“Monsters are coming”
Those words, uttered by Theo Galavan, see this episode pick up where last week’s left off, both in terms of plot and theme.
Galavan’s plan, though R’as al Ghul-esque, is to cleanse the city in fire and blood, take from Gotham’s citizens what they hold dear then offer them hope. His Arkham Six, now dubbed the Maniax, are his instruments of destruction.
The Maniax, minus Barbara, spend their day throwing hostages off the room of the Gotham Gazette. This sets the scene for a power struggle as to who will become the leader – Jerome or Greenwood.
To his credit, Cameron Monaghan was the standout of the episode. His performance, while channelling Heath Ledger, is chilling and fun to watch. His finest moment was the Russian roulette scene with Greenwood, a masterstroke of understated escalation of Jerome’s insanity. Galavan’s expressions as he leans back to avoid the blood splatter that is sure to come are brilliant, as well as the look on Greenwood’s face when he realizes the extent of Jerome’s insanity.
But wait, there’s more. The assault on Gotham’s police headquarters, slaughter of every cop in the building, including Essner, takes things to a whole new level of monstrosity. The monsters are indeed coming. The Maniax then take bus full of cheerleaders captive with the intent of burning them alive, thanks to a stolen fuel truck. But this caper feels a little too close to the Dark Knight, even down to the score; it’s as if the writers need to rely on nods to the films to help their pitch.
With the “dark days are coming line” from last week and Galavan’s “monsters” in this episode, there is a threat of things being weighed down by heaviness and darkness. That threat is nullified by Jerome’s maniacal lightness, which fits with Galavan’s operatic references and grooming of the team to be more theatrical for television exposure. The Overture was the Gazette incident; now the curtain rises and the first act begins. This was Jerome’s episode, and hopefully there are more to come.
Gordon, meanwhile, has his hands full with the Maniax, so much he asks Harvey to return to the GCPD, which at first he refuses. But Gordon is very much reactive in this episode rather than initiating the action, a bit of a letdown considering the actions he chose in the previous episode. And was Barbara’s luring him out of the station before the assault to protect him or break him? Galavan certainly has plans for him, though Aaron fed him some serious lumps in the alley.
Barbara didn’t have much to do in the first half of the episode, lamenting “why do the boys have all the fun?” Here we get another glimpse of what might be, as the writers are selling hard on the Jerome as Joker and Barbara as Harley Quinn eventuality. As mentioned last week, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but would be if this turns out to be a super tease bait and switch job. Barbara is menacing in her own right and would make an excellent future Harley, note the red gloves she wears in the scene.
Bruce and Alfred’s mini soap opera felt rather petulant. That said, Bruce is a bit petulant in his firing then re-hiring Alfred, but not without conditions; Alfred would begin to train Bruce on how to handle himself, and Bruce would follow Alfred’s instructions without fail. This is another step forward in the development of Bruce becoming Batman, who represents a varying degree of the monsters that are coming.
Nygma gathers his courage but fails to ask Kristen on a date and deals with his alter ego in a short, seemingly private outburst. Nygma’s transformation into the Riddler is a slow play and certainly less showy than Jerome’s evolution into the Joker. But it has the potential to make Nygma a cool, menacing cat that contrasts Jerome’s theatrics.
What’s missing here is Penguin. How does he feel about Galavan moving in on his newly-acquired turf? That question will likely be answered next week, but while it’s understandable to put Galavan and the Maniax front and center for this episode, there was a sense of unevenness that could have been smoothed out with some changes, like the inclusion of Penguin and exclusion of the philosophical chat between Gordon and Essner, even though it was her swan song.
