"Pretty Hate Machine"
Gotham successfully hits it out the park yet again in this week's thrilling episode of dramatic twists and turns. With only a couple of episodes left, we begin to fully venture through implications of future story arcs, forthcoming battles, and a spectacular cliffhanger that throws the audience right back into a sea of speculation and excitement. Let's dive into what makes this episode yet another entry that definitely shouldn't be skipped over.
Penguin In A Pickle
Getting the side plot out of the way, let's talk about that surprise appearance during the power struggle within Gotham's criminal underworld. After attacking Oswald's safe house and capturing Selena, Barbara makes a deal with her regarding his location after Ed deduces that he currently lacks his army of "freaks". I found it strange that Oswald was being built up to be a powerful force of nature with his new allies only to see him abruptly thrown into a pit of desperation and panic. When finally cornering him at Ivy's place, we get our much anticipated return as Fish walks in to everyone's surprise to take Oswald away. Now yes, regulars of my reviews will know that I've always had an issue with the Fish Mooney character being one of the main reasons why I despised the 1st season.
However, I do have to admit that it was relieving to see her show up as it puts a rest to my concerns about the Indian Hill mutants being completely forgotten. With Fish making a grand return, there is hope of finally seeing Hugo Strange's "monsters" fully unleashed as teased during the first few episodes of the season. It also opens up the door to the future of the series having lots of fascinating options to choose from regarding potential villains of the week. That is of course assuming that the mutants currently wandering around aren't unfortunately killed off before the season ends. Let's just hope that the writers aren't as trigger happy as they were with Sid and Nancy. Having Fish back also adds in a new layer to the criminal underworld battle taking place.
Gordon: Darkest Times
WIth the hunt for the Court' secret hideouts in effect, Gordon gets notified about Lee's whereabouts which he decides to confront her about the stolen Tetch virus. The best way that I can describe this confrontation is to label it as a horror movie scene (which wouldn't be that far away from Gotham's traditional visual style). The eeriness of the scenery as Jim ventures through Lee's home, Lee herself emerging from the shadows with the creepy facial cosmetics of the virus, and her bizarre personality change felt as though I was watching a supernatural horror about demonic possessions. It always amazes me how this series, and the Batman universe itself come to think of it, can naturally and effectively explore different genres under the same umbrella of one crazy city.
What follows after Jim fails to appeal to whatever sanity is left inside of her is one of my very own personal fears. We get this pretty messed up moment with Gordon waking up inside of a buried coffin with only a flashlight, walkie, and Tetch virus filled needle to keep him company. Gotta love how the writers constantly find new and twisted ways to screw with our beloved detective. As Lee waltz into the GCPD with Gordon as her hostage, we get to see her villainous transition in full effect as she gives them the rundown on his ultimatum. It's surprisingly jarring to see Lee being shown as sort of the villain of the week despite them building it up ever since Mario's death. Seeing her map out her scheme to Harvey regarding Jim's situation felt wrong in all the right ways.
Speaking of character transitions, one of the more surprising twists during this episode is seeing our very own heroic protagonist injecting himself with the Tetch virus in order to escape the coffin. It's by far one of the most dramatic moments between Harvey and Jim as the two speak their final words before the walkie signal cuts out leaving Gordon in the abyss of his own desperation. I also really liked the sense of pressure being put on everyone after the bomb is discovered to go off in only 20 minutes forcing the GCPD to constantly adapt to new scenarios. This pressed for time feeling is something that Gotham usually strives in giving many of the episodes a successfully executed crime-thriller tone.
With Gordon being infected by the Tetch virus, I was curious to see what his driven state of mind would lead to which he surprisingly heads after the bomb as opposed to some murderous killing spree at a prison or something. I loved the fact that his strongest desire brought out by the virus was to stop the bomb at any cost perfectly showing how pure of heart Gordon is at the end of the day. The episode then ends on a highly engaging scene with Jim fighting pass everyone to get to the bomb only to see it explode after Lee stops him in his tracks. I'm not sure how I feel about Lee easily escaping captivity by stealing an officer's keys or that she ambushes Jim in his heroic pursuit, but I do love the situation that he was placed in at the end.
As a viewer, seeing the hero ultimately fail as the final shot of an episode makes for a powerful cliffhanger to leave on and we all know that Gotham is notorious for its jaw dropping ending sequences.
Alfred's Toughest Dilemma
It would be an understatement to call Alfred one of the most influential characters on the show and this episode proves that fact yet again. Alfred tells Harvey that he notices the missing location of his previous crystal owl heist on the map created by the Court. He then brings up the Whisper gang who aided in taking on the Court (which was a nice callback to earlier events in the season) as a potential partner to find other hidden locations. On a side note, being one of the only comedic moments in the episode, I did chuckle when Harvey told him that he'll eventually have to give him a police badge. It's a nice continuation from last week's episode where I mention that the series has officially made Alfred out to be one of the most badass heroic figures on the show.
This leads to them finally catching up with Bruce and the Court which ended with a pretty intense confrontation. With Alfred and Harvey barely fighting through some of the Talon, Alfred threatens to shoot the leader as Bruce steps in between them as a shield. It's a great dramatic scene as it shows just how far Bruce has fallen into the leader's hands even going against the only true guardian figure in his life since his parents' murder. The performances are solid during this scene with Alfred looking completely heartbroken at a now fully manipulated Bruce as is the action elements with one of the Talons taking him down immediately after. These are the types of scenes that I absolutely enjoy with characters finally reuniting only to find something severely different between them.
With Lee throwing in a new layer of chaos to the situation with Jim being held hostage, Harvey tells Alfred to essentially interrogate Hugo Strange about Bruce's whereabouts by any means necessary. Again, following up on the previous episode, this was a nice callback to how both Gordon and even Harvey sees Alfred as a capable asset more so than just a concerned civilian. If Alfred stabbing Catherine's hand wasn't a strong enough indication of his no nonsense determination to save Bruce, then hanging Strange over a ledge definitely seals the deal. Not only is it great seeing Alfred given full freedom to shine on his own here, but one of my favorite lines is when he tells Hugo "You have no idea how strong that boy is" showing how much he continues to believe in him despite the situation.
A Dark Hero Will Rise
Gotham opens up with a pretty brutal scene of the shaman (now officially labeled as the leader of the Court) encouraging Bruce to avenge his parents during a Court meeting. Bruce hesitates to give the order to kill the ruling council who justified the murder of the Waynes to which the leader decides to swiftly act by commanding the Talons himself. The scene itself is visually captivating and effectively sinister feeling in atmosphere showing the dangers of anyone working under the Court's command. It's also great seeing the Talons in action as they execute the council which is something that this episode offers up a satisfying amount of (knowing my fascination over the masked assassins). The scene ends with Bruce stating that he won't hesitate to act again which is interestingly followed up on later.
The leader tells Bruce that Hugo Strange and himself didn't serve the Court but instead used their resources for their own gains. He tells him that the one he serves believes that Bruce has a greater destiny which he was tasked to prep him for. This reveal alone is a pretty huge deal as it adds a whole new interesting layer to Hugo Strange's position as well as a mysterious figure that is even higher than the leader himself. In the span of two episodes, we've been given two leader figures revealed to be the master puppeteers which positively baffles me. The leader then gives Bruce the detonator for the bomb telling him that once triggered, and the city is in ashes, a dark hero will rise. Yet again, Gotham finds some way to appeal to my geeky love for the cape crusader with dialogue alone.
Eventually, as Bruce and the leader looks over the city gearing up to detonate the bomb, Alfred catches up to them attempting to rescue him and stop the bomb. What's great about this confrontation scene particularly is the arrangement of influences taking place as Bruce stands at the center of the two. You see both of them appealing to him in different ways resulting in Bruce being slightly paralyzed in making a decision. This causes the leader to forcefully make Bruce push the button before Alfred manages to shoot him down. What follows is the most geek out worthy namedrop ever given by the show as the leader tells Bruce to seek out the "Demon's Head" to fulfill his destiny. Honestly, I can only take but so much awesome Batman implications before I pass out.
With the Tetch virus bomb in effect, and Alfred witnessing Bruce's arrest, Gotham ends on one of its most spectacular cliffhangers yet. There is so much room for speculation offered up here with the Alfred-Bruce relationship now reaching its darkest bump in the road yet. What will happen to Bruce now that the GCPD has taken him away especially after being given a new task by the leader to seek out this currently unnamed high power. We've seen the character's journey being thrown around in pretty intriguing situations since the 2nd season, so I'm really excited to see how they'll either redeem him through Alfred or cast him out into the world of this mysterious new figure.
Overall Thoughts
As we approach the season finale closer every week with only a couple of episodes left, Gotham doesn't seem to be holding back on its entertainment value whatsoever. This entire episode essentially presents heroes turned villains in compelling ways and the consequences that their actions have on the characters and events surrounding them. With a successful blend of thrilling action, drama, and surprising twists altogether, Season 3 continues its incredible run towards a promising finale and future.
Bonus Content
1. Ra's Al Ghul Easter Egg
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| The leader tells Bruce to seek out the "Demon's Head" which fans will recognize as being the title given to none other than Ra's Al Ghul who is ironically known for his extreme methods of "cleansing the world of crime". This may be our tease for Season 4's biggest story arc surrounding the League of Assassins and Bruce Wayne's training to become the dark knight. |
2. Hugo Strange's sensie
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| Hugo Strange briefly calls the leader by"sensei" which alludes to their history using the Court for their own means. This brings up the question as to how long Strange has been working under him even during the Indian Hill experiments. This reveal also gives Strange an even bigger role in the overarching story. |
3. The Whisper Gang
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| Alfred mentions the Whisper Gang as a potential resource to help find other hidden locations of the Court. Although we never see the mysterious faction show up, Alfred does allude to the possibility of them having little to no surviving members left due to the Court's awareness of their actions. |
4. Mentions of Previous Mob Bosses
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| Penguin talks about Falcone, Maroni, and even Fish as admirable mob leaders of the past insulting the likes of Barbara and her group. It's nice to see the show reference characters dating back to Season 1 despite my feelings towards that season specifically. It shows how much Oswald dislikes the current leadership of Gotham's criminal underworld. |
5. Penguin's Safe House
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| When Ed first chases after Oswald, the ex mayor's safe house proves to have an interesting feature being a secret bookshelf escape. Not only is it cool seeing Penguin have his own domain of trickery, but the bookshelf door immediately made me think about some iterations of the Bat Cave entrance. |
6. Poison Ivy Imagery
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| Although, the season hasn't been focusing on Ivy's passion for plants, many of the episodes have made sure to at least show her in her element. One of my favorites being this episode where we see her tending to her garden while talking about how much better plants are in comparison to humans. One has to wonder if we'll ever see her fully unleashed before the season ends. |
7. The Talons
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| During the course of the season, we've seen one Talon essentially replacing the previously deceased one regarding screen time. However, this episode is the first to actually show a group of them onscreen together implying a greater number of these dangerous assassins still around. We also get to see them in action quite a bit here which was of course icing on the cake for me. |
Gotham Funnies
Favorite Shots
Episode Rating: 9/10
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