Episode Title: Scarification
Original Airdate: 10-19-15
Time to catch up with Gotham, I’m still a week behind but hope to catch up sooner rather than later. I’ve talked often about my love/hate relationship with this show and to get my feelings on this episode out of the way right here at the beginning, I was actually fairly tepid for a change. There wasn’t any cringe inducing scenes, nor were there any standout moments, things are starting to come along and we get our first real glimpse as well as the backstory for the Court of Owls that has been hinted in recent interviews and on social media in the past couple weeks or so, but I’m sure you knew that already so let’s just get straight to it then, shall we?
So my earlier theory about the rise and fall of Penguin may have been a little bit premature as his fall has come rather quickly so to speak. Galavan has him already wrapped around his little finger with Penguin’s mother in tow and out of sight while Penguin spends most of this episode scrambling to figure out a way to work his manipulative magic into Galavan’s head. It’s a little disappointing because while I have never gotten fully on board with this version of the Penguin, I usually appreciated his conniving ways and for most of this season he has been pushed back a little bit too far on his heels and is beginning to seem a little too desperate. I also don’t really care for the direction that Butch has been going, I didn’t mind that he became Penguin’s lackey. I was never fond of the Zsasz conditioning, but it was never really an issue outside of the initial explanation. At least until now. On one hand, it did bring back a little bit more of the conniving side of Penguin that has some real potential, on the other hand… well let’s just leave it at that.
Cat has been another hit and miss character for me in this show, she has her good points and she has her bad points. In this episode, I thought they did accentuate her high points for the most part. She does well when she’s playing it confident and even a little arrogant. I can also give it to the writers for allowing her a little bit of emotional turmoil at the abuse soon-to-be Firebug was taking from her “brothers”. The whole abusive family as a whole felt a little bit cliched, but it served a purpose to make Cat have just a little bit more of a character. She needs somebody to show off her good side to as she has been banished from baby Bruce for the time being.
On to the actual set up for the Court of Owls which was also a bit of a mixed bag. The way it’s told sets up the Wayne family as the bad guys more or less, but if I’ve learned anything from television or movies what they showed us here is only half of the story and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the antique dealer only told the part of the story that she was supposed to tell the Penguin, but then again I may be reading a little too much into it at this point. There was also little surprise that Gordon would end up trusting Galavan, it’s still just a little disappointing that there is absolutely no hint of doubt towards Galavan at all from Gordon. It may just be that he’s riding high on the success of their task force, even though it was actually the death of one of the members that caused him to take that final leap and give his endorsement to Galavan’s mayoral run. And to cap things off, the double date was a fun moment with Nygma, too bad I’ve already heard a bit of what happens to him in the next episode, though I would never consider it spoiled, it just makes me curious to see how it happens. Plenty of set up in this episode, let’s just hope it pays off well.
Channel: Superhero 