“It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
Oh, how multi layered that statement is. Such is good writing when the themes, to quote 2 in a Room, “wiggle it, just a little bit” into every aspect of an episode, and so far Gotham: Mad City seems to be righting the ship. The last few episodes have given us characters we care about and place them in situations where real emotion can be had, as well as give the actors more to chew on. The payoff for both the producers and the audience is meaningful, compelling storytelling; the producers will get a renewal for the next season and the audience will tune in because there is a deeper level of enjoyment. And thus one hand washes the other, which makes Red Queen another successful episode after a “meh” start.
Gordon has to deal with his decision to choose Vale over Lee in last week’s tea party, and things aren’t looking good. Vale, Lee, and pretty much everyone else knows why Gordon chose Lee to be shot; he knew Tetch would shoot Vale instead, thus saving Lee. Vale knows Gordon still loves Lee, so they are over as not-boyfriend and not-girlfriend. Seems everyone knows why Gordon did it except the man himself; he even tries to deny it to Lee face to face. Someone please tell Gordon denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.
El Predicto was right; Jervis Tetch is sticking around for a while, and his ire over Alice’s death extends to Gotham as a whole. Seems it’s not enough to point the finger at Gordon, so Tetch plans to unleash Alice’s blood with an accelerant upon Gotham’s citizens. Gordon gets in the way and Tetch hits him with a face full of Red Queen – a powerful psychedelic similar to mixing LSD with Wild Turkey followed by a chaser of Old Milwaukee. Not that I’ve experienced it myself, but after watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas anything’s possible.
Either way, Red Queen is worthy of Hunter S. Thompson, who wrote, “once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.” And Gordon gets pushed to the Dark Side of the Moon, with Babs as his hallucination spirit guide, no less! Seems he has to creep around his subconscious, face his demons, which is fear of failing to live up to the example of his father, and realize a hero is one who isn’t afraid to ask for help. He is also reminded of The Code inscribed on his father’s ring – “While we breathe, we defend.” Back in the land of the living, Gordon realizes he is a lawman and returns to duty with the GCPD.
The most interesting story arc is the Nygma/Penguin/Isabella triangle. Seems Fast Eddie and Isabella spent the night talking and are smitten kittens. Sounds great, right? Well, Nygma may have enjoyed himself, but he blew off dinner with Penguin, who planned to confess his feelings for Nygma. Adding insult to injury, Nygma invites Isabella to the mansion for dinner. In fairness to Nygma, he has no idea BFF Penguin has romantic feelings for him. However, one cannot help but feel for Penguin at that moment; no one deserves to experience that situation.
My one problem with this is for all his intelligence, Nygma seems to believe that Isabella’s “passing resemblance” to Kringle is the Universe’s way of telling him he has another shot at love. I need to call an ESPN “Come on, Man” moment on this. Nygma is too intelligent and pragmatic not to see it, whatever “it” is. Penguin can’t just sit back, so he visits Isabella at the library to subvert the relationship in its infancy by letting slip Nygma’s time at Arkham for killing Kringle. Did it shake her? Of course. Was Penguin proud of himself? Totally. Will this blow up in Penguin’s face? Very likely. Did this put the brakes on Nygma’s Love Train before it even left the station? Nope. It seems the Captain and Tennille were right, love will keep us together. She confronts Nygma about his past and wants to pursue the relationship.
Back to Tetch; his first stop is the Gotham Founders’ Dinner since all the city’s important people are attending, including Penguin and Catherine, from the Court of Owls, who said they will be contacting him soon. Before Tetch can unleash the virus, Barnes and the GCPD arrive to stop him and the Tweed Twins. The end of the episode sees Catherine speaking to an unknown man, who has the same ring as Gordon’s father. Is he a connection to the senior Gordon or the Old Man himself? We’ll soon find out in the next several episodes.
Bruce returns this week, preparing a dinner for Selena and asking Alfred to make himself scarce. She arrives late, and Bruce reprimands her, as he wants her to take this relationship seriously. Selena confesses that whatever “this thing” is, it’s weird for her. Bruce admits the same, which seems to lighten the mood. Perhaps this is the one relationship that will succeed on Gotham among the others that are or have failed.
I was hoping Gordon’s psychedelic trip would have been a little more fun, but we can’t always get what we want. The relationship stories played out well this week, especially the Nygma/Penguin/Isabella triangle and the demise of Gordon/Vale, but something tells me Lee and Gordon aren’t finished.
All in all a solid, if not spectacular episode, but I’m deducting a half star for lack of sardonic Harvey.
Tune in next time – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
