was well delivered by the great James Remar, so you won't find any complaints here.
We learn that the death of Jim's father was no accident and instead the Court's decision causing Frank to fearfully work under their trust in the following years. He tells Jim that he only continued to work for them in order to hopefully overpower them from within which leads to his offer for Jim to join him. This is one of those rare situations where I honestly wasn't sure what to believe given the dialogue and context of the scene. Is Frank actually telling the truth to some degree or is this all obviously part of the Court's plans by pitching a tragic story to good old heroic Jim Gordon. I can actually say that I have absolutely no idea what's about to happen which is refreshing to say the least.
Bruce Wayne's Journey
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"Precision under pressure is everything Master Bruce" - Alfred
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Connecting to the Court of Owls is also Bruce Wayne who, before encountering one of their most significant weapons in the latter half of the episode, faces a few obstacles of his own. During the course of my analyzing and reviewing of Gotham dating back to Season 1, I've heavily emphasized on how much I've admired the way in which they've developed Bruce's journey into becoming Gotham's savior through various ways. In this week's episode, we get to see the beginnings of one of Batman's most famous traits being his flawless sense of focus. As Alfred trains Bruce in the art of knife throwing, he teaches him about having closure with shaky relationships and how that can affect his focus moving forward.
It's a great scene introducing Bruce to the importance of having perfect precision no matter what the situation is due to having a focused mind. The relationship in question here is of course regarding Selena who seemingly left a note asking for him to meet up which Alfred encourages him to follow up on. Bruce decides to look for Selina only to have a run in with some of her criminal partners in the process. After Selena separates herself from him implying that she had nothing to do with the note, in an awesome "Pre-Batman" scene, we get to see Bruce take on this group of thugs by himself while holding his own pretty well.
It's a great way of showing his evolution as a capable fighter while also acting as a welcomed tease for us fans of the cape crusader to enjoy. Gotham is no stranger to beautifully planting the seeds for its characters to become the larger than life icons from the comics. This short fight scene is one of the many examples that should be figuratively posted to the wall of Bruce Wayne's journey towards becoming the dark knight himself. Season 2 fully introduced his sensibility of attempting to understand the criminal world and it would appear that Season 3 is showing us his path in becoming a physical threat to the many enemies that he'll encounter down the line.
The New Bruce Wayne
After his offscreen victory against Selena's partners, Bruce encounters yet another obstacle being Subject 514A who now looks completely identical to him (even sporting the same clothes). This surprises Bruce allowing him to be ambushed and drugged causing his doppelgänger to take his place at his mansion. Earlier in the episode, we saw him practicing to sound like Bruce for Catherine in addition to memorizing his backstory. It was interesting and equally unsettling seeing him then walk into the mansion greeting Alfred with a smile on his face. Once Alfred offers him some Shepard's Pie (which Bruce wasn't too excited about early on) leading to 514A showing a uncharacteristic reaction, one can expect an intense confrontation coming up.
Overall Thoughts
So, with the inclusion of two great villain spotlights setting the stage for endless potential regarding one of Batman's greatest villains in the Riddler and the Court of Owl's mysterious mission moving forward, Gotham absolutely soars this week as far as storytelling goes. With an ending cliffhanger showing Bruce being imprisoned in a foreign environment sporting monk-like robes as well as Penguin being revealed to have survived and is out for revenge, I look forward to seeing what next week have in store for us. It's nice to be able to say "Gotham is back and it's just as good as where we left off".
Bonus Content
1. The Riddler's Visual Transformation
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| Throughout the course of the episode we see Ed's attire change from a dark grey suit and red tie with a green vest towards the full on bright green suit, tie, vest, and hat. |
2. Lucius Fox Is Bored At the GCPD
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| The fact that Lucius feels unfulfilled with his position at the GCPD (as implied during his brief interaction with Harvey) is pretty interesting as it possibly foreshadows his more accomplished place as the head of Bruce Wayne's secret tech division. |
3. Fox & Harvey's Buddy Cop Adventures
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| As I stated earlier in the review, this was an episode that strived on character pairings. Here we get to see quite the entertaining buddy cop-like bonding between Harvey and Lucius. Lucius even attempts to interrogate someone which was pretty hilarious. |
4. The Aftermath from Jerome's Night of Mayhem
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| One of my favorite things to see in any form of storytelling is continuity being emphasized on whenever major events take place. Here we have Harvey briefly mentioning the fact that the city is still recovering from Jerome's night of anarchy. To that I say "Well done" to the writers of Gotham". |
5. Bruce Wayne in Monk Robes
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| Where the heck's Bruce Wayne? Why is he wearing robes? This is the burning question left by this week's episode cliffhanger. However, just the image of Bruce sporting monk-like robes automatically make me reference Bruce's early history training with the League of Assassins from various iterations of the character. |
6. Parallels To Batman & The Riddler
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| Throughout the episode both Bruce and Ed are undergoing a transition period into becoming something profoundly transformative. Both are also struggling to focus on their path while dealing with a previously conflicting relationship. |
7. Knife Throwing = Batarang Throwing
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| Watching Bruce attempt to master the art of knife throwing while under pressure is a nice nod to the future cape crusader's arsenal of non lethal bat shaped throwing knives. |
8. Ivy Heals The Penguin
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| I find it interesting that out of all of the different ways that the writers could've brought back the Penguin, they decided to have Ivy be the one to save him. Perhaps this alludes to a potential future villain team up? Either way, it feels pretty strange given Ivy's character unless she has a personal agenda involving Gotham's ex-mayor. |
9. Ivy's Plants
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| Not only do we get to see Ivy return as Penguin's surprise rescuer, but I like the fact that the episode introduces her by showing her watering her plants which she has surrounding the entirety of the room. Fans of the character from the comics are given quite the appetizer of fan service here. |
10. The Penguin's Dance Number
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| The most positively random moment on Gotham showcases the Penguin in a bizarrely presented song number. The old time grainy look as well as the intentional delay to the lip sync made this one of the most strangest scenes on the show yet. |
11. Hugo Strange's Lab/Prison
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| Hugo Strange's makeshift lab and prison shown early on in the season is seen during the beginning of the episode where Ed kills off one of many people in his quest to find a worthy candidate. |
12. Ed's Cellphone Ringer Tone Is A Batman (1966) Easter Egg?
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| Although I can't be 100% certain, Ed's cellphone ringer melody definitely sounded like one of the iconic musical cues heard in the 1966 Batman television series. |
13. Visual Storytelling of the Riddler
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| During the course of the episode we get to see both subtle and obvious visual implications of the Riddler's iconic color of choice. |
14. Visual Implication of Oswald Being Ed's Creation
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| In a nice little visual gag, we see Oswald doing the same exact hand gesture as Ed during their interaction together. |
15. The Riddler's Carnage
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| During the course of the episode, we get to see the Riddler cause quite the commotion through a few life threatening and panic spreading schemes. |
16. The Court's Plans: Subject 514A
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| What is the court's plans for Gordon and Bruce Wayne? This has been one of the biggest mysteries of the season thus far especially now that their clone is in place (as stated by Catherine). It's pretty interesting hearing them actually acknowledge him as a clone now. Perhaps I was wrong about my Hush theories from the Season 2 finale. |
17. Presentation of a Dead Penguin
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| Throughout the episode, Oswald appears as a drowned corpse to some degree which is consistent with the character's supposed death by Ed. One of the best subtle details about this appearance is the briefly shown crab crawling up his suit as well as the slimy sounding audio cue played whenever he'd appear at times. |
18. Story Arc Themed Logo
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| In typical Gotham tradition, we see the Gotham logo having some visual connection to the current story arc. In this case, we see the Riddler's iconic green question mark at the center. This strangely enough doesn't show up in the episode itself but the promos leading up to its release. |
Favorite Shots from the Episode
Episode Rating: 8/10
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