Gotham S3 Ep. 19 Thoughts & Easter Eggs

"All Will Be Judged"

After last week's thrilling episode opened up the doors to an interestingly altered hero's journey and an anticipated villain encounter, I was highly intrigued to see what would take place as Gotham inches ever so closely to its season finale. Although I wouldn't consider this much of a step up from the previous entry, there are quite a few things that are worth pointing out in this week's new villain spotlight episode. So, as per usual with these reviews, let's go down the list of individual character highlights and moments before stating whether or not this episode succeeded in the end.

The Clone's Unveiling

Now, before we dive into our main event being the Court's latest weapon set loose on the team, let's talk about that scene during the beginning portion of the episode involving the clone. Not only was it great to finally have the clone's identity fully revealed to Alfred, but the fight scene itself between him and Selena was amazing. It's incredible how well directed the fight sequences in Gotham have been over the past two seasons considering that the series usually focuses on atmosphere, drama, and storytelling more than anything else. It's interesting to note that even after getting stabbed and head butted by Alfred, the clone literally feels nothing which is a nice mirrored concept to what Bruce is currently undergoing in his training regarding his emotional state.

Alfred's Mission

Throughout the series, we've always known Alfred to be Bruce's guardian/father figure, but it's only during some of the more dramatic scenes where we truly get to see the powerful bond that both characters share. With the clone's identity being discovered and Bruce's location being a mystery, this episode shows off a more desperate and unchained side to our beloved butler. One of my favorite scenes emphasizing on this is where he scolds Selena for not helping him find Bruce after the clone disappeared. It's the equivalent of watching a father lash out on his son's criminal friend for not being supportive when he needed him most. It's definitely one of the more emotional scenes that perfectly expresses how Alfred's usually calm demeanor drastically changes whenever Bruce's life is in question.

This emotionally off-kilter side to him continues throughout the course of the episode after he goes to the GCPD to reach Gordon and Harvey about the situation. What I really liked about this scene other than the fact that Alfred is always treated as being a capable figure to take seriously in the eyes of Gordon is that we essentially get a rundown of everything that has taken place with the Court from his perspective. Alfred tells them about the previous encounters, the crystal owl heist, and now the clone to which Bullock hilariously reacts in disbelief and exhaustion. I've always found the entertainment value within the show's character pairings to be at its highest peak whenever these three are working together in some way.

However, the highlight of the episode has got to be the moment when he learns that Catherine is being interrogated nearby to which he stomps in and stabs her in the hand. There's a bit of a self aware comment being made about the character during that moment when he says "Well I'm not a cop am I? I'm a butler". Alfred manages to temporarily take over a police situation with his own personal agenda which should seem goofy considering that he is just a butler, but given the history of the character shown so far, it makes absolute sense here. Jim doesn't just see some rich kid's concern butler as he would have during the beginning of the series. Alfred has become a more respected and capable partner to Jim which is pretty fascinating when you think about it.

This is why I really admire the moment where Harvey yells out about Alfred losing his mind in stabbing Catherine to which Gordon respectfully but cautiously responds that it's his play. It was also cool seeing Alfred actually getting a few hits in on Barnes during the precinct showdown showing us once again how skillful in combat our badass butler is. Now that the Court's secret locations are uncovered, I look forward to seeing him hopefully being put to even greater use as he aids the GCPD in finding Bruce. There's also the fact that Bruce will not be the same once the two eventually reunites. It'll be interesting to see how Alfred will handle a now dramatically altered Bruce. This will put an even larger spotlight on the two's relationship moving forward.

Bruce Wayne's Destiny Adjustment

Speaking of Bruce being dramatically changed, this week's episode introduced quite the character twist for our future cape crusader. Engaging in the final step to his training, the shaman attempts to completely rid Bruce of the pain of his parents' death. Similiar to their previous vision quest, a safe is being shown in the room to which Bruce has to place the physical representation of his tragic memory inside. This time being his mother's pearls which is the iconic item famously associated with the murder of the Waynes. I was happy to see that the show didn't simply have him place them into the safe without having some emotional struggle. The image of his hands trembling with the pearls as he approached the safe was a great way of showing just how significant that memory is to him.

However, things start to get really interesting once the shaman decides to show Bruce his own memory this time around which is something that I honestly wasn't expecting. He shows Bruce a flashback of him angrily talking to one of the Court members about the Wayne family murder before killing him. The member tells him that the Waynes were threatening to expose the Court leading to the decision of getting rid of them. This scene on its own is a pretty huge revelation as it brings context to one of the most iconic murders in comic book history (or at least Gotham's version) as well as the scene between Bruce and Matches Malone during Season 2. It's compelling to think that we've ventured through 3 seasons to get a full picture behind the mystery of the Waynes murder.

The Shaman then tells Bruce that the Court is but a means to bringing order to Gotham city but must pay for their crimes against his parents. One of the things that I've noticed about this season is how much they've painted the Court of Owls as both a mysterious evil presence and an anti-hero considering their mission at the end of the day. Some of the most captivating villains are the ones that come across as a hero from their own perspective with a legitimate sounding reason behind their crimes. This is something that Gotham has successfully presented with the Court of Owls so far with their objective of "cleansing the city of crime".

With Bruce finally deciding to place the pearls into the safe as the final step of passage into the shaman's path, we lead towards our huge twist towards the end of the episode. After calling one of the talons to demonstrate their strength by ordering him to remove his finger, the shaman visually implies what the Court plans to do to Bruce. With the talon showing no reaction to cutting off his own finger, the shaman essentially tells Bruce that he too can become this powerful if he continues to follow down the path that he set for him. I love that we get to see the talon being staged as an example of power for Bruce. Regular viewers of my reviews probably figured out by now that I get overly excited whenever one of the talons show up for anything really.

That final shot of Bruce completely surrendering to the shaman's request to join his mission in taking down the Court was one of those jaw dropping cliffhangers for comic book fans to process. What does this mean for our young hero in the making? Also, how much of the shaman's words can we truly believe regarding his personal mission and flashback visions to Bruce? As of now, we're still not entirely sure what his connections to the Court really is. Catherine alludes to someone of a higher rank, so are we to believe that he is perhaps the Court's grandmaster of sorts? If his mission is false, was the court planning to turn Bruce into their own highly valuable talon? So many questions, but for now, let's just take in the fact that Bruce just agreed to becoming an emotionless weapon.

Just Another Crazy Day For Gordon

After last week's episode focused a lot on Gordon's mission to infiltrate the Court, I realized just how much I've missed seeing the more investigation driven episodes of Gotham. The ones where a large portion of the runtime is centered on Gordon and Bullock struggling to make sense out of some bizarre situation taking place by investigating around the city and uncovering clues to a much bigger picture. Fortunately, this is one of the greatest components of this episode as we get to see both Jim and Harvey trying to piece together the court's plans while also dealing with the dangerous obstacles being thrown at them.

It is through their scenes together where we get the episode's well implimented sense of levity via the chemistry and dialogue exchanges between the crime solving duo. Any scene where Harvey either responds to someone with a ridiculous statement regarding his thoughts on a matter or reacting to something crazy happening around him is an automatic win for me. Thankfully this episode has plenty to offer in that department. While on their mission in uncovering secret locations of the Court, (which was already entertaining on its own) our first big debut of Gotham's latest costumed villain, the Executioner, is shown.

This leads to one of my favorite scenes from the episode showing Gordon being interrogated by Catherine alongside an eerily silent Barnes inside of a rundown courtroom. The choice of setting was absolutely perfect for the two villains with the obvious "court" nod to Catherine as well as the imagery of a decomposed place of justice for Barnes. As I've stated in the past, Gotham continues to succeed over other comic book TV whenever visual storytelling is in question. I also love that after Catherine interrogates Gordon and leaves (another silly mistake made by the central villain that I wish the show would cease), Barnes walks up to the judge's position in the courtroom and treats the situation as Jim's trial. You gotta admire the consistency of insanity with this show.

As Barnes puts Jim on trial, he tells Gordon that he could've joined him on his crusade instead of betraying him and that he doesn't understand the benefits of the virus just as Lee didn't. After telling Barnes that her visit to him alone proves that she thought Mario might be completely insane, we see one of the detective's greatest traits shining once more. Just as I've stated in the previous episode, Gordon's best skill is his ability to talk his way out of a situation. Noticing his badge on the table, Jim quickly asks to have it be worn as a final request from one soldier to the next before his execution. This allowed him to distract Barnes long enough to activate one of his suit's grenades and for the GCPD to roll in. It's cool seeing Jim figure out which buttons to press for most of the show's roster of villains.

With Barnes escaping, Catherine finally gets arrested which Jim takes it upon himself to interrogate her about the hidden bomb. It is here where we get our big reveal that Catherine isn't the leader of the Court of Owls after all which surprises him (and myself admittedly). It's also here that we first see a more powerless side to the character after Alfred storms into the room and stabs her in the hand. I was expecting her to have the same physical numbness as the talons, but I actually liked it better that she reacted as any other human would. It beautifully foreshadowed her annihilation of power especially after she alluded to someone being higher on the scale of influence in the Court.

After attacking Catherine, the interrogation gets interrupted by the Executioner's attack on the precinct. I loved the amount of share carnage shown perfectly displaying how dangerous our latest villain of the week really is. It reminds me of Season 2 during the Mr. Freeze arc where we'd see officers frozen to death implying a horrific offscreen massacre that took place. The final showdown where Jim, Harvey, and Alfred attempts to take him down was pure entertainment as we see the trio struggling to fight him off while getting knocked down individually. Shockingly enough, after Catherine calls his actions as being nonsense, Barnes decapitates her leading to Gordon finally getting the upper hand on him. It's an anti-climatic death for the character, but a great action scene nonetheless.

I was almost certain that we'd get a fulfilling death for Catherine by either Gordon or even Bruce considering her connection to them. Fortunately, I did like the feeling of tension rising once Jim told Harvey that Catherine's death would force the leader to act out immediately. It made our heroes seem even more pressed for time while also perfectly setting up a new villain reveal to look forward to. After Barnes is told to have escaped the GCPD's custody and Hugo Strange's vials of the virus was found missing, the episode ends on yet another huge cliffhanger for fans to speculate over. The final shot of Lee injecting herself with the Tetch virus and transforming is arguably one of the best villain reveal end sequences on the show yet. Just like Bruce's surrender, there is much to speculate over.

Overall Thoughts

Gotham has continued to surprise me for the majority of this season with its overall streak of solid quality episodes of pure intrigue and entertainment. This week is no exception as we have plenty to enjoy here from well directed action sequences, a fun villain debut to enjoy, and a few major twists to keep us guessing towards the finale. With my only nitpicks being an anti-climatic death and a slightly distracting villain costume, it's safe to say that Gotham has proven to us yet again why its name deserves to be in the discussion of greatest comic book TV shows ever. I simply cannot wait to see what the next episode brings.

Bonus Content

1. The Riddler & Penguin's Dilemma

Although a minor part of the episode, it was highly entertaining watching both Ed and Oswald constantly try to attack each other from their cages then eventually temporarily team up in the end. The way in which they escape as well as the "No sabotage or murder" terms that they set for each other was pure gold. Now comes the highly anticipated gang war.

2. Lee's Transformation

Throughout the recent episode reviews I've been holding back my comments about Lee most likely becoming a villain until the actual reveal took place. This episode highlights Lee's motivation as someone paying for her sins, so I'm interested to see just how they'll handle her character going forward. Where does this put Jim in his current conflict with the Court?

3. Selena & The Clone's Future

With the clone now escaping to who knows where, it does beg the question as to whether or not his alluded approaching end will be by Selena's hands or perhaps his body's condition. Or maybe...stay with me here...he just might end up being the character that he was speculated to be in the beginning, Hush. Also, let's not forget that we left Selena on a bitter but hopeful note regarding Bruce.

4. The Twisted History of the Talons

Regular viewers of the site will know that I'm always excited to see the Talons spotlighted. Here we get to actually learn about them from the shaman who states that they've been around since the Court's inception and was taken from orphanages to be trained and wiped of all feelings. This adds an interesting new layer to the assassins whenever they show up down the line.

5. The Mad Hatter's Significance

Like any good comic book TV series, it's always ideal to keep your greatest villains of the week archived somewhere for future use. Recently, we've seen Jervis being utilized as either a part of a fun but minor scene or a prominent component to the the Tetch virus story. Let's hope that the writers have plans for him fully unleashing his traditional hallucinogenic madness in the future.

6. The Executioner's Design

The overall look of the Executioner is one that I admire more for its concept than its execution. The guillotine hand attachment and Gotham city seal on his shoulder brilliantly expresses the mentality of Barnes being the city's executioner. The rest of the suit and eye make up is sort of a hit and miss for me.

7. The Crystal Owl of Mysteries

Gotham never ceases to amaze me with its brilliance of planting seeds of storytelling devices around. The crystal owl and map was actually shown about four episodes ago and has only now resurface as the GCPD's new edge against the Court. What do the owl symbols on the map represent? A new question presented for a recently forgotten Macguffin. Yep, that's Gotham for ya.

8. Ed Confirms Oswald's Existence

One of the funniest parts of the episode aside from Harvey's priceless reactions is Ed hilariously confirming Oswald's existence. Being known to have hallucinations, it was comedically brilliant to finally have him test out his condition by physically interacting with someone. I absolutely loved Oswald's reaction to Ed making sure that he's real by slapping him in the face.

9. Jerome Shout Out

In a quick turn and you'll miss it offhand comment, Alfred tells Harvey that Jerome shattered the owl statue after after bringing the pieces to him. It's always nice to see TV shows referencing an event from its past no matter how recent it is as it adds a sense of history to the world being created.

10. Lee's Creepy Nightmare

I think the title of this one speaks for itself really. If I were to add anything extra, it would be to point out that this crazy nightmare sequence gives us our first visual insight of Lee's current mentality. The moment of her drinking Mario's infected blood perfectly foreshadows her transformation in the end.

Favorite Shots

Episode Rating: 8/10