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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Gotham S3 Ep. 6 Thoughts

"Follow The White Rabbit"


This week's episode of Gotham was by far the most engaging as far as classic comic book villain moments go as well as being profoundly bleak towards the end. This is definitely not an episode that encourages a smile per say as the entertainment factor mainly comes from the dark and twisted nature of the life threatening cat and mouse games between our main hero and current central villain.


We're essentially given front row seats to a show that centers around the Mad Hatter constantly putting Gordon through the works of impossible morality degrading decisions. I say "classic comic book villain moments" earlier as a positive here in that we get to see the villain placing the hero in a "Choose who lives or die" scenario which is very traditional in the universe of costumed larger than life characters. However, the way in which the story plays out as being a revenge story with a delusional criminal going out of his way to destroy our main hero made this crazy gallery of fatal scenarios all the more dramatic.


What I really admired is the fact that the episode manages to keep a very character focused roller coaster ride despite how crazy things started to get during certain scenes. The idea of Jervis's challenges being rigged as a no-win situation for Jim forcing him to choose the fate of people's lives was pretty thrilling to see play out especially given the bleak endings of each confrontation. These are the type of scenes that I was hoping to get with the Jervis Tetch character, so I was happy to see the writers actually add a sense of variety to his several schemes (each with their own setting, consequence, and twist).


Another thing that's worth mentioning is the dramatic tension added within the last quarter of the episode during Tetch's final challenge. Not only do we see Jim being forced into a psychologically brutal scenario having to choose between the life of Lee or Valerie, but we also see Jim attempting to mentally break Jervis as a last minute plan only to fail in the end due to Tetch's higher intellect. There's a few things to take away from that scene such as the idea that, despite how unstable Jervis may seem on the surface, he still manages to completely shatter Jim's plans as well as ultimately defeating him when Jim reluctantly chooses Lee but decides to shoot Valerie instead using reverse psychology.


The shockwaves of this decision and the end result will definitely come flying back in the future which is exactly what Jervis wanted and basically achieved in the end. This was the first episode of Gotham where the ending didn't feel like a thrilling conclusion or an exciting tease for what's to come but instead a very bleak and emotionally somber moment with characters silently soaking in everything that transpired. It's one of the reasons why I continue to praise the Jervis Tetch character since his initial debut. There hasn't been a villain on the show in my opinion that has taken Gordon to a direction where he is forced to battle with his surroundings, mind, and morality all at once.


Being that Jervis does indeed escape in the end, I am more than intrigued to see how this story arc ends with hopes that the writers keep him around for a potential future appearance in a later season. Although this may not be my favorite episode thus far, it does hold one of the most tension driven climaxes of the series as well as arguably the most darkest ending yet. I simply cannot wait to see what the next episode brings considering some of the other story lines being held to the side temporarily such as Ivy, Fish Mooney, The Court of Owls, etc. With a pretty solid season going for the most part, I'm happy to say that Gotham continues to keep its name currently branded in the conversation for best comic book TV series in recent years. 


Bonus Content

1. The Mad Hatter's Deadly Games
One of the best villainous scenes on the show so far. The shot of the little boy standing unconsciously in front of a speeding truck was not only striking, but the fact that Jim had no choice but to watch a married couple fall to their death after saving him was pretty horrific.

Another twisted Mad Hatter challenge with a no-win situation for Jim.

2. Follow The White Rabbit
It wouldn't be a Mad Hatter episode without brilliant references to the classic Alice in Wonderland universe. Here we have the popular "Follow the White Rabbit" concept being presented as a hypnotized man guiding Gordon to his eventual defeat.

3. Through The Looking Glass
The inscription "Through The Looking Glass" can be seen on the telescope that Jervis tells Jim to look through which is a direct reference to the title of the classic Lewis Carroll novel depicting the adventures of Alice. 

4. The Tweedles' Wardrobe Change
Instead of looking like masked Luchadores, we see the Tweedles actually being outfitted to look like classic mob henchmen.

5. The Mad Hatter's Classic Urge To Rhyme
I'm not entirely sure how many times Jervis rhymes within the episode, but I only started to catch certain phrases during the tea party scene. This is traditional for the character to do in the comics and other iterations.

6. Oswald & Ed's Interesting Situation
I wasn't sure how to feel about the awkwardly close hug scene during last week's episode, but now everything started to make perfect sense here. I'm fine with Gotham having a gay version of the Penguin, but what's even more interesting is how they handle Ed's perspective being that we're all well aware of his previous and current interesting endeavors with Ms. Kringle.

7. Mayor Oswald Inspires The Future of Gotham?
By far one of my favorite Penguin scenes ever as you get to see a sign of sympathy coming from the character but twisted in a comedic fashion towards the end. Who knows? Maybe that kid who Penguin encourages to be violent if no one wants to be friends with him ends up being a Batman villain. If this was Season 1, he'd probably be the villain of the week.

8. The Theatrics of Tetch
Seeing Jervis present himself to Gordon in the form of 8 TV screen display all with different sizes, perspectives, and color tones was probably the most cartoony thing done with the character. It did feel slightly out of place during the episode for me unfortunately.

9. Favorite Shots
 



Episode Rating: 8/10

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