“We have like ten minutes before those trigger-happy kill bots find Jim and take him out!”
Gotham is a far more entertaining show when Harvey is sarcastic and I am personally happy to see more of him in The Executioner. This week’s episode sees the culmination in the slow play of Barnes going over the deep end, Nygma’s reaction to Isabella’s death, and the return of Ivy. As much as I love Harvey and will lobby for more sarcastic Harvey, I feel the Gordon/Barnes showdown should likely have taken a back seat to the Penguin/Isabella/Nygma triangle which is, to me, the more interesting story.
Gordon suspects Barnes for Symon’s murder and conducts a little of his own investigating with Harvey doubting him, while Barnes gets to kill a few more of Gotham’s criminal element he has been tracking for a while. I mentioned this last week, but feel it needs repeating; I’m not a fan of Barnes speaking aloud his thoughts on how the Alice Tetch virus is affecting him to the people he is going to kill. Those at the end of the nooses aren’t really interested in Barnes’ internal conflict as much as self-preservation. What might have made an interesting scene would be for Barnes to visit Jervis Tetch. I know what you’re thinking; he did that last week, but this time he surrenders to the virus and I think there could have been an opportunity for a Hannibal Lecter-like scene for Tetch. Oh well, c’est la vie.
Gordon does a little digging, and when Barnes catches Jim in his office it’s pretty clear Gordon knows Barnes knows that Gordon knows Barnes killed Symon and Paulie Pennies. What I really like about these scenes is that it’s done with subtext while Gordon asks for a file on the case. The ruse doesn’t last long as Barnes takes Gordon captive and makes him an offer – join him or be framed for the murder of criminal low-life Sugar. What’s interesting here is Barnes reminds Gordon he’s been to the edge with the Galavan shooting and he should understand Barnes the best. But wait, Gordon’s a remorseful man who regrets taking the law into his own hands as it cost him, a lot. The standoff has nice overtones to the future dynamic Gordon will have with Batman: how far does a good person go to do what is necessary for the city that is, in Barnes’ words, at a crossroads. But Gordon’s been to that abyss and stared into it. It scared him into taking more than a few steps back and return to his law and order life with the GCPD. But of course, Barnes feels the same way, as it’s the virus that amplifies his true feelings. There’s the difference the show makes; one can have thoughts that might not be attractive to society, such as Barnes’ rage with the criminals who are guilty and should be punished, but not act on them. Nothing illegal about thinking about killing a scumbag criminal, but acting on those impulses is another matter entirely. Gordon knows that, he’s lived it. It was a nice moment for Gordon to have to take Barnes down even if a hard thing to do, but it does solidify Gordon’s re-commitment to the GCPD.
It also offers Gordon a moment to thank Lee for helping him when Barnes framed him for Sugar’s murder. Above the surface, all niceties and small talk, but below the surface lurks some serious longing for each other. Looks like poor Super Mario is about to be smacked by Donkey Kong’s big mallet. El Predicto states Carmine Falcone will return an angry man and will likely take it out on Gordon. That, or Mario becomes a super villain himself. While it’s nice to see that things aren’t over for Gordon and Lee, it’s rather unsettling that the producers create a character in Valerie Vale solely to be used as love triangle fodder for Gordon and Lee. One would have thought characters, especially female ones, would be less expendable. I’m not against killing off characters, I enjoy Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, but it’s not unreasonable to expect the characters have more depth to them before they are killed, which adds greater meaning to their deaths rather then being created to be killed off and drive the story forward. If that’s the way the show wants to go, at least don’t insult the audience’s intelligence and let the fodder wear red shirts.
Speaking of which, Isabella’s death serves the same function in the Penguin/Nygma story, and just when things were getting interesting as Isabella seemed to be as crazy as Nygma. Understandably, Nygma is a broken man after learning of his new beloved’s death. But his time of mourning isn’t sitting well with Penguin, who urges his BFF to heal and move on. Nygma agrees and visits the crash site, only to learn from the resident blind beggar he heard Isabella scream before the crash, which happened four blocks from her home. Things don’t add up, and Nygma examines the car to find the cut brake lines. He confronts Penguin, whom you can see almost soil his shorts, and lets Penguin hang while he slow plays his suspicion of who is responsible. Nygma believes Butch killed Isabella in retaliation for Nygma exposing Butch’s role in the Red Hood gang. An obviously relieved Penguin smiles like the cat that ate the canary and vows to his friend they will make Butch pay for what he did. I’m still bothered that a super intelligent man like Nygma has developed a bad case of clouded judgement so easily, but can understand why and look forward to Nygma fully transforming into Riddler when he realizes Penguin is responsible. This sets things up for an eventual bigger fall for Nygma, for there is nothing bigger than betrayal to send someone off the rails. Then comes the big showdown between the two (hopefully soon) super villains.
The minor story revolves around Ivy’s return to Gotham and revealing her new self to Selena and Bruce. Selena’s line about Indian Hills patient Marv’s touch made Ivy older but not smarter was one of the best lines in the episode, as Ivy might be physically an adult but still emotionally and intellectually a child. She’s fighting way above her weight class, and somehow has managed to become a botanist in the last week or two, now being able to grow plants and turn them into perfumes that allow her to manipulate men to her will which, due to her narrow experience, limits her to taking jewellery and small items of value. But because of said narrow experience, she steals from the wrong guy and has masked assassins on her tail, which Bruce discovers has to do with an ominous key hidden in the emerald. Turns out the assassins also make the connection between Ivy, Selena and Bruce. An assault on stately Wayne Manor is imminent, and so is likely another Bruce Wayne in peril story. Let’s hope Alfred finally gets to be a badass and take out some bad guys.
Lots of Harvey this week, I am a happy man.
Tune in next time – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
