Gotham: The Conclusions

GOTHAM: THE CONCLUSIONS

Gotham was a good series with a bad start. Sometimes it was an endurance to sit through, sometimes it was thrilling

The premise, as I understand it, was around not Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) but rookie Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). That isn't a bad idea in and of itself, but the problem is that we start with the Wayne murders and poor Bruce surviving it. It is hard to divorce yourself into being a Batman-less prequel when you start your first episode with the future Batman.

I wonder now if perhaps the Bruce-Gordon meeting, a central part of the Batman mythos, could instead have been a season finale. If you think on it, this would have allowed for Gordon to run up against issues he would inevitably face: corruption, a shady partner in Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), and even a future villain or two. We know that Gordon and Bruce are fated to meet, but in retrospect I think Gotham made a terrible mistake in tying itself to the beginning of the Batman story rather than marking that for a latter event.

I think Gotham Season One had a bit of an identity crisis. While I did enjoy the episodes and marveled at how Gordon's girlfriend Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) went from an insufferably boring figure to this delightfully wicked woman, at times it felt it should have been titled Law & Order: Gotham. It was on occasion more about the case-of-the-week than the evolution of the rookie to eventual Commissioner Gordon.

Starting this way also made things a bit cumbersome for the future Rogues Gallery. Apart from Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) who had to be around Bruce's age the rest of the cast was essentially old enough to be Bruce's father. I had a coworker dead-set against Gotham who persistently ridiculed the show by saying that Batman would be fighting a group of senior citizens. While it never got to that level, the age discrepancy was an issue.

A good or bad example is Harvey Dent (Nicholas D'Agosto). He is a contemporary again not of Bruce Wayne but of Jim Gordon. I think his character was poorly, poorly used where we got good shades of what he could be or become but then doing nothing with them. This I think was when Gotham was unsure of what it wanted to be or where it wanted to go.

I think D'Agosto was pretty good in the role of the optimistic and idealistic assistant District Attorney. I just think Gotham never did anything with the character. Moreover, D'Agosto was born in 1980 and Mazouz in 2001. This makes the former old enough to be the latter's father, a very strange situation when you think that if Batman is say 30 the eventual Two-Face would be 51!

Moreover, he appeared in a total of six episodes spread out over two seasons and disappeared after Season Two. The whole thing was bungled.

The age gap among other characters made things more cumbersome. The gap between the future Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and the future Batman is minimum twenty-two years; Taylor is the same age as McKenzie, making both old enough to be Mazouz's father! That works for Gordon who is meant to be something of a father-figure along with Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee).


However, would it work for Pengy?

The future Riddler (Cory Michael Smith) has a mere fifteen year gap with Mazouz, still a bit of a stretch. Guest star Cameron Monaghan, who maybe played The Joker, at least was only eight years older, making their battles more sensible.

More on that later.

It's not a slam on Taylor or Smith, whom I think created absolutely brilliant portrayals of their characters. I think Taylor's version of Penguin is perhaps the best of all the versions and Smith the second-best after Frank Gorshin's version on the Batman television show. Here is where I will praise Gotham: I thought it one of the best acted shows I saw.

Taylor's Penguin is thoroughly fascinating: a villain with a heart of brass but whom one has a modicum of respect. Perpetually written off, Penguin keeps coming back to thwart his enemies. In turns cold, murderous but eternally attached to his mother, Taylor's overall performance was one of of rage mixed with pathos.

As a side note, I am not sold on the idea that Pengy had to be gay. First, his attachment to his mother Gertrude Kapelput (Carole Kane) played into stereotypes of gay men as essentially 'mama's boys'. To be fair, Kane was also brilliant as this very loving but possessive immigrant mother. Second, it seemed like a way to create antagonism between Penguin and Riddler when the latter rebuffs his advances. Again, is that not a bit cliched: the gay man rejected by a straight character. Third, despite introducing this element Gotham never did anything more than just use it as a way to create enmity between Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma. Penguin was never given a boyfriend or lover or husband. For all intents and purposes, Penguin was asexual throughout Gotham. Finally, I cannot help but think that Taylor's own homosexuality was at least a motivation to create a more 'inclusionary' character.

There's nothing wrong with having an openly gay character, less so in having a now openly gay actor play said character. There is something wrong when said openly gay character never has essentially a follow-up. Yet I digress.

Smith's performance too was excellent: a good man driven by his divided soul to slip into evil. His struggles to where he gave up and surrendered to the darkness was so well played.

Credit should also go to Mazouz, who grew metaphorically and literally in the role. Starting out as quite weak to where he was almost uninteresting, Mazouz's Bruce was eventually released to becomes more active and proactive, darker, searching for the person he was destined to become. Again, this is where I think Gotham might have benefited more in introducing Bruce Wayne later, as at least in Season One he was relegated to the sidelines, as if the show really did not know what to do with him.

Going on in the performances it is important to remember the ladies. Bicondova's Selina, our beloved future Catwoman, was really in the top levels of actresses playing the role. It's a pity they never got Michelle Pfeiffer to portray Selina's mother as they share a resemblance. What I enjoyed about Selina was that she was less villain and more antiheroine, someone who was a criminal but not evil. She cared about Bruce, she cared about Ivy Pepper her eventual frenemy and she knew what lines she could not cross. It was a remarkably deep performance.

I figure I got sidetracked by the performances to focus on the show, what I think worked and what didn't. Putting a lot on trying to solve the Wayne murders in the beginning was I think a mistake in retrospect. It didn't give Gordon the buildup he needed. The age issue is also a problem, but how to solve it? Make the villains younger or Bruce Wayne older? Doing either would rob us of some excellent performances.

I think by the end Gotham had pretty much done a lot of course correction, keeping a balance between the Batman mythos and spinning its own stories. I though there was one thing that was off: The Joker.  Ever since the character of Jerome Valeska and later his twin Jeremiah were introduced in Season One and later sprinkled throughout the rest of the show's run, Gotham seemed to take perverse pleasure in doing a fan-dance about whether or not Jerome and later Jeremiah was this mythical iconic figure.

Again, not a slam on Monaghan, who was also excellent in the various roles save for being very much in the shadow of Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight version to where it was a mix of homage and rip-off. The show stubbornly refused to say 'Joker' or even use the name despite using all the Joker trappings. I am not one to be so enamored of the character to be outraged, but it does become rather irritating to keep getting winks and nods but never anything definitive. Whatever their reasons, one cannot help feeling just a touch cheated.

As I close out my look at Gotham, I think the first season was a jumble. Granted, I think well of that jumble and thought the episodes were good on the whole but the identity crisis set it off to a bad beginning. The show did improve and it did so by embracing Bruce Wayne versus pushing him to the side or completely off. Once we integrated the future Batman into the proceedings while still keeping such things as Bonkers Babs, Gotham sometimes hit it out of the park.

It's unfortunate that a lot of damage was done before things started getting better. On the whole though I liked Gotham and think well of it.

Gotham: The Complete Fifth Season

GOTHAM: THE COMPLETE 

FIFTH SEASON

Gotham, the Batman prequel, was in a tough spot coming into its fifth season. The show had a shortened season and needed to wrap things up and get to where it was aiming at: end with the final shot of Batman.

It's curious that despite this a great deal of Gotham Season Five was almost another day at the office with the introduction of Bane into the mix. What Season Five ended up being was a good way to end the series, not great but still on the whole good.

On the positive side was the evolution of some great performances. I found that David Mazouz has really come into his own as Bruce Wayne. He seemed to grow in confidence as this tortured figure who would rise to become the Dark Knight. Mazouz made Bruce into quite a complicated and conflicted character, one who used his growing skills to see his way into becoming a vigilante.

He was equaled by Camren Bicondova's Selina Kyle, their evolution being a highlight for me in this danse macabre et erotique between the future Batman and the future Catwoman. They really should rank among the best pairings of the duo as these friends who will eventually grow to form a very strange love.

Bicondova by herself made Selina into an equally complicated figure, less villain and more anti-heroine, one who had a moral center unlike her mentors Barbara Kean and Tabitha Galavan. Those two were irredeemably evil, but Selina genuinely struggled with her feelings for Bruce as well as her criminal acts. She was a thief but she could never kill.

I have always thought that Robin Lord Taylor was shamefully overlooked in award recognition for his Oswald Cobblepot. Our beloved Penguin was I think the best interpretation of the character. He was monstrous: greedy, murderous, willing to sell everyone out to enrich himself. Yet despite that he was almost cuddly, this Pengy. It's curious that while Gotham made Penguin gay the show never really followed up on it. Apart from his initial emotional-to-romantic feelings for his frenemy Edward Nygma/Riddler, Penguin never found someone to romance, let alone love and love him back.

Perhaps Pengy was not cut out for love emotional or erotic, but it would have been interesting if Gotham had given him a lover.

Cory Michael Smith, I think, also did a wonderful job with Riddler, a man driven to be the best but who struggled between being Edward and being Riddler. I would make him the second-best version of The Riddler after Frank Gorshin's take from the original Batman television series. His inner conflict did drive the character and made for compelling viewing. The pairing of this gruesome twosome made for an unlikely yet brilliant double-act.

It's really a surprise that Gotham has not been more praised for the acting. Including the aforementioned Mazouz, Bicondova, Taylor and Smith you also had great turns from Anthony Carrigan's Victor Zsasz and Donal Logue's Harvey Bullock. Carrigan made Zsasz into a delightfully droll figure: comical without being absurd, almost an innocent who kills. Logue continued with Bullock being a source of quips but this season did give him a deeper character, one who struggled with his past decisions.

Richards has made Bonkers Babs into a more interesting character than she started out as when she was just a good girl. When Barbara is bad, she's better, and her pregnancy and motherhood gave her role a new twist, making her more conflicted about how evil she could be.

If there is something  I disliked about Season Five it is the fan-dance Gotham did when it came to Jerome/Jeremiah Valeska, the 'not-Joker'. They've teased, they've hinted, they've dropped hints yet they could never use the title 'Joker' despite the garish makeup and infernal giggle.

I think everything they did with the character was bad: from 'not killing' him again and again to having him do a version of 'Dumb and Dumberer' as part of some wild master-plan that was pretty laughable even for him. I was left cold by what Gotham did with 'not-Joker' despite Cameron Monaghan's excellent performance.

I also was not overwhelmed with Shane West's take on Bane. I think that's because I am still not convinced Shane West can act. Granted, I'm still haunted by League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which was meant I understand to catapult him to superstar status. However, try as I might here I could not buy him as this dangerous near-unstoppable force of evil.

When judging Season Five, one has to cut Gotham some slack: they had to wrap up things quickly while keeping to their original plan. The show was blessed by great acting and a strong sense of style. For the brief time it had Gotham Season Five was on the whole quite well.

Next: Gotham: The Conclusions

Gotham: The Beginning...Review

GOTHAM: THE BEGINNING...

The Beginning..., the Gotham series finale, had an extremely difficult task to accomplish.

It had to wrap up all our stories and character arcs.
It had to set up what we know as the Batman mythos versus the Bruce Wayne evolution.
It had to make sense.

The Beginning...mostly accomplished all this, not an easy task given the brevity of this season. Some things were not good, but fortunately the good outweighed the bad.

Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) has left Gotham and traveled to what appears to be Tibet.

We jump to ten years later. Commissioner Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is about to retire just as his frenemy Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) is about to be released from prison. Pengy's other frenemy, Edward Nygma aka The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith) is in Arkham Asylum, where his only real treat is in taking shots at a catatonic Jeremiah Valeska (Cameron Monaghan). Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) is now apparently both sane and a redhead as well as a good mother to her and Gordon's daughter Barbara Lee Gordon. Selina Kyle (Lili Simmons) is a cat-woman burglar.

Each in their way is waiting for Bruce Wayne to return and open the new Wayne Tower. However, it looks like there is mischief and murder. An elaborate plot where Pengy and Riddler are unwitting pawns is unleashed, a plot where Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) is also a patsy and that may cause the downfall of Gotham itself. Only a very strange figure dressed as a bat may stop this mad plot from someone who may not be as out-of-it as he appears.

At long last, with some help from Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee) and Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk), Gordon may not yet retire as he contemplates 'a friend': he that is to be known as "Batman".

Part of me understands the pressure Gotham was under to wrap everything up, so I'm cutting them some slack. There is also the issue of having so many villains to deal with, and on the whole I think The Beginning...did a pretty good job with the four main ones.

As a side note, how I wish my favorite, Mr. Freeze, had come back, but one can't have everything can one.

My issue is less with the flash-forward than it is with the overall plot. Somehow, echoing Dumb and Dumberer and Galaxy Quest is not a good twist. On this show, it always stops on "one".

Even at the end of The Beginning..., we could not get them to admit that Jeremiah is The Joker. I don't think we heard them use the name 'The Joker' in The Beginning..., and this fan-dance about Jeremiah's eventual identity was one of Gotham's low points.

It kept teasing viewers about the Clown Prince of Crime, first with Jerome and then with Jeremiah, never saying his name. It was pretty clear where that plot line was going. I'll give Monaghan credit in that he was strong as the menacing, monstrous "whoever he was".

It was nice to see the double-act of Taylor and Smith together one last time, where they managed to get moments of humor into things. They are the other Dynamic Duo.

To my mind, Taylor should be considered the best Penguin on screen and Smith the second-best after Frank Gorshin's take on the character. The Beginning..., while giving us at long-last a monocle-wearing pudgy Pengy, kept to Taylor's version of a needy, mommy-obsessed and troubled man with a flare for the dramatic.

Seriously Pengy, why take Gordon to the docks?

We even get callbacks to the past, as when Mayor Aubrey James (Richard Kind) finds himself abducted and strapped to a bomb again. Even he seems incredulous at this repeat, and the whole thing was badly handled in my view.

As a side note, seriously...why would Gotham citizens vote Mayor James back in again?

As much as McKenzie did well here, I wish he had kept the mustache throughout the whole episode. That was just baiting the audience. We can take a stab as to how Bonkers Babs got her mind back. Morena Baccarin as Lee Thompkins had very little to do unfortunately.

There were other elements I wasn't keen on. I was troubled by having the Arkham guard have his blood splash over a family picture. That just bothered me, a reminder of how sadistic things can get. That was nothing compared to holding Barbara Gordon over a tub of toxic waste. Even the suggestion of torturing children is way too far for me.

Finally, I know they were going for a big reveal to close out the show, which to be fair to them was what they promised when Gotham premiered. However, I think they went a bit overboard constantly teasing this 'where's Bruce?' bit, though again to be fair they were in a bit of a jam.

I will give credit to Simmons, who filled in as the adult Catwoman. She strongly resembles Camren Bicondova and her scene with an unseen Bruce Wayne/Batman worked quite well. Credit too for Mazouz who had to perform only with his voice.

Gotham's cinematography, always one of the best aspects of the show, similarly too worked well.

The Beginning... is a good though not great way to end Gotham. A bit rushed to where perhaps a two-hour finale might have done some good, on the whole it did a good enough job to finish a series that got a bit lost but eventually found its way from its dark knight of the soul.

8/10

Next: Gotham: The Complete Fifth Season

Gotham: They Did What? Review

GOTHAM: THEY DID WHAT?

As we end Gotham, They Did What? plays like a good mid-season finale mixed with a rush to finish everything before we get to the end. There were elements that were a bit hurried but on the whole They Did What? put in elements of human emotion and complexity within it.

Nyssa al Ghul (Jaime Murray) is enacting her final vengeance on Gotham, holding Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) and her new baby hostage. Nyssa' henchman Bane (Shane West) is leading the attack on the final pockets of resistance in Gotham, primarily the Gotham City Police Department Headquarters.

Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) find unexpected help from former mayor Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), who feels too strongly about his city to let it fall. More reluctant to join him is Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), but join them he does.

Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) with Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) do their part to stop Bane or at least slow him down enough to buy Gordon time. Nyssa's plot backfires with Bonkers Babs finishing her with Gordon's help. Bane for his part fails when the regular troopers refuse to fire on unarmed civilians and turn their weapons on him and his few loyal troops.

Bruce carries so much guilt over all that has happened and flies off after Gordon is finally appointed Commissioner, leaving Selina devastated. Barbara can now raise their daughter Barbara Lee Gordon, whom she names after "the three people she can count on": herself, Jim and Jim's wife, Lee Thompkins (Morena Baccarin). Penguin and Riddler, the original frenemies, decide to retake the city.

It may be unintentional but They Did What? has something of a theme involving pairs. There's Bruce and Selina. There's Nyssa and Bane. There's Barbara and Gordon. There's even Riddler and Penguin. Each pair brings out the best and/or worst in each other, and all but one seem to deserve the other.

The highlight for me has been what has been the highlight for me in previous Gotham episodes: the interplay between Bicondova's Selina and Mazouz's Bruce. Bat-Cat has been among the most solid of storylines, aided by their fine performances. Mazouz here to my mind seemed a bit removed from things, but I think that was closer to how the part was written than how he is an actor. In his guilt misplaced or not and in his desire to atone for said guilt Mazouz does excellent work.

Bicondova does him better as Selina, who has found her heart only to lose it to Bruce's quest for absolution. Whether assuring her unofficial boyfriend that "I will be here whenever you need me" or watching helplessly as Bruce flies off she excels.

The double-act of Smith and Taylor brings out the rage and humor of this wicked duo. Taylor is powerfully convincing as someone who finally has allowed his heart to put something above his own interests. Smith showed he too could show Riddler's moment of caring for his frenemy by lying about Penguin's eye injury. In their final interaction, when despite their own interests they cannot bring themselves to kill the other, there is a mix of menace and mirth.

They Did What? allows for brief moments of gallows and dark humor. When Penguin offers to help, Gordon remarks that he knew he was there before Pengy announced himself. Jim says he carries an odor, "part dandy, part snake".  When killing Nyssa, Bonkers Babs cracks that she and her father have a connection: 'a thing for this knife' (the dagger that killed them both).

Intentional or not, They Did What? made both Nyssa and Bane amusing given their repeated habit of monologuing. West was still to my mind not menacing but I'll say he took a good stab at it. Their continued speeches did become tiresome, but 

One issue I had was in the camera work, particularly in the many fight scenes where I got a bit lost. Add the monologuing and the perhaps too-quick and convenient answer to the problems they caused and I am dropping a few points to the episode.

However, what we have in They Did What? was a well-acted, well-written and fast-paced episode that will lead us to the Gotham series finale. It's almost a pity given how well the show has done that we're about to close this Nightwing Project.

8/10

Next Episode: The Beginning...

Gotham: I Am Bane Review

GOTHAM: I AM BANE

It seems such a shame that Gotham is about to call it a day given how generally good I Am Bane is. You have a legendary figure from the Batman mythos, some surprising twists and turns, tender moments and even a bit of levity. Yes, there are things in I Am Bane that I wasn't overwhelmed with but on the whole it looks like Gotham will end on a high note.

Things are finally looking up for Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Not only is reunification with the mainland about to succeed, but he is weeks if not days away from being a father. Granted, the mother is not his wife Lee Thompkins (Morena Baccarin) but his one-night stand Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), but why be picky? Unfortunately for him, a new threat has come when Gordon's newest nemesis Eduardo Dorrance is now stalking the streets under orders from 'Secretary Walker' to take Gordon, Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) and General Wade (John Bedford Lloyd).

Bonkers Babs for her part has her own ideas however. She is about to join her frenemies Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Edward Nygma aka The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith) on their submarine when her contractions start. Pengy & Riddler were going to leave her behind but she took a major part of their sub, forcing them to find her.

Bonkers Babs is pretty much the woman of the hour, for I Am Bane centers around everyone finding her. We learn that 'Secretary Walker' is really Nyssa al Ghul (Jaime Murray), daughter of Ra's al Ghul who now wants revenge on both Bruce and Gotham as a whole. Nyssa's revenge involves psychological torture on Bruce and getting her mad scientist Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong) to reprogram Wade and Gordon for her own nefarious schemes.

To complete her vengeance, Nyssa needs to kill Barbara so she sends Bane, with both of them uninterested that Barbara is going into labor. Pengy and Riddler are forced to join forces with Bonkers Babs to keep her alive, but they have a few tricks up their own sleeves. Barbara gives birth to a girl, but Nyssa will not be denied. Bane is halted by Alfred (Sean Pertwee) and Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) but Alfred gets a brutal Bane beating. For their part, after a daring escape General Wade issues "Special Order 386": the bombing of Gotham into oblivion, as he is under Nyssa's control.

I Am Bane curiously has as its weak point Bane himself. Perhaps I still cannot accept Shane West as this nearly-unstoppable massive force. As much as I would like to not think on it, West cannot match Tom Hardy's take on the character from The Dark Knight Rises. West isn't as massive physically as Hardy was, but West's weakness comes from more than not matching Hardy's massive bulk.

Even with just his eyebrows West somehow manages to overact, making Bane almost amusing. Same goes for Murray's Nyssa, who has that 'female villainess as slightly campy character', all cooing her lines.

Give I Am Bane credit though for some spectacular moments and camera work. The opening is visually arresting when we see Strange create Bane. There's Bane's arrival at the Gotham City Police Headquarters, almost cinematic. The most outlandish yet fascinating is when Barbara managing to shoot her way out of the hospital while being wheeled out screaming in labor pains, down to giving us Bonkers Babs point-of-view.

The script also manages to fold all the plots into themselves very well. So many agendas and plots going on and I Am Bane manages to hold them well.

Again, West is still not Bane to me. I'm also not convinced that General Wade could not have come to blow up Gotham on his own volition. After all, he was kidnapped and that is prone to make anyone give up on thinking that Gotham is safe. I Am Bane also kept Bicondova's Selina to almost observer. However, so much of I Am Bane went right why obsess on what was not great.

With only two episodes left it seems that I Am Bane might be anticlimactic but through no fault of its own. Still, I Am Bane is a strong episode to start shutting down a series that sadly did not reach its full potential.

8/10

Next Episode: They Did What?

Gotham: The Trial of Jim Gordon Review

GOTHAM: THE TRIAL OF JIM GORDON

As Gotham ends its run, we get a hint of what might have been and what it was in The Trial of Jim Gordon. This episode has two of its cast work behind the scenes: Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) wrote the episode, and Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) directed it.

For good and bad, it shows on both fronts.

Gordon has called a conference for the gangs to have a cease-fire to keep the water supplies up versus having a free-for-all with questionable water. The gangs appear to agree when a shot rings out. It hits Gordon. Despite Harvey Bullock's (Donal Logue) suspicions neither Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) who organized the conference, nor Bonkers Babs did the hit.

As Gordon slips in and out of consciousness, he imagines himself on trial for his continuing failure to bring peace to Gotham. He condemns himself and is about to be electrocuted (in other words willingly die) but the thoughts of his unborn child and Dr. Leslie 'Lee' Thompkins (Morena Baccarin) bring him back from the brink.

As to the actual shooter, that is Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan), but he is under the spell of Poison Ivy (Peyton List). It's all part of her plan to stop reunification and return Gotham to its literal roots. For this, she has not only hypnotized Zsasz, but also Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), who in turn hypnotizes Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk) as part of her nefarious plans. Only Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) can stop her now-enemy.

One Month Later, Gordon and Lee marry, displeasing Barbara but delighting Pengy.

The Trial of Jim Gordon has certain positive elements, though they come more from what has been established than from the episode itself. At the heart of the good is the Bruce/Selina relationship. Mazouz and Bicondova have always worked well together in their Bat-Cat dance, and their 'date' was a nice respite from the horrors. The script gave them something to work with, especially in their fight while Bruce is under Ivy's spell.

The fight itself was a bit hard to follow, but the interplay between Mazouz and Bicondova was excellent. We even were allowed a little bit of comedy whenever we saw the men under Ivy's control. Mazouz did well here, making when he is released from her spell from a strong kick by Selina a touch anticlimactic.

Carrigan, however, is the standout as Victor Zsasz. He's never failed to be funny, but the 'hypnosis' element gives his sarcastic yet innocent comments more lightness, as if being in love makes him even more offbeat. As good as the Bruce/Selina fight was, I thought the Victor/Harvey fight was better.

Somehow, the Bruce/Selina subplot, down to a genuine kiss between them, overtakes the main plot. Gordon's trial is where The Trial of Jim Gordon flounders.  I would have thought that storywise, things would have worked better if Gordon were not just prosecutor but also judge. As such, he would literally be judging himself.

Perhaps the rush to complete Gotham blunted a good idea. A longer season could have allowed for more witnesses for the prosecution. We got a glimpse of Gordon's wake (which was the only scene that allowed Cory Michael Smith's Edward Nygma a chance to appear, where he tickled the ivories while Pengy belted out a tune), but I think Richards could not resist a little visual flair.

A lot of The Trial of Jim Gordon had what I see is an actor-turned-director motif: the 360-degree turn. I'm not sure why actors who direct episodes of the shows they are in love to have the camera make 360-degree turns, but we got that when Bullock brings Gordon to the station to try and save him.

I also think the story was a bit rushed, but again given the time pressure Gotham is on I'm cutting it some slack.

As good as some of the performances were, some were not that good. Baccarin was almost hilarious in her frantic fears and hysteria about Gordon. Richards didn't seem to have that much emotion, and even the usually reliable Taylor seemed to be almost coasting. In fairness, it was nice to see List vamp it up while still managing to be something of a threat.

As a side note, what is the budget for hair gel on Gotham? I note that Mazouz and Taylor seem to have very high, stiff hair in this episode. I'm just curious.

There is a lot of good in The Trial of Jim Gordon. A theme touched on but perhaps not explored deeply given the time limit was how both Bruce and Jim carry a lot of guilt and blame for how things are. We got some nice comedic moments from Carrigan in particular. The duet of David Mazouz and Camren Bicondova continues to be a highlight.

I can't shake the idea that I am being too generous with The Trial of Jim Gordon. I think it's because I know Gotham has only three episodes left in its run. It's a pity that a lot of time seemed to be wasted in those years.

6/10 

Next Episode: I Am Bane

Gotham: Nothing's Shocking Review

GOTHAM: NOTHING'S SHOCKING

Guess again, for there is something a little shocking in Nothing's Shocking, the newest Gotham episode. Nothing's Shocking shows us what might have been if the show had not gone off on some tangents, but with only four episodes left before the series ends it's a shame things went the way they did.

The main story involves Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). His old former partner Dix (Dan Hedaya) appears to be not just walking (an oddity given he's wheelchair-bound) but killing, having iced two ex cops at The Sirens Club. Bullock and Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) cannot believe Dix is the killer, but there are witnesses.

Dix, we find, is terrified because he obviously isn't the killer. Through twists and turns we find that the killings go back to a long-ago case where the rookie Bullock and his senior Dix got dubious testimony from a girl to get her mother convicted for killing her abusive husband. This girl, Jane Doe (Sarah Pidgeon) was affected by Dr. Hugo Strange's mad science. She could take the form of anyone she touched, leading to Dix's own death...and eventually her own.

There are two subplots. The first involves Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) tracking down a man named Hank at the request of his wife, who fears for his life after he disappeared in the sewers. Eventually, they find and save Hank from being devoured by a deformed man living in the sewers, affected by the toxic waters.

The second has Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) and Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) still working and arguing over the submarine, which Pengy names S.S. Gertrude, and how they are found by Mr. Penn (Andrew Sellon). Mr. Penn or 'Arthur' (which Penguin keeps getting wrong as 'Arnold') is not alone: he's got a dummy named Scarface, who unlike the timid, mousy Penn is murderous and full of gangster affectations. For once, Pengy and Riddler are scared, but after 'coming to terms' with Scarface, our Ventriloquist is shot dead and the two frenemies have a good laugh.

Truth be told there really is nothing left in Gotham on every level.  It's unfortunate that The Ventriloquist was essentially reduced to a cameo, all his scenes taking place in one room. Part of me understands that he could not be part of Gotham as the show is about to limp onto its end. However, given how surprisingly good and convincing Sellon was in the role, it seems a shame not to keep him around at least for a couple of more episodes.

It's a credit to Sellon and Gotham that the whole concept of The Ventriloquist (even if he was not mentioned as such) was surprisingly rational.

We'll leave aside the fact that there was never any real reason, logical or not, for how Mr. Penn came back to life. We should just accept that people pop up living after dying on Gotham and move on.

The misuse of The Ventriloquist should show how this show never really got full use of its Rogues Gallery. Why pop in The Ventriloquist if you were going to get rid of him so quickly? It seems almost a waste. Same goes for the Bruce/Alfred subplot, which seemed there just to give them something to do. I figure that it might lead to something later on (Killer Croc?) but even if that were the case, the filming of this encounter was so hard to follow.

The main story is what elevates Nothing's Shocking, in particular Logue's performance. Here, Bullock is a haunted, guilt-ridden man who finds he cannot atone for his sins, even when asking for absolution from Gordon. He is matched by Pidgeon as Jane Doe, who seems to have an invisible touch. Pidgeon makes her also haunted, down to where she is so far gone that she cannot see that she is not deformed when she unmasks herself.

Hedaya, who has not appeared in Gotham since Season One's Spirit of The Goat, makes the character one less haunted but with still a brutal end. The positive in Nothing's Shocking is that for a brief moment we forget Jane Doe's power and wonder whether Bullock, driving to desperation, could have crossed a line impossible to come back from.

We even get a brief moment of comedy when Bonkers Babs shows up and we find she's double the fun! There's also more comedy thanks to Taylor & Smith, the former wisecracking to his more paranoid partner "I KNOW you're being watched with this jingle bell contraption", mocking Riddler's security system. After Mr. Penn is killed off, Pengy screams at Nygma, "HE wasn't the threat! The DUMMY was the threat!"

Credit for making that sound rational.

Nothing's Shocking is lifted by Logue's performance and the Bullock storyline, with the others kind of just there.

6/10

Next Episode: The Trial of Jim Gordon

Gotham: Ace Chemicals Review

GOTHAM: ACE CHEMICALS

Ace Chemicals started out badly, with things that had me literally roll my eyes at. Around the halfway point, however, things took a sudden and more positive turn, where things became interesting and even elevated a series that I had pretty much all but given up hope for.

Jeremiah Valeska (Cameron Monaghan), our "not-Joker" is planning some deranged plan involving Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz): recreating the day & night his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed. By doing so, Jeremiah is convinced they will somehow be joined.

Never mind that we are echoing the 1989 Batman movie, but let's move on.

Bruce now is forced to go through this charade, nearly costing the life of Alfred (Sean Pertwee) and in a surprisingly good twist, Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Dr. Leslie 'Lee' Thompkins (Morena Baccarin), whose use is an unexpected bonus thanks to Jeremiah's henchman Jarvis Tetch, the Mad Hatter (Benedict Samuel). However, we get a twist in the tale thanks to Bruce's frenemy Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova), who was there that fateful night, something Jeremiah could not have possibly known. Things end in a fateful last battle at Ace Chemicals, where Jeremiah may be dead...again...at last.

Yeah, right.

Selina getting a second chance to set things right ends her association with Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), who alongside his own frenemy Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) work to get out of Gotham, more so since reunification has been ruined thanks to Jeremiah's schemes. They find an unlikely partner in Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), who reluctantly puts off killing her sworn enemy Penguin for the sake of her unborn baby.

Ace Chemicals starts off weak, with 'Not-Joker's' plan involving the Wayne's deaths being already a bit curious. He wasn't trying so much to drive Bruce mad as he was putting up two people to die in Thomas and Martha Wayne's place, a scheme already kind of bonkers even for him.

As a side note, while I admit not being familiar with Batman lore, the idea that Thomas and Martha Wayne took young Bruce to see the silent 1920 film The Mark of Zorro seems a bit odd, let alone that even as a 12-year-old Bruce would become frightened of it. I can see where Zorro would influence the future Batman, and that The Mark of Zorro was the film on that fateful night. Still, it does seem a bit odd to me even if it is canon.

I confess that by now I have grown tired of both the fan-dance Gotham does as to whether Jeremiah is The Joker and of Monaghan's take on the character. I think both stem from how Gotham won't just say "Jeremiah IS The Joker". If he isn't, he's the most overtly-camp character in a show that has done its best to be deadly serious.

We even get a very curious turn of phrase from Jeremiah to Bruce. "I offered for you to be my best friend! But I've realized if we can't be friends, then we can be connected in other ways", Jeremiah taunts Bruce with. Oddly, rather than coming across as menacing, this line comes across as if Jeremiah is propositioning Bruce.

It is once we get past the setting up of Jeremiah's plans that Ace Chemicals really takes off. We have through Bicondova's excellent performance Selina's struggle between enacting revenge on Penguin for Tabitha's killing and saving Bruce. She is also particularly good when working with Taylor's Penguin, the tension between them when she comes close to killing him highly intense.

We have through Mazouz's excellent performance Bruce's clever rescue of Alfred and the deep feelings our teen hero has. If Bruce was 12 when his parents were killed, Gotham then would put his age as of Ace Chemicals at around 17 to 18.

We even have a touch of comedy when Pengy calls out to Bonkers Babs, "Who's the lucky father?" and off-camera we hear her shout "Shut up!". I do find it a bit of a stretch that Bonkers Babs would hold back from killing Penguin even if she is pregnant, but we can't quite kill off Pengy can we.

Once Ace Chemicals gets to Bruce and Alfred escaping the bombed-out Wayne Manor, the episode jumps in quality. It made me enjoy Gotham, which I haven't for some time. Perhaps Gotham will end well rather than stumble through its end.

7/10

Next Episode: Nothing's Shocking

Gotham: 13 Stitches Review

GOTHAM: 13 STITCHES

As Gotham closes in on its end, I feel a lessening of interest. Perhaps it is due to turns I don't believe. Perhaps it is due to some of the performances. I would put it as a mixture of the two.

War makes for strange bedfellows in the metaphorical and literal sense as Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) finds himself allied with Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) along with Gordon't regular allies Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk), Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) and Bruce's valet Alfred (Sean Pertwee).

They must prove to the outside world that Eduardo Dorrence (Shane West) along with his mainland handler, Secretary Walker (Jaime Murray) were responsible for the Haven attack as a pretext for total extermination of Gotham. Eduardo, however, has a few tricks up his own sleeve, the ace being Lee Thompkins (Morena Baccarin), whom he's been holding in case Ed goes rouge.

Eduardo looks like he's done for after a brutal battle with Gordon, but Walker walks in afterwards, giving him a face mask to keep this bane of our existence alive. If Gordon knew this, he'd be concerned, but he has other issues to think on, like how Barbara is pregnant with his child.

In our subplot, Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) becomes unlikely allies with Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) to get revenge on the perky master thief known as Magpie (Sarah Schenkkan), who dared steal from Pengy. They also start planning to escape Gotham via the tunnel Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan) was working on, little knowing our "not-Joker" has plans of his own.

I wish I could like 13 Stitches, but I found a lot of it beyond plausible, even for Gotham. Of particular note was Eduardo. West to me is not convincing as our future Bane, having nothing to recommend him for 'villain' except his efforts to out-growl McKenzie. He's as intimidating as a wet rag.

As if that weren't enough, I found it laughable that after falling on a spike Eduardo still managed to survive long enough for Walker to walk in. That thing should have killed him instantly.

The whole fight between Gordon and Eduardo was awful, and not just because McKenzie, like many actors doing directing turns, seemed more interested in visual flares than anything else. It was also that there was simply too much monologing in 13 Stitches. It looked like Eduardo and Gordon wanted to talk each other to death.

Then again, Pengy wasn't averse to doing a lot of talking down to Magpie too.

There were some good things in 13 Stitches, particularly with Mazouz as action star, taking down villains on the roof while trying to complete his part of Gordon's plan. Bicondova and Taylor proved an interesting double-act, rattling of lines and even quips well. Selina's description of Magpie as someone who looks like "a goth chicken" was very funny. Smith and Richards had some amusing moments when Ed's chip is removed, particularly Smith's ability to rattle off nonsense dialogue with ease.

The interplay between Smith and Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock on the issue of the pallid beach mouse was clever, amusing and even tense, which also worked in the episode's favor.

What really pushes 13 Stitches down is the violence, an issue that has plagued Gotham and which I have called the show out on several times. The killing of Eduardo's crew along with Eduardo's not-so-ultimate end were far too graphic.

13 Stitches is kind of a boring episode despite the various calls for action. Excessively graphic but not without some merits, I was displeased by almost all of it.

3/10

Next Episode: Ace Chemicals

Gotham: Pena Dura Review

GOTHAM: PENA DURA

Pena Dura had it all: mad scientists, tough soldiers, plot twists and an upcoming villain. It also had some questionable performances, predictable plot twists and cringe-worthy moments.

After the attempted execution of Victor Zsasz we find Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) at odds. Gordon and his partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) are determined to find who really did do the Haven bombing, and they find unlikely help in a new commando force that entered Gotham. This force is led by Eduardo Dorrence (Shane West), a former trooper who was with Gordon in the Army.

Eduardo, all gravelly-voiced in an apparent effort to out gravel Gordon, is taking charge and taking names to find the bomber. It's only a matter of time before we all discover that the Haven attacker was Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith). Nygma, however, would not willingly kill innocents. He is convinced that he is being controlled and knows that his frenemy Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) knows something.

Nygma has a price on his head and works furiously to avoid getting caught. After a brief encounter with some country hicks, he makes his way to Pengy, who points him to Dr. Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong). Penguin is not above selling Nygma out, but Nygma escapes again only to be caught by Barbara Kean's (Erin Richards) minions.

She doesn't quite believe Nygma's being controlled, but has enough doubt to send him to Strange. We discover that Strange did indeed implant a chip to control Nygma under orders. Who gave those orders? Those in charge of Eduardo, who was sent in as part of some Reichstag Fire-type plan to retake Gotham. Gordon, always moral, will not kill Nygma and manages to escape Eduardo's hit-squad. Now Eduardo orders Nygma to find and exterminate Gordon.

In a minor plot, we find that Jeremiah Valeska (Dominic Monaghan) is very much alive and has created some beings, speaking cryptically of 'loving a family reunion'. Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) is worried about his own frenemy Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova), who is the toast of Gotham for having 'killed' Jeremiah.

Just about everything in Pena Dura is either predictable or unbelievable. There is the embarrassing hillbilly encounter that Edward endures, starting out with the hillbilly stereotypes. One wonders where exactly these hicks came from in such an urban jungle as Gotham. The nadir of this bit is when Nygma echoes Brer Rabbit's plea not to be thrown in the brier patch when he's being tortured. I could see where that was going a mile away.

I can also see where the 'family reunion' is going, and I think if Jeremiah really did create a version of George and Martha Wayne as some kind of psychological torture for Bruce then Gotham really has broken any sense of credibility. It cannot be that obvious.

I see that Gotham last time echoed Memento and now is echoing more tropes like the implanted chip. There's even a scene between Penguin and Bullock/Eduardo where you expect Pengy to shout, "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!"

I cannot muster shock at the thought that a voice is instigating a lot of the craziness. I cannot muster enthusiasm for a lot of the acting either.

Bless Wong, who has embraced the sheer camp of Dr. Strange. He is so delightfully droll as our mad scientist it makes Gotham into a comedy. I grant some leeway in that I figure this is how Strange is supposed to be.

I cannot say that for everyone else.

I have faint memories of Shane West only as "Agent (Tom) Sawyer" from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. What was meant as a breakout/heartthrob/action star role was a major part of the fiasco that was League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I know it is unfair to hold that horror against him, but for the life of me I cannot see Shane West as the future Bane.

Granted, it's too soon to dismiss him, but so far I'm not convinced, and if Eduardo Dorrence is meant to be Hispanic then we have issues here. I also found his efforts at a 'gravelly' and/or menacing voice were slightly amusing more than intense.

Even the normally reliable teaming of RLT and CMS failed to be good. Their scene fell flat with me and it was the first time I felt I was watching them act versus watching them be. Smith felt weak in this episode, as if things were growing too outlandish even for his Riddler.

I felt the same about Monaghan in his few moments, the campy "not-Joker" bit now pretty stale. Only in their brief scene did Mazouz and Bicondova leave a positive impression.

Pena Dura left me cold and uninterested, not so much wondering where things were going but how things are going to get better. As we close out this series, I do hope that it picks up a bit.

2/10

Next Episode: 13 Stitches

Gotham: Ruin Review

GOTHAM: RUIN

As we slide towards the end of Gotham, I feel that things are a bit slow. Ruin had a lot going for it: a nice bit of comedy, some good performances and yet something about it left me cold. I think it has to do with various plots spinning to where they seem interruptions more than a cohesive whole.

That and killing defenseless people.

The aftereffects of the Haven bombing continue to resonate. Even the generally evil Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), who never shrink from killing people in cold blood are appalled at the slaughter of noncombatants. Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is always appalled at all killings, but now Pengy and Bonkers Babs in their own way are going to help find the Haven bomber.

Pengy will bring his mass arsenal and Barbara will withhold from killing Pengy and bring what information she can. We even get another unlikely ally in Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), who is still struggling to piece together what is going on with him. He has a clue of sorts in his Memento-type writing but finds that to get that information he needs to enter the Gotham City Police Department. There, he finds Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk) has need of him to investigate.

"The second smartest man in Gotham needs my help," Ed says. One wonders who he thinks is the smartest. They do find that the bombing is not a real bombing but a rocket propelled grenade launched into Haven. Who has that firepower, and why would they target civilians?

A road seems to lead to Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan), who is still the comically quippy figure he's always been. He denies doing the bombing on the fact that if he had, he'd openly take credit for it. Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) take him in, but Penguin wants him for his own act of vengeance.

Using Zsasz as a scapegoat, he puts him through a kangaroo court where Pengy serves as judge and prosecutor, with the obvious result of Zsasz found guilty. Gordon won't stand for this funny business and saves Victor, but he lets him go even after challenging Zsasz to a shoot-out. Victor for once decides that discretion is the better part of valor and leaves.

Ed finds his mystery clue leads him to a secret witness who tells him it was Edward himself who launched the RPG. Ed promptly tosses the old wheelchair-bound lady out the window, but not after having flashbacks of Penguin telling him he'll fix him.

In our really minor subplot, Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), along with Alfred (Sean Pertwee) continue their search for Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova). Selina is determined to find Jeremiah Valeska (Cameron Monaghan), and she appears to stab him repeatedly. It takes all of Bruce and Alfred's strength to save her from both Jeremiah's minions and herself.

It might be that Ruin had such a major story (the uncovering of the Haven bomber) that the Bruce/Selina story felt almost jammed in. For whatever flaws with the Nygma storyline, at least that ties into the overall Ruin narrative. I cannot say that for the Bruce/Selina subplot. Even that I could overlook if I actually thought Jeremiah was dead, but I'm convinced that he'll somehow come back.

He's done it before, and the way it came across it seems so wildly anticlimactic. I cannot believe Jeremiah would have such a simple death.

This is especially true given how Ruin gave itself over to being a bit camp with our "not-Joker" (as far as I know no one has ever referred to Jeremiah by this sobriquet). As he and Ecco (Francesca Root-Dodson) have their danse macabre while the "not-Harley Quinn" gives her "puddin" information, one senses things are being played up to an almost comical level. I can concede however that Root-Dodson is doing a great job, her description of their enemies as "Bruce Wayne and his sidekick Curls" is clever, as is her quip wondering whether Bruce is "Curl's" sidekick or the other way around.

Carrigan too is a delight to have back as our almost childlike Victor Zsasz, almost totally unfazed by anything. After quipping if Gordon and Bullock would do a strip search to see if he's tallied his body with all the Haven people he's allegedly killed, he adds a most curious line after Detective Alvarez (J.W. Cortes) leaves.

"I'd let Alvarez do (the strip search). He's handsome". While yes, Alvarez is handsome, it makes one wonder why Pengy went after Edward Nygma when Victor Zsasz seemed at least open to the possibility of 'an understanding'.

Chalk and Smith worked well together as Lucius and Edward to where one almost wishes Gotham had them in their own spinoff, though I do wonder about Chalk's hairdo. Taylor's Pengy continues to be great, even if here he came across as more bonkers than evil. He still found a bit of comedy when ruining the GCPD's efforts at a stealth raid, but in his rages and megalomania Taylor makes Penguin into a mix of menacing and mirthful.

I've always been wary of the violence on Gotham, and the bit where Nygma tosses an old wheelchair-bound lady out the window just does not sit well with me. I also thought it was completely idiotic for her to tell Nygma anything. Didn't she think this mass killer wouldn't kill her too? Seriously, knock him out harder.

I also wasn't overwhelmed by Alfred's fortuitous rescue of Bruce, Bonkers Babs' fortuitous lack of killing Pengy (I could have bought the shock of the bombing disoriented her, not her odd sense of moral qualms stopping her) and her and Gordon's brief embrace. I know Jim has needs, but Barbara?

Finally, the Memento-type ripoff where Ed writes his clue on his hand was a bit much for me.

Ruin wasn't bad and had some good things in it. However, I found it on the whole less than the sum of its parts.

4/10

Next Episode: Pena Dura

Gotham: Penguin, Our Hero Review

GOTHAM: PENGUIN, OUR HERO

I've long argued that there are few things as amusing as seeing Gotham's Penguin go raging to his full fury. Penguin, Our Hero shows that our favorite villain has not lost his power to be fun when he's bonkers. We also get to see our favorite couple showcase themselves to their very best.

Our Pengy (Robin Lord Taylor) is now a full-blown megalomaniac tyrant. He wakes up every morning to his own choir dressed in Mao-type rags singing his special anthem Penguin, Our Hero. While his loyal aide Mr. Penn (Andrew Sellon) attempts to let Mr. Cobblepot know of the growing discontent within Penguin's dictatorship, the only thing Pengy cares about is himself and his bulldog Edward.

One imagines Pengy is drawing lessons from Hitler, who had a similar passion for dogs that did not extend towards people.

To his horror and anger, members of various biker gangs have joined forces to bring Penguin down, blaming him for various hits on their membership. Penguin, for once, is innocent, but he has no qualms about torturing the bikers who dared ruin his breakfast.

It isn't long until the discontent in Cobblepot's kingdom spreads to where Mr. Penn, the Gertrude Kapelput Memorial Choir and even Edward flee to Haven, the one safe area of Gotham run by Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Penguin gets the Lo Boyz, Undead and Street Demons to raid Haven and take back what's his. Pengy ends up getting played himself, and now finds he must join forces with Gordon to save himself.

In the subplot, Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) and Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) go to the 'Dark Zone' of Gotham to seek out the elusive Jeremiah Valeska. Bruce wants to capture him and bring him to trial, but Selina just wants to kill him. While Bruce uses stealth, Selina believes in the direct approach.

The direct approach is to participate in the Satanic Rites of Valeska, headed by his High Priestess Ecco (Francesca Root-Dodson), who dons garish makeup and uses the term "puddin'". These wicked rites involve supplicants playing Russian roulette with each other. Selina cannot bring herself to shoot someone in the head and manages to survive.

The fight between Selina and Ecco is interrupted by Bruce, who is determined to save Selina from her darker impulses. She, however, will not be denied and handcuffs Bruce as she pursues Ecco, and hopefully Jeremiah.

Penguin, Our Hero has a lot going on and its to its credit that it balances both plots quite well without feeling one is shortchanged.  The bulk of the episode is devoted to Pengy's story, and once again Robin Lord Taylor proves himself to be one of if not the best elements of a well-cast show like Gotham.

In his total narcissism, in his fury, even in his hints of genuine human feeling, RLT never hit a wrong note. He is comical when he descends the stairs to his own Hail to the Chief in his undergarments. He is frightening in his rage and fury and ease in killing. He is even emotional at certain points.

Taylor's shock and fury when learning that his court has fled betrays a touch of genuine hurt, especially after the heavily-accented maid tells him she heard Edward left of his own free will. As he cradles a dying Mr. Penn, he shows almost a sincere heartbreak, more so when he hears Mr. Penn's last words, an apologetic "Everyone hated you". It's as if, like all tyrants, they mistake fear for affection.

We also see just how well Mazouz and Bicondova are, more so when they work together. Mazouz's performance of the moral Bruce has a great counterpoint to Bicondova's performance of the less moral Selina. We see that she is not evil but she is also not letting things get in her way, even if what gets in her way is someone she has affection for.

I found that after one of their two fight sequences with Dark Zone thugs, Mazouz's black costume could clearly make him Batman with just the cowl missing. He keeps Bruce as someone who uses stillness, stealth and methodical intellect to achieve his goals. His only emotional weak spot is Selina, whom he cares about. Bicondova makes Selina's genuine morality mixed with her rage a fascinating experience to watch.

In short, we can completely see Mazouz as Batman and Bicondova as Catwoman.

If there were elements in Penguin, Our Hero that might not work well was the unnecessary addition of Bonkers Babs into the mix as she played almost no role and worse was sidelined by the Haven bombing at the end. We also saw yet another person blown up, though to be fair it was not as visible as other times.

The fact that Gotham has had more than one person blown up is highly troubling.

On the whole though Penguin, Our Hero is a strong episode with a triumvirate of excellent performances by Taylor, Mazouz and Bicondova. As we get closer to the finale of this final season, these three performers in particular are setting a high bar for those following in these roles.

Oh Penguin, Our Hero/He Knows No Fear-O/He Brings us Joy and Cheer-O/Oh Penguin, Our King...

7/10

Next Episode: Ruin

Gotham: Trespassers Review

GOTHAM: TRESPASSERS

It's a case of 'which witch is which' on Gotham this week with Trespassers, an episode that probably I would mark down as a bit lackluster if not for some of the performances.

The main story involves Captain Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) rescuing child slaves in the Temple of Doom-like area controlled by the gang called The Soothsayers, as intimidating a gang name as can be found.

As a side note, The Soothsayers sounds like an awesome band name.

To pull off his Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome routine, he needs the vehicles held by his former fiancee, Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), still bitter about losing her BFF Tabitha and angry at Jim for letting Tabitha's killer Penguin escape. She somewhat reluctantly agrees to let him have the vehicles, but she'll need something in exchange: taking Pengy down. Whether he agrees or not is a bit unclear to me.

Gordon and his Man Friday Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) do find the kids, but wouldn't you know it, the Soothsayers and their leader, Sykes (Alex Morf) won't let them go easily. Moreover, a couple of kids are stranded, and Gordon, Bullock and Gabriel (Will Meyers), about the only teen slave, must essentially fight their way to the safety of their "Green Zone". That entails a side trip to a spooky house occupied by a Miss Havisham-type and her creepy child ward.

Wrong Wil Myers

Eventually, with low ammunition, Sykes has a Mexican standoff with another gang for Gordon, who has a bounty on him from Pengy. Bonkers Babs shows up to save them all but still needing her help repaid.

We then get two subplots. The larger of the subplots involves Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) searching out 'The Witch' who could help his friend Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova). That witch turns out to be Ivy (Peyton List), Selina's frenemy who still harbors bitterness against her. Her power over plants has killed many men in this chaotic city, and she begs Bruce for help.

Naturally, she is still duplicitous towards her captors, but in exchange for being left alone in her wicked garden she gives Bruce a seed that she says will cure Selina. He gives it to Selina, who after a fearful start does appear to recover, only unbeknownst to him this has affected her in some way, giving her cat-like eyes.

The second and much smaller plot revolves around Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) and his continuing struggle to stop sleepwalking. He thinks he's starting to recover when he happens to find a Tank in the Tub, a biker named Tank (David Kallaway) whom Edward kidnapped. Ed has no idea how that all went down, but things don't improve when Ed and Tank discover the rest of the biker gang has been killed, perhaps at Penguin's orders.

Somehow, Trespassers seemed to be a pastiche of other stories, with the main story a bit dull. I think it is because by now, I've grown immune to caring about the 'little children in need of rescuing' trope, made worse by the fact that even before the big shootout I knew there'd be one or two children 'accidentally' left behind.

Granted, I was not expecting the 'haunted house' aspect, but this Escape From Gotham City act I figured had to have some kind of complication pop up. It could not be a simple smash-and-grab for the children, could it.

I also wonder if it had to be children. Would Gordon be willing to not rescue slaves if they were adults? My thinking is he wouldn't, but I cannot shake the idea that children were used to try and create more sympathy for their plight, even if I would think the Soothsayers would find children to make poor slaves no matter how often they watched the Indiana Jones film.

It also does not help that the wheels keep spinning for Ed to do something but not actually moving far if any. I can see that this is building for something, but exactly for what I don't know.  The last-minute rescue by Bonkers Babs seems to be far too convenient even for Gotham.

In short, there was a lot I was not buying.

What I did like in Trespassers were some of the performances, in particular Mazouz as Bruce Wayne. He has a steadiness to his characterization, where he can mask fear one moment and show caring vulnerability another. It depends on whom he is acting with. List's Ivy is very camp, though I figure that's how Poison Ivy is meant to be so I'm not going negative on her. With List, Mazouz is able to show strength with a touch of fear for his life. Bicondova and Mazouz have always worked well together in this danse macabre between the future Batman and Catwoman, and Mazouz displays his youthful concern.

It's nice to see Logue bring back some of Bullock's old sarcasm and dry wit, as when he remarks how he has to go explore the basement in the obviously creepy house by himself. Even his horror at seeing an Ed Gein-type basement with the added crematorium has a mix of fear and mirth, an obviously frightened Bullock still having some bit of humor.

It's too soon to know if Meyers will return as Gabriel, but I wouldn't mind seeing this teen slave return, and I do hope Benjamin Snyder as the creepy orphan pops back up too.

On the whole, Trespassers was not terrible only because it had strong performances from Mazouz, Bicondova and Logue. However, I found most of it to be a bit slow, predictable and a bit off.  Then again, it is another rebuilding episode, so perhaps I shouldn't be too harsh with it.

4/10

Next Episode: Penguin, Our Hero