S01.E12: What The Little Bird Told Him

[Tara Ariano]

Gordon tries to get his job back by capturing Jack Gruber, a deranged electrical genius who escaped from Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile, Falcone struggles to hold onto his empire when Fish Mooney makes her next move.

[Delphi]

First thoughts: poor Liza. I'll have more soon, no doubt.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Really show, Jim strolls out from a shower bone dry in that damn OC wife beater?

That kiss was hot though.

Edited January 20, 2015 by MrsRafaelBarba

[AimingforYoko]

And just as in nature, the Penguin eats the Fish. Didn't expect Falcone to do his own wetwork there, but I suppose it was pretty personal.

[midge]

When did Fish become so stupid?  Argh. 

 

Can we please just get rid of Barbara already?   

[leisawoo]

Wonder what his "sainted mother" would think of how he turned out but it's not that important, lol.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Barbara's parents, talk about ice cold.

[HoodlumSheep]

It was an interesting episode. I think it set up a lot, and it definitely felt like it was setting up the back half of the season.

Kinda loved how The Electrocutioner got defeated so easily. Poor Penguin. He's been roughed up so much. Glad he got to one up Fish. Penguins eat fish so...

I'm all on board for the Jim x Lee (? I think I prefer using her full name).

Glad there was only a small Barbara scene. Having Jerky parents still doesn't make me feel any sympathy towards Barbara.

Falcone was awesome. I knew Eliza would end up dead eventually. Especially with Fish telling her nothing was going to happen to her.

Not gonna lie, I didn't miss Cat and haven't been missing Bruce or Alfred (I know, blasphemy). I'm sure I'll be happy when they do show up again, but for now...*shrugs*

[MisterGlass]

I think it was a stretch to juggle the Electrocutioner (whose powers are also a stretch), Fish's move, and three other subplots in the same episode. That said, whoa.

 

I knew Don Falcone would be angry, but I didn't expect him to lay his hands on Liza to re-assert his authority.  Penguin's misstep with Don Maroni after his almost electrocution felt laughable, but the gloating over Fish I do buy.

 

The Electrocutioner was resolved more quickly than I expected.  I assumer he'll reappear, as he is too good of a character to be lost in the ether, but it would have been nice for him to have more of a moment.  As soon as the lightning started arcing in the station, my inner voice yelled 'galoshes'!  Victory through a glass of water was amusing.

 

I feel like Jim's show of bravado is modeled a bit on Harvey, but while Harvey mouths off at people beneath him or his own rank, Jim does it to superiors.  "You think you've been careful so far??"  Commissioner Loeb was very much in the mold of the mayor.

 

Ed, I know you mean well in your own demented way, but you are terribly creepy.

 

Barbara's parents are creepy too.  No wonder she's imbalanced.

 

Anyone else laugh when they put a piece of paper on the transparency projector?

Edited January 20, 2015 by MisterGlass

[Lantern7]

So . . . where do mafia dons find molls in this day and age?

 

Good episode. I like how Bullock is still "Gotham" enough to try and distance himself from Jim when the Commissioner comes calling. Penguin still shines even when he's been shocked and exposed. And damn, Barbara's parents are ice cold. Parental neglect doesn't excuse her direction, but it does put her a step above Laurel Lance in terms of being a vacuum's worth of suck.

 

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie . . . just put on the green leotard already. Nobody will miss you at GCPD, especially not Miss Kringle. Why do I have a feeling that the cop that brushed him off is going to die or get humiliated?

 

Anybody else amused by the photo op after the Electrocutioner got nabbed? I think the next shot would've been of him dangling upside-down, with Jim making motions with his arms, shouting, "I caught a perp THIS BIG!!!"

 

Seriously, no Bruce/Alfred? Do I just check off the "brooding" and "doting" boxes?

[mtlchick]

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy....wow she really thought she can outsmart Falcone.  Falcone may have been blinded but I figured he couldn't be a huge crime boss if he was that stupid.  

 

Logue owns me watching this show for the character.  Mackenzie owns me due to the wife beater. 

[AimingforYoko]

Anyone else laugh when they put a piece of paper on the transparency projector?

I laughed at the very appearance of the thing. What's next? A mimeograph machine?

[Raachel2008]

Really show, Jim strolls out from a shower bone dry in that damn OC wife beater?

 

 

Respect the wife beater!! The wife beater is an entity in itself!!!

 

I'm glad they skipped they whole will-they-won't-they nonsense with Jim and Leslie, ops, Lee, and went straight for the kill, since we all know it was going to happen. That kiss was hot, indeed, and I'm  boarding this train - oaky ship.

 

I was kind of expecting Falcone to kill Liza, but it was the whole talk about Fish using the memory of his saint mother that was chilly - the man is so very cold and John Doman is such an awesome actor that he almost makes me forget that Falcone is evil.

 

Ugh, that was low, making Dumbara's parents cold, but, hey, Heller, try me and see if I care, which, by the way, I don't.

 

I didn't miss Bruce. Or Alfred. Or Selina. Maybe I  miss Alfred a little, but little little little.  The best parts of this show are Jim/Bullock and Oswald/anyone.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Raachel2008

[thuganomics85]

Damn, Gordon is already back at GCPD?  I mean, I'm glad that we are back to Gordon/Bullock, because they are so awesome, but I was surprised.  Figured they would stick him in Arkham for a few more episodes.  But, I guess he earned it.  I did love that he defeated The Electrocutioner so easily.  The guy clearly didn't think about that particular flaw.  And, I liked that once it happened, he automatically was like "Welp, that didn't work!", and just flat-out gave up.  He may be crazy, but he knows when it's time to just hang it up, heh.

 

Speaking of going fast, damn, Jim!  When I said to go ahead and go for it with Leslie, I honestly didn't think the show would have him already go for it in only two episodes.  But, I have no complaints.  Barbara, who?  Team Leslie/Morena Baccarin!  Only disappointment was they were interrupted by some random cop.  If they had to go there, at least have it be Bullock.  His reaction would have been something to see.

 

Well, Fish's grand plan totally failed.  Surprised they already are going ahead, and having her be removed from power.  Then again, it really isn't surprising.  Fish was backed by new characters like Butch and Liza.  Falcone?  Has DC comic staples like Oswald and Victor Zsasz in his corner.  She had no chance!  But, I have the feeling that keeping her alive means this is going to come back to bite him and maybe even Oswald.

 

I really do love Oswald, but I also love watching him get beat up and freak out whenever Maroni grills him.  David Zayas is so much fun as Maroni.

 

Hey, Miss Kringle is back!  And Nygma is still being a little creeper.  And, what was with this new cop played by Dash Mihok.  Another possible first victim for Edward? He's too recognizable of an actor for that small of a role.

 

Really enjoyed the episode.  I didn't really miss Bruce, Alfred, or Selina, so I do think the show might be better off just making some of the regulars recurring.  I think Gordon, Bullock, and, to an extend, Oswald, are probably the biggest players on this show, but the rest don't need to be in every episode.

Edited January 20, 2015 by thuganomics85

[SimoneS]

Fun episode. I cracked up at the executioner's reaction to Jim throwing coffee on him to short him out.

 

Ah, Jim cannot help threatening the police commissioner. I loved Bullock incredulously asking Jim several times if he thought that he had been careful. LOL!

 

I like Lee and Jim as a couple.

 

Oh Liza, I knew Fish would get her killed. Falcone is scary as hell.

 

I miss Bruce and Alfred.

Edited January 20, 2015 by SimoneS

[benteen]

Good episode.  I liked the Electrictioner threat although it was resolved way too quickly.

 

Is there a character currently on television who is beaten up more than Oswald?  I agree hearing him freak out when he's cornered is always a blast.

 

Good chemistry between Jim and the doctor, Thompson, was it?

[Primetimer]

Mooney's mob coup hits a Penguin-shaped snag; Gordon battles one of Gotham's least effective supervillains.

Read the story

[shapeshifter]

...Kinda loved how The Electrocutioner got defeated so easily....

Yes. Such a casually tossed bit of liquid. Hee. That's what makes this show better than a lot of other good comic derivative shows: It doesn't always have to be OTT.

...Not gonna lie, I didn't miss Cat and haven't been missing Bruce or Alfred (I know, blasphemy). I'm sure I'll be happy when they do show up again, but for now...*shrugs*

Good of the writers to do what works rather than slavishly shoehorn stuff in. Of course, child actors have rules that limit their work hours too.

[leisawoo]

When Falcone was choking the life outta LizaMommyLookalike, all I could think was: didn't DaFish (played so damn well by Jada) vet her and have her fight another girl to death for the job of Super Assassin? Or did my old memory flub that shiz up? Ya just gonna let him choke a bitch, Liza? Did guilt overcome you? Ok, then.

[benteen]

When Falcone was choking the life outta LizaMommyLookalike, all I could think was: didn't DaFish (played so damn well by Jada) vet her and have her fight another girl to death for the job of Super Assassin? Or did my old memory flub that shiz up? Ya just gonna let him choke a bitch, Liza? Did guilt overcome you? Ok, then.

 

It's nothing new on Fox.  I remember a woman getting strangled to death by a guy on The Following who had two broken fingers.

[leisawoo]

Hahahaha Benteen. I feel ya. Never could get into that one. I really wanted to like it. I did. Is it still on?

[benteen]

It's still on.  They had a commercial for it either during Gotham or Sleepy Hollow.

 

IGN's review for this episode was scathing and they brought up some points I just remembered, like how ludicrous Fish's endgame was and how it played out.

[Actionmage]

Count me in on the very useless Liza question. We did indeed see a girlfight, by headlight, to see who got the "honor" of "singing". So...?

 

Oswald. I just wanted to pet him and keep Maroni away from him. Poor guy was zapped clear across a restaurant, almost completely blew his own cover ( or actually did), then got zapped a second time! he was slapped by Falcone. Yet, he was given a moment to gloat. I was surprised Sal didn't send one of his other guys to check on Mrs. Cobblepot. (By the way, a scene with gold potential, what with her paranoia.)

 

How awesome was it to see Peter Scolari being a scuzzy commissioner?! He was as delightful as the Mayor! Gotham, where second bananas of yesterday get to be effective scuzz today!

 

Barbara? While her parents seem Brittle (mom) and apathetic/indifferent (dad), part of that may have been due to wild child Barbara times. They may have been less uptight, but have come through Barbara's drugs 'n' booze era and are wary.  At least they didn't send her away. I do get the feeling that silver and jewelry will be counted daily, though.

 

After reading about Leslie not having keys at Arkham, I am wary of how fast this Gordon/Thompkins thing is. Don't get me wrong- I love Ms. Baccarin and am glad she's here. But wasn't she the Hot/Crazy example on How I Met Your Mother?  But, yeah, the kiss was hot.

 

Harvey spoke for us all with his " You were playing it safe?" because, really. Shut up, Jim. Even though I enjoyed you continually speaking your truth to Power. Telling the current commish that anyone tries to take his shield, they'll eat it?!  Wow. If the first half of the season was him in first gear, we better make sure we have safety equipment for the rest!

 

Fish, looking quietly fab, gets so close to achieving The Plan, without killing Falcone, due to respect she still has for him. Man, I want to know the straight scoop on how Falcone and Fish came together. "You were always the brains of the family..."  Damn, those calls got me. Even Zsazs, looking to do something, was looking a bit lost. Until a certain wily bird came home to roost.

 

Edward? Ballistics and baked goods aren't the way to Ms. Kringle's heart; start using that big brain and quit being creepy. You can be you and not creepy, right?

 

Not quite too stuffed, imo, but not draggy either. Very enjoyable. Looking forward to next episode!

 

Oh, the car ad/BTS thing: not great, but not horrid. Teensy hints and more of Mr. Taylor's voice. Just right. (Maybe Donal or Mr. Pertwee next time?)

 

eta: Thank you, leisawoo!

Edited January 20, 2015 by Actionmage

[leisawoo]

I love your post Actionmage!

[shapeshifter]

...Fish, looking quietly fab, gets so close to achieving The Plan, without killing Falcone, due to respect she still has for him....

Part of me wondered if Fish was pretending to herself that it was a lie told ostensibly so that the now-smitten-with-her-sugar-daddy Liza would go along with it.

[SimoneS]

I was surprised about Fish's nostalgia about Falcone. I did not feel sorry for Fish and I blame her for putting Liza in harm's way, but at least she did try to save Liza when Falcone was strangling her. I wonder if Butch survives?

Edited January 20, 2015 by SimoneS

[Agent Dark]

I think they wasted Christopher Heyerdahl as The Electrocutioner, when he was such a good fit for Hugo Strange.  The Electrocutioner is such a C-Grade Batman villain, whereas introducing Hugo Strange now would work in neatly with a timeline for Bruce Wayne becoming Batman (in that Hugo Strange is always being depicted as an older 'mad scientist' kind of villain).  Oh well.  At least Victor Zsasz is still pretty spot on for his comic book persona.  Commissioner Loeb vs James Gordon should be good to see as an ongoing rivalry, though I wonder if he's going to be sticking around (Loeb is usually portrayed as the corrupt Commissioner when Batman first appears in Gotham, which would mean he'd would have to have been in the position for at least 10 years in this timelime since Bruce is only like 12 right now...)

 

Best part of the episode was the Falcone, Maroni and Penguin stuff.  Fish's plan seems pretty silly in retrospect - just hope Falcone rolls over?  No contingency if he decides to come after her?  Unless there's some yet to be revealed master-plan...  It's going to be very interesting now that The Penguin has wormed his way into both the major player's backpockets.  I like this, since it's a good start to show how The Penguin becomes such a major player down the track in Gotham and how despite outward appearances will eventually become a worthy adversary to Batman.

[Shanna]

. I loved Bullock incredulously asking Jim several times if he thought that he had been careful. LOL.

This was by far my favorite part of the episode and was more amusing than it had any right to be!!! Bullocks expression was gold.

Falcone was scary but he is going to regret not just offing fish immediately.

Go jim!!! Get it. I picture him thinking of his wife beater later and thinking "works every time".

I don't care if Barbara's parent suck.

[darkestboy]

Well, Gordon got his job back rather quickly, didn't he? I'm surprised they didn't decide to keep him at Arkham for a tiny bit longer.

He also managed to take out Gruber quicker than expected and get together with Leslie too for good measure.

Loved his not so veiled threat to Loeb though who seems to be as inept as the Mayor is as well.

Bullock had some solid one liners in this episode and I did feel bad for Nygma when Kringle rejected him again, but yeah the cupcake/bullet thing was a tad creepy.

No Selina, Bruce or Alfred again. Kind of miss them now.

Barbara's parents are horrible. That's it really.

Fish made her move too soon and got Liza killed, Falcone back in power and Oswald lording it over her. I'm beginning to wonder if she'll make it out of the season alive now.

Maroni better start copping on that his trained monkey is betraying him and fast too, 8/10

[Ubiquitous]

Barbara's parents, talk about ice cold.

They seem to be terrible people, but Barbra still sucks. It also reminded me that she owns the apartment she and Jim cohabitated, so why did she abandon it?

 

What was Nygma's cupcake-and-bullet riddle? I missed it.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

They seem to be terrible people, but Barbra still sucks. It also reminded me that she owns the apartment she and Jim cohabitated, so why did she abandon it?

 

What was Nygma's cupcake-and-bullet riddle? I missed it.

Beautiful and Deadly.

[truthaboutluv]

I don't care if Barbara's parent suck.

 

 

Seriously. All I could think after that scene was "am I supposed to feel sorry for Barbara because nope, didn't work." The writers have just done too poorly a job with this character that it seems almost impossible to bring her back where I can even tolerate her much less like and root for her and Jim. Nope, sorry. I mean I don't quite loathe her as much as I do Rebecca on How To Get Away With Murder or the two leads on The Affair but I definitely think the show will lose nothing with her gone. 

 

My favorite part of this episode was Victor's very obvious disappointment when Falcone initially agreed to just walk away and wouldn't let him and his people go after Fish. I swear I thought he'd start pouting and stamping his foot that he was being denied that joy. So I can imagine how thrilled he was when Falcone got wind of Fish's full plan and changed his mind on fighting back.

 

For somebody who was supposed to be smart, Fish's plan always seemed really stupid and not well thought out to me. I couldn't believe when she said she was making her move early in the episode. I just don't know how she thought this would work. In my opinion, it would have been smarter for Fish to have all the other members of the family on her side like she seemed to be doing earlier in the season and take down Falcone with them, all the while convincing them she was just meekly standing by and then take out her biggest threat of the family without them suspecting it was coming.

 

So they get rid of Falcone for her and she is the only one left standing - in fact kind of like what Penguin has been doing. I said in the mid-season finale thread that it was getting a little predictable and boring watching Penguin come out on top over and over but the little sociopath is definitely smart and is very good and thinking two, three steps ahead and playing others against each other. Fish is too erratic and her arrogance did her in. 

 

I too was a little surprised they got Jim back to the GCPD so fast and hooked him and Dr. Thompson up so quickly but eh, Ii like Jim and Bullock's dynamic so glad he's back at his job and he and Dr. Thompson had decent chemistry and frankly anyone is better than Barbara at this point. Unpopular opinion but I actually do miss Bruce and Alfred. I find Bruce's awkward man-child personality quite endearing.

[AzureOwl]

Wonder what his "sainted mother" would think of how he turned out but it's not that important, lol.

Well, I got the impression from that flashback to his father's funeral that Falcone's father was also a mobster, so maybe she was OK with it.  

 

Barbara's parents, talk about ice cold.

I think the fact that their butler is incapable of recognizing Barbara on sight is what's more telling of all. It not only means that she almost never visits her parents, but also that there must not be a single picture of her in the entire house.

[Jediknight]

I'm pretty sure Oswald, Zsasz, and Falcone by themselves could kill every single one of Falcone's enemies in 2 weeks.  Also all 3 actors are perfect in their roles.

 

Gordon is still a badass, and he kissed Inara.  Way to go, Gordon.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Gordon is still a badass, and he kissed Inara.  Way to go, Gordon.

 

 

       That OC wifebeater must be coated with some type of sex potion.

 

       And yes, Jim is continues to make my lady parts sing when he beats up fools.

[Milz]

So Jack Bauer has 24 hours to....Wait, wrong show....Jim Gordon has 24 hours to find Jack Gruber. II loved the campy parts of the show like the rubber galoshes and defeating Gruber with water (or was it coffee?) and Gruber's expression when he was defeated. Pure camp.

 

The Fish-Falcone arc: I'm getting bored with it. Sorry. But it's getting boring.

 

Barbara and her Stepford Parents don't inspire empathy in me. Please kill her off and be done with it already.

[Delphi]

Okay back with other thoughts. Still though, poor Liza.

Upon watching it again. I'm not impressed. I really see what Gotham was going for and this would have been a fantastic episode...if the show was going to be wrapped up in an episode or two, but it's not. It's got a full season now, so from a narrative view having Fish make her move seems foolish. In terms of story her plan was foolish in a whole different way. Turns out Liza wasn't a secret weapon, she was a bargaining chip. Yawn.

Why set up the whole Arkham Asylum arc and do absolutely nothing with it? That makes no sense. It's like Jim was merely grounded for a week or two.

Why is no one living in the penthouse!?

If you insist on having Barbara around...please do something with her. At this point Selina and Bruce are more vital to the story than she is.

Why set up Gruber to be so dastardly and imposing and do nothing with him? Is he going to come back later? How was Aaron beat unconscious so easily?

Leslie is now Lee? Writers, you don't need to change everyone's name, we know who their supposed to be. Just own it.

For me Falcone and Oswald were the most intriguing parts of the story. I haven't even been a huge fan of penguin in this.

I also don't see Liza just getting strangled and not fighting back, unless she just felt too guilty. But I honestly expected her to scream, "its a trap!" and ruin Fish's plan, alas that didn't happen.

I'm not surprised Gotham got a second season...but hopefully by the time it comes around the writers figure out what kind of story they are trying to tell. End rant.

[Surrealist]

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie . . . just put on the green leotard already. Nobody will miss you at GCPD, especially not Miss Kringle. Why do I have a feeling that the cop that brushed him off is going to die or get humiliated?

 

I immediately thought the same. We'll see him lying dead (or worse) in an upcoming episode.

[HalcyonDays]

Awww...poor Liza. It seemed she really like Falcone, probably in a fatherly way. Damn, Falcone for killing her.

 

And Fish - so easily shut down by Falcone. Her plan was ridiculous. Falcone wouldn't simply step aside. She should have know that even if he DID, others loyal to him would step in and cause havoc. I get her respect for him, but really? Weak Fish.

 

Penguin - again, one punch takes him out. RLT plays him excellently, but the character goes from manipulative to weak and begging to comically stupid. Too bad. I just don't see how this guy can be an uber-villian.

 

Can I just say - I love Bullock to death. He is hilarious. Just awesome. Him and Jim are amazing together. Great chemstry.My two favourites characters are Jim and Bullock. And Jim threathening the commish - excellent.

 

And Jim and Leigh?? Barbara who? Morena Baccarin is so much more engaging and interesting than Barbara. Keep her.

[Dobian]

I loved this episode.  Great finish with Falcone and Fish, he really owned that scene... until Penguin waddled in and gave Fish some "in your face"!  Good stuff, I love this Mafiaesque turf war that is setting the stage for the Batman generation to come.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Dobian

[truthaboutluv]

RLT plays him excellently, but the character goes from manipulative to weak and begging to comically stupid. Too bad. I just don't see how this guy can be an uber-villian.

 

 

YMMV but I don't think Penguin is ever genuinely weak or groveling and I've definitely never seen him be stupid. I think he's incredibly manipulative and also has a very strong survival instinct (clearly). So he grovels and begs when it is seemingly in his best interest to do so but he's always plotting and is already two steps ahead of the other person.

 

A perfect example was his look towards Maroni when Maroni had him thrown in jail for a day to teach him a lesson. Sure he said the right things, acted properly chastened but he was shooting daggers at Maroni when he turned around and you could practically see the wheels in his brain spinning as to how to get his revenge. I actually think the season has shown perfectly how Penguin becomes an uber-villain.

 

Why set up the whole Arkham Asylum arc and do absolutely nothing with it? That makes no sense. It's like Jim was merely grounded for a week or two.

 

 

I may be wrong but I don't think Arkham is done just because Jim no longer works there. Especially if Dr. Townsend is sticking around for awhile and it's where she works. 

 

Why is no one living in the penthouse!?

 

 

Because it belongs to Barbara as Jim mentioned a few times before and they're technically broken up or on a break. I can believe a guy like Jim being too proud to live in his ex-girlfriend's swanky apartment that she's paying for. 

 

Why set up Gruber to be so dastardly and imposing and do nothing with him? Is he going to come back later?

 

 

Again, as with Arkham, I have no proof of this but I definitely don't think this is the last we'll see of Gruber. 

Edited January 20, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Spartan Girl]

Dear Barbara,

 

Just because your parents suck doesn't mean you have to suck too.  So I will not join your pity party.  Just die already.

[immortalfrieza]

I also don't see Liza just getting strangled and not fighting back, unless she just felt too guilty. But I honestly expected her to scream, "its a trap!" and ruin Fish's plan, alas that didn't happen.

I buy that completely. Liza was smart enough to recognize that trying to fight back would have been worse. She chose the relatively quick death by strangling instead of death by Falcone's goons that were already holding her and everybody else at gunpoint or death by torture after pissing Falcone off even more by making a futile attempt to fight back.

 

I think the writers are going for the "I lived a suffocating lifestyle under my prim and proper parents therefore I rebelled by turning to drugs and booze" with Barbara, not that will come close to justifying anything she's done and I agree with the rest that it won't make me pity her.

 

Penguin - again, one punch takes him out. RLT plays him excellently, but the character goes from manipulative to weak and begging to comically stupid. Too bad. I just don't see how this guy can be an uber-villian.

I think that's pretty much been Penguin's entire thing in most of his adaptions though. He's smart, cunning, and manipulative, but he's also so comical in his actions and appearance that his enemies never expect him to be a genuine threat. He's always been more of a very successful schemer with some guns to back him up when he needs it rather than a tough guy that climbs to the top by kicking everybody's asses like a lot of the other villains.

 

If Arkham Asylum is anything like most Batman Arkhams Gruber will be out in about a week, a month tops. I think Gruber was intended to be a bit Electrocutioner and a bit Hugo Strange rolled up into one since they can't actually use either of those characters on this show as they're post Batman characters, much like they had Richard Sionus play Black Mask instead of Roman Sionus.

[Ltg.jon]

When Falcone was choking the life outta LizaMommyLookalike, all I could think was: didn't DaFish (played so damn well by Jada) vet her and have her fight another girl to death for the job of Super Assassin? Or did my old memory flub that shiz up? Ya just gonna let him choke a bitch, Liza? Did guilt overcome you? Ok, then.

I think that fight was less about seeing if Liza was a great fighter and more about seeing which of the girls would follow the most extreme orders.

I know this is illogical, but it creeped me out to see two of Bruce Wayne's surrogate parental figures making out.

And I liked that Gordon threatened the Commissioner. We need to see him become a little bit crazy and cross some lines before he comes out on the other side as the upstanding cop we will eventually know and love.

[phane00]

I just rewatched the end scene, with the Kiss.  The interrupting cop mentions a shoot out at Fish Mooney's.  A shoot out is not a shooting.  A shooting implies that the victim was killed by gunshot.  A shoot out implies that several individuals exchanged gunfire.  Considering that Falcone got the drop on Fish and her crew without anyone hearing a shot, it's unlikely that it's just Fish's people found dead at the scene.  What are the odds that Maroni brought his boys to the party?  Maroni obviously didn't buy Penguin's "Mom's sick" story, after hearing him in the ambulance.  So, would he really allow one of Falcone's former employees to go off without someone following him?  Not likely.  He'd follow Penguin to the meet at Falcone's, and call in his own troops for the party at Fish's. 

 

Likely outcomes... most of Falcone's crew are dead.  Penguin and Fish are caught by Maroni.  Victor and Falcone escape, but Falcone is wounded.  Butch is dead, or severely wounded and found by the cops. 

[Ubiquitous]

Beautiful and Deadly.

Well, that was a disappointing (but creepy) riddle.

[Actionmage]

Leslie is now Lee? Writers, you don't need to change everyone's name,

 

I read that as a nickname, Lee as opposed to Leslie( lez-lee). If she has a professional card, her name is probably still Dr. Leslie Thompkins, but her friends-and Jim- get to call her Lee.

 

I felt so sad for Oswald last night. He has had one of the most humiliating, yet relatively successful arcs so far. Yet, he was shot across a restaurant due to an electric current and was carried, not once but  twice, by one of Moroni's thugs over said thug's shoulder. RLT should be up for a Supporting Actor Emmy, but Gotham's genre and blahblahblah snotcakes.

 

phane00? Great spec! If this hour had a take-away it was old Dons get to be old Dons because they are smart and suspicious folk.

 

You know, with the talk about Barbara's apartment, maybe she doesn't want to go where Jim supposedly took someone else. Depending on the timing, she may find something of The Duchess' if she does go back. (My timeline on the Duchess and Harvey being at the apartment may off.) "Hijinx" ensue.

[Surrealist]

YMMV but I don't think Penguin is ever genuinely weak or groveling and I've definitely never seen him be stupid. I think he's incredibly manipulative and also has a very strong survival instinct (clearly). So he grovels and begs when it is seemingly in his best interest to do so but he's always plotting and is already two steps ahead of the other person.

 

A perfect example was his look towards Maroni when Maroni had him thrown in jail for a day to teach him a lesson. Sure he said the right things, acted properly chastened but he was shooting daggers at Maroni when he turned around and you could practically see the wheels in his brain spinning as to how to get his revenge. I actually think the season has shown perfectly how Penguin becomes an uber-villain.

 

Damn you! I was about to write something similar. *shakes fist*

 

Hahahahahahaha.

 

I agree. I definitely see Penguin as laying the groundwork for the uber-villain he's to become. Given that he's dealing with mafiosos, he has to have a finely tuned survival instinct. Even with his slip-up to Maroni in the ambulance, he recovered rather well.

 

He'll always be, at least, two steps ahead of the Mafia guys.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Surrealist

[truthaboutluv]

Damn you! I was about to write something similar. *shakes fist*

 

 

Oops...sorry, lol.

[Danielg342]

For an episode with a lot of spark...there sure wasn't a lot of sizzle.

I thought Ben McKenzie was a bit off in this episode...he didn't feel at all natural, feeling more like "Snarlbot 3000". Someone needs to tell McKenzie to tone it down, just like he was at the beginning of the season- he's not tough just because he talks tough, he's tough because he just *is* tough. I will give him credit, though- at least he wins his fights. Far too often TV Badasses get used as punching bags, so when Jim Gordon inevitably loses a fight, at least this time I'll believe the character's menace.

The kiss...glad the show went for it so early, and it felt nice and real. I got the sense that Gordon saw Lee and realized she's his "escape" from all of the problems he has to deal with. I'm not like others and see an awful lot of chemistry between McKenzie and Morena Baccharin, but I thought at least we got some sparks, with something definitely to build on.

Did enjoy him talking trash to the Commissioner, and Bullock calling Gordon out on being "not being risky". Gordon wears his heart on his sleeve and I love it.

I was also disappointed with Penguin in this episode...perhaps I'm late with it, but now I'm starting to see what others have said- how can he last this long manipulating people without them realizing it? I'm hoping there's some payback by Maroni planned because I'll be mightily disappointed if the Penguin gets out of his "excited utterance" jam just by sounding surprised. As much as I think Maroni is aloof, I'd like to think he isn't stupid. If I was him, I'd be investigating at the slightest hint of a betrayal, and the Penguin basically left it for him on a platter.

Fish...she really dragged things in this episode. I think it was mostly Jada Pinkett-Smith trying too hard to be "tough" because none of it was natural, just like McKenzie's performance, though I think Jada's performance was much worse. It was almost laughable her attempt to show how scared she was of Falcone at the end...come on Jada, you're supposed to be cowering at the feet of maybe the scariest man in Gotham...you're not supposed to act like you "might" be scared, you should be scared.

While we're talking about disappointments, there's Falcone, who I thought knew all along what Fish was doing. Granted, at least Falcone bemoaned his stupidity, and I suppose I had the benefit of seeing what the character likely doesn't. I'm kind of hoping that Falcone and Penguin develop some kind of an uneasy friendship, because it'd be a nice contrast to all the backstabbing that goes on in the criminal world. Either that, or Falcone realizes that Penguin's playing him too because, as even he notices, how can he be right all the time?

Poor Liza...I will miss Mackenzie Leigh. Perfectly appropriate she bites the dust via choking...it's a very personal means of death, and what she did- or represented- to Falcone was very personal. I also think Fish's survival makes no sense to me- I mean, I know *why* she's surviving but if she didn't have Plot Armour then she'd likely be dead right there too. If I was Falcone I'd lose it on everybody, and make everyone die a horrible death...Fish disrespected his mother. Doesn't get any worse than that.

The case itself was a bit simplistic...really didn't feel like there were that many clues. I did enjoy Gordon profiling Jack, because Jack fell for it, and I did enjoy Gordon throwing the cup of water at Jack's electrical equipment. Sure, it was "easy", but I think it's a nice contrast to how difficult Jack made Gordon's life and how difficult Gordon's life had become...I mean if I was Gordon, I think I'd want a cup of water handy to beat the bad guy that stands between me and my rightful career. So all is fair. I just wished Bullock was in that scene somehow.

Speaking of Bullock...he was underused, but I did appreciate that he's become the "observant" one of the pair. He comes across as a doofus, but he's much smarter than he looks.

Enjoyed seeing Chelsea Spack (Kris Kringle) again...she played the "dainty but strong" role really well. Thought that cupcake with the bullet in it was a great statement about her character- she may appear nice and sweet on the outside, but on the inside, she'll mess you up if she has to.

...and then Nygma...well, you definitely are a troubled geek, someone who can't seem to get any respect from anyone. I liked seeing his looks of disappointment when dealing with Kringle...I think the show is really selling well his slow plunge into despair.

Then there's Barbara, but her story bored me so I refuse to even acknowledge she was it this episode.

Overall...C. Too clunky to be a good standalone episode but there are enough nuggets in there to make this the buildup for something better, I hope.