“I tend to give apocalyptic warnings of mass destruction the benefit of the doubt.”
Harvey is the wisest person in Gotham City. Just when I thought I was out from slagging Gotham for tedious storylines that are meant to be compelling, the show, in the words of Michael Corleone, “pull me right back in.” I suppose it was too much of a good thing to have mid season break and second half episodes so awesome that it would continue, and this week we have a rather predictable episode that lacks the oomph of the previous two. I supposed it was bound to happen, as it’s practically impossible to be stylin’ and profilin’ every night; that rarefied air belongs only to 16 time world champion Ric Flair – WOOOOO! And I think the show could have used some of the Nature Boy this week.
The most successful part of the episode was the Penguin/Ivy storyline. Picking up where we left off from last episode’s tag, Ivy continues to nurse Penguin back to health. Penguin tolerates it for as long as he can, which isn’t very long at all, before he loses patience with the “crazy plant lady”. He wants to get on building an army to exact revenge on Riddler and Babs, and good ‘ol Gabe gets the call to Ivy’s place. Turns out he and the boys are going to auction Penguin off to the highest bidder so he or she can kill him.
Also turns out Ivy is rather intuitive and clever; she knew straight away Gabe wasn’t on the up and up. She uses her truth perfume on Gabe, who confesses he and all of the old crew never were loyal to Penguin; they followed out of fear rather than respect as he was a “freak” with an umbrella. While most villains would prefer to be feared than respected, Penguin is a delicate flower; turns out so is Ivy, who only wants Penguin to be nice to her, and after a stumbling over of what “sticks and stones” really means, Ivy suggests that Penguin build his army from the “freaks” who escaped Indian Hills.
But Ivy has stumbled on to something else; that she and Penguin are particularly sensitive to hurtful words. Kindness and respect does mean something, especially when it comes from an unlikely source in former crime kingpin Penguin. Ivy is easier to understand; she is, cognitively speaking, still a teenager in an adult body and her need for acceptance is clear without being cliché. Both she and Penguin aren’t the lone wolf types; clearly they operate better with a good friend beside them. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to see Ivy’s cheeriness when she had Penguin to care for. This is a compelling storyline I can follow with interest, as Penguin and Ivy make for another great odd couple. Also, whatever storyline Penguin (and Robin Lord Taylor) touches turns to gold. However, not all the best storylines get the most screen time.
The middle of the road storyline belongs to Bruce and his introduction to the Shaman. Bruce has been kidnapped so many times on Gotham I am shocked he shows surprise every time he awakens from being knocked out. Shaman is rather tight-lipped about his plans, but he does provide answers despite Bruce being righteous and defiant about escaping his current predicament.
Shaman explains he is to prepare Bruce to be Gotham’s protector, as the city needs him. What that means exactly is unclear, but Bruce has to free himself of the fear that keeps him from being Gotham’s saviour. This will likely include R’as al Ghul sometime soon, and I am sure all will be revealed how both he and Shaman are connected to the Court of Owls.
It is unclear if this Shaman is borrowed from the Denny O’Neil story in The Legends of the Dark Knight comics who inspires Bruce to use the mantle of the bat. What we have is an amalgam of The Ancient One, Matrix-style alternate reality, and a K’un Lun remote location to possibly, maybe get Bruce ready to become Batman. At the very least, Shaman should teach Bruce how to fight, as he incredulously forgot all the skills Alfred showed him in the first half of this season. Better yet, let’s get Ric Flair to teach Bruce the figure-four leg lock and the knife-edged chop – WOOOOO!
Is this the show accelerating the process to give audiences Batman? The original idea was to present a Gotham City before Batman, leaving the caped crusader to flit about on the silver screen. I’d hate to see Season Four begin with an adult Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham ready to take on crime and corruption, especially when the meat and potatoes of the show are the villains and their stories, which happen to be the most compelling ones.
The least successful story was Gordon’s continuing investigation into the Court of Owls, and their mission to cleanse Gotham. What would be more entertaining is if the Court managed to liberate an earthquake machine from Malcolm Merlyn to unleash on the city. It’s not even clear why Gordon is so important to the Court, despite dad and Uncle Frank being members. The way Carmine Falcone puts it, everyone works for the Court, whether they realize it or not, and Gordon being the main character isn’t a good enough reason either. We’ll see what happens next week when he meets Catherine to discuss his membership dues.
Two big steps backward this week; not enough Harvey, and no super cop team of Harvey and Foxy. Within thirty seconds, Harvey unleashes two great quips about the Court and we need more of his sarcasm, especially when he opines about the Court, “A secret organization that controls Gotham? If that’s true, someone should tell them they’re doing a pretty terrible job.”
Watching Harvey and Foxy work as a detective team last week was satisfyingly enjoyable, much like watching Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson in the beginning of The Other Guys. They are the shining spots on the good guys’ side, while pretty much all the core villains are supernovas. Nygma is hiding, no problem, he’s out this week; but more Penguin and his new team up with Ivy will liven things up. And we need more Bat-crazy Babs; the shot of Babs in her chair reprimanding a light envelope from a thug and lamenting “Mama’s gonna need a new pair of stilettos” was just enough of a tease to put lead in my pencil. But to paraphrase Christopher Walken’s The Bruce Dickinson, “I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Babs!!”
Harvey’s lines, Penguin and Ivy, a glimpse of Babs, and my ability to work in two Ric Flair references are what saved this week’s episode.
Tune in next time – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
