Gotham Got Your Goat?

You know, sometimes Gotham can be a real enigma.

I'm not sure where Gotham is taking us and I don't quite understand how they are going to reconcile their mythology with the preexisting Batman history.  But there is one thing I am sure of, we are all in for a wild ride.

All joking aside, this was a fun episode.  Let's start with the best part.

Once again the Penguin steals the show!

When we get to the "bathtub" scene I have to admit I was left with my jaw to the floor.  I thought, "Ohhh noo, where are they going with this?"  (Maybe they should move this show to the 9:00 hour after the winter break.)  I have to admit it was also pretty hilarious. 

Mama Cobblepot and her son have a unique relationship don't they?  I once remarked that the good guys all have Daddy issues while the bad guys seem to have issues with Mommy.

Yikes, like this!

It still makes me laugh as I type this.  Kudos to Gotham for being willing to go there and playing it for comedic effect.  It worked.  I'm not going to say I'm dying to see more, that's a bit too creepy, but I think we can all agree the Penguin is the best thing about this show so far.

His grand entrance at the GCPD was a thing to behold also.  I half expected him to giggle with delight rotten teeth and all.  He knew he had set a figurative bomb off and was watching as the whole scene unfolded.

Poor Harvey.  This was also a pretty good Bullock episode too.  We find out out he once had a heart of gold and was just as much of a boyscout as Jim Gordon.  Somewhere deep down beneath that gruff and cynical exterior beats the heart of a detective.  All to be upstaged by the Penguin.

Was this the best episode of the season so far?


Odds and Ends

I think I figured out why we see the clock in Jim and Barbara's apartment so much.  We're going to see the ugly aftermath.  Penguin did say there is a war coming and it's going to land right at the doorstep of the their apartment.

I have no doubt an attempt will be made on their lives and the probable ensuing explosion will devastate the apartment leaving it uninhabitable.  All that will be left behind will be the shattered remains of the clock.

Many, many years from now the apartment will return to life when Batgirl and the Birds of Prey will make it their headquarters.  We are just seeing the "before" picture.

I've been super curious if we will see the iconic Bat sequence that inspires young Bruce to become the Batman.  In Batman lore, Bruce sits alone half asleep in the study when a bat enters through the open window.

When the curtains parted I think I gasped a little hoping this would be the moment.

Nope it's just Selina.

I think she wants to connect with Bruce but she just can't find the courage just yet.  So why not steal something while your there!  I have a feeling Bruce will see that silver box again.

Before I forget here is the Queen Consolidated Easter Egg that popped up during the episode.  I think it happened during the second tracking shot of the city.  It might have been the third.  They always sneak in a little something in those city scenes.  The "Q" for Queen Consolidated was briefly visible.  Not knowing when this show takes place in relation to the current "Arrow" and "Flash" shows, this could be a moment in time when Ollie's father is still alive and the head of the family industry.

Sigh, more Daddy issues to come.

So, I'll ask again, was this the best episode of the season?

Gotham - The Failure of Jim Gordon

Here is something I've been thinking about since FOX has afforded us a look at the early Gotham City days and the time before Batman.

Doesn't Jim Gordon's dream of a better Gotham City end up in failure?

We all know how the story plays out.  Gordon becomes Commissioner and his young protege, Bruce Wayne, becomes Batman.

As this series started we see Gordon consoling the young Wayne and he tells him there will be light.  He tells Bruce he will find the man who killed his parents.  Gordon also goes on to tell anyone that will listen, notably Harvey Bullock, Barbara Kean, Fish Mooney etc, that he is going to make it his personal mission to clean up the Gotham PD and by extension Gotham itself.

I guess not. 

If Gordon does find the man who kills the Waynes why would there be any need for Batman?  His prime motivation would be gone. 

Gordon's failure will be of such a magnitude that the vacuum it creates will actually allow Batman to come into being.

Here is a damning quote for the man himself from the last episode, "Balloonman."

"Yesterday, the first victim, Ronald Danzer, was a con man. Nobody cared. Now that a cop’s been targeted, the investigation will get all the support it needs. It’s not right. Everybody has to matter, or nobody matters. Otherwise people lose faith, and that’s how you get vigilantes."

Is their a greater vigilante than Batman?

You've failed Jim Gordon.  Your vision of the future is dust.  And by virtue of your failure doesn't the very presence of Batman lead to greater more dangerous villains that Gotham itself has no hope in fighting?  A city that at one time only had to worry about organized mobsters will one day be overrun with some of the greatest evil ever known.

Now before everyone starts beating a path to my door with pitchforks and torches let me add a little qualifier.

Yes, you could argue that the goodness in Jim Gordon will forge the superhero that will become Batman.  Batman will come to believe in justice and he will turn over the bad guys to the police instead of sentencing them to death like the Balloonman did.

Timing is everything also.  Depending on which storyline you follow, Batman either enters the scene before Gordon becomes Commissioner or soon after.  If it's the former, then a partnership is formed that allows Batman to function outside the law and thrive.  Batman's success will lead to Gordon's promotion.  Sort of an ill gotten gain actually.

If its the latter, then Gordon's vision of the future was lost somewhere along the way and Cobblepott, Nygma, Poison Ivy and the Joker himself will be allowed to succeed and flourish.

What went wrong?

Not everything is Jim Gordon's fault.  He is only one man.  We all know Gotham's future is dim but how will the people behind this series spin this tale?

They can't make Gordon look like a failure.  

It will be interesting to watch.

Gotham - Spoiler Alert!

 

 Spoiler Alert!

There seems to be no end to the Batgirl references in TV's Gotham.  But Stephanie Brown's Spoiler?

Who is "Spoiler" you ask?

Let's first take a look at the inspiration for this post.  Seen above is actress. Erin Richards as Barbara Kean.  There has been some allusions if not clever little Easter eggs tying Barbara to the Batgirl character.  One of note was the clock tower window she has in her apartment with Jim Gordon.  The clock tower of Gotham was the secret lair of the "Birds of Prey" where one version of Barbara Gordon had set up their place of business.

So what is the Batgirl reference this time?  Stephanie Brown at one time in the DC universe was Batgirl.  Before that she was the superhero, Spoiler.  The thing that connected the two heroes to me was the hood to Barbara Kean's robe as she descended the stairs to greet Montoya. 

Barbara - Batgirl - Stephanie Brown - Spoiler - Batgirl.

Hey, I didn't say it was on the nose, just another little clever nod by the people at Gotham.

What do you think Gotham fans?