S02.E12: Wrath Of The Villains: Mr. Freeze

[formerlyfreedom]

Penguin takes a hit for Galavan's murder, but doesn't let Gordon off easily. Meanwhile, Gordon and Bullock investigate the body-snatching spree of Victor Fries, one of Gotham's preeminent cryogenics engineers.

 

 

[Petunia13]

I hope Penguin is freed.

[Lantern7]

People getting flash-frozen? Must be Monday.

 

Good episode to come back to the show. And I think Victor is more menacing a bad guy than Captain Cold over on Legends of Tomorrow. When was the last time you saw Snart actually freeze a guy? Nice to shoehorn the motivation from B:TAS with Nora. Bottom line: don't fuck with a dude that has a dying wife. Gotham's Worst Pharmacist found that out the hard way.

 

Poor Oswald. Penguins never go to Arkham in traditional canon. And now he's in the hands of Dr. Hugo Strange, who has the absolute worst name for a mental health professional.

[Primetimer]

Arkham Asylum is now led by a gentleman named Hugo Strange. That sounds safe!

Read the story

[SoSueMe]

Nice to have Gotham back, neatly scheduled before Better Call Saul :)

 

This must be a dumb question, but why is Oswald willing to take the rap for Galavan's murder? Anyone? TIA 

[Spartan Girl]

So SVU's Dr. Huang has gone to the dark side....

Boy Mr. Freeze is going to be in for a shock when he finds out what his wife really thinks of his freezing and killing people.

[HoodlumSheep]

I thought this was a good/strong episode to start the second half of the season.

Mr. Freeze and Hugo Strange are great additions. I like the actors.

Poor Nora. :(

Woo! Butch is king of Gotham! It's not going to last, but I'll take what I can get!

At least there was a decent-ish amount of Harvey this episode. Are we going to revive the Harvey Bullock meter/scale, now that the show's back on?

So Lee accepted Jim's proposal, huh? I figured she'd turn him down until he got his crap together, but I suppose she thinks he's done that now Galavan is gone.

Every time I see IH, I get a little more hopeful that Jerome will make his glorious return.

[bluvelvet]

I think Oswald is hanging on to this secret to use against Jim at a later date.

Strong return, looking forward to more Mr. Freeze

[NutmegsDad]

Nice to shoehorn the motivation from B:TAS with Nora.

 

Wonderful cribbing. I'm just surprised they gave a bunch of reveals (Nora knows, the cops know, the cops find his lair, Mr. Freeze finds out what formula works) all in one episode. Breakneck.

 

The look Bullock gave Gordon after Nora refused to say where her husband is, ("Really? We're going to have to bust a dying woman on obstruction?") brings forth the heartache this storyline deserves.

 

And Butch is running Gotham? With Tabitha adding forces? Please! I can only squee so much!

[darkestboy]

I loved this one. A great way of introducing Freeze's character and Nathan Darrow is brilliant in the role. Definitely influenced by Batman: The Animated Series episode Heart Of Ice and all the better for it too.

 

I actually want Victor to not get arrested by Gordon/Bullock as well. Felt bad for poor Nora in this one too.

 

Hugo Strange is creepy. He scares me and even Oswald looked freaked out by him towards the end of the episode. Looks like they're moving forward with the Indian Hill storyline too.

 

I really hope we lose Barnes. He adds nothing to the show. No offence to the actor.

 

Butch as King of Gotham won't last but it's amusing and Tabitha kind of works with him. 8/10

[Chaos Theory]

I liked this episode. It was nice seeing Kristen Hager. The girl really likes playing characters named "Nora". I think the roll is perfect for her. Perfect blend of girl next door with a twinge of bitch.

Jim is interesting when he is a little dark...and stressed.

I was feeling a little sorry for Nygma. How the mighty have fallen. He couldn't even get respect in the nut house.

[Biggie B]

I was feeling a little sorry for Nygma. How the mighty have fallen. He couldn't even get respect in the nut house.

 

 

I think you meant Penguin, as he's the one who's now in Arkham, and yes, I did feel bad for him as well, especially knowing that his "treatments" are going to be pretty awful.

 

As soon as Harvey called Nygma "dummy," I got nervous - I hope Nygma doesn't do anything to Harvey out of anger.

[Hanahope]

So is Gotham going to be "overrun" with villains who stick around for 10+ years or so until Bruce is old enough to don the Batman mantle?  I mean, I can see showing us a young Catwoman who always seems a little 'on the fence' about crime, a Penguin/crime boss in development, but is Mr. Freeze really going to be still freezing people for what, revenge maybe when his wife dies, for 10 years or more?

[Chaos Theory]

I think you meant Penguin, as he's the one who's now in Arkham, and yes, I did feel bad for him as well, especially knowing that his "treatments" are going to be pretty awful.

See even I don't give Penguin his proper respect. Already I have forgotten him..,,

I know I'm the only one who likes the character but I was hoping to see Barbara in Arkham then I remembered she's not in Arkham but maybe she is taking a nap in Indian Hill.

[HalcyonDays]

Hey GCPD - I know you have to take in Nora for questioning, but maybe realize that there are oxygen tanks and tons of pills there, and maybe grab (or get in a doctor) for poor Nora. We just saw earlier her needing drugs and an O2 mask - yet they take her to the precinct without any of that. What would happen if she had an attack and died during interrogation!!

 

I feel back for Penguin too - especially what Dr. Strange is gonna do with him. He had words and thugs - not strength. It's gonna be a rough ride, unless he can outsmart the doctors/etc. Oh and BD Wong's Hugo Strange - creeps me out and scares me. Excellent casting.

 

Loved seeing Ed's confidence and unwillingness to tolerate people putting him down. Honestly, I thought when Jim wanted to speak with him, he wanted to see how he was doing personally - Ed has had one hell of a personality shift.

 

Penguin's definately wanted to keep that info to himself, but it's going to get him into jail for murder (or as we saw, Arkham) for a while - how will that help Penguin when he cannot even use the info because he's locked up. I assume Jim will help him out.

[blackwing]

Great episode, although I am very sad that we lost Officer Wanda Sykes.  I liked this character a lot, even if she reminded me a bit of the Officer Wanda Sykes character on the Police Academy movies.

 

I really hoped we were done with Galavan, but I know we saw Tabitha wheeling him away into some kind of storage (where we also saw Fish floating in a tank).  Is this the same storage that we saw in the basement of Arkham?  I fear he is going to return, even though he was beaten to death and shot.

 

Mr. Freeze is a great villain.  The actor looks like a young Kyle MacLachlan.

 

And here we have B.D. Wong, once again cast as a doctor or some other kind of authority figure.  I remember him best as the priest on "Oz".  He seems like he is going to be an interesting villain.

 

The Butch/Tabitha thing was cut short, and we didn't see Bruce or Alfred at all.  Hopefully more of Butch in the next episode.

[HoodlumSheep]

So is Gotham going to be "overrun" with villains who stick around for 10+ years or so until Bruce is old enough to don the Batman mantle? I mean, I can see showing us a young Catwoman who always seems a little 'on the fence' about crime, a Penguin/crime boss in development, but is Mr. Freeze really going to be still freezing people for what, revenge maybe when his wife dies, for 10 years or more?

I've been thinking about this too. I'm going to guess that by the end of Mr. Freeze's run, he'll somehow end up accidentally(?) frozen himself, gets stored away somewhere, and will somehow get unthawed 10 or so years into the future.

Although, how old is he when he's a Batman villain? If I remember correctly he looked middle-aged in the cartoons. So maybe he gets thrown in jail for a couple of years????

Lots of possibilities.

[blackwing]

I think it'd be more like 20 years.  Bruce is 15 here, and I've always thought of Batman in the comics and movies as being about 35 years old.  "Gotham" isn't really the story of Bruce Wayne, it may have been intended to be that way on paper but it's very evident that it's the story of a young Jim Gordon.  Gordon on the old Batman show appeared to be in his 60s.

[Danielg342]

It was kind of a ho-hum episode for me. Aside from the cool effects of Mr. Freeze turning people into icicles, this really felt like a rote, by-the-numbers procedural. No twists, no turns, just the clues fed to our two detectives who eventually get to the criminal.

 

Except, I guess, that Mr. Freeze winds up getting away. Which I guess is a twist...but it sure feels underwhelming. I find it hard to believe that only his wife would know where he would escape to. I also gotta wonder how long he can be on the lam with such a distinctive weapon...then again, this is Gotham.

 

I suppose this was more about setting up future stories than it was about telling one, so it was an OK job. I liked that Harvey Dent and Nathaniel Barnes both had their doubts about whether or not Jim Gordon is telling the truth, and I liked how Ben McKenzie gave Gordon a tinge of weakness and vulnerability as, clearly, lying about killing Theo Galavan is eating up Gordon inside. He knows it's going to come back to bite him, and likely in a big way.

 

Edward Nygma...what a 180. Formerly this sheeping guy and now he's got a huge, heaping dose of confidence. I loved how Harvey Bullock put him down only for Nygma to fire back at him with gusto. Bullock- and Jim- learned then that Nygma can no longer be pushed around. The question will be how long it will take before they discover Nygma's criminal tendencies- and whether or not Nygma can dodge them for that much longer.

 

Penguin- looks like Arkham is taking him down a peg, and he's struggling to find his self-confidence absent his minions. No doubt this will be a learning curve for him, since it appears our dear old Oswald Cobblepot still needs to learn that he can't always rely on others to prop him up. I do wonder why he so readily agreed to cover for Gordon.

 

Other notes:

-Totally dug B.D. Wong as Hugo Strange. What a captivating, commanding but subdued performance that was. He and Robin Lord Taylor had excellent chemistry together, and I hope the two of them team up because they'd make a great team.

-Kristen Hager did a good job as Nora, even if her character wasn't all that novel. At least Hager gave it enough vibrancy to make me actually feel for Nora- almost made me want to root for Victor Fries to cure her. Almost.

-So Butch Gilzean and Tabitha Galavan are now the "crime lords" of Gotham. How long will that last? I also really wonder how the relationship will work- Butch seemed to be on to Tabitha and her manipulative ways, so I'm wondering if him agreeing to work with her is a "keep your enemies closer" kind of thing.

-No Bruce Wayne, no Alfred Pennyworth and only a non-speaking cameo from Selina Kyle...which I guess is okay because we needed a break from the kids. However, I do wonder what has happened to Silver St. Cloud- surely Tabitha took her somewhere safe. Is Silver going to join Butch's gang now?

 

Finally, no episode review is complete without...

 

The Bullock Meter

 

6- He was in a lot of scenes, but, kind of like the episode, Bullock was largely pedestrian, delivering largely by-the-numbers procedural lines that Donal Logue tried to give life to but just couldn't. That said, there were some good moments, like the scene with Nygma where Bullock uttered "I'm sorry" for what must be a rare instance in his life (if he's ever done it), and I did dig the Colombo shout out with the "just one more thing" question to Nora about how to pronounce her last name. Bullock seemed to totally come up with it on a lark but he was proven correct.

 

Overall, though, while it was a nice performance by Harvey, we're also not going to look back at this episode and call it a bellwether episode. Hopefully things pick up as the season does.

 

Episode Grade: C+ Glad to have you back, but here's hoping the next episodes pick things up.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Danielg342

[Perfect Xero]

So is Gotham going to be "overrun" with villains who stick around for 10+ years or so until Bruce is old enough to don the Batman mantle?  I mean, I can see showing us a young Catwoman who always seems a little 'on the fence' about crime, a Penguin/crime boss in development, but is Mr. Freeze really going to be still freezing people for what, revenge maybe when his wife dies, for 10 years or more?

 

It feels like they're setting up a situation with Freeze/Arkham/Indian Hill where they'll be able to have Batman villains show up, get captured, and then put in Cryogenic stasis for the 10 years or so it takes Bruce to become Batman.

[Kathemy]

My views on this episode were conflicted. Rather than linking my review I'm going to opt to post it here in its entirety instead.

 

Gotham: Season 2, episode 12, “Mr. Freeze”

 

Now, before we get started, I’d just like to point out that whenever there is a poll about a Gotham episode, I always give it top score. I do this for two reasons: (A), to balance the idiots bashing the show for no good reason, and (B), because I love this show so much that even the weaker outings far beat out anything else I’m watching.

 

But, this is a real review, for my real friends in the Gotham fandom, so I can’t use that cop-out.

 

Putting it simple in the most confusing way possible, I thought this was a great episode that wasn’t very good.

 

Why was it great? It was great because everything in the episode worked. The pacing was practically flawless. There was little to no redundant data. The acting ranged from competent to stellar. It told a focused story.

 

It wasn’t very good because to me, the story that it told wasn’t all that engaging, and how they told it wasn’t either.

 

I have tried to disregard any purely personal preference. Of course, since they are my favorite characters I was a little sad that neither Bruce nor really Selina was even featured in the episode, but I understood and respected the decision. There was only room for so many characters before it would get cluttered. This is improved storytelling. I only hope that future Batcat-centric episodes too will benefit from this improvement.

 

So what was wrong?

 

Gotham has an “it” factor. My favorite episodes of the show - “Penguin’s Umbrella”, “Under The Knife”, “The Son Of Gotham” among others - had that in common that they were tightly narrated stories, wrapped in a deceptively simple package but layered like an onion. They left you with a choice - to peel the onion, or to use it for a sourcream dip.

 

It’s a question of depth versus shallow complexity. Shallowly complex shows are all the rage with all the idiot reviewers. As an example you have Daredevil - which isn’t a bad show, mind you - which owns that in abundance. It screams it at you - “I’m deep, I’m dark, I’m mature, I’m serious!” - it throws it in your face. These shows are to television what Krzysztof Kieslowski was to Postmodernism. When you scratch the surface, there is little more to be found, as it exhausts itself in overt exposition. Gotham always offers you the option to watch it like a popcorn show, and therein lies its magic.

 

I’ll make a confession - I’ve never much enjoyed Mr. Freeze in any medium. I’ve always felt that the attempts to “humanize” the character by appealing to our sense of matrimonial love fell flat, and its latest iteration is no exception. The actor is certainly no slouch but he doesn’t make the role shine either. This is in stark contrast to the phenomenal work done by B.D. Wong as Hugo Strange. And yet, not even this brilliant performer is able to successfully fight the script, which keeps ticking off one character illustration after another like a clockwork in full and needlessly obvious view of the audience.

 

Interestingly, Jim Gordon’s portrayal in this episode was possibly the strongest of the show. It’s clear that he has turned a page, yet the show doesn’t stuff it down your throat. This isn’t a person who lies because he’s afraid to get caught, not really. This is a person who lies because he’s convinced it’s the right thing to do. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

 

Still, “Mr. Freeze” scores higher on the Daredevil meter than the Gotham one, and I think that’s a shame. This is my favorite show on television, which is why I must be honest enough to tell you that for me, it was a failure.

[thuganomics85]

Interesting new additions so far.  They are clearly pushing Mr. Freeze big time, and the actor did a good job at making Victor compelling and even sympathetic at times, even though he is clearly doing some awful things.  I still want him to be brought down, but at least he isn't a full-on loon like Nygma, or power hungry like Oswald.  But I thought it was easily Hugo Strange that stole the show.  B.D. Wong seems like he will be a perfect fit in the role, and I already love watching him put the screw to Oswald.  Oswald has no idea what he just stepped into!

 

Jim manages to lie his way back into the GCPD, but sure sounds like Barnes and Dent still think he might have had something to do with Theo's death.  Still weird that the character who is usually considered the moral center of the Batman franchise, has killed someone in cold-blood, even if the guy was evil as hell.

 

Speaking of Theo, he's gone (although James Frain is still billed, hmmm...), but Tabitha is now making her play by cozying up to the new King of Gotham, Butch!  Yay, Butch!

 

Glad that the show remembered that they actually have Donal Logue on their payroll and we got a decent amount of Bullock this time.

 

No Bruce, Alfred, or Barbara in this one.  Lucius and Leslie only get one scene each, I think.  They really do have a huge cast and they can't seem to get to everyone, I guess.  I hope the actors are enjoying the free time.

[Snookums]

And now he's in the hands of Dr. Hugo Strange, who has the absolute worst name for a mental health professional.

 

 

Well, I understand he changed it from Dr. Hugo Gonna Fuck Your Shit Up, which tipped his hand even earlier.

 

Loved B.D. Wong in this; his elegant precision, his Balinese-dancer hand gestures, always just a wee fraction of a tic off, like the dark alien presence using his flesh as a human suit hasn't quite got all the bugs out of the coordination system yet. His shameless cribbing/capture of tech from all the looney tunes running around town, the way he's clearly got big, big plans but isn't in a hurry. Never be in a hurry, you might miss something.

 

Jim, you have got to work on your lying if you're going to commit to this course of action--like, maybe not so much with the visible sigh of relief when your super suspicious captain tells you that that nutjob you have long history with backed your play? You really cannot afford to be this bad at cryptic secret keeping anymore, especially now that Lee is magical-expand-O preggers (seriously, she's huge considering she apparently just told him "last night" or whatever in show time!) 

 

Ed's holding it together but I miss having his dark side show up to berate him.

 

Gotham continues the long proud tradition of being a center for EVERY LAST area of obscure research and high level chemical compounding--when Ed said that liquid helium was super rare but "maybe one or two" places in the city made it? What is their definition of rare, exactly? That always amused me on the old 60s show, too: how the entire city is nothing but millionaires' homes and abandoned warehouses and factories that made the most random, bizarre amalgamation of stuff possible. Gotham's tax base must be a sight to behold.

[jhlipton]

Except, I guess, that Mr. Freeze winds up getting away.

 

Butch seemed to be on to Tabitha and her manipulative ways, so I'm wondering if him agreeing to work with her is a "keep your enemies closer" kind of thing..

 

That was probably the weakest part of the episode.  At that point, they know "Mr Feeze"s real name, so if a guy confesses, check his ID.  If not, and you have him sit on the Group W bench,for goodness sake don't let him just get up and walk out when his victim calls out "It's him!!!!"  Sheesh!!!

 

 

I liked the end of the Butch / Tabitha scene where he brings his drill up to kill her, and she lowers it with her hook.  Nicely understated -- these two know each other.

[superjengirl]

That was probably the weakest part of the episode. At that point, they know "Mr Feeze"s real name, so if a guy confesses, check his ID. If not, and you have him sit on the Group W bench,for goodness sake don't let him just get up and walk out when his victim calls out "It's him!!!!" Sheesh!!!

That was Alvarez's fault! I can see why Gordon & Dent pick on him all the time. He just wasn't taking the whole issue seriously.

[superjengirl]

Yeah, I'm super happy that Gotham is back! I feel bad for Oswald and what they will do to him. He's done some nasty stuff, but nobody should go through something like that.

I'm not a fan of Nygma, really. At least, Oswald has genuine, human feelings for his mother. Nygma doesn't for anybod, but I like his relationship with Oswald.

Sheesh, I've always liked Gordon as the moral character. I don't really like the direction they are taking him in Gotham. Unless, these are lessons for him to learn.

I hope we see Bruce & Alfredo next episode. When them and Gordon have a scene together, it makes my insides cheer with glee.

[Philbert]

Oh, Gotham how have I missed you, you glorious, over-the-top, hot mess of a tv show.

 

 

One thing that continues to interest me is how greatly cinematic this show looks and feels, as opposed to a lot of the cheaply done "obviously shot in Canada" shows that appear on cable these days. No matter what problems this show might have with tone and writing, it's easily one of the best looking shows on television. I really enjoyed the story this week though. As a non comic book reader, the only exposure to Mr. Freeze I have had is "Arnuhld's" ridiculous performance in "Batman and Robin." This was a really nice change of pace. I particularly enjoyed Harvey and  Jim bickering over his last name. Harvey's asking Nora how it was pronounced was comic gold.

 

I'm also really intrigued by Barnes growing suspicions of Jim's methods, and having to quash them in order to get on with the task at hand. There's going to be a major showdown by the end of this season I think and it's not clear to me that Barnes is the bad guy here.

 

Penguin in Arkham is also an interesting storyline and so far I think B.D. Wong is nailing it as Hugo Strange.

 

Very good episode and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Philbert

[Kathemy]

I can't help noticing how many people feel the need to excuse themselves for saying positive things about the show.

You shouldn't let the rabid haters of this show intimidate you or brainwash you into thinking there's something wrong with it. They have no clue what they are talking about. Gotham is the greatest and the most thematically rich and nuanced comic book show on television.

The whiners, on the other hand, are so simple-minded that they are confusing conscious aesthetic choices with a lack of quality.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Telepath

[Philbert]

 

The whiners, on the other hand, are so simple-minded that they are confusing conscious aesthetic choices with a lack of quality.

 

^ This post right here.

[VCRTracking]

Batman The Animated Series's "Heart of Ice" episode starring Michael Ansara's portrayal with his great voice as Mr. Freeze is still the gold standard of depicting Freeze as a tragic figure but I like the Gotham version as well. I like that we saw Nora before being cryogenically frozen and their life as a married couple together, as sad as it is under the circumstances of her illness.

Edited March 7, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Camera One]

Tabitha is back already?  Zzz...

 

This felt like a boring procedural to me, and I did not like the gross-out factor.  

 

I missed Bruce and Alfred.  I don't think I would bother with this show without them.

[John Potts]

Glad that while the Captain has to "officially" believe Gordon's story, he's not really buying it personally. But he's prepared to tolerate somebody who is probably a force for good, which is showing a shade of grey that he'd previously lacked (the idea that somebody could reach a position of authority without making certain compromises is hard to believe IRL, in Gotham it's virtually impossible).

 

Loving the introduction of Hugo Strange - not a character I know (although I knew he is a legacy character) but who is probably showing Penguin why pleading insanity is not such a "Get Out of Jail Free" card that he thought*. I wonder if this is going to tie back into the Falcone/Maroni conflict over redeveloping Arkham we had last Season? Given they're both gone (one more permanently than the other) it seems doubtful, though I presume it led to the India Hills facility.

 

Despite having the episode title, Mr Freeze was the least interesting character in it (and shouldn't that be Dr Freeze? He didn't spend 5 years at freezing academy to be known as Mister!). Yes, his background is tragic and that had to be on of the most annoying shopkeepers ever (I'm amazed he hasn't been shot before now, living in Gotham) but he really should learn to lock his torture dungeon/Mad Lab  - I know I always do. I mean would! Would lock it, if I had one. Which obviously I don't!

 

 

HoodlumSheep Woo! Butch is king of Gotham! It's not going to last, but I'll take what I can get

 

 

Yeah, I liked that too. Also liked the way he's accessorising his false hand - now with drill attachment!

 

* Ironic in that Arkham is the archetypal Cardboard Prison!

[Chas411]

Did not see the ending coming with the gauging of the eyes - eugh