Gotham - The Fearsome Dr. Crane - Advance Preview

Gotham hit a series low last week in the ratings for what was a rather subpar episode. We finally got the return of Bruce Wayne only to watch him get his heart crushed when Serena told him she was lying about witnessing his parent's murder. Gordon went after a very well connected cop by becoming a bit more like the cops he's trying to stop and Fish left Gotham after Butch surrendered himself while the duo were fleeing from Victor Zsasz. So what comes next? It seems like Gotham is just too afraid to take any steps forward when it comes to advancing plot. My big question is, is it supposed to? Jim Gordon can't win, or else there is no need for Batman, but at the very least can we see the mob storylines develop? Can we see something happen that at least is along the lines of game changing or character defining and not back away from it? This week at least delivers on one of these fronts.

File Name: The Fearsome Dr. Crane
Case File: Season One, Episode 14
Study Originated by: Bruno Heller
Conducted By: John Behring

The Case: This week we get to meet the Dr. Crane. No, not the Dr. Crane, but his father at least. This week we open with a man being murdered from a rooftop and later discovered after being wheeled back up and cut into. Our detectives come to find out a little later that our victim is actually in an anonymous phobia support group. His sponsor proves alluring to Bullock and he decides getting close to her is the best way to catch their killer. The case was really background noise this week, so not too much happens in terms of shock value. I mean this is the Scarecrow's father! Where are the grand phobia deaths??? Aside from fear of heights, pigs and drowning there is not much to look forward to. The case does lead Jim back to Leslie, who by the end of the episode may find herself in a lot closer proximity to Jim then she previous was. Jims meets her at what she thought was a date, but he's brought the case files for her to look over. She's taken aback but agrees to look them over. I expected it to end there, but Leslie speaks her mind about what she thought and Jim admits that it kind of was a date. Before they can get any more awkward Jim is called away leaving Leslie alone with the case file. Like I said, the case didn't have much movement to it, so they only identify the killer by getting on a lucky break, where we see Harvey actually get a bit vulnerable. After deducing who the killer is, they quickly race to find him, only for him to slip away without being caught. Leslie comes to Jim after they rescue the last victim and lets him know she reviewed the file and the corpses and it looks like the killer had been removing the fear gland from the victims, that's what he was after. And that was it. It was a pretty dull case and it seemed that most of the time this week was devoted to the things happening to and around our characters.

Supporting Research:This week is a good one for two of our future would be Bat-Villains. Penguin finds himself in the most crushing of situations. Fish is still alive, not dead as Penguin presumed and she has leaked some very vital information to Maroni. Maroni realizes she has some valid points decides it's time to have a heart to heart with the Penguin and get to the bottom of things. Turns out neither party is underestimating the other so the tension is quite entertaining. Though at this point, I think Penguin should take up some sort of feline-esque name with how many lives he appears to have. Just when you think it's looks grim, he manages to make his way out of it.

On the flip side, Nygma has gotten himself in a bit of trouble. A few weeks ago we saw Nygma get chased out of the Medical Examiner's lab by a very angry ME. Turns out this isn't the first time and despite the Captain's warning otherwise he just can't help himself from doing it again. This prompts Ed to temporarily lose his job and in his warped mind, Kristin Kringle. Ed then does what a desperate man would do and hatches a plan to get his job back so he can spend more time with Kristen. This week provides us with a bit more insight into just how desperate Nygma is to be right and just how close to a psychotic break this guy could be. We also get to see that there may truly be something there for him and Miss Kringle.

After making contact with Maroni about Penguin, Fish finds herself hiding out on a boat. The final few moments of the episode revolve around her and deliver one of the most WTF (not in a good way) scenes I've seen on the show thus far. I'm not picking jaw up from the floor anticipating next week, I'm scratching my head out of confusion and waiting for a good explanation.

You know who is having quite the week this week? Jim Gordon. He and Bullock are department pariahs for getting Detective Flass arrested, and he can't find his ex-girlfriend. He goes to drop off his keys and finds a squatter there. A squatter who happens to be a key witness in one of the biggest murders in Gotham, who also tells him they aren't really a witness and was just using their supposed testimony to escape jail. (Um, what?) He tries to do the honorable thing and ensure Bruce that he will still find his parent's killer despite their setback at Selina's hands, only he doesn't quite get the reception he expected. He later butches his attempt to start dating again. At least he catches this week's killer...oh, wait. Fortunately, it looks likes he's got a little something on his plate to help take his mind off of things.

Conclusive Findings: What a pile of "MEH". I just think if you are going to go with a pseudo Scarecrow, then you should just go for it. Maybe since he got away there is something bigger coming, but I know I was really excited to see where this was headed and I was really let down. The case, like last week, felt really slow and boring. I know I think the show could be a little less procedural, but if it's going to do it, it should at least be entertaining. I say, don't walk into this hour expecting a creepy and sadistic killer. Dr Crane is more like a timid, obsessive scientist. Overall, this week the show seems to be looking to advance some of it's more serialized aspects such as Maroni discovering the truth about Penguin, the Leslie and Jim romance, and the fallout of Selina's confession to Bruce. Maybe now that some of these quieter plots are being addressed, we can hopefully move forward with something a bit more exciting. Fish being on the outs making her way back in feels like a retread of the Penguin plot from earlier this season, as does Penguin being called for being a snitch, again. Hopefully, while the story appears to be a bit of the same, the journeys end up being different. Though, on a positive note, I did like the banter and chemistry between Leslie and Jim this week, and the hour as a whole was fulfilling. Things happened, they were just a bit more quiet which, in Gotham's case, seems to be more of the same.

Are you excited to see the Scarecrow's father? Do you think it'll grow old watching Penguin consistently weasel his way out of tough spots? Do you think Selina is telling the truth? Sound off below!

The Fearsome Dr. Crane airs Monday 2/5 on Fox.

About the Author - Winston Mize

Winston is a 24 year old goofball, born in the north, and currently living in the south. He loves TV.... for some it's coffee, for him it's TV talk that gets his day going. He wants to be a screenwriter, and watches some of everything. You name it, he's probably checked it out. And he would like you to know that it is okay for a 24 year old to play with action figures... well, he does anyway

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