Television fans tuning into “Gotham” this week will quickly realize that “Red Queen” is their stab at the classic dream/hallucination episode. The show’s take on these tropes isn’t that interesting, but there’s fun to be had on the margins.
The titular maroon matriarch could refer to Alice Tetch and her blood, given that her brother Jervis has cooked up a new plan to use it to punish Gotham for her death. But it’s also the name of a powerful hallucinogenic he gets his hands on and doses Gordon with to get him out of the way. Gordon was already having a crappy afternoon, given the fallout from last week’s events with Leslie and Valerie, plus Bullock finally getting fed up with his “solo bullcrap kamikaze mission” attitude.
But that’s peanuts compared to the psychedelic trip the drug takes Gordon on. He finds himself forced to face his inner demons, in some familiar-for-TV ways as these scenes are full of distorted dialogue, dreamlike imagery, people from his life popping in and out, etc. There’s a clever touch or two (keep an eye out for Martha Wayne’s pearls), and Erin Richards is having a ball playing Barbara-as-Gordon’s tour guide (she even gets to swig a martini in his subconscious!), but other shows have done this type of thing before, and better. I do think the experience leaves Gordon in an interesting place at the end of the episode, though.
Meanwhile, in a love story as old as time, Edward Nygma has fallen head over heels for the doppelganger of the woman he murdered while unaware that his best friend has, in turn, fallen for him. Seething with jealousy, Penguin makes a move to splinter the budding relationship before it gets off the runway. I’m intrigued by this triangle, not just because Oswald having feelings for Edward is such an unexpected and fresh story turn, but also because I assume there’s more to Isabella looking like Ms. Kringle than meets the eye.
In other subplot news, Bruce and Selina encounter some awkwardness as they negotiate their first date, someone finds out about Captain Barnes’ infection, and there’s a big reveal related to the Court of Owls.
The “Red Queen” begins its reign this Monday on FOX. Until then, please share your thoughts on this preview in the comments section.
