[S04.E01: Renaissance]

Wow. I've never been so glad to have given up a show half a season earlier! What an unholy mess. Also, I have to say it (again): "Margaux" is still not a name for an actual French woman.

Is Claire Voyant supposed to be recently returned to the land of the living? Because that is one scary picture. Also: "Undad," hee.

[S02.E01: Shadows]

My prediction is a bit to the worse until Simmons arrives with the Handwavium-powered CBBI-Fixinator (arround episode 5).

 

The best part is the H-PCBBIF is cleverly designed to look just like a big heavy book that Simmons can use to hit Fitz in the noggin with! Scientific progress goes bonk!

[S06.E02: Trust Issues]

Hey, if an apparently self-adoring block of balsa wood like Charles Michael Davis can have a career in television, you won't catch me complaining about Taye Diggs; also Mike Colter isn't exactly an acting revelation his own self, either; but he underplays the monster aspect of Bishop in a way that's a little bit interesting.

 

I'm missing some part of Diane's strategy in bringing over "department heads" from the Mean Girl Lunchroom Formerly Known As Lockhart Gardner. Are these six extra people to be made equity partners, or are they associates? (Would "department heads" even be interested in coming on as associates?) I get that Diane wants to give David Lee and Loose Cannon a big corporate slap upside the head -- and who could blame her? -- but arriving at her new partnership with a six-pack of cronies makes her look insecure and it's out of character for her.

 

The equity partners (including Cary, who's been blindsided so much it's like he and Eli switched roles) would have to vote on the admission of the new partners, as noted upthread, and probably would have something to say about hiring new associates. And I agree with the comments upthread about Diane's already having a chance to build a firm from the ground up: that would be the firm with her name on it already. This development really isn't going to work for me, I think.

 

I thought that Valerie Jarrett did all right, as far as the "As Herself / As Himself" roles go (better her than Fred Thompson!) I liked her  "I'm not saying that!" response to Eli's boneheaded "support of your husband" cue. (Really, Eli?) Still kind of over Eli and his transparent machinations. At least he's given up the pose of looking out for Alicia's best interests.

 

I hope Cary doesn't end up getting totally pushed out of F/A. I admit I kind of loved Cary and Alicia's first-ever hug, but I won't get my hopes up that their relationship is going to be on a steadier footing, the way things are going.

 

ETA: Have Castro and Finn not listened to the tape? Kalinda's surmise about which guy was the CI based on the volume of voices on the tape seemed sound but pretty elementary, so Castro's "How did they know?!" befuddlement makes him look like an even bigger idiot. I'm not impressed with Finn, either. So much for principle!

[S01.E01: Pilot]

"The worst pies in Gotham!" Heh.

[S06.E02: Trust Issues]

The partner who worked with Alicia on the ChumHum deposition (the one who whispered in Alicia's ear to impress their bubblehead client) is named Carey Zepps.

[Det. James Gordon: Commissioner To Be]

He's focused, flyingdi! If Jim takes his eye off the ball, well, someone could hit him with a bat.

[S02.E01: Shadows]

Definitely not hallucinating, Collinwood.

[S06.E01: The Line]

Does a jail uniform count as casual clothes?

Ask Governor Big House.

[S02.E01: Shadows]

I'm busy fanwanking that the two guards were Hydra ...

[S01.E01: Pilot]

There is a certain resemblance between Russell Crow and Ben McKenzie, after all.

[S01.E01: Pilot]

If you take what Bullock said at face value, then yeah, he only saved Gordon's life out of a sense of pragmatism. But I took a lot of that as 'I don't care at all. Not a bit' bluster from a guy whose conscience has been pricked. It's as tropey as the gruff cop with a heart of gold, but it's still a theme that works pretty well.

I hadn't considered this, but it's certainly a possibility. I'm not familiar with the character from the comics (I stopped reading well before Crisis On Infinite Earths -- I feel somehow I should hang my head at admitting that -- to say nothing of the New 52) so I wasn't aware of his becoming an ally of Gordon's; I read Logue's performance as more literal, where the path of least resistance for Bullock had already become a long slide into turpitude, but I may have to be more alert to some nuance.

Then again, if Gotham's system is so corrupt that rubbing out the proto-Penguin is a viable option, I doubt cooking the investigation into his partner's unfortunate demise would give Bullock much difficulty, if it came to that.

[S02.E01: Shadows]

I think if sympathy were *actually* what the script called for (despite the claims in the article), Dalton could put it over. He's not the subtlest, but I don't think he's incompetent. I think the writers are playing both sides in the press -- or wanting to eat their cake and have it, too.

kitlee625's right: they're messing with us.

[S01.E01: Pilot]

Bullock, pain in his the “lackadaisical”, shiftless cop who does whatever it takes to get through the shift, whether that means drinking on duty or accepting bribes and cosying up to criminals. I like that he wasn’t ultimately shown to be a good guy in the end. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s still neck deep in the institutionalised corruption of the city, and wants Gordon to join him there.

I think Bullock was shown pretty unequivocally to be a bad cop, actually. He didn't save Gordon for ethical or sentimental reasons, but purely pragmatic ones; either because cleaning up the resulting mess would be a pain, or because allowing Mooney's, er, Gooneys to do him in might expose Bullock's own complicity. It seems pretty clear to me that Bullock has killed to protect himself or benefit his relationship with Mooney. And it's not like he offered Gordon a choice about doing away with Cobblepot. Gordon was going to kill Cobblepot, or Bullock was going to kill both of them. Bullock seemed relieved that Gordon was going to play along, but I doubt it was out of any particular affection for young Jim.

[S02.E01: Shadows]

It was Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy:  “I blew a couple of takes because I was making the shooting sounds with my mouth while I was filming,” Pratt says, laughing. “They said, ‘What are you doing with your mouth?’ And I was like, ‘pewpewpewpewpew,’” he says, sounding like an 11-year-old running around a backyard.

 

I think he's revealed the secret of why people want to be on tv. (Really, he's a total dorkpants, but it's kind of sweet.)

 

I really hope the suicide attempts were a part of his long con/emotional manipulation of Skye.

 

I'm absolutely convinced that they are. I just hope she sees it that way.

 

Why is Coulson giving her unfettered access to someone with classified information, just so she will trust them? It seemed like an incredibly dumb move. But if it's a fake, then bravo both Coulson and Ward for playing her. 

 

Yeah, the test wasn't to see how Ward reacted; it was to see how the idea of truth serum got Skye to lower her guard. Of course, this implies that when that nasty Ward manipulates Skye, it's evil and wrong, and when Coulson does it, it's regrettable necessity. Nice work if you can get it, I guess.

[S06.E01: The Long Honeymoon]

I can't recall all of it right now, but I laugh!ed at Phil's line to Alex about "Without you we're irresponsible poison-eating fools and Internet prostitutes!" and I liked Lily's snarking about "It'd be nice to live in a house that's not full of bees."

 

I knew the "Stars without makeup" photos of Sophia Vergara were actually production shots of Gloria. (Come on, Internet!)

 

I do wish the writers would move on from Cam's need to be a tragic figure at all times and in all circumstances.

[Unspoilered Speculation]

Did I mention it was a crazy theory? ;-)

[Unspoilered Speculation]

Has anyone else had the semi-crazy notion (or maybe it's half crazy, half obvious) that Harvey Bullock and Harvey Dent will prove to be the same person? I don't really think of any other Harvey when it comes to Batman. Jim's partner already seems somewhat duplicitous.

[S01.E01: Pilot]

Something about the whole scene implied to me that Montoya knew something else about Barbara's past. Her actual words were simply, "Does he know you?" Montoya is a cop. Maybe Barbara is a criminal. Maybe her wealth is ill-gotten. There's no reason her secret has to be ONLY that she and Montoya were romantically involved in the past.

 

If Barbara's secret is that she has an ex-girlfriend, it really would give Gotham a retro feel, in all the wrong ways. Hmm. Maybe she's an art dealer with a tidy little sideline in forgery, or maybe she's not too fussy about the provenances of the works in her gallery? I'm assuming (for now) that this version of Gotham City will not include the so-called metahumans, or any kind of paranormal abilities.

[S02.E01: Shadows]

If the showrunners are being serious about the likelihood of evoking mixed emotions with Ward, they've catastrophically over-estimated the power of their writers or underestimated their audience, or both.

 

Frankly, I don't even believe Ward's attempts at suicide were genuine: Dude, so run at the wall that's MADE OF LASER BEAMS, if you're so remorseful! Does he have a booboo on his little headbone? Aw! We'll come back when you've sizzled at least half your face off, Mr. Amateur Hour. I'm fine with Skye never having anything to do with Ward again, at this point. But I think she's protesting too much. Any romantic relationship between them now should be a non-starter, but I fear the worst.

[S01.E01: Pilot]

I think joke was cribbed for its morbid quality; adds to the"Is he going to turn out to be the Joker" effect, along with tragicomic faces the actor was pulling repeatedly. (Who knows? Maybe they obtained clearance/permission from Wright?)

[S02.E01: Shadows]

My working assumption so far is that Koenig is a Kloenig.

[S02.E01: Shadows]

I think it's too soon to call it a redemption arc for Ward. I think Ward sounds more crazypants every time he opens his yap. And Herr Doctor Whitehall did say something about the Red Skull finding the answer to defeating death; he might be on to something.

 

I was NOT expecting the twist about Fitz(simmons). Poor busted Fitz!

 

An enjoyable beginning, although I agree that storing Crusher in a transparent plexiglass box was a dumbass move.

 

ETA: The opening sequence with Agent Carter and Dugan was so much fun!

[S01.E13 Ascension]

Well, looks like Molly finally embraced her family, as eccentric as it was; and she finally had an authentically maternal experience: her older son now spends all his time online -- they barely see him! And the younger one left home -- to "find himself," presumably -- and he never calls and never visits! Kids today, honestly.
 

I had lots of issues with the Ethan storyline, but I agree, the young actor was really good playing a robotic little boy.

 

I agree; he was terrific -- I may have got a little choked up at Molly's goodbye phone call with E-than and "John Woods."

 

But of course E-than's burnout/ascension starts right over his heart. Gah.

[Det. James Gordon: Commissioner To Be]

  I respectfully disagree. I've got no problem with Jim Gordon being described as "iconic." He's in the comic books, the films and the TV shows, including this one. He's been an important part of Bruce Wayne's and Batman's lives from the start. Just because Gordon's not a masked vigilante, that doesn't mean he doesn't matter.

 

I should explain: I have no problem at all with the character of the Commissioner being described as iconic, and the word applies better to James Gordon than to most characters on tv, for just the reasons you state. I don't mean to imply that one's importance (or even symbolic value) is dependent on wearing primary colours, or putting one's underpants on outside one's pants. It's just that I find the word overused in general; and potentially every character on this show could be described that way. As I mentioned in the episode thread, I also think McKenzie is a brilliant choice for this role. Batman is usually the tentpole character, and if you're going to tell the story from another viewpoint, I think you need someone with appropriate gravitas and charisma, and McKenzie has those in abundance.  

[S01.E01: Pilot]

I thought the casting choices for young Mr. Nygma and proto-Penguin (and, oddly, young Bruce) were too similar. I get that Gotham is a permanently overcast, sunless hellhole of corruption and cynical derision, but how many lank-haired, palefaced nerdlingers do we need in the first episode?

 

McKenzie's a brilliant choice, though: I absolutely buy him as a paragon of insistent, if slightly outdated, principle in this nest of vipers-to-be; I like his chemistry with the other cast members, especially young Bruce.

 

I thought it was interesting to reverse the polarity (if you'll forgive that expression) of Bruce Wayne's relationship with the future Commissioner: instead of having Batman work with the support of the police commissioner, Gordon actually turned in his badge to young Mr. Wayne (and accepted it back from him); Jim's working from within to change the corrupt system, but his moral authority derives from his promise to Bruce. He's working for Batman. Which means Batman is no longer a vigilante, but at least potentially the moral source of this universe.

 

Maybe I was just reaching, but I thought maybe Bullock's positive response to Jim "killing" Oswald (can't remember what it was verbatim) was him being glad that Jim didn't go dirty so easily? Just a thought I had as I was pondering the pilot before bed last night.

 

Bullock said "Attaboy" when he saw Cobblepot hit the water. I took that to mean Bullock approved of (or was at least relieved about) Gordon's learning to "play along." It seemed Bullock was too far away to make out the minor detail of Cobblepot's escape. No doubt Gordon's going to have to work to keep up the façade of being as corrupt as everyone else.