This coming Monday on “Gotham,” a figure in a cape and mask is stalking the city’s streets, having sworn to honor his father by making an evildoer pay for his crimes. But it’s not a time jump to an adult Bruce Wayne donning his familiar cowl. Instead, it’s “Azrael,” a supporting character from the Batman mythos whom the show puts an interesting spin on.
So Theo Galavan is indeed back from the dead and, unsurprisingly, he’s having some trouble adjusting, his mind and his memories shattered by the resurrection process. This proves somewhat problematic for Dr. Strange, as there’s little practical value to his experiment if the subjects are crazy and uncontrollable. But a brainstorm about the power of story in shaping a persona allows Strange to take command of Galavan and point him at their common enemy – Gordon.
It’s a clever twist on the character’s canon, and one that will surely influence the “Gotham” origins of other rogues (in fact, a familiar Bat-family villain is referenced a time or two in this storyline). Also, I’ve been extoling for weeks how great I think B.D. Wong is as Strange – and Tonya Pinkins as Ms. Peabody – and it’s especially true in this episode. During a scene Strange shares with Gordon, I literally clapped my hands with glee.
Speaking of Gordon, he continues to act like a self-righteous prick this week, shocked that Captain Barnes isn’t just gonna take his word for it regarding Strange’s illegal activities and incredulous when he’s accused of a crime he totally committed. But there might be hope for our “hero” as intriguing conversations he has with both Barnes and Bruce seem to hint that he’s going to course-correct a bit.
Checking in on some of the other characters, Edward Nygma is making himself at home at Arkham Asylum and finds himself presented with a new puzzle. Barbara is driving poor Butch crazy. And the Penguin has an enemy in his sights.
“Azrael” draws his sword this Monday on FOX. Until then, slice through the comments section with your thoughts and speculations.
