Hello everyone! I apologize for the delay in these recaps, but I had to run the NYC Marathon, and things just got a little busy with that. Finally caught up on the past few episodes, so I figured we can go through them real quick.
Episode 6: “Spirit of the Goat”
In this episode, Gordon and Bullock track down a killer which Bullock killed years ago. The killer seems to be targeting the first born children (now in their young adulthood) of the rich and the elite of Gotham. It’s a very good “detective/cop” episode, with a good creepy feel, like Silence of the Lambs or Seven would have. We see the young Bullock as a hero-cop, in a flashback, and how years later he has now become jaded, while Gordon is the new “hero”. But Bullock is one tough cookie, and this is his episode, as he means to stop the murderer for good. His investigation finally brings him to the revelation that the killer is indeed someone else, but they were both controlled by a phychologist who was brainwashing them… and down he takes her too. Another chameo of Selina is pointless, while she “acts” like a cat-burgler… for too obvious a reason. Nygma is in too, but I’m starting to get use to him. I feel they should trat him bad and get him jaded… show what turns him into the Riddler. Meanwhile, detectives Alverez and Montoya finally arrest Gordon at the end of the episode for the murder of Cobblepot. But, as things are about to get crazy, guess who decides to reveal themselves to the public. That’s right… the Penguin comes waltzing into the police station!
Episode 7: “Penguins Umbrella”
With Cobblepot having revealed himself, Gordon (though not charged for murder anymore) knows he is now a target for both Mooney and Falcone (who had commanded for Gordon to kill him). The episode is great, as we see how the Penguin orchestrated everything to the position he’s in (making him an extremely interesting to watch villain and probably the main antagonist of the show for me). Gordon gets Barbara out of the city for her safety, while Falcone dispatches an assasin to take care of the job. Who you might ask? Victor Zsasz. Now, I haven’t read enough of him in the comics to remember any connection between him and Falcone, but if this is how they needed to bring him in, fine. You see, Zsasz is a phycopathic killer who’s good at killing and does it goes he loves killing. Period. Most notibly, he’s know for the scars on his body… notches for every person he kills (which he just cuts into himself after each kill). He has plenty right now (and serioulsy, in the comic by the time Batman is around, hes COVERED in them). This episode shows us who has the real power in Gotham, as Zsasz shows up in th epolice department asking for Gordon, and no one stands up for him. They just walk away and let Zsasz have him. Shootout occurs (the one thing that bothers me with this show… cause so many bullets go flying, yet no one gets hit… well, some minor wounds and a death… but comparitively, it’s like they all have the aim of a stormtrooper). Alvarez and Montoya come to the rescue though, now that they realize Gordon is the good guy, and a new team is formed. This is great, cause if I remember the names correctly, they’re part of the team Gordon eventually trusts to start cleaning Gotham in the future.
Mooney argues with Falcone and then Maroni to get Cobblepot back (since she wants him dead), but the Penguin has played too well a hand, and even takes out Maroni’s head honcho a few scenes later (behind the sceses obviously, but having bought out his own men… cause that’s how he works). Gordon, healed up from his escape from Zsasz, knows he’s still screwed, so he wants to go down fighting. He’s going to just arrest all the big names, and though they might get away, it just might show Gotham the true spirit of standing up to these guys. And fortunately, there is one cop that stands by his side… Bullock. He arrests the mayor, but on his way to arrest Falcone, his plan falls to pieces because… Barbara not only didn’t leave, she went to beg for Gordon’s life. Stupid move from a stupid character that should have little, if any screen time. So, to cut a short story even shorter Gordon kind of gives up at that point, but Falcone lets them all go defeated. Finally, we see that Penguin has actually been working for Falcone from the beginning (before even being told to get killed off)… which is probably why Falcone wasn’t all too upset to see that he was never indeed killed.
Episode 8: “The Mask”
The last episode was great, as it pulled away from the “episodic” element of having its own mini story, and just focused on the bigger picture of the main characters. Unfortunately, we’re back to mini-stories now, with some crazy guy in a mask pitting office works to kill each other off in search for a position in his wealthy company. The episode is pretty simple, mostly letting the side things evolve. Mooney is starting to get real tired of Falcone and pushing her assassin Liza to move the plan along, while Liza is actually starting to have feelings for Falcone. Gordon is pissed at the police force for being a bunch of b*tches, and just basically puts them in their place. Bullock is by his side defending him, which is great to see, Penguin is scheming and Barbara is being Barbara…annoying and trouble. Her bad acting comes off even worse as she is “troubled” and scared from what happened with Zsasz, and now needs to work out her relationship with Gordon.
Bruce goes to school, gets bullied, and then Alfred teaches him to fight. Also, he drives him over to the bullies house so Bruce can beat the crap out of the kid. It’s kind of weird to be seeing an adult promoting this but at the same time, Bruce didn’t have a normal childhood… and these moments where Alfred is teaching him to stand up for himself may seam dark, and even wrong, but it’s what eventually gives birth to the Batman. Gordon eventually finds his killer, and they have a badass fight on screen, showing us that damn… Gordon can hold is own (which was true to the comic too). Episode ends with Selina being arrested again. Another cameo we could deal without. Maybe she should go hand with Barbara. Instead, something more annoying happens… see next episode.
Episode 9: “Harvey Dent”
This was a pretty good episode. Great to see Harvey Dent introduced (for thos of you who do not know, he eventually becomes Two-Face, but until then, he’s good friends with Gordon and Batman as they where the true “good guys” of Gotham). I like the actor/character, but not a huge fan of trying to have him “bipolar” and how he’s always flipping the coin. Sure, it’s his M.O., but don’t over play in one episode, when you have a whole series to work on it. It feels more like a redundant cameo vs a new deep character. The worst part of this episode is how Gordon puts Selina in protective custody (since she saw the murderer of the Waynes), with… wait for it… Alfred and Bruce. What? Way to force interaction and more cameo feeling material. On one hand, this is kind of interesting. In the comic, Bruce and Selina have a thing for a while (while Batman and Catwoman always have this love/hate flirtation going on), though neither no each others identity. So seeing them as friends at a young age can work in that way… a little. Overall its kind of ackward, though there are a couple a good scenes in there, especially with Alfred, who is one of the better characters (and actors) in the show.
Nygma is in again, but nothing crazy and it works. As is Cobblepot (which I believe owns this season). Barbara decides to leave town, since she’s been too spooked from Zsasz and just can’t deal with anything right now. Good riddance. She leaves Gordon a ‘I cant deal with this note’, and at the end of the episode, the show takes a turn for the worst with a stupid scene where she has returned to the arms of Montoya. Really? Do we need to turn this into a badly acted and scripted soap-opera?.
The episodic element of the story follows a bomber who has been abducted and used for ever worst purposes. The point really being that he never wanted to hurt anyone, but Gotham just send criminals to Blackgate, and cannot treat their mental health issues. So the story ends up with Arkham Asylum finally opening, dum dum dummmm.
Episode 10: “Lovecraft”
The season finale is finally here (or should I say mid season, as it comes back in January), and I’m still questioning if this show is any good. Let’s do a quick recap first.
Assasins go to the Wayne’s mansion to take out Selina. She escapes with Bruce as Alfred holds them back. Yes, Alfred is a bad ass, and we see more and more of that the entire episode. Alfred teams up with Gordon and Bullock to find the kids before the assassins do. We get a little Penguin, who defends himself to Falcone (for that heist from last week), but does not reveal that he knows about Liza (who was the real mole). Falcone’s suspicions grow, and with Penguin’s help, especially against Mooney. We see how ruthless of a don he is. As the detectives search for the kids, Gordon interrogates Lovecraft (the prime suspect to have ordered the Wayne’s murder), in hopes that they know where they are. He is unable to stop the assassins (who are also after Lovecraft) and is unable to stop them. They knock him out and use his gone to kill Lovecraft.
Meanwhile Alfred and Bullock go to see if Mooney knows anything, and we see how awesome Alfred is and how he’s always stealing the scene.
Selina and Bruce get themselves caught by the assassins, and while Selina gets away, Bruce gets caught by the assassin. He lies about knowing where Selina is and helps her escape, and the assassin lets him live while sharing some wisdom on decision making and courage. Alfred gets there right in time to make sure he’s ok.
The mayor is pissed at Gordon for all the shit he’s been doing (messing with the big guys and stirring the pot), but knows he’s a good cop, so to save him from loosing his job and being framed for the murder of Lovecraft, he transfers him… to security guard at Arkham Asylum. The episode ends with him going there, while Selina pays a visit to Bruce to thank him with a kiss.
The bad about this episode was another cameo for no reason… that of Ivy. And though I haven’t been minding the Riddler, his scene seemed pointless too. Having Bruce and Selina spend so much time together is pushing it, but it makes us see Batman in the making. The good… Barbara wasn’t in the episode. Not even mentioned. Could we have seen the last of her? If only…
This season has come and gone pretty fast, and left me with mixed feelings about the show. I’m a huge Batman fan, and a stickler for continuity. So I spend a lot of time being upset of how they set things up, and am always annoyed at the possibility of changing things too much. This causes me to want a particular direction of the show, one that’s probably too difficult for this show to follow (maybe if HBO or Showtime was handling it, it would have worked). Also, production wise, the show is a tiny bit lackluster. I love the actors (most of them… the ones that count at least), but some scene are filmed pretty bad, and much of the writing is a little silly.
But that very word, silly, makes me just enjoy the ride. After a full 10 episodes, I’ve stopped expecting the show to take itself serious. I’ve stopped caring if it’s going to be accurate. DC Comics always mentioned different, parallel universes, and how the heroes in each one have taken slightly different paths. If it wants to spend more time showing Bruce turn into Batman, so be it. If Ivy wants to have episodic cameos of her collecting flowers, while Dent is in his office flipping a coin, while Nygma walks around spouting riddles, then so be it. The show has decided to take place in the past of Batman, but if that’s the closest we’ll get to have a “comic” feeling Batman world, then so be it. Cause I enjoy it, even if its all that gets. I don’t think its great, but it’s enjoyable.
I guess we’ll see how the season continues in January, and see if I continue enjoying it. For now, I’m good. What do you all think?
