Gotham Season 2 reviews – That Geek Thing

Gotham S02E04 “Strike Force” REVIEW

February 2, 2016

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Gotham S02E04 “Strike Force” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Channel 5, Mondays, 10pm
Writer: Danny Cannon
Directors: TJ Scott

Essential Plot Points:

Penguin is holding court and it looks FABULOUS. Like a Duran Duran video exploded inside a Mad Max knock-off. He demands to know who was responsible for recent events and decrees that no one undergoes any major criminal activity without checking with him first. As the meeting disperses, Tabitha Galavan, probably grateful to be in more than one scene this week, tells him her brother would like to chat…

At the GCPD Gordon is yelling at a corrupt cop. Must be any day of the week, ever. The argument is disrupted when Captain Nathaniel Barnes arrives, breaks a chair, screams at the cops and tells everyone that if they don’t feel ashamed now is their chance to quit.
No one quits.
Barnes reads out the names of the officers he knows are corrupt and Harv visibly looks for exits. Barnes reads out six names, none of them Harv, lines them up and fires them. When one cop resists, Barnes arrests him inside his own precinct.

He then calls Gordon into his office and explains he’s also ex-military. He makes Gordon his second in command and tells him they’re going to clean up Gotham. Gordon is super pumped about this. Harv, we suspect, less so.

With the mayor and deputy mayor both varying flavours of dead or in the wind, an election is needed. We see Theo Galavan watching a news cast that mentions the two other candidates – Janice Caulfield and Randall Hobbs – but says the election is really about him. He is of course delighted.

He’s even more delighted when Tabitha, now in two whole scenes and counting, shows up with Penguin. They chat and Galavan unveils his plan for Gotham.
Which looks a surprising amount like Delta City from RoboCop.

Penguin, who’s seen those movies, points out that the new development involves bulldozing residential homes.
Galavan agrees and asks him to be his executioner, murdering the other mayoral candidates so he can stand unopposed. Penguin refuses, showing rare and honestly touching civic pride in his horrific Dante’s inferno of a city.

Tabitha points out that they have Penguin’s mother. Penguin agrees, reluctantly, to do it.
Leigh answers the phone the next morning to Captain Barnes. He asks for Jim, tells Gordon to meet him at the Police Academy and reassures him that “everyone knows he’s banging the ME”. This is a thing that happens.

At the Academy, Barnes tells Jim his plan; a new Strike Force of fresh recruits who haven’t been tarred by the city. Along with one of Gordon’s old training officers, they interview a group of elite recruits. Barnes names them Strike Force Alpha and places them under Gordon’s command. There is obviously nothing that can go wrong here.

Galavan gives a press conference and is asked to run for mayor. He’s halfway through denying to when a driveby hurtles past and he saves everyone. Galavan almost literally says, “Oh, okay then…” and the campaign is on.

Elsewhere, Penguin murders Caulfield at her campaign headquarters. It’s a nasty, off-kilter scene. But Butch being avuncular and threatening to her staff is kind of nice.

MEANWHILE AT GOTHAM PREP! Alfred is waiting for Bruce. As is Selina. Until Alfred slaps her for killing his mate Reggie last season. He, disappointingly, does not tell her to sling her hook but the intent is clear.

Splendidly, Alfred hands Bruce his PE kit and tells him to run home. After all, they are training again…
Nygma agonises over asking Kringle out. Again. He then asks her out.
Barnes gives the Strike Force a pep talk. Gordon is totally pumped. Harv could not be less pumped. The GCPD get word that Caulfield is dead and roll out to the crime scene. There, Gordon intimidates a witness and they finally get a description that’s clearly Penguin.
Elsewhere, Galavan takes Bruce out to dinner and promises to help him investigate the murder of his parents. He also all but promises him his ward, Silver St Cloud. Yay, Gotham women.
Penguin drops Zsaz off to murder Hobbs and, because he’s a great henchman, Butch asks his boss what’s up. Penguin comes clean about his mom and Butch reassures him. Bless.

Zsaz has big fun in Hobbs’s house and dismantles his guards with his usual ease. He’s about to finish the job when…JUSTICE WAGON! Gordon, Harv and the Strike Force roll up and do surprisingly well. They see Zsaz off, save Hobbs and the only bad thing that happens is Josie gets shot because women can’t be competent in this show.

Kringle and Nygma have dinner. Nygma lets slip he’s glad her former boyfriend is dead. This is news to Kringle and when Nygma yells “GET OUT!” she thinks he means her. He, in fact, means Tylder DurdNygma and, amazingly, he tells her this. Even more amazingly, she’s okay with it! Even more amazing still, it’s a Kringle/Nygma scene this season that’s actually good!
Jim goes to see Penguin who calls him on his sanctimonious nonsense and points out Barnes would throw him off the force if he knew the truth.

The Strike Force is celebrating and ribbing Josie about taking one in the vest because ha! Girls right? Harv points out how dead they all nearly were and Barnes gives them their first target: Penguin.
Jim is not pumped.
MEANWHILE! AT GOTHAM PREP! Bruce and Silver bond.
MEANWHILE! IN THE SLUMS! Selina is haunted by her encounter with Alfred.
MEANWHILE, AT EVIL TOWERS! Galavan plans his campaign.
MEANWHILE, AT PENGUIN’S HEADQUARTERS, he rages as the search for his mother continues.

Review:

Okay, first off: there is nothing on Earth that is not improved by Michael Chiklis. His arrival as Captain Barnes kicks a hole in the speaker, pulls the plug and busts the show for corruption while yelling about being a warrior. He’s GREAT, like some colossal justice bulldog and that goes from fun, to charming, to kind of terrifying, to actually terrifying.

Barnes is a very tough, very competent cop who is horrifically naïve and I think we’re going to see Gotham break him if it hasn’t already. There’s a crucial moment in here where Gordon quietly raises concerns about sending rookie cops into the line of fire and Barnes basically goes, “Enh! Most of ’em will come home!” The look on Gordon’s face is the same as the one on ours; the sneaking suspicion that this immensely good-natured, well-meaning guy is also a terrifying naïve Dudley Do Right who is going to get a lot of people killed.

That whole plot is big fun, although as you’ll see below the Strike Force suffer awfully from the needs of TV drama. A good chunk of this week’s other major plot is fun too, with Galavan attacking the city on multiple fronts. One of those, his mayoral campaign, is surreal in its rapidity. Seriously, he sets up the most obvious press opportunity in human history and… it… works. It’s an immensely weird scene, the whole thing shot like Tim Burton got his hands on an unused Adam West script and violenced it up. It’s fun, certainly, but it is patently ludicrous.

The other half of Galavan’s plot, well, that’s just skeevy. We see him cosy up to Bruce and in doing so essentially pimp out Silver St Cloud, Galavan’s ward. It’s played breezily but Galavan is, at best, weaponising a child here. At worst he’s shoving her into Bruce as a means of wrapping the Wayne heir around his little finger. It’s certainly an evil move for an evil man but if it’s done wrong – as, let’s face it, it might very well be – it’ll be a disaster. Galavan right now is teetering on the edge of pantomime villainy and if anything knocks him over the edge it’ll be this.

Elsewhere we get some nice business with Alfred teaching Bruce how to get fit and a deeply nasty moment where he slaps Selina in the face and tells her to take a hike. Selina remains horribly underused this season but her reactions to that moment, not to mention Alfred’s own, sell it as the one piece of violence that feels like it has real weight this episode. I’m interested to see where that will go and if nothing else that’s a promising do over for one of season one’s most difficult plotlines.

But while the core of this episode is fun, the cracks are showing everywhere else. Penguin being blackmailed into being Galavan’s hit man feels rushed and unearned, with Carol Kane reduced to an on-camera cameo. Worse still, the show continues to have absolutely no idea what to do with its female characters. Josie is deliberately set up as the weak link of the Strike Force, the only female mayoral candidate is the one we see die and the regulars are reduced to bit parts or single lines. It genuinely feels like the writers’ room has no idea what to do with the female characters and, in the case of Tabitha in particular, seem genuinely annoyed at having to write her. Compared to the occasional flashes of nuance and complex stuff you get in the Gordon/Barnes relationship it stands out a mile. And, I get the nasty feeling, it’s only going to get worse.

Gotham is still the fastest-paced, often nastiest, hour you’ll see on TV. That’s carried it through the first month of season two with none of the glacial pacing and unwieldy character arcs of last year which is a really good thing. I just hope that new-found focus hasn’t come at the cost of anything for the female characters to do. And, right now, that’s exactly what it’s starting to look like.

The Good:

The direction and art design. Just stunning throughout the episode. This, shot of the week, is one of a dozen gems.

Harv not bothering to stand to attention is a lovely, meaningful character beat.
The Strike Force being ethnically diverse, and no big deal being made of it is brilliant.
Zsaz’s growled, “UNEXPECTED!” in the fight with the Strik Force is great. As is his clear annoyance at having to deal with these kids.
Hightower was corrupt?! You son of a-I WATCHED ALL THOSE POLICE ACADEMY MOVIES! EVEN THE ONES YOU WEREN’T IN!
“You’re a troublemaker, a fighter. That an accurate description?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good.” Barnes is a touch macho.
“Welcome to my unit you sadass army hump. Tough is what we eat for breakfast.”
“Jarhead huh? Who woulda guessed?” Did we mention Barnes is kinda macho?
“Gotham doesn’t have straight lines.” Harv has been here before and it never ever ends well.
“You need an assassin! This is Gotham you can find them in the phonebook, under A.” Some good Oswald stuff this episode, this being his finest moment.
“You’re a warrior, Jim. So am I.” Hey Barnes! Mention war again! It’s been about ten minutes!
“I remember this guy, he argued a lot.”
“I like to think I was raising questions.” There’s a subtle sense of relief to Gordon’s interactions with the Academy staff, like mutual relief he’s not there anymore.
“Gotham gun range. One of my mother’s three jobs was cleaning it. When she died the owner let me go there after hours and practice till I worked out my anger. I still go there.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Darlin’? I got no freaking idea.” Oh, Butch you’re so sweet. Everything he does in this scene from the slightly too tight arms round the witness’s shoulders to moving them out of his boss’s way is a delight.
“So you do yourself a favour, treacle and JOG ON!” ’AVE IT Alfred Pennyworth! None more cockney innit!
“…So they move well.” Harv’s grudging admiration of the Strike Force is adorable.

The Bad:

“Get ready to get real busy. We’re going to be sending you a whole lotta dead bad guys.” Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Let’s break this down: you are woken by your boyfriend’s new boss who good-naturedly yells at you, then politely informs you that your job is about to get way busier because he’s going to clean up the GCPD by essentially turning a blind eye to the shooting of suspects. HOW IS THAT NOT TERRIFYING?
One single female officer qualifying for the Strike Force is rubbish. Especially as she doesn’t even qualify for a second name, an interview or any personality other than “Good at badly staged TV boxing”.
We desperately hope Barnes’s gung ho, “Send the kids in to a meat grinder! OORAH!” approach is going to bite him on the ass very soon. Judging by Jim’s facial expression at that moment, he’s certainly expecting it to.
Tabitha Galavan, Queen of the Four Lines or Fewer Per Episode.
In fact, every single female character gets a crappy deal this week. Again. Silver is pimped out by her Uncle, Leslie gets to be good-naturedly yelled at by Captain MachoPants, Kringle gets to do nothing because Kringle is a plot hook rather than a character, Tabitha gets to be grumpy and bisexual and Barbara gets to hand a male character a drink, explain she’s bored and leave.
Oh and Josie gets shot. And, apparently, has no last name. Because Gotham.
Penguin’s mom being entirely off-camera. Did they only have Carol Kane for half an hour or something?
Also there are two mayoral candidates; one man, one woman. Guess which one gets horribly killed. Yeah.
Galavan’s, “Me, run for ma… GET DOWN!” *MACHINE GUN FIRE* “WELL OKAY THEN I WILL!” approach is possibly the single stupidest thing this show has done. And remember, this is the show that thought Tabitha Galavan having a whip fetish for a whole entire scene was a good idea. That bar is LOW.
The single female team member being the one Zsaz gets the ego boosting hit in on is sexist nonsense and even this show should damn well know better.
Fight nerd moment: Josie’s heroine moment in the boxing ring at the Academy shows that even in this ridiculously good age of TV there are still limits. Firstly, the choreography is a mess, chock full of movement to disguise the fact that neither actor is as well-trained as their characters. Secondly, there’s the fact that any trainee boxer anywhere ON EARTH throwing punches that hard is going to get warned, warned and then thrown the Hell out, let alone two trainee police officers.
And finally? HEAD. GUARDS. Concussion trauma is a thing that happens A LOT. It’s the dirty little open secret of every contact sport on the planet and this sort of nonsense just perpetuates the belief that you can take full force shots to the noggin with no lasting effects. It’s not irresponsible, quite, but it is a really bad call. Do better, Gotham. Especially given what a great job the show did a couple of weeks ago when Aaron turned Gordon into bloody pulp.
Speaking of that, where the hell is Aaron?
HEY! TEAM ALPHA! *HEADGUARDS*! I get it, I really do. You’ve got lots of actors on screen, you don’t want their faces covered. But it’s a bum note the episode just doesn’t recover from. Gordon and Harv lead a group of kids into an insanely dangerous gunfight with no headgear and face off against the best hitman in Gotham. It’s a miracle they’re not all dead.

And The Random:

I choose to believe Penguin’s mom is going to survive this ordeal, move to the other side of the city and became Kimmy Schmidt’s landlady.
Galavan’s “Oh YOU!” moment at the TV when he’s getting positive press is adorable. Which makes his pimping of his teenage niece even skeevier.
The music over Nygma’s cooking montage is “Just A Gigolo” by Louis Armstrong. I suspect it was his choice and not Tyler Durdnygma’s given that it’s a) kind of dorky and b) chipper.
Natalie Alyn Lind who plays Silver here has appeared previously in One Tree Hill, The Goldbergs and Flashpoint amongst others.
Butch is back this week! Yay! Drew Powell’s amiable, over-articulate teddy bear of a thug is always a pleasure to see. Powell’s always great, and he’s turned in memorable performances in two episodes of the excellent Leverage, one episode of the also excellent The Librarians and was a recurrent player on The Mentalist.
Fellow kick-ass Big Guy Character Actor, Michael Chiklis makes his debut this week as Captain Barnes. It’s a nice piece of casting as Chiklis is best known for his role in The Shield. An excellent and staggeringly nasty cop show it starred Chiklis as Vic Mackie, the sort of cop Barnes would fire and who would return later that night to burn the precinct to the ground.

Review by Alasdair Stuart

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Gotham S02E03 "The Last Laugh" REVIEW

January 26, 2016

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Gotham S02E03 “The Last Laugh” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Channel 5, Mondays, 10pm
Writer: John Stephens
Directors: Eagle Egilsson

Essential Plot Points:

Literally the first thing we see this episode is a man being hurled from a window. Jim and Harvey interrogate his terrified friend and he offers to help. They tell him to put the word out that the GCPD are coming for Jerome. Then throw him out of the window too. Never switch to decaf, Jim!

MEANWHILE, AT EVIL TOWERS! Barbara and Tabitha have, it’s implied, spent the night together. Tabitha is getting suited up to go clean up a loose end. And, this being Gotham, her idea of incognito is bullwhip, knives, all-leather catsuit and stiletto heels. Barbara kisses her, tells her to bring back bagels and then has breakfast delivered by Theo. Tabitha does not look happy. Neither do we.

Theo, whose toast rack is awesome by the way, explains that the Maniax are just stage one and Barbara will be front and centre for stage two. He explains his family built Gotham and have been forgotten and he plans to change that.
Back at the GCPD, Gordon coordinates the surviving officers. They chase down leads on the circus Jerome grew up in. Gordon sees someone take down the crime scene tape over Essen’s office and he cooks off, yelling at the other cops.

Leslie finds him and they chat. She reminds him of the charity gala that night and Jim flatly states he can’t go. She jokingly mentions there’ll be a magician and he relaxes for a moment. They kiss and Harvey appears to explain they have a lead. Jerome’s dad left the circus and is still in the city…

At Jerome’s dad’s apartment, the blind old man is met by his son and Tabitha. Jerome torments his father, explaining that his callous worldview is what made Jerome what he is. He plants plans for Arkham, knockout gas and letters with secret coded escape instructions and prepares to kill the old man. Defiantly, his father tells Jerome he’s a curse and…

…Jim and Harvey knock on the door. They hear a scream and kick it in to see Jerome’s father dead with a knife sticking out of his eye. Jim runs for the window, Harvey disturbs the knockout gas boobytrap on the body and they stagger outside. Jerome and Tabitha attack them but Tabitha warns the young man off. She calls dibs, kicks Jim in the face because that’s pretty much all she’ll get to do this episode and they leave.

MEANWHILE, AT THE GALA! Alfred and Bruce rock up. Bruce complains that he has to be there and Alfred points out the Waynes were patrons of the charity so he has no choice. Leslie greets them, looking stunning and Alfred clearly forgets how to think anything other than ‘…’ for several seconds.
He recovers, sends Bruce for a water for Leslie and flirts with her in a surprisingly good natured and charming way.

The Galavans are talking to the deputy mayor who good naturedly drills Theo on his past and how he does everything he does. Tabitha replies, “He’s a monster in the sack.” In other words, “My brother is excellent at sex and I MIGHT have firsthand knowledge of that.” The deputy mayor gets the hell out of dodge as Theo wonders what’s got into Tabitha and we wonder if this show is ever going to write a non-hetero woman who isn’t a ravening psychopath.

Anyhoo, nearby Bruce spots Selina and tries to make up. The young thief is busy working and shuts him down, hard. Alfred suffers the same fate and when Bruce returns he asks to leave. The butler turns him down and, with Leslie on MC duties, she persuades them to stay,
Backstage, an aide asks someone how he knew their magician had had to cancel. Jerome, in a frankly hilarious beard, replies, “Magic!”

The show begins and there’s a neat fakeout where it looks like Jerome and Barbara as his lovely assistant are about to cut Bruce in two. Instead the young boy escapes unscathed. Then, Jerome calls the deputy mayor to the stage…

Back at the GCPD, Jim and Harvey are resting up from the effects of the knockout gas. Harvey politely calls his partner on his, “I AM THE NIGHT, I AM JUSTICE!” schtick and points out that not only did he know Essen longer, but he owed her more.
At the gala, the mayor heads to the stage. Barbara bows, her mask falls off and she winks at Leslie. Leslie calls Jim and is immediately kidnapped as, on stage, Jerome murders the deputy mayor. His henchman lock the doors and all Hell breaks loose.

As does Alfred who kick so much arse to get Bruce clear. Bruce instantly spoils this by going after Selina and Alfred gets knocked out. The Bat-Teen and his not-quite-girlfriend escape though.

Jim rolls up and tries to call Leslie. Instead he finds himself negotiating with Jerome who is still broadcasting live. Leslie is now tied up on one of those spinning wheels magicians throw knives at and Jim decides to go in to get them. The GCPD officer on site, not unreasonably, points out that Jerome murdered a lot of his friends and they’re not equipped to deal with him. Jim spots Selina emerging from the entrance she snuck in through and decides to go it alone.

Theo Galavan makes his move trying to talk Jerome down. He gets knocked out for his trouble, after begging for the audience to be released.
Bruce, who refused to leave without Alfred, watches as Jerome threatens his butler with death unless Bruce reveals himself. He’s just about to when Gordon, who snuck in with Selina’s help, stops him. He gives the teenager a gun and sends him out. Alfred hugs him, takes the gun and Bruce takes to the stage. Jerome sends someone to check behind the curtain and…

ACTION! Jim and Alfred demolish Jerome’s cronies but he still has Bruce. Neither man has a clear shot and it’s a standoff until Jerome is stabbed in the neck… BY THEO GALAVAN!

EPIC TWIST! Galavan apologises to the confused young psychopath as he dies. He had other plans…
Barbara makes a run for it and, magnificently, escapes via one of the magic tricks. Evil Debbie McGee lives to fight another day.

Nearby, the Penguin watches in disgust as Jerome dominates the air waves. Harvey arrives and threatens him, telling the new King of Gotham to leave Jim Gordon alone. As he leaves, he reminds the Penguin that Harvey still owes him for Fish Mooney…

As the scene is cleared, Jim and Leslie thank Galavan and Alfred for their help. Bruce points out he, Alfred and Jim are a team and Jim, in an ever so slightly creepy moment, tells Leslie to kiss him. She does so and Alfred gets the point. The audience breathes a sigh of relief as one love triangle is exorcised before it can fully form.
At Evil Towers, Theo and Barbara watch the news, pleased with how things went. Tabitha watches as they kiss and the audience screams as the worst version of a love triangle takes form in front of us! NOOOOO!
At the GCPD, Jim and Leslie take down the tape over Essen’s office.
All over the city, news of Jerome’s death is greeted with relief by some and horrible joy by others. We watch as his maniacal laugh is adopted by murderers, thugs and monstrous pieces of humanity. We cut to the Gotham morgue and Jerome’s face, frozen in a terrifyingly familiar grin as his father’s line about him being a curse plays one more time…

Review:

Well that escalated quickly. Jerome is no more, but the Joker is alive and well and everywhere. We’ll get to Gotham’s treatment of that in a moment. First, the very good and the very, very bad.

I cannot say enough nice things about the direction on this show. Eagle Egilsson does great work this episode and the final scene in particular is a brilliantly handled piece of bottled-up action direction. It’s also just a little bit over-the-top, and Egilsson has a lot of fun with slow motion, intense perspectives and close-ups. Plus it fits absolutely with the previous two episodes. This is a show that has a really strong visual identity and that helps paper over the cracks that are starting to form in the story arc.

Thankfully none of those cracks involve the central characters. Jim Gordon, grumpiest man in Gotham is being particularly well served so far. Ben Mackenzie’s always been great in the role but this episode sees him start to step into a leadership role and has the courage to show him not being very good at it. Jim is a weird combination of a ruthlessly efficient soldier and a slightly demented gunslinger and we get to see them both here. Even better, we also get to see him buy into his own hype and the moment where Harvey gently but firmly calls him on his nonsense is really nicely played.

Even better, Jim and Leslie continue to be an actual couple of actual grown-ups with occasional issues that don’t make you want to put your foot through your screen. Morena Baccarin brings an effortless intelligence and engagement to Leslie Thompkins that would have been all too easy to make passive. Instead, she’s consistently written as a smart, perceptive woman who is acutely aware of the shortcomings in her boyfriend. She doesn’t try and bully him into fixing them either, rather steering Jim towards the best version of himself. It’s a subtle, sweet relationship that anchors the salvation of Jim Gordon without taking anything away from Leslie and the show’s to be applauded for that. Similarly, Harvey’s reinvention as dutiful, if still cheerfully violent, cop is very welcome.

That brings us to the bad guys. Jerome first off, because the little fella wouldn’t want to wait in line. Cameron Monaghan has been a massive asset to this show and it’s been amazing to see him go through the toyboxes of previous Jokers and see what he’s keeping. We’ve had the mannerisms of Nicholson, some of the delivery of Ledger and the gleefully malicious theatricality of Hammill all wrapped around his own unique delivery.

Superficially it’s bad that he’s gone. In practice I think this is the best possible way they could have handled it. The idea that Jerome inflicts the wound on Gotham that becomes the Joker is one the comics have played with before and it’s very well handled here. Jerome, to borrow a line from Nicholson, gave a name to Gotham’s pain. Whoever comes next will give it a face. I don’t envy them given the talent that’s played the role before. Talent Cameron Monaghan deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with.

Elsewhere on the dark side of the street, things take a turn for the worse. Tabitha Galavan is reduced to little more than eye candy, not that she was much more than that previously. Worse still, the show runs exuberantly at the lowest hanging fruit of all drama tropes; the love triangle. I talk in detail about just why this is an awful plan below but one of the largest reasons is also the simplest; it’s boring. Worse still, its ground the show has trodden before during the season long horror fest that Barbara endured last year. She deserves much better, the show deserves much better and so do we. The bag of clichés that the show’s non-heterosexual characters keep pulling from didn’t work last year. This year it’s even worse and, if the show keeps going down this road with Barbara and Tabitha, then it’s going to go very wrong very fast. And when it does, it won’t even have Jerome to use as a distraction.

The Good:

Gordon and Harvey do actual police work! That involves actual thinking! As well as throwing guys out of windows!
Jim and Leslie are just straight up adorable. Plus Leslie’s magician joke makes Jim do this face.

Alfred’s rabbit-in-headlights reaction to Leslie’s frankly stunning outfit and hairdo is one of the most endearing moments the series has yet produced. There’s the slightest hint that Mr Pennyworth is trying to get more in his life than simply training Bruce. I’d really like that as, out of all the versions of Alfred we’ve seen, this is the one that seems to need it the most.
Galavan’s turn to camera and introduction during the hostage situation is wonderful. You can almost hear the maniacal chuckle he’s tamping down.
Alfred and Gordon dismantling the Maniax is both a great action scene and a good character beat. These two guys are ex-soldiers. They will kill to protect their friends and get the job done. Even then, there’s clear distance between them. Gordon is focused entirely on the stage and Alfred, you’ll notice, takes time to shoot a downed criminal in the head. Which is both very very grim and speaks to just what level of bad man he used to be.
“Bring back bagels.” For a single shining moment it’s just possible Barbara and Tabitha are a happy, if psychotic couple. Then it all goes to hell.
“We carved the bed rock on which it stands but there is not a bridge, an alley, a DITCH that carries our name.” James Frain is so good here. There’s real malice and intellect below Galavan’s good natured, ebullient psychopathy.
“Look, I’m just sayin’ I’ll chuck mokes outta windows till the cows come home but at some point we gotta go see Penguin.” Harvey Bullock, Gotham’s Finest.
“Sarah Essen and nine of your brothers were killed in this house! IN OUR HOUSE! Their murderer stood right there and he LAUGHED AT US! Never forget that!” For the first time, Jim’s starting to feel like a natural leader. He’s a really tightly wound one sure but still.
The“‘but there’s going to be a magician” running gag is one of those deliciously odd gags that only Gotham can really land. I love how everyone’s so excited about it, even Jerome and Barbara who clearly have huge fun doing the stage act.
It’s nice too that Bruce and Selina are the only two who don’t dig it. For the adults, the magician is a chance to be a kid again. The children of Gotham have lost their innocence already so they don’t see the point in it.
Like I say it’s an odd gag but it works. If nothing else for the ludicrously sweet Grumpy Jim/Leslie moment it gives us at the top of the episode.
“Hiya pops. Long time… NO SEE.” A little on the nose, Jerome but hey, never turn a good pun down.
“You will be a curse on Gotham. Children will wake from sleep screaming at the thought of you. Your legacy will be DEATH and madness.” Excellent speech you awful awful man.
Every evil bastard in the world was just a kid once.” This all-new, all-contemplative Harvey is really fun. I hope we get to keep him.
“Alfred says there’s gonna be a magicia…” “I’m working. And I hate magicians.” Aside from how great the magician running gag is, this piece of delightful teenage awkwardness is just lovely.
“Well it gets a bit tedious after a while, parachuting into one global hotspot after another, warlords putting ridiculous bounties on your head. Gets a bit boring.” Alfred Pennyworth, international man of mystery ladies and gentlemen
“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” “True but… not the point.” Oh Jerome. You precious, spiky, terrifying little flower.
“47 million dollars, a helicopter obviously, the dry cleaning I left at Mr Chang’s – be careful the man is a crook – and oooh, I don’t know… a PONY!” Cameron Monaghan never met a line he didn’t chew up during his run on this show and that’s what makes his proto-Joker so great. This entire speech.
The seamless gear change from the maniacal laughter to, “I think that well,” is perfect. Oh Jerome, we will miss you.
“See, someone like that has no interest in building things.” This show is WEIRD. The same episode that deals with Tabitha with all the subtlety of a Whitesnake album cover gives us this. One single line and we know everything that makes the Joker and the Penguin different. Cobblepot wants to build. The Joker, as another version of Alfred says, just wants to watch the world burn.
“Aw bugger.” “Alfred.” “You knew didn’t you?” “I didn’t know, Alfred.” “You did, you let me make a right mug of meself.” I will take an entire episode of Sean Pertwee and the increasingly great David Mazouz arguing any time you want to produce it, Gotham.

The Bad:

“Some people say Bruce has a split personality.” On the nose, Jerome. WAY too on the nose.
The Leslie/Alfred/Bruce love triangle is an awful idea that passed so close to being real we can feel the breeze as it passes by. Thankfully, it leads to a moment that’s actually kind of sweet and funny.
The Galavans/Barbara love triangle is an awful, AWFUL idea that hits centre mass. Let’s move aside the implication of incest that we pretty clearly get (because EWWWW) and take a look at just why this is rubbish. Firstly, it robs Barbara of pretty much all the agency she spent the entire first season being denied. She’s a pawn, again, this time between two siblings. Now there’s every possibility she’ll either see that or is already playing them off against one another but even that’s a bad move. Because if she is then Barbara is another in the long line of, “bisexual equals slut” pseudo characters that TV inflicts on us every time it tries to be edgy.
Secondly, it pretty much officially turns Tabitha into this season’s Barbara. Poor bloody Jessica Lucas, playing a character who looks like a 1980s BDSM fantasy, isn’t even given a name for her first episode and whose job appears to be “grumpy horny lesbian sniper”. Tabitha’s an empty space where a character should be and tacking something as cookie cutter as a love triangle onto her only makes that so much worse.
Right now, Gotham is saying that being bisexual, or a lesbian, means you’re either insane, a criminal or also enjoy sleeping with a relative. The fact that Lucas is now the only non-Caucasian cast member there is upgrades this from simply extremely bad to full on disastrous. Fix the character or write her off and take a third run at writing a non-heterosexual woman who is both sane and defined by something other than her libido.

And the Random:

Deputy Mayor Harrison Kane is played by Norm Lewis, a giant of Broadway and the first African-American actor in history to play the lead role in Phantom Of The Opera.
Paul Cicero, the oh so doomed father of the proto-Joker, is played by the magnificent Mark Margolis. He’s been in loads of stuff including recent turns in Elementary and Constantine, a memorable role as Tio Salamanca in Breaking Bad and Antonio Nappa in Oz. He’s also Ace’s landlord in one of my favourite scenes in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
The music playing as we see people enter the gala is “The Dirty Boogie” by the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

Shot of the week is Theo Galavan’s epic Blue Steel

Review by Alasdair Stuart

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Gotham S02E02 “Knock Knock” REVIEW

January 18, 2016

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Gotham S02E02 “Knock, Knock” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Channel 5, Mondays, 10pm
Writers: Ken Woodruff
Directors: Rob Bailey

Essential Plot Points:

At 1 Evil Plaza, Theo Galavan has the mayor of Gotham with his head in a box. He convinces the man he’s about to put a live rat in the box and the mayor agrees to “run away”. Galavan opens the box, shows him there was no rat (and one presumes, no spoon) and threatens him again.

Nearby a Gotham newspaper’s day is interrupted by people being hurled from the roof of its offices. The victims have letters on their chests that spell out: MANIAX. Jerome and the others are making a statement.

The GCPD mobilise, placing Gordon in charge. He and Essen begin breaking the case down and discover the victims all worked at one of the Gotham shipyards. Essen and Gordon bond over the case and the GCPD’s newfound desire to actually do police stuff. Gordon, oddly, doesn’t mention all that extortion and murder he did last week.
Back at 1 Evil Plaza, the Maniax are celebrating with an enormous plate of donuts. Galavan congratulates them and suggests stagecraft training for their next gig. Most of them “audition” but all of them are blown out of the water by Jerome’s cackling, maniacal theatrics.

The Mayor, still in the box, is whipped into the room by Barbara and Tabitha Galavan who complain about being bored. Galavan assures them their time is coming and asks them to make sure the mayor isn’t dead. Tabitha whips him again, he whimpers.
MEANWHILE! AT STATELY WAYNE MANOR! Bruce and Alfred are in the not-yet-a-Batcave. Bruce is overjoyed he’ll finally get some answers. Alfred is terrified and smashes the hard drive. He explains to Bruce that this room is clearly what got his father killed; pointing out the bulletproof vest with two rounds in it and the blood fridge. Thomas Wayne was into something very bad, and Alfred refuses to let his charge have any part of it. Bruce fires him.

Things are going south at 1 Evil Plaza too. Galavan leaves the Maniax alone with boxes of weapons and returns to find Jerome and Greenwood fighting with a chainsaw and a katana. Both want to lead the Maniax and Galavan suggests they resolve the dispute with Russian roulette. Jerome wins when he plays three times on the run and Greenwood backs down.

At the bar, which if it isn’t called HARVEY’S clearly should be, Gordon seeks counsel from his old partner. Harvey commiserates with the younger cop while his fiancé, Scotty, almost runs Gordon out on a rail. Before he goes, Harvey gives his old partner a lead; why did the Maniax kidnap shipyard workers?

Gordon builds on the lead and discovers the Maniax stole a shipyard fuel tanker. They use it to hijack a bus full of cheerleaders and douse it in gasoline. The GCPD just get there in time and the Maniax flee, leaving Dobkins to light the fuel. He succeeds but Gordon takes him down and drives the bus to safety. He questions Dobkins who is promptly shot and killed by Tabitha Galavan from a nearby rooftop.

At the station, Alfred is joined by Bruce. The two make up and Bruce asks to be trained again. Alfred returns, on the condition that Bruce do everything he says. Bruce gives Alfred a condition too; he has to fix the computer.

Back at the GCPD, Leslie is conducting the autopsy on Dobkins. She calls him as being sniped at range and Gordon and Essen realise they’re back to square one. Gordon, with his usual eloquence, sort of sidles up to making sure Leslie’s okay. She, with her usual good humour, lets the world’s manliest man know she’s fine.

Nygma manages to completely fail to ask Ms Kringle out. Tyler Durden Nygma is both unsurprised and openly mocking of him.
Alfred meets Lucius and, in the most fun you’ll have with TV this week, manages to intimidate and confuse him into working with them by using a combination of cockney metaphors and threats of violence. Lucius agrees to work with Alfred, and also to fix the computer.

Barbara calls Gordon at the GCPD. He tries to talk to her then looks up as he realises he can hear her without the phone. THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE BUILDING! THIS IS AN ACTUAL THING THAT HAPPENS!
Gordon chases her outside as a group of uniformed cops come in and ask to see Essen. It’s the Maniax, who proceed to slaughter very nearly every police officer in the building.
Outside, Barbara confronts Gordon who tries to reason with her. On her orders Aaron attacks Gordon and hands him one of the nastiest beatings you’ll see (or perhaps not given its Channel 5) on TV. She leaves him, mockingly suggesting he go check on his colleagues.

Jerome taunts Essen who stands her ground with the young psychopath. Jerome also murders Greenwood which we can all universally agree is probably the only good thing he’ll ever do.

Gordon makes it back to find Leslie, Nygma and Kringle very nearly the only officers left standing. They find a critically wounded Essen who dies whispering, “A new day,” her battle cry, to Gordon.
Stunned, Gordon stands in the Commissioner’s empty office. He’s joined by Harvey, who’s back on the force. One of the other survivors alerts them to the video the Maniax left for the news. They watch Jerome crow and leave just as backup arrives, promising he and his friends will be back…

Review:

The brakes are off, the Maniax are driving and Gotham is a very different series this year. The trudge of, “Hey look, it’s a one-off case that features the father of a Batman villain! Again!” of a lot of last year has been replaced by a straight-up serial. Stylistically this is closer to 24 than every other superhero show on air right now and, as we’ll see, that’s not entirely a good thing.

But the good news first. The show really has doubled down on the “Adam West Batman with more blood” feel that was introduced last week and it’s paying off in two fun ways. The first is that the Maniax, Jerome in particular, set the screen on fire every time you see them. They’re dangerous and actively disturbing, wild cards that use the city for whatever they see fit and don’t want to be reasoned with. While Galavan obviously has an endgame in mind, their actions are powering the show quite happily right now. Especially as Cameron Monaghan as I Can’t Believe it’s Not The Joker (Yet) figure Jerome is turning in amazing work. You’ll see hints of Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and even Mark Hamill’s definitive take on the role in Monaghan’s work. Jerome is measured, theatrical, over articulate and clearly brilliant. He’s a sociopathic cat with a city sized mouse and is easily the best villain the show has ever had.

The other side of the law gets some fun stuff this episode too. Sean Pertwee’s Alfred remains an absolute bleedin’ delight and the show’s doing some of its best work with him. Like Bruce, this Alfred isn’t done baking yet. He’s not the unflappable right hand man we’re used to but rather a goodhearted, frequently bloody knuckled man trying to look after the only family he has left. He’s frequently very bad at it too and that learning process ties him to Bruce in thematic ways that are subtle and often poignant.

Gordon gets a wonderfully gruff, emotionally constipated moment of affection with Leslie too that says more about the character than a thousand words could. Likewise Harv gets a couple of excellent moments including one that the show treads all over as we’ll see a little later. Essen too gets some amazing scenes and she’s set up as a stable, calm force at the heart of a police department that desperately wants to be like she is.

Then the show kills her.

In the same episode Tabitha Galavan has maybe 15 lines of dialogue, Leslie has maybe 10, Kringle gets two, Scotty gets eight and the only female character with any degree of agency is a violent psychopath.

That’s the problem with the aping of 24 and other action-driven serials: the inevitable fondness for incident over character. In fact, character, Essen specifically, is sacrificed for action this episode. In context it works but when you look at the tiny roles Scotty, Kringle and Leslie have it starts to leave a nasty aftertaste. The absolute worst excesses of comics have always been their dismal treatment of female characters and even now that’s often the rule not the exception. For Gotham to set up a strong, non-caucasian female Commissioner then immediately kill her tells us exactly where the priorities are; action not character, style not depth. It’s a short term solution that works well and a long term one that kills shows faster than those shows can kill their women. I hope it’s a detour and not where Gotham is heading.

The Good:

Alfred’s default to parade rest stance is a subtle note of characterisation in a show where almost nothing else is subtle. It’s not that the rest is bad either, it’s just little touches like that stand out.
Please can we have an entire episode of Alfred threatening people using cockney vernacular? That was wonderful.
“Aaron? Would you kindly?” Cameron Monaghan relishes every line he’s given and he’s got some crackers this episode. It’s almost impossible to not hear this in the same cadence as the Jack Nicholson Joker saying, ‘Gentlemen! Let’s broaden our minds! Lawrence?”
“…Never mind.” James Frain, like Monaghan, so clearly gets the joke inherent in these characters. His Galavan is arch and dangerous and somehow just a little absurd too.
“How many people can you eat before this schtick gets old?” “I COULD EAT ONE MORE.” And then there are exchanges like this, where you’re reminded that for all the show’s unblinking, frantic charm it’s still filled with monsters.
“Hey Greenwood? What’s the secret to good comedy?” CLICK “Timing. And what’s courage?” CLICK “Grace under pressure. AND…Who’s the boss?” CLICK. “I’M the boss.” Again, Monaghan just controls the screen. At this stage we don’t know if Jerome really is the Joker. We do know that if he isn’t he’s got to be a big inspiration. The kid is terrifying.
“I’ve sat back and watched old, corrupt lazy men buy their way into this job and waste it. Not me, Jim. Not me.” Oh Commissioner Essen, you were officially too good for this world.
“Is that all you’re taking with you?” “It’s all I have I, sir.” Admit it, you heard the sad walking away music from the end of the old Hulk TV show at this point, just played by Chas’n’Dave. And if you didn’t, you do now.
“Gimme an O! Gimme an N! Gimme another O! What does that spell? O NO!” Again the show walks the line between horror and absurdity. It’s a ludicrous moment but it’s one they push through the disbelief on and arrive at sweaty palmed horror.
“Holding up?” “Holding up.” “Love you.” “Likewise.” The banter between these two is adorable, especially as it feels so genuine. Jim Gordon is amazingly bad at emotions. Him saying this here is huge and Leslie’s reaction is sweet and awesome.
“Lairy little scallywag. Too smiley by ‘alf. Never trusted ‘im.” I want an entire episode of this scene. An entire episode of possibly mildly drunk Alfred intimidating Americans who aren’t entirely sure whether they should be frightened or not.
“You let me down, Onslo, I will tuck you up, sunshine. Like a KIPPER.” I do not know what any of this means. I do know I never ever want to make Sean Pertwee angry. EVER.
“If it turns out I can’t trust you, I swear on my mother’s grave that you, my old sausage, are a dead man.” See? He’s terrifying! In a jovial cockney way.
“I could explain it but you should probably get back to work. Who knows what went wrong while you were gone?” I’m increasingly convinced that this season has been designed at least partially as an apology to Erin Richards for the ridiculous stuff she had to work with last year. This moment, and her blood-stained grin, is leagues ahead of everything she’s had to work with to date.

The Bad:

Essen got short shrift. Not only was Zabryna Guevara great but swapping out one of the relatively few female characters for another white dude on a show chock full of them leaves a nasty aftertaste. Fridging is unfortunately still a thing and a show this high profile using a trope that lazy doesn’t help.

And the Random:

Hey Jim? Uncle Frank’s been writing about you. “The noir hero is a knight in blood caked armor. He’s dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he’s a hero the whole time.” Frank Miller. Also, SIT DOWN our kid, you look like Hell.
In one episode we get: six people being thrown off a building: a chainsaw/katana fight; a man being whipped; a busload of cheerleaders being doused in gasoline and almost set alight; an entire precinct full of police officers being gunned down; the lead character getting the living hell beaten out of him; and the police commissioner murdered. In 44 minutes. I’m not saying Gotham’s bloodthirsty, especially as to its credit all this violence has weight to it. I am saying the show has been watching way too many early ’90s action movies and maybe needs to lay off the sugar.
Was Thomas Wayne doing a lot more than researching? That bulletproof vest in the proto-Batcave has seen some use.

This is both the shot of the episode and everything wrong with it. It’s a moment that’s moving and poignant. Harv was out, he’d got a new life, a new perspective. Then he comes back because you don’t leave your friends behind. It’s subtle and understated and entirely undercut by the line about Scotty either understanding or not. Male characters deciding what female characters will like is not something that ever plays well and on a show like this, even less so.

Review by Alasdair Stuart

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Gotham S02E01 "Damned If You Do…" REVIEW

January 11, 2016

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Gotham S02E01 “Damned If You Do…” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Channel 5, Mondays, 9pm
Writer: Bruno Heller
Director: Danny Cannon

Essential Plot Points

Previously on Gotham: The Waynes killed! Commissioner Loeb! Baby Joker! Barbara goes mad! Penguin goes to the top! SECRET CAVE BENEATH STATELY WAYNE MANOR!
And we’re off!

At Wayne Manor, Alfred and Bruce discover a set of stairs leading down to a key-locked door. They try the keypad but can’t open it.

Bullock is tending bar. In doing so, he carefully wipes the bar down, lifts a drunk off it, wipes under and keeps going. Welcome back, Harv. We’ve missed you.
Penguin is welcoming someone new to the fold… just long enough for Zsaz to execute them.
Barbara walks into Arkham to begin her stay and all eyes are on her.
Jim gets dressed for work in his new position working traffic.

Elsewhere, a man in improvised armour is fed a curious liquid by someone we can’t see.

The man arrives at Jim’s traffic stop, proclaims himself ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! And proceeds to cause very incompetent havoc. Jim takes him down and arrests him. In doing so he shoves his replacement, late on shift.
At the station Jim books Zaardon and chats briefly with Edward Nygma. He doesn’t pick up on how nervous the scientist is before being called to Captain Essen’s office. Edward’s other personality berates him from the mirror and he leaves, trying to block it out.

Commissioner Loeb has received a complaint of assault from Jim’s relief, the man he shoved earlier. Essen argues for her officer but Loeb insists he be dismissed. Jim accepts, thanks Essen for the chance to work with her, shakes Loeb’s hand and vows to bring him down.

Later that night, Leslie and Jim talk. She’s relieved Jim is off the Force but he can’t let it go. He admits there’s something he can do, which would be outside the law, to get his job back. She tries to reason with him but sees he’s obsessed.

In Arkham, Sionis has taken a fancy to Barbara and sends Jerome over to talk to her. The young psychopath explains she needs a friend and a bored, annoyed, Barbara gets the biggest man in the room on her side in under a minute.

At Penguin’s offices, Jim arrives to ask for a favour. Penguin welcomes him and sends his coterie, aside from Selina, away. He explains exactly what Jim wants without the former cop having to say a thing. He’ll get Jim reinstated, and all he has to do is collect a debt for Penguin. Jim refuses and leaves.

He goes and gets drunk at Bullock, who’s been sober for a month. His former partner points out what a good man he is and that he’s happy off the force. Jim embraces him and goes to see Bruce, who he apologises to for not being able to fulfil his promise. Bruce, clearly a little angry and distracted by the secret door, coldly forgives him and also points out that sometimes the right way is the ugly way. Then rushes to the secret door as soon as Jim’s left.
Back at Arkham, Barbara asks Sionis for a phone.
Jim goes to collect Penguin’s debt. It goes horribly, badly. In short order he’s threatened, assaults three men, robs the man he came to collect from, flees the scene, narrowly avoids being arrested by former employees and shoots (albeit in self defence) the man he just stole from.
This bothers him. A LOT.
MEANWHILE! BACK AT STATELY WAYNE MANOR! Bruce is building a fertiliser bomb. Extremely badly. Alfred tries to reason with him but finally gives in and helps. As well as putting the kettle on.
Gordon hands the money to Penguin, disgusted at the realisation he was set up. Penguin denies it, almost sincerely, and Jim returns home. Where Barbara calls him, and then Leslie. Leslie suggests they leave the city and that nothing is keeping them there. Jim admits he did something bad and they can’t leave.

Commissioner Loeb wakes up to find Penguin and Zsaz in his house. Penguin, in the episode’s best scene, has both sides of the conversation with the commissioner. He ultimately concludes the only way Loeb will give him what he wants is to kill him and forces Loeb to accept the alternative: retirement.
The next day, Essen is sworn in as new Commissioner and Jim is reinstated. At the ceremony, Theo Galavan, a major new civic figure in Gotham gives a speech. But unknown to everyone, he’s the one who gave ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! The potion.

And speaking of ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! He’s admitted to Arkham, picks a fight, passes out, belches knock-out gas and dies. It turns out Galavan, a gifted scientist, set him up as an elaborate stun grenade for Barbara, Jerome, Sionis and co. They’re knocked out and a mercenary team storms the Asylum and rescues them.

At the ceremony, Essen assures Jim they’ll do good work together. And, seconds later, he learns that Barbara has escaped.
The inmates come round in Galavan’s penthouse. There he introduces himself and his sister – who led the rescue – and tells them he has a plan. They will be a team of masterminds who will bring chaos to Gotham. Sionis refuses to participate, offers to buy his way out and is killed. The others are all in.

MEANWHILE! BACK AT STATELY WAYNE MANOR BOMB SCHOOL!

The fertiliser bomb is done. Alfred and Bruce hide, detonate it and the door is blown off its hinges. They step through into a cave filled with dusty computers. Bruce finds a letter from his father that implores him to choose happiness unless he has a calling. As he reads it, we see Gordon suiting up to go back to work…

Review:

Gotham had a big problem last season: it had no idea what it wanted to be. The wild, feverish camp-with-added-blood approach worked sometimes. A hard-bitten police procedural worked others. Nothing worked, or was on screen, for very long. Most egregiously, it horribly fumbled the ball with Barbara Kean, Jim Gordon’s doomed fiancé.

This, howwver, is the best episode of Gotham to date. The reason is simple: it’s still feverish and changes gear a lot. But now it’s having fun with it.

The Bruce plot is a perfect example. Its classic adolescent whining, and some glorious sass too, mixed with real poignancy and mystery. Bruce is a child in a situation adults would find horrific and the tragedy of it is Alfred is utterly unequipped to help. Even better is the fact Alfred is trying to do the right thing in raising the boy and realises he should be doing the ugly thing, and helping him find out the truth. It’s subtle, clever, weird and involves a fertiliser bomb and the world’s most obvious code, all at once.

The Jim plot is much the same. We sprint through him being fired, turning criminal and being restated in a single episode. It all makes narrative sense too, with the notable exception of the world’s least successful smash and grab. As mentioned below, that’s a low point for the character and the show really needs to come back to it in later episodes. Jim Gordon, the paragon of virtue in the GCPD is also now an armed robber. That distinction should be uncomfortable and for a long time.

There’s some other fun stuff going on here, especially a great Penguin and Zsaz scene but the real highlight is Barbara. Who knew that would ever happen? From the moment she walks into Arkham like she’s dressed for a premiere, she owns every scene. Brilliant, bored and angry she’s immensely fun and signifies the show’s first stable tone. She, Sionis, Jerome and the rest are the villains from a classic Adam West episode. The only difference is in the present day they’re both broad, exuberant characters and terrifying villains. They also clearly can’t wait to cause some havoc and their maniacal energy powers the whole episode.

Something big has come to Gotham, and there’s going to be a hot time in the old town before it’s done. In other words, Gotham’s back and this time, Gotham is embracing its… issues, just like Barbara. And, just like Barbara, it’s ready to cause some trouble.

The Good:

“Zaardon, that spelt how it sounds?” “Two As.” This episode is really funny, always on purpose too. I love this little exchange.
“May I ask why? Police work in Gotham is such a thankless job?” “Good pension.” This one too. The perfect summation of Jim’s gravelly manliness and Penguin’s cheerful sociopathy
“I’m sober. I have a woman who does not dislike me. I live in a house…” Aim high, Harv!
“Surely sometimes the right way is also the ugly way.” Such a lovely turn of phrase and the axis the entire episode revolves around. Do a bad thing to get something good later and hopefully it’ll take the red off your ledger.
“You don’t know the first thing about bomb making do ya?” “I READ A BOOK, ALFRED! IT SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH!” This entire exchange is glorious but this the best line.
“And I’ll put the kettle on.” Best Butler EVER.
“Sexual jealousy always poisons the well.” We don’t get much from Galavan this episode but this line promises much in the future. He’s clever and has tried this before. Interesting to see how this latest… erm… Suicide–ish Squad plays out.
“You can’t have both happiness and the truth.” That should be the city motto.
The episode looks GORGEOUS! Cannon makes every frame sing and the slightly wobbly feel Gotham had last year is replaced with something that looks like an explosion in an art deco factory. Hurray!
Barbara’s evil makeover is immense fun. Yes it’s over-the-top but it ties into the “Adam West Batman but soaked with blood” vibe the show is playing with. Plus, after a year of having to suffer frequently terrible writing of her character, Erin Richards seems to be relishing cutting loose.
The episode is frequently very funny in the exact, jet-black, off-centre way that it seemed to aim for but rarely hit last year.
Ben Mackenzie. He’s the anchor of the show, he’s playing a man who’s trying to be good and frequently being anything but and he’s nailing it. Just an amazing central turn.

The Bad:

Jim Gordon just killed a man. A LOT. Probably on surveillance footage. Whilst running from his property with money he stole for Gotham’s new mob boss. It’s EPISODE ONE of season two. Jim is obviously going to fall a long way before he gets back up. But honestly I’m not entirely sure how much lower they can go. Here’s hoping there’s consequences to his actions this week. If nothing else Penguin has dirt on him now.

The Random:

I choose to believe that the always-excellent Todd Stashwick as Richard Sionis was killed off so he can go be in 12 Monkeys season two lots.
Alfred getting all cockney every time he gets agitated is adorable. I especially liked the, “GET IN!” when the bomb worked.
Danny Cannon’s a hell of a director with a hell of a pedigree. As well as making every shot in this episode look brilliant he wrote and directed the superb Young Americans in in 1993. Two years later he directed the first Judge Dredd movie which probably makes him persona non grata to some people. That’s their loss because since then Cannon’s directed and produced for the CSI franchise, co-created Dark Blue, worked on Nikita and Alcatraz and currently serves as an executive producer on Gotham.
Bruno Heller co-created and wrote a vast chunk of the HBO series Rome, which gave us the bloodiest version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ever in Vorenus and Pullo. He’s also the creator of The Mentalist as well as Gotham.
James Frain is one of the best, and prolific, villain actors of his generation. Throw a rock and it’ll hit a TV show he’s been in including the likes of Spartacus, 24, Lie To Me, Flashpoint, True Blood, The Cape and most recently a memorable turn as Leet Brannis in early episodes of Agent Carter.
Jessica Lucas has a series of excellent performances in movies to her name, with Cloverfield being the particular standout. She was also great in the Evil Dead remake and has done good work on TV too in the likes of CSI, The L Word, Melrose Place and most recently Gracepoint.
David Fierro, who has a memorable cameo here as ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! is one of those character actors who turns up everywhere. You’ve seen him in The Blacklist, Birdman, Blue Bloods and Side Effects amongst others.

Review by Alasdair Stuart

• More on Gotham

Gotham S02E01 “Damned If You Do…” REVIEW

January 11, 2016

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Gotham S02E01 “Damned If You Do…” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Channel 5, Mondays, 9pm
Writer: Bruno Heller
Director: Danny Cannon

Essential Plot Points

Previously on Gotham: The Waynes killed! Commissioner Loeb! Baby Joker! Barbara goes mad! Penguin goes to the top! SECRET CAVE BENEATH STATELY WAYNE MANOR!
And we’re off!

At Wayne Manor, Alfred and Bruce discover a set of stairs leading down to a key-locked door. They try the keypad but can’t open it.

Bullock is tending bar. In doing so, he carefully wipes the bar down, lifts a drunk off it, wipes under and keeps going. Welcome back, Harv. We’ve missed you.
Penguin is welcoming someone new to the fold… just long enough for Zsaz to execute them.
Barbara walks into Arkham to begin her stay and all eyes are on her.
Jim gets dressed for work in his new position working traffic.

Elsewhere, a man in improvised armour is fed a curious liquid by someone we can’t see.

The man arrives at Jim’s traffic stop, proclaims himself ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! And proceeds to cause very incompetent havoc. Jim takes him down and arrests him. In doing so he shoves his replacement, late on shift.
At the station Jim books Zaardon and chats briefly with Edward Nygma. He doesn’t pick up on how nervous the scientist is before being called to Captain Essen’s office. Edward’s other personality berates him from the mirror and he leaves, trying to block it out.

Commissioner Loeb has received a complaint of assault from Jim’s relief, the man he shoved earlier. Essen argues for her officer but Loeb insists he be dismissed. Jim accepts, thanks Essen for the chance to work with her, shakes Loeb’s hand and vows to bring him down.

Later that night, Leslie and Jim talk. She’s relieved Jim is off the Force but he can’t let it go. He admits there’s something he can do, which would be outside the law, to get his job back. She tries to reason with him but sees he’s obsessed.

In Arkham, Sionis has taken a fancy to Barbara and sends Jerome over to talk to her. The young psychopath explains she needs a friend and a bored, annoyed, Barbara gets the biggest man in the room on her side in under a minute.

At Penguin’s offices, Jim arrives to ask for a favour. Penguin welcomes him and sends his coterie, aside from Selina, away. He explains exactly what Jim wants without the former cop having to say a thing. He’ll get Jim reinstated, and all he has to do is collect a debt for Penguin. Jim refuses and leaves.

He goes and gets drunk at Bullock, who’s been sober for a month. His former partner points out what a good man he is and that he’s happy off the force. Jim embraces him and goes to see Bruce, who he apologises to for not being able to fulfil his promise. Bruce, clearly a little angry and distracted by the secret door, coldly forgives him and also points out that sometimes the right way is the ugly way. Then rushes to the secret door as soon as Jim’s left.
Back at Arkham, Barbara asks Sionis for a phone.
Jim goes to collect Penguin’s debt. It goes horribly, badly. In short order he’s threatened, assaults three men, robs the man he came to collect from, flees the scene, narrowly avoids being arrested by former employees and shoots (albeit in self defence) the man he just stole from.
This bothers him. A LOT.
MEANWHILE! BACK AT STATELY WAYNE MANOR! Bruce is building a fertiliser bomb. Extremely badly. Alfred tries to reason with him but finally gives in and helps. As well as putting the kettle on.
Gordon hands the money to Penguin, disgusted at the realisation he was set up. Penguin denies it, almost sincerely, and Jim returns home. Where Barbara calls him, and then Leslie. Leslie suggests they leave the city and that nothing is keeping them there. Jim admits he did something bad and they can’t leave.

Commissioner Loeb wakes up to find Penguin and Zsaz in his house. Penguin, in the episode’s best scene, has both sides of the conversation with the commissioner. He ultimately concludes the only way Loeb will give him what he wants is to kill him and forces Loeb to accept the alternative: retirement.
The next day, Essen is sworn in as new Commissioner and Jim is reinstated. At the ceremony, Theo Galavan, a major new civic figure in Gotham gives a speech. But unknown to everyone, he’s the one who gave ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! The potion.

And speaking of ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! He’s admitted to Arkham, picks a fight, passes out, belches knock-out gas and dies. It turns out Galavan, a gifted scientist, set him up as an elaborate stun grenade for Barbara, Jerome, Sionis and co. They’re knocked out and a mercenary team storms the Asylum and rescues them.

At the ceremony, Essen assures Jim they’ll do good work together. And, seconds later, he learns that Barbara has escaped.
The inmates come round in Galavan’s penthouse. There he introduces himself and his sister – who led the rescue – and tells them he has a plan. They will be a team of masterminds who will bring chaos to Gotham. Sionis refuses to participate, offers to buy his way out and is killed. The others are all in.

MEANWHILE! BACK AT STATELY WAYNE MANOR BOMB SCHOOL!

The fertiliser bomb is done. Alfred and Bruce hide, detonate it and the door is blown off its hinges. They step through into a cave filled with dusty computers. Bruce finds a letter from his father that implores him to choose happiness unless he has a calling. As he reads it, we see Gordon suiting up to go back to work…

Review:

This, howwver, is the best episode of Gotham to date. The reason is simple: it’s still feverish and changes gear a lot. But now it’s having fun with it.

The Good:

“Zaardon, that spelt how it sounds?” “Two As.” This episode is really funny, always on purpose too. I love this little exchange.
“May I ask why? Police work in Gotham is such a thankless job?” “Good pension.” This one too. The perfect summation of Jim’s gravelly manliness and Penguin’s cheerful sociopathy
“I’m sober. I have a woman who does not dislike me. I live in a house…” Aim high, Harv!
“Surely sometimes the right way is also the ugly way.” Such a lovely turn of phrase and the axis the entire episode revolves around. Do a bad thing to get something good later and hopefully it’ll take the red off your ledger.
“You don’t know the first thing about bomb making do ya?” “I READ A BOOK, ALFRED! IT SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH!” This entire exchange is glorious but this the best line.
“And I’ll put the kettle on.” Best Butler EVER.
“Sexual jealousy always poisons the well.” We don’t get much from Galavan this episode but this line promises much in the future. He’s clever and has tried this before. Interesting to see how this latest… erm… Suicide–ish Squad plays out.
“You can’t have both happiness and the truth.” That should be the city motto.
The episode looks GORGEOUS! Cannon makes every frame sing and the slightly wobbly feel Gotham had last year is replaced with something that looks like an explosion in an art deco factory. Hurray!
Barbara’s evil makeover is immense fun. Yes it’s over-the-top but it ties into the “Adam West Batman but soaked with blood” vibe the show is playing with. Plus, after a year of having to suffer frequently terrible writing of her character, Erin Richards seems to be relishing cutting loose.
The episode is frequently very funny in the exact, jet-black, off-centre way that it seemed to aim for but rarely hit last year.
Ben Mackenzie. He’s the anchor of the show, he’s playing a man who’s trying to be good and frequently being anything but and he’s nailing it. Just an amazing central turn.

The Bad:

Jim Gordon just killed a man. A LOT. Probably on surveillance footage. Whilst running from his property with money he stole for Gotham’s new mob boss. It’s EPISODE ONE of season two. Jim is obviously going to fall a long way before he gets back up. But honestly I’m not entirely sure how much lower they can go. Here’s hoping there’s consequences to his actions this week. If nothing else Penguin has dirt on him now.

The Random:

I choose to believe that the always-excellent Todd Stashwick as Richard Sionis was killed off so he can go be in 12 Monkeys season two lots.
Alfred getting all cockney every time he gets agitated is adorable. I especially liked the, “GET IN!” when the bomb worked.
Danny Cannon’s a hell of a director with a hell of a pedigree. As well as making every shot in this episode look brilliant he wrote and directed the superb Young Americans in in 1993. Two years later he directed the first Judge Dredd movie which probably makes him persona non grata to some people. That’s their loss because since then Cannon’s directed and produced for the CSI franchise, co-created Dark Blue, worked on Nikita and Alcatraz and currently serves as an executive producer on Gotham.
Bruno Heller co-created and wrote a vast chunk of the HBO series Rome, which gave us the bloodiest version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ever in Vorenus and Pullo. He’s also the creator of The Mentalist as well as Gotham.
James Frain is one of the best, and prolific, villain actors of his generation. Throw a rock and it’ll hit a TV show he’s been in including the likes of Spartacus, 24, Lie To Me, Flashpoint, True Blood, The Cape and most recently a memorable turn as Leet Brannis in early episodes of Agent Carter.
Jessica Lucas has a series of excellent performances in movies to her name, with Cloverfield being the particular standout. She was also great in the Evil Dead remake and has done good work on TV too in the likes of CSI, The L Word, Melrose Place and most recently Gracepoint.
David Fierro, who has a memorable cameo here as ZAARDON THE SOUL REAPER! is one of those character actors who turns up everywhere. You’ve seen him in The Blacklist, Birdman, Blue Bloods and Side Effects amongst others.

Review by Alasdair Stuart