Gotham – S4 E15 “A Dark Knight: The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause”
“So – Penn, Penguin. What are the priorities?”
It’s not often Zsasz gets top billing for quote of the week, especially when Harvey is in the episode, but a quip from either is the cure for my malady that is Gotham. While Harvey had a pretty good line, Zsasz’s was more appropriate considering the meta-ness of it. Priorities are indeed needed. I know I’ve written a lot about how Gotham is a better show when it allows its villains to cut loose, but in this week’s episode, The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause, the producers have taken my suggestions a little too far with a lets-throw-a-bunch-of-stuff-on-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach. Take a look at who drops by Gotham this week: Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, Babs, Tabs, Grundy/Butch, Mr. Freeze, Zsasz, Headhunter/Wendel, the creepy Dentist, and Ra’s Al Ghul. Even Ivy is a presence. I know what you’re thinking; lots of villains, it can be bad? Oh, it can be – maybe not bad, but certainly an episode with so many moving parts that it’s difficult to keep a coherent story going. There are a few “C’Mon Man!” moments as well, some head slapping ones, but one can’t help but admit it still was fun. This week, Gordon and Harvey track down someone who is key to Sofia’s control of Gotham, Penguin, Lee, and Riddler enlist an unlikely ally s they seek revenge on Sofia, and Selina asks Bruce for a favour to help her rid her of her guilt over Ivy.
The main story focuses on Gordon and Harvey’s search for Bookkeeper Penn, who is in fact a triple agent, working for the late Carmine Falcone, Penguin and Sofia. Turns out Penn can set Penguin free and put Sofia behind bars with all he knows, so the game is afoot. Penguin escapes from Arkham with Riddler’s help and they team up with Lee to take down Sofia. Gordon and Harvey don’t seem to mind to much, but Gordon wants Sofia in prison rather than dead, so that will cause some friction.
Riddler and Penguin come up with a few schemes to get to Sofia, first enlisting Grundy’s help (he refuses because he is Butch again), then settling on having Mr. Freeze deliver Penguin in a block of ice to Sofia in an obvious nod to Return of the Jedi. Need a flow chart? I know I do, as things seem all over the map here. The only thing that could take it further over the top would be to fit in Jerome, though El Predicto forecasts he will show up next week and run amok in Gotham.
Penguin escapes from his ice prison, but Sofia is already after Penn, who is holed up in a “resort” that caters to adults with a fetish for role playing as infants. Gordon and Harvey arrive first, but Sofia is on their heels. A gunfight breaks out between our dynamic duo and Zsasz and Wendel, who Zsasz invited to “tag along”. The action is always well done on the show, so no criticism there, but let’s pump the brakes on how Gordon gets shot five times and lives. Then Lee shoots Sofia in the head and lies in a coma at Gotham General! Now, I have bought in to suspension of belief like everyone else, but C’MON MAN!!!!
Gordon could have been shot once in the gut and maybe a shoulder and the showdown with Sofia would still have weight. I also like that Lee saves Gordon’s life, but I still can’t get past Gordon being shot FIVE times and living. Look, this is a show where characters have been subjected to freezing chemicals, imbibed herbal medicines, and come back from the dead via Lazarus Pit, but I draw the line at a guy getting shot FIVE times and living, not to mention Sofia taking a bullet in the forehead and lying in a coma.
Sofia was a good villain for this season, and it will be sad not to see her run Gotham, but I am still troubled at the increasing number of expendable female characters, but since Ra’s al Ghul is lurking about, El Predicto forecasts Sofia will power up sooner rather than later, so likely she won’t be out of the picture long.
In the second story, Babs and Tabs reunite with Butch. Turns out he is in control of the Grundy persona and he promises Tabs he will find a way to get back to normal. At the same time, Babs is suffering fugue states and migraines, and by episode’s end her hand glows better than Iron Fist’s and she hallucinates Ra’s al Ghul visiting her, because every villain needs to be in the episode.
The third story focuses on Bruce helping Selina retrieve the jewels she stole from Roland Charles, the same Roland Charles who Ivy killed in front of his family. Turns out she feels a lot of guilt over what happened. Even though she didn’t kill him, she was there and even though it wasn’t what she signed up for, she feels guilt. So off they go to retrieve the jewels from Floyd the fence, who is not in a good mood when they arrive. Turns out Selina tried to break into the shop the previous night, and of course she didn’t tell Bruce. So after kicking ass the young dynamic duo succeed in their mission. This was one of the best Bruce Wayne stories because of its simplicity, not only compared to previous Bruce stories but the convoluted mess that was the rest of the episode.
All is not lost, dear Reader, for there are some bright spots. The highlight of the night occurs when Penguin realizes Riddler, who was dumped on Sofia’s curb by Butch and subsequently tortured by the Dentist, never rats him out. The Bromance is back, Baby! I know what you’re thinking; they were trying to murder each other last season, how can you explain this? How can you explain Gordon getting shot FIVE times and living? Now you may picture me dropping the mic.
What I had a problem with was Lee as an inconsistent character. She has been established as a person who is against violence and even though she has been put through the wringer over the past few seasons, but it’s hard to buy into the ease with which she shoots Sofia between the eyes and with a degree of joy breaks Sampson’s hand with a hammer. Some may suggest it’s a matter of character growth, that Lee needs to play by the rules of the Narrows to win, but she has proven she can do that in the past without resorting to violence.
Harvey back in the fold with badge and gun is a giant plus, but not many sarcastic quips. You would think he might be full of them now that the mantle of responsibility is on Gordon’s shoulders. Riddler back in full form Penguin on the loose reunite their bromance, even vowing never to return to the pier which seems to be the go to spot in Gotham if one wants to kill someone. Bonus points for a tight and concise Bruce story, and he seems to be over his affluenza just in time, though I really hoped Alfred would punch him again. Ra’s will make a comeback, possibly Babs’ headaches are because Ra’s secretly transferred his essence into her and is fighting to emerge. Almost like a twisted version of Spock transferring his essence into McCoy at the end of The Wrath of Khan. Here’s to Jerome coming back soon and hopefully providing some wicked fun and mayhem.
Tune in next week – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
