“Come on. This doesn’t freak you out a little bit?”
Gotham’s fall finale in November brought to a head Galavan’s master plan involving the Order of St. Dumas and Bruce Wayne. I wrote in that review that while Galavan as a character bordered on the melodramatic, his plan had potential to weave in and out of an entire season in a Keyser Soze-like manner. Galavan was a character who could exploit Gotham’s corrupt political, bureaucratic and criminal systems simultaneously in a storyline that elevated the show from a case-of-the week procedural with villains that had no staying power nor were really interesting. However, he was thwarted almost too easily and the blood feud seemed to be frivolous, as we know Bruce Wayne isn’t going to die even if the characters in the show don’t.
That isn’t so far fetched, as every show has a protagonist who manages to stay alive, but the difference here is how Gotham plays with Bruce’s safety as a narrative device, and here is where it is unsuccessful. The main storyline in “Unleashed” brings us back to the same storyline as in the fall finale “Worse than a Crime”. A resurrected Galavan, brainwashed as Azrael, undertakes a mission by Strange to kill Gordon. When he bumps into Tabitha, she jogs his memory about his original target – Bruce Wayne.
So the producers of Gotham resurrect Galavan and the Galavan/Wayne blood feud, but to what effect? Azrael showed promise, and like most characters that do (including an alarming number of women who get tossed aside in this series) they are discarded as fast as you can say Holy Bat-Trash Compactor. Our introduction to Azrael last week showed promise as a formidable, unstoppable force but in this episode he is easily killed at the hands of Penguin, Butch and a rocket launcher. I’ve mentioned before Gotham sometimes takes itself too seriously, but the show becomes more interesting when the campy fun is unleashed and the actors are allowed to stretch outside the box. Why resurrect Galavan only to go after Bruce again? We know Bruce is never really in danger at any time, in this season, the previous one, or in future seasons; we know he will live, grow up and become Batman. So what is the point of a storyline with Bruce that continues to fall flat? Is it merely to keep him involved in the series, for there can’t be a Gotham without Bruce Wayne and the shadow of the Bat that looms over it? Or to slow play a psychological and eventual physical development towards Batman? Either way, going back to the well with Galavan and Bruce makes this episode feel the same in structure and tone to the fall finale “Worse than a Crime”. The only redeeming quality of Bruce getting into trouble every week like the scallywag he is, is Alfred’s unwavering super protectiveness. That, and we get to see him fight again.
Now that Galavan comes back as Azrael and Tabitha jogs his memory, he never manages to confront Gordon about his killing. Gordon’s moral decline was a large portion of the season’s storyline; how the job and the city affected him to his imprisonment, break out and clearing of his name has firmly established Gordon as an anti-hero, as the show is not known for its subtlety. But Gordon has never really dealt with the consequences of his actions, and yet again Galavan’s resurrection slides by without a real confrontation with Gordon.
Although for the most part I’ve liked season two, there are some real head scratching moments about how the show overall sets up themes and storylines but doesn’t engage with them, particularly with this episode. That is not to say the episode is without any merit. On the contrary, it’s the side stories and light-hearted aspects that really shine through compared to the Bruce Wayne storyline and establishing Gordon as an anti-hero. Penguin finally snaps out of his meek wallowing and Robin Lord Taylor gets to cut loose with wonderful campy fun. The scene of Nygma and Selina bumping into each other in Arkham’s ventilation shafts is particularly fun, with a nakedly afraid Nygma explaining to Selina what he saw, “Alive people. Dead people. Alive-dead people. It’s horrible.” Bullock gets a lot more screen time and proves why he’s one of the best characters on the show with lines like, “Why is Victor Fries alive and kicking’ and dressed like a spaceman?” He should, he needs to be GCPD Captain, if not for himself, then for us. And there’s the rub; all of the campy qualities threaten to be wasted because the show takes itself way too seriously.
This brings us to the larger concerns with Gotham that have been addressed in previous reviews, which is that the show is inconsistent in tone, story and narrative. It swings from dark and pseudo gritty thriller to a more campy show with dark humour, and it is with the successful execution of campy dark humour that the show is entertaining and engaging. What we are served, unfortunately, is a repackaged rerun of the fall finale.
It’s only the proper return of Penguin and the light hearted aspects of this episode that save it from becoming another ho-hum rating. Penguin shines, as well as Nygma, who has become one of my favourite characters. And Harvey. Please let there be more Harvey.
Tune in next time – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
