Gotham S3 Ep. 16 Thoughts & Easter Eggs

"These Delicate and Dark Obsessions"

This week's episode of Gotham is one of those entries that I keep a mental note of whenever someone claiming to be a Batman fan says that they're not entirely sure whether or not they're willing to give the series a shot or not. There is a bountiful supply of well implimented fan service for even the most casual fan of the cape crusader's universe while also perfectly setting the stage for an enthralling back end of the season through beautifully presented storytelling and imagery. Let's dive into what makes Gotham one of the best examples of what a quality live action comic book series looks like in this week's phenomenally directed episode.   

Penguin & "The Crazy Plant Lady"

There are several character arcs at play here, so I'll start off with the Penguin being the most minor of the bunch (but not to be taken lightly). In a surprising twist of character pairings, we get to see Penguin and Ivy team up after last week's episode revealed her to be his rescuer from Ed's murderous attempt. Their dynamic here as a duo was pretty interesting given Ivy's child-like demeanor and Oswald's impatience and psychotic sensibilities. Gotham is definitely no stranger to pitting any two characters from their cast of colorful individuals together, but this was one that I never would've expected to see anytime soon.

This is partly due to Ivy feeling significantly absent after her transformation during the beginning half of the season and whether or not the writers actually had a legitimate plan for using her in an interesting way before the season ended. This is one of Batman's more popular villains after all, so one must question the reasoning for having her basically show up only to get thrown into other people's conflicts. After Penguin is betrayed by his own "loyal henchman", Gabe, as a means to be auctioned off to the highest bidder as a valuable target, this is where things got interesting for Ivy in my opinion. I love the fact that we actually get to see her shine using one of her custom perfumes to control one of the captors causing him to kill off everyone but Gabe.

What I also like about this scene in particular is Oswald's excitement once he realizes how dangerous Ivy can be considering how quickly and effortlessly she was able to manipulate the situation to her benefit. It's that classic comic book moment where a villain smiles as he notices the capabilities of another character's power. However, the highlight moment here is not only seeing Ivy's skills being spotlighted, but Penguin's completely bonkers scene where he loses it and kills Gabe after being called a freak. Seriously, we've seen Penguin viciously murder someone several times in the past, but this one felt extra brutal given the victim's past connection to him and the way in which it's visually presented.

I like the fact that we learn through Gabe that Penguin's leadership as their boss was never met with loyalty through respect but by fear of him being a psychotic murderer. It's a cool way of showing sort of a behind the scenes look into his reign as a mob boss via someone else's perspective. We're then given this great scene between Ivy and Oswald where she tells him that he doesn't need to take on Ed and Barbara by himself stating that Selena's Indian Hill buddies can be of use for his plans. I really like the fact that she uses the word "freaks" to describe them in which Oswald smiles at the notion of having an army of people who genuinely will understand and follow him. 

This smile shows where the character's mind is at regarding his future outlook on building a new network. It also takes me back to previous iterations of the Penguin where, in many cases, he would hire individuals with supernatural or bizarre traits to take out the Batman. Perhaps we're getting closer to that reality sooner than we might expect.

Bruce Embarks On An Evolutionary Journey

After last week's episode's cliffhanger placed Bruce in a prison-like environment in the snowy mountains, as a Batman fan, my inner "geek out" meter started peaking at the idea of Ra's Al Ghul or some other form of a mentor being just around the corner. This episode continues that exciting speculation as we see Bruce encountering a monk in this beautifully presented monastery-like setting. Once finally surrendering to the monk's teachings, we begin to embark on an interesting and evolutionary step into Bruce's journey towards becoming Gotham's cape crusader. 

Before we get into Bruce's training, I do have to emphasize here that the overall direction in this episode was absolutely stunning. Kudos to Ben Mckenzie on his directorial debut here as he directs one outstandingly presented episode both visually and performance-wise. Alright, back to Bruce Wayne's voyage to the cape and cowl.

Our first training session with Bruce starts with the mysterious monk placing some sort of acupuncture needle into Bruce's head unlocking his mind to the memory of his parents' death. It's a great scene showing how, despite everything that has happened over the years, Bruce has never truly let go of this tragedy which has shaped him into the driven individual that he is today. Fans of the comics is of course aware of this truth within the Batman lore, so it's nice to see the series pinpoint that concept with their iteration of the character. As I've stated many times in the past, anything to get us Batman fans smiling in a way that doesn't feel forced is a major win in my opinion for the show.

When Bruce attempts to ambush the monk from behind, he is quickly countered and taken back to that tragic memory which he attempts to alter this time around. It's one of my favorite scenes of the episode due to the way in which it's constructed. We see the death of his parents yet again, but from a different angle and with our Bruce now rushing towards the criminal only to see everyone dissapear. It's a dramatically impactful shot showing just how powerless he is against this devastating mental impression on his life.

I also love the moment where he attempts to fight the monk within the flashback world only to be effortlessly countered and pushed back with great force. It's a cool scene showing the monk's influence over this world, but even more awesome, is the line to which he tells Bruce "...your pain blocks you from who I need you to become…who Gotham needs you to become". There goes that brilliantly inserted geek out moment for Batman fans to enjoy while also perfectly working in context to the scene.

Once Bruce is awakened from this dream-like world, the monk tells him of how they've tried to rid the city of crime over the centuries only for it to be repeated due to fear. This is where fans get one of the series' greatest allusions to the dark knight as he encourages Bruce that he himself can be the protector and symbol against fear that the city needs in order to be reborn. Just hearing those words alone gave me goosebumps. I also have to point out that the score and atmosphere during this scene is absolutely incredible. I loved Bruce's reaction to his proposition saying that one person isn't enough to carry such a burden. Seriously, I felt like we were seconds away from seeing a colony of bats fly into the frame causing me to yell out in excitement.

The Court of Owl's Grasp On Gotham

Gordon, with the help of Harvey and Frank, discovers that the man who killed his father during a supposed drunk driving accident was actually a complete set up by the Court with the assistance of Carmine Falcone. When Gordon confronts Carmine about his father's death, Falcone reveals that Frank was actually the man behind the hit to begin with while he himself was merely a tool in their grand scheme. One of my favorite elements about this episode is the overall sense of unparalleled power given to the Court mainly through dialogue by other characters.

In just simple discussion scenes between Gordon and Frank or Falcone, the audience is given quite a bit to take in and speculate over regarding the the Court of Owl's influence and power over the city. Having a character like Falcone, who was presented as one of Gotham's most high ranked individuals during Season 1, telling Gordon that everyone does the Court's bidding whether they're aware of it or not was an amazing line for viewers to soak in when thinking about this season's big bad.

Aside from cleverly laced lines of dialogue, another great tool used to hype up the Court of Owls is the character of Frank and his increasingly cautious and desperate behavior. Earlier in the episode, we see one of the court's meetings focusing on the creation of a weapon designed to cleanse Gotham of its increasing crime rate. Frank is the only one in the meeting shown to be hesitant once the voting portion of the meeting takes place. In my previous episode review, I've stated that I wasn't entirely sure whether or not we were meant to trust Frank, but now, with this one simple image of him hesitating to put his feather down on the table as an official vote, we're given just enough to at least believe in his opposition to their sensibilities.

After Jim confronts Frank about him being the man who ordered Peter's murder, we learn that Frank ordered the hit primarily due to the high risk of Peter exposing the Court to the public. You can tell that Frank is desperately trying to take the Court down while also willing to die by Jim's hands for his past crime only if he succeeds in his mission. This desperation is shown when Gordon pulls the gun on Frank in which he responds "You'll be doing me a favor". This is also shown when Frank knocks him down after an attempted arrest telling him where the weapon will be shipped at the docks before escaping.

It's a great character highlight scene as it alludes to Peter's murder as sort of a mercy kill from his brother and that he is ready to pay for his sins once  their mission of removing the Court is complete. Frank, in the span of a few episodes, has become one of the most interesting side characters of this season basically acting as our main guide to the Court's many mysteries.

After Gordon reaches out to Barbara as a last resort to find out what the Court has planted at the docks, we're given what I can now officially label as my favorite scene with Barbara Kean which is strange coming from me. Old viewers of my Gotham episode reviews will know that I've expressed a constant negative reaction towards the Barbara character since Season 1 (give or take a couple of rare moments where I felt her character worked in context of a particular scene). In this episode however, all of my nitpicks regarding her over the top personality and unnecessary feeling position on the show went right through the window once we were introduced to her character here as this powerful mob boss figure.

I'm not sure if it's the visual presentation of her sitting on her throne smiling as she smacks around some guy for not giving her enough money to buy new shoes or is it Erin Richards' slightly toned down performance giving her the perfect balance of crazy and charismatic. Either way, seeing her in her prime of power essentially felt like a refreshing look for the character. I also like the fact that she still has a connection to Jim immediately accepting his request to find out about the Court's mysterious shipment (with a major catch of course).

The scene where Barbara interrogates one of the goons previously associated with Falcone at the docks along with Tabitha (who I'm always excited to see being one of my favorite minor side villains on the show) lead to arguably the greatest action scene that the series has offered up so far. We've seen Gotham explore its action elements through various shoot out sequences in the past, but it's the rare supernatural or "comic booky" scenes that truly pop out above the rest. In this case, after the interrogated goon reveals the Court's shipment location to Barbara, we're given this amazing scene where a Talon from the court shows up and swiftly takes out all of Barbara's henchmen before beheading the informer.

What makes this scene stand out is the fact that we actually get to see a Talon in action which is something that we've only briefly explored earlier in the season. The choreography was amazing showing him evading pass the henchmen's gunfire and slicing through each of them with his sword. Also, just as I mentioned about the Court's immense power being brilliantly alluded through other characters, we see Barbara and Tabitha appearing to be completely shocked at the Talon's capabilities before barely escaping. This is one of many fantastic ways of perfectly setting up a major villain's threat level which this episode flawlessly utilizes. It's through fear factor and lore building that makes the Court of Owls Gotham's most fascinating antagonist yet.

After Jim tells Harvey about the situation that took place at the docks, Frank calls him for another meeting which was previously set up as being a hit from the Court due to Jim's snooping around. The scenes between these two have been some of my favorite dialogue driven scenes of the season due to the great performances and story building elements. This final meeting scene in particular however was the icing on the cake for me where Frank essentially tells Jim that he is supposed to kill him, but it's up to him to decide what takes place moving forward.

Again, that desperation with Frank doing anything in his power to take down this seemingly untouchable organization is strongly felt here once he breaks down his plan to put Jim in his place right before committing suicide in front of him. It's a powerful scene for both characters as it paves the way to the questionable future for Jim while also officially sealing the deal on Frank's true agenda in the end. I'm hoping that we get to learn just a tad more about Frank's history with the Court in the future as I feel his character had quite a bit to offer up as something of a history teacher for the audience to learn about this mysterious and powerful cult.

After Jim visits his father's grave, placing the photo of Frank, Peter, and himself on the gravestone, Jim gets the expected call from Catherine that he was previously warned about. When Jim sets up a meeting between the two, we get what is without a doubt the greatest ending title transition scene of the series so far. Having Jim walk up to the Court's car with the door opening up to a nearly pitch black interior while the camera zooms in to reveal the title logo was absolutely genius. It gets the audiences hyped up for the next episode through imagery alone showing that Jim is about to embark into the abyss of mystery that is the Court of Owls. This series continues to reign over other comic book TV series with its extraordinary sense of visual storytelling.

Overall Thoughts

Gotham has continued to surprise me with some of its fascinating and entertaining villain arcs since its second season run. However, what this episode does particularly impressive above previous entries is the way in which it legitimately hypes up the viewer's anticipation for the Court through various methods. Not only does the season successfully bring the audience's attention back to the Court of Owls here (which was a recent concern of mine given everything else that was going on), but the writers have managed to place them center stage as the prioritized story arc in a naturally paced manner.

It's the perfect package of great performances, note worthy visual storytelling, interesting dialogue, and a surprisingly captivating action sequence that makes this episode one of the most entertaining installments of the series so far. With Penguin setting his eyes on Indian Hill's group of Metahumans, Bruce's evolutionary step towards becoming Gotham's savior, and Gordon infiltrating the Court of Owls, I do believe that we're in for a spectacular back end of the season.

Bonus Content

1. The Power of the Court of Owls

Not only do we learn through Frank that the Court has laid waist to Gotham twice in the past, but we also get to see one of the Talons in action. Note the sound of birds (Owls perhaps?) flocking away before he approaches the scene to kill off Barbara's men.

2. The Court of Owls Imagery

One of my personal wishes after the Court was revealed in Season 2 was to get some beautifully presented shots of the Court during the next season. Well, it would seem that my wishes were finally met in this episode as we're given some astonishing and hauntingly atmospheric shots of the Court. The masks and suits are also perfectly designed here never coming off too cartoony in my opinion. 

3. Continuity With Ivy

Ivy, although visually a grown woman, still acts the part of her true self being a young and socially awkward child. This is made apparent when she genuinely thinks of Penguin as her friend despite them just meeting for the first time as well as her childish reactions to certain things during the episode. 

4. Ivy's Plants

Not only do we get to see Ivy's place being heavily occupied by plant-life, which is awesome to see for fans of the character, but we also get a quick shot of one of the plants quickly growing over Gabe's corpse. This may be our first tease towards Ivy's plants having a monstrous quality as they do in several iterations of the character. 

5. Ivy's Perfume

Awaiting that moment where Ivy is able to control giant man eating plants? Well, perhaps we're not exactly at that point in history yet, but I do like idea of having her utilize her own self created perfume to control men at her command. It's a trait popularly known with the character, so we're at least starting off on a good note.

6. Revisiting The Past 

One of the highlights of the episode was seeing Bruce being thrown into the past by the monk's mind opening needles. It's a pretty cool visual effect seeing our current Bruce Wayne interact to a degree with a scene from the first season where the actor was much younger. 

7. Indian Hill

It's great to finally see Indian Hill being positioned back into the forefront through the Court's mysterious city cleansing weapon. Is this a new Metahuman? A bomb of some sort? Will this be the transition back into Fish Mooney and Hugo Strange's part of the story? So many questions with only a labeled crate to go on. 

8. Our New Mayor 

During a briefly shown TV screen, it is revealed that Mayor James has been re-instated as Gotham's new mayor. Where this new point of power will go from here on out is anyone's guess, but something tells me that the Penguin won't be too far away from the mayor's office.

9. Lee Is In A Currently Dark Place

It's no mystery whether or not Lee is capable of turning over to the dark side after Mario's death, but the scene where Jim encounters her at Mario's grave alluded to it actually being a potential arc in the future. Lee is shown to still be in an unforgiven mood towards Jim, and with her connection to Carmine, who knows what might happen before the season ends.

10. The Unlocking of Bruce's Mind

Although very brief, I do have to point out the great visual FX on Bruce's head and eyes once the pin makes contact. Also, visuals aside, I do wonder if we'll see this type of "sorcery" appear in the future as the series has never really explored this type of territory before.

11. Story Arc Themed Logo Transition

One of the most unique components on the show is its use of story arc themed alterations to the title logo. Here we see the Gotham title shown through the darkness of the Court of Owl's car with the lettering including a similiar color scheme to the masks that the cult wears.

Favorite Shots

Episode Rating: 9/10