If the subtitle of ‘Mad City’ isn’t highly indicative of Gotham's behavior lately (or always), this episode should have cemented that by now. Overall, this was a great episode but I did have some quibbles with it.
The introduction of the Court of Owls was very intriguing, the actress playing the head (I assume head) of this mysterious organization was perfect. She carried herself very well and was equally matched by David Mazouz’s charisma on screen. His tenacity and her ruthlessness were a perfect showcase for David's natural talent, who is continuously growing coming into his own, in my opinion, as a very great incarnation of a young Bruce Wayne.
Going into this episode I thought it was a bit obvious Fish wouldn’t hit the bucket so soon, especially since the producers had
plans for her during these first few episodes of the season (announced during the summers TCA's) and if Jada Pinkett Smith, was available, would return later this season. I found Fish's scene with Penguin to be quite well written, regardless of anyone's perceptions of Fish, she has had a hand in turning Oswald into the Penguin, of which Robin Lord Taylor exceptionally portrays. Oswald's innocence and helplessness in that moment were very poignant as he just stepped aside, letting Fish go. This might be a result of him being unable to come to terms with his parents deaths and even, a respect for Fish but even the Devil has his maker. Hopefully, with Fish gone, we shall get some meatier storylines for our villains (especially for Nygma, whom I've been missing) as this episode felt mostly like a filler.
This theme of parents and madness is equally mirrored in Strange and his care for his creation in Fish, though his hands are tied, unable to help her. I do think, this absence of both characters may see a cure coming into play when they inevitably resurface. I also hope it can speed up Jerome's return, I have very much missed him. It’s disappointing to lose Hugo Strange, who has been utterly excellent on this show, in which he was portrayed by BD Wong (who is even more fantastic on Mr. Robot).
Maggie Geha stepped into her new shoes as the now beautifully aged, Ivy Pepper. As of her first encounter, she played the childlike sensibilities of Ivy very well. However, the man who offered her help, I had some issues with him. I thought at first he might’ve been “pursuing” her, that was not the case. This error on my part was probably me trying to see the best in the citizens of Gotham. I should expect most to be void any good character, look at Penguin’s followers for example but it doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Yet, if you count not watering your plants as a bad thing, then I stand corrected. Maggie was great in the scenes she was featured in, she played coming into herself as a girl who's trapped in a woman's body well, it's just going to take some adjusting to get used to. As we all know, Ivy being older now is beneficial to her, who was usually left out of the 'fun' by Selina and others as a result of her age. I didn’t expect them to have Ivy kill that guy off, but it seems we just got our first taste of poison from Ivy.
So now, onto some missteps,
Firstly, it’s a bit unfortunate to see some of Fish’s monsters go, I understand that they did some terrible things but I did feel sorry to see them just get kicked down by the GCPD in such a manner. One could say they followed Fish blindly or somewhat blindly, others could say, it was Jim's selfishness to save Harvey that set such events in motion or others could say I just feel too much. It would've been interesting to see more of the monsters develop, but it seems like the GCPD and Penguin's mob are on a killing spree, further aiding the subtitle of
Mad City.
Secondly and lastly, I’m not so happy with the need to hit fast forward on the relationship between Valerie and Jim. Jamie Chung has been nothing but wonderful in this role, but I wasn’t a fan of the coupling of the two in the final moments, which conveniently faded to show Lee returning to town. This seems like phase one into possible love triangle drama, I hope this is not the case. I'm excited to see Lee again, Morena Baccarin is perfect in this role, and I did miss her last season.
"Please, don't hurt me"
The best episode ending tease for me would have to be Bruce's doppelgänger showing up at Wayne Mansion. I never quite expected this but it makes for an intriguing storyline going forth. Will pseudo-Bruce befriend our Bruce, in turn, mimicking and adapting his persona for his own benefit, or will he actually become a friend, time will only tell?
Thanks for taking the time to read my review as I step in for popcultureguy this week. I hope did justice for him in his absence. Please leave your comments for me below, I'd love to know your thoughts. Tune in next week for
Look Into My Eyes, which marks the debut episode for Benedict Samuel’s Mad Hatter, which I'm sure will be quite fun (especially since he was frighteningly perfect on The Walking Dead), and further proof we shall fall further down the rabbit hole.
About the Author - Nirat Anop
Nirat watches a lot of TV Shows, as many of you here, some of his favorites are Game of Thrones, Orphan Black, Once Upon a Time, 12 Monkeys, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Flash, Gotham, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and so much more. He's a University Student. He will be reviewing Legion, Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Marvel's The Defenders and previewing Shameless. Feel free to message him on Twitter, Tumblr or Google+
