Danielg342

"She touched me!" Oh Nygma...you and your creepy goodness. Once they gave him something to do, The Riddler is really starting to shine. Glad to see that Jim is finally working the system...he's learning. Yeah, this now means he's just as corrupt as the rest of the cops, but as Harvey so brazenly warned him before, "you gotta go along to get along." Jim can't fix the system without working it first, and now the Comissioner is in *his* back pocket. Loved seeing Oswald get the upper hand on the old couple ("there was no train ticket! I had one shot left!") and having a ball with Bullock and Gordon. I did wonder, though, since Gordon promised five minutes with "the files" and all he turned up was Miriam Loeb...so does Oswald get "five minutes" with her? I do think they'd make a great couple, given they both love birds and, well, killing. Still somewhat confused about the Dulmacher plot but at least it's starting to make a little bit of sense. I wonder if the Dulmacher has been playing Fish all this time- certainly that last scene where Fish realizes she's on a deserted island makes me wonder. Dulmacher was in total awe of Fish and didn't seem to flinch at all when Fish got fiesty with him- perhaps he knew what he was getting into, he just had to make sure Fish would get along with him first. Finally, good to see Alfred alive and trying to get out of his bed. The old soldier never dies, does he? I'm also glad that, perhaps, Selina and Bruce are going to align themselves again- that's one lesson Bruce needs to learn: that, at this stage at least, if he wants to effect change, he needs to get help too. All in all, very good tonight. Miffed I'll have to wait until April 13 for the next installment but at least that means we get a nice run to the finish at the end.

I can't see any other reason for the Zsaszettes' attire other than to show off their sex appeal. You said it, they've had *no* characterization, and I can't judge a character based on what I don't see. What I do see, thus, are them as nothing but objects...and those objects are svelte women dolled up with “Gothic” makeup wearing tight, revealing and (essentially) impractical clothing (each of them shows off their cleavage or their belly- that's target practice for a shooter- plus none of those clothes provide a great spot to hide a gun). They're clearly easy on the eyes, and they're ones you notice right away. Perhaps their costumes serve another purpose. Perhaps. However, if they were supposed to be anything other than sexy, then why aren't they wearing trenchcoats and fedoras too? Certainly trained assassins would wear clothes that would allow them to hide their guns, at the very least. The Zsaszettes just don't do that. Don't get me wrong, I like sexy, and I think the Zsaszettes' brand of sexy- the dark, brooding kind- fits their role as Victor's understudies. I just don't think they- right now- have any other role other than as eye candy.

I think mileage will have to vary on this one, although I will point out the Zsaszettes are pretty dominatrix-like and the assassin at Wayne Manor wore a “sexy catsuit” (underneath a leather jacket, mind you). I do believe the show is getting better in this regard, but I still believe there's far too much of an imbalance between male characters and female characters. Granted, the Batman universe is similarly slanted- the best known characters, except Catwoman, are male- but I don't see that as a viable excuse. For me, at the very least, I want to see Essen have more of a role and have some actual, viable storylines. She's a good character, she just needs to stop being in the background all the time.

I think we did, in flashes, with the last episode and in other episodes, like her going rogue in “Anslo Garrick” and when she tried to interrogate Tom. I also think it would be easy to fanwank that “pilot Lizzie” got so overwhelmed by what happened that it shook her to the point where she lost her confidence and is now struggling to regain it. Red coming into her world would be such a whirlwind that I could buy that happening. Problem is, it's just a fanwank- it's not established on-screen that is what is happening, since Lizzie doesn't open up to anyone. To me, this could be easily solved if Lizzie had at least someone on the show who she could vent to, but she doesn't. Lizzie, it seems, has no friends outside of work, and these people would at least serve the purpose of allowing her to get across her feelings so that we know what is going on. I don't think it's too late to introduce one- and the character could be nothing more than a recurring character, someone who pops up whenever Lizzie gets troubled. The problem with Lizzie I think is the writing, since the writers forget this is TV and not a novel. In a novel, you can write about someone's mind and what they're going through- on TV, you need a sounding board, and Lizzie doesn't have one.

I would say, though, that dealing with the New York mobile psych ward is a world of difference from dealing with the world's greatest criminal mastermind.

For me, it's more of a question of Bruno Heller not being able to think of any “weapons” for women outside of their sexuality. I'll grant that Fish is getting better in this regard but her strongest weapon is still her sexuality- that's how she won control of the prison. Plus when she hired “a weapon” to take down Falcone, she hired a beautiful young woman whom she thought Falcone would take advantage of sexually (one of Liza's messages to Fish was that “he still hasn't touched me yet”). Then there's Renee, whose only real storyline in the entire series is to serve as a “love triangle” with Jim and Barbara, with Renee's function being to placate Barbara's “wild” (and thus more sexual) side. Even Selina Kyle went this route, pressuring Bruce to kiss her. Granted, there are Essen and Lee, but Essen doesn't do much except bark orders and Lee is serving as a foil for Jim's love, and Lee hasn't shied away from being seductive herself. Meanwhile, the men can have all sorts of other traits- Jim and Harvey Dent with their altruism, Bullock's sense of pragmatism and jadedness, Falcone and his cunning, Maroni and his ruthlessness, Oswald and his deceit, Alfred and his military-like mind and even Bruce and his sense of justice. Not a single one of them serves as simply a “sexual object” (although I grant Jim gets close). So it's clear to me that Heller believes that women serve only one role- and that is to be a sexual being- which is, at worst sexist and at best unimaginative. I like that perhaps he's self-aware with Selina's line but that doesn't make up for his female characterization so far.

Prentiss had, what, four minutes of screentime in her debut? Which she followed with very little feature time until “Honour Among Thieves” if memory serves me correctly. Not sure what the griping would be about.

I believe Lizzie was going to confess before backing out at the last minute.

Gotham's Jim Gordon is routinely and soundly criticized for having every clue he's gained handed to him. Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds gets this treatment in some episodes, depending on the writer (in fact, lately, many episodes have the CM investigators- all of them, male and female, unless it's JJ- dumber than a brick). Even Elementary did this a few times to Sherlock Holmes. Then we can get to this series and it's plainly obvious that Ressler is just as bright as Lizzie is. In fact, the only one with a brain in the FBI it seems is Aram- the rest all get one-upped by Red. I also think- though I think mileage varies- that Lizzie did very well in this case and contributed a lot (like how she rattled Mrs. Deer Hunter to make a move and bought herself enough time to get out of her own jam). So I really don't think the observation is really on the mark.

Yeah, maybe, though she wasn't killed by a baseball bat- she was killed by a slash to her throat. I realize mileage will vary, but I still think the writing missed a lot of important steps towards the buildup.

Tom is back. :) I will enjoy seeing that.

This is the first time I can say I actually enjoyed Elizabeth Keen. I realize mileage will vary immensely, but I thought Meghan Boone knocked it out of the park with an increasingly varied and loving erratic performance. We've said for a while that Lizzie's got criminal tendencies. Right there, dealing with Mrs. Deer Hunter, we saw that. Lizzie was wonderful fooling her into thinking she had pity for Mrs. Deer Hunter, and then mocking her for her altruism. Furthermore, not only did Lizzie downright enjoy exposing Mrs. Deer Hunter for enjoying her savagery, Lizzie sounded like she too would very much enjoy such savagery herself, something she's shown on a number of different occassions (like with the victims of The Good Samaritan Killer). Gosh, Lizzie was downright creepy...and I loved it. I think that was what saved this episode from being simply The Blacklist: Criminal Minds Edition because- other than the obvious "Sweeps Month" shock value of seeing Mrs. Deer Hunter take a bite out of the victims' livers (which would leave DNA that no one seemed to account for)- this was pretty much your typical CM episode (I mean, there was even some actual profiling in this one). All that we were missing was Garcia's quirky computer, Reid's quirky stats, Morgan kicking down doors, Rossi and Prentiss being smartasses, Hotch giving the UnSub a death glare and JJ reassuring the public they have The Deer Hunter cornered and you have an episode I'm sure Edward Allen Bernero would have been proud to write. (I don't care that the current CM cast is much different than what I described- that's the team I like so I'm sticking with that) As for the rest of the episode, I really didn't find too many highlights. Well, Aram continues to impress me, seeing him worry about his hair, being gleeful that Red said his last name right and being taken aback when Samar Navabi called him sexy (as long as he doesn't become fat- prompting him to look at his belly). It's been a while since Aram stole the show but tonight he was magnificent. Then, Red...this might be a first in that I thought he was a bit player in his own show, but good on James Spader for shunning the spotlight so that Creepy Liz can take centre stage. Anyway...I thought his little side story with the caller was boring and rather pointless- seeing that trail of blood at the end was rather predictable. It was nice of him to get Samuel Alecco to turn on the Detective and save Lizzie- he didn't have to (presumably because he could still "use" Lizzie in jail), and it was great that Lizzie snarks at him being so fatherly towards her by quipping that she would get her "phone privileges taken away". Red doesn't always do the best to show that he cares but he did tonight. All in all, tonight was very much about Lizzie and how this could be a turning point. Like it or not, Lizzie's got blood on her hands, so there's no turning back, and if this is the start of her descent to becoming one of the world's more dangerous killers, this could be one heck of a ride. Buckle up!

Deathstroke is the only Batman villain (that I know of) with an eye patch, hence the connection. They have played fast and loose with the canon before (such as changing Poison Ivy's name) so I think it could still be possible.

I guess we were so much in shock about Fish's eye that we forgot to mention it in her thread. :p She gained a whole new level of respect for me by doing that, even though I didn't really want to see it. Maybe she turns to the good side seeing how evil Gotham can get

I don't think there'd be much of a difference between a "movie scream" and a "random woman scream", since either category can produce an "authentic" scream. Perhaps he might have difficulties recording a movie on that recorder, but that's the only concession I would make. I would have liked it if the story at least explained that he had tried movies to no avail. Secondly, though, he worked as a counsellor and wasn't at all a socially awkward guy. He might have known a few female friends he could have asked to help him out, or made a few female friends to do so. Since it's just a recording he was after, all he needed was great voicework- no need for the actual violence to occur. I think, ultimately, for me there was a disconnect from "normal guy" to "killer"- he seemed like he went to extremes too quickly, when it was apparent he was smart enough to know alternatives.

Maybe one day we'll see Bruce with a very bad cold after dealing with all the dust he's had to inhale. Come to think of it, I think I have seen him sniffle a few times...

That was the only part of the first half of the season I didn't like- the cut and dry, "Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen are the bad guys" angle. This show is so much more...so those characters deserved (and still deserve) more.

Men are more likely to fall for the "nefarious babe" than a woman would...but it is still a nice idea.

What it boils down to is the problem with the whole “Dollmaker” prison plot. I agree that Fish's actions give her a lot more credibility with her new prison mates, but I don't think it should have gotten to that point to begin with. As far as I know, it's never been established that the prisoners were selected for a reason, so they're all interchangeable- meaning if anyone did anything to challenge the Dollmaker, they'd likely be lying in a pool of their own blood and nothing more. Now, I grant that Fish still has value in that she has other working body parts...but, I wonder, given all the headaches she's caused, why is the Dollmaker keeping her alive?

Harvey's right: if he doesn't drink or eat it, forensics will. Maybe that's what happened to Edward Nygma this week- he got bloated from all the crime scene food he was stuffed with. Kind of thought the episode was "meh" until the last third when things really picked up. Fish took out her eye? I knew she was going to get out of that jam, but I didn't see that. I'm not sure I wanted to, either, because it was pretty gross, and part of me wonders if that was a "Sweeps Month" attempt at shock value. Does fit her character, though, since Fish is over the top. The Case of the Week was an interesting idea, although the criminals were pretty easy to catch. Not sure if that was by design, but it was fun toying with Harvey's idea that as soon as the public starts giving more support to the criminals it creates anarchy. I wonder if that will be foreshadowing. Butch continues to surprise me. At first, he really does look like he's just there to torment the Penguin...but then he helps him out in the slyest way possible, while teaching him a few things about being a criminal mastermind. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Fish comes back, but I might believe that Butch is now invested in Penguin's cause. Another positive I never thought I'd write is Barbara. I can understand that Selina is skeptical about her, but I do like the idea of Barbara teaching the future Catwoman and Poison Ivy that sexual appeal can be a weapon. I was waiting for Barbara to have something useful and show off her brains and, while it's late, at least it came. (It is a bit eye-rolling that Bruno Heller once again thought a woman's only weapon is her sexuality but I'll take what I can get) Finally...Alfred. Poor, poor Bruce. I don't think the show will kill off the poor butler, but it was still heart-wrenching stuff. Didn't see Payne double-crossing Alfred and I didn't see him as a spy for Wayne Enterprises, but I also think he'll come back later and foil the plot against Bruce. He seems to have gained an affinity for the boy. Overall, pretty good.

My thing with Lizzie is this: 1) The pilot made her out to be this “tough as nails” character that could go toe to toe with Red, and every now and then we see flashes of that character. She's written all over the place and it seems like it depends on the writer which Lizzie we'll get. I suppose her erratic nature fits with her personality- I agree, she's supposed to be naïve- I just think she's too erratic to be believable. That's just me, though. 2) I think the big point for me is that Lizzie has told Red, on numerous occassions, that she's not happy with how he treats and manipulates her. Thus, if Lizzie recognizes things are so toxic, why stick around? I might have bought that in S1, bot not midway through S2.

I think you're conflating Jim Gordon's stoicism and uptightness as indifference, and I think Gordon is anything but indifferent. Look how much effort Lee put in just to get Gordon to open up to her- Gordon wanted to do it, he just needed the right kind of prodding. Furthermore, it's not like Gordon never tried to care for her to cater to Barbara's needs- he literally put her on a bus at the start of “Penguin's Umbrella” because he was worried for her safety. If that's not a show of love and caring for Barbara, I don't know what is. Forceful? Yeah it was, and perhaps Gordon should have asked Barbara what she wanted to do instead of assume, but it's not like Gordon didn't try to help her. Fact of the matter is, Jim Gordon isn't going to be the type that lets his feelings out “for all to see”- he's the kind of guy that feels the need to “always be strong” and “always in charge”, perhaps afraid that the slightest bit of vulnerability makes him appear weak. I also think his display of strength is a front for his many insecurities, and thus he needs someone who will pick him up when he feels down. Barbara, then, clearly isn't for him.

The Blues? I seem to remember Mike Keenan doing stuff like that (particularly to Dale Hawerchuk) in St. Louis. I know few agree with me but it's my belief that CBS is making this Jennifer Love Hewitt's show, so as she goes, so does the show. I don't if this means that CBS would be willing to part with other members of the cast, but I think having Hewitt around might make them "think about it", at the very least. CBS made a big deal abot her hire, and this season we're already seeing an actual, defined "character story" for her character (Meg's online difficulties), so at least it seems like they're trying, right off the bat, to make her a prominent member of the cast. Furthermore, she has carried shows before (including The Ghost Whisperer on CBS), so I can see CBS at least thinking they have someone who can carry the show for a few more seasons at least. I just can't see CBS hiring Hewitt to appear for only one or even two seasons. This could be good news for JJ, since I can see AJ Cook perhaps being positioned as Hewitt's sidekick on a female-led team. Or, it could be bad news for JJ since Hewitt could be there to tell her, "this still isn't your show". I guess we'll see what happens during the off-season. I also think that, with the spin-off, I can see CBS wanting to see how the two shows work together next season before making a decision on "the mothership". If the spin-off fails, then CBS might say CM can have a Season 13. Otherwise, they may cap CM at 12 so that the spinoff can "take over" for the parent show and give the parent show a proper send-off. Regardless, I think S12 is a pretty safe bet, all things considered.

Not to be antagonistic, but are you agreeing with me or not?ETA: I should say that I'm not saying that women should be targets of violence on TV more than men- I'm saying that violence should treat each gender equally, and our reactions to a character being beat up should be based on the character's merits alone.