S04.E21: A Dark Knight: One Bad Day

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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As Gotham falls into complete anarchy, a team of unlikely heroes step up to save it. Bullock takes the lead at the GCPD and Bruce's psychological limits are tested as those close to him are put in danger.

Promo:

[cambridgeguy]

Maybe Bruce should look into beefing up Wayne Manor's security system.

[Miss Dee]

Damn. There were parts of this I couldn't watch, like Alfred cutting himself. And I was shook when Jeremiah showed up at the end and shot Selina.

This show deserves a proper send off if it can't get a full season. It's not fair, but it's not a fair world.

[Danielg342]

I'll call it- Selina ain't dead. Neither is Jeremiah.

That sure is one way to end an episode, Jeremiah delivering Bruce his own "very bad day".

I also thought the subplot with Oswald worked, even if Ozzie and the Girls didn't get anywhere. Ozzie is doing his best to meet Jeremiah Veleska halfway...but Ozzie is clearly not prepared for that fight.

I thought the episode did well with the pacing and the tension. Like the last episode, it was greatly focused and that made the crazy work.

I do think this episode would have worked better if it was a season finale...the tension of whether or not Gotham survives would work better if it was a cliffhanger.

I also believe Jeremiah should have been introduced earlier...he's a very compelling character and very well-developed with so many different avenues to explore, yet we (may) get him for one episode more.

Or, better yet...why the twin thing? Couldn't Jerome have developed into what Jeremiah is now? It would have made sense, as Jerome was young and inexperienced...the older you get, the more controlled you get, and I'm sure watching Jerome develop into The Joker would have been fun.

Eh, I'll just take what I get.

This episode promised to be a big Bullock episode and it delivered. Big time.

Like the Harvey I came to love, he was a commanding, captivating presence, the kind of confident detective that we'd been missing for a while. Harvey did it to save Gotham, but he also managed to save himself in the process. He needed a redemption episode after shooting Patel and backing out of the Bullet Club, and he got it in a big way.

Of course, it wouldn't be Harvey if his vulnerability didn't show...him being scared witless with the bomb was a thing of rare beauty. It brought out the "everyman" quality of Bullock while sacrificing none of his humanity. Donal Logue nailed it.

I must admit, with all the craziness I thought he was a goner and something strange was going to happen back at the precinct, but I'm glad it didn't.

[Chaos Theory]

Not my favorite episode.  Although I did like competent Harvey.

It seems I like the show for different reasons then a couple of people.  They rank episode low that i seem to enjoy and episode highly that I find boring.  This one I found incredibly dull.  I ended up spending alot of it cleaning my kitchen so I might have missed a few things.  

I liked that the show finally acknowledged that Barbara had a history with Jerome.  I don't think the two of them shared a scene since they the whole Maniax thing which is a shame.  

I have been liking the Lee and Riddler storyline so I hate the fact that it seems to be coming to an end simply by entering Jim into it.  Its stupid and trite and boring.  Of course Jim and his Jimness is all it takes to make Lee reconsider everything she has been doing and turn Riddler into a jealous mess.  

I honestly don't care about Bruce Wayne which is strange considering.  But then Bruce and Jim are probably the least two interesting characters on the show.  

[tennisgurl]

That was an awesome episode, so much stuff went down! 

Great episode for Harvey, and it was great to see him get recognized, especially after the start when the rank and file cops wouldn't follow his orders. His insistence that Jim wasn't dead was really touching, and their reunion hug, and then his big old hug with Lucius, was adorable. And he even got to be the hero!

Whenever Jeremiahs lackeys would chant his name, I half expected them to say "Jeremiah was a bullfrog!" Him locking his mooks up and setting them on fire was cold as hell. He is definitely a different kind of Joker then Jerome, but he is working just as well. I know they're going to keep up with the "they arent the REAL Jokers" stuff, but come on. Is it just because we should never know the Jokers origin? But why bother with that, when you have a really good Joker anyway? 

Poor Bruce had a very bad day. That stuff was nasty to see, especially when fake Alfred had his mouth all cut up. Thank God it was just fear gas, but still. And he and Selena were so cute, with Selena telling him she would always have his back, and their sweet little kiss. and then Jeremiah has to ruin all of it! Jeremiah working with Ras? Oh, thats gonna be interesting for sure.  

Jim's TV broadcast was so salt, its great. "Surprise bitch, bet you thought you saw the last of me." He and Lee are in a weird place, but I like that its not fully antagonistic, like most of Jim's crazy ex girlfriends. 

[nilyank]

Of course, Jeremiah had to ruin my sweet BatCat kiss. And then Alfred pounding on Jeremiah for shooting Selina.

[Lantern7]

That was fun. Sad that there's one episode left. Is the series on the bubble in terms of renewal/cancellation? I know it doesn't get the love like Legends of Tomorrow (the CW's own batshit DC property show), but one more season would be nice.

Basically, Jeremiah read The Killing Joke a lot, and he (seemingly) does to Alfred what the Joker did to Jim Gordon. Of course, no Alfreds are to be severely injured on this show. I hate myself for not seeing the final scene, as Jeremiah goes back for seconds, shooting Selina. Really hoping she lives, also hoping she can use her legs. I can't see her turning into a master hacker over the next few years. Oh, and I heard The Killing Joke DVD movie sucked donkeys. I don't think any comic story from Alan Moore can be adapted and not crumble.

Kinda wish Jeremiah double-crossing the main bad guys had been slower to show reactions. Pan from left to right for reactions, ending with Butch thinking, "A rocket launcher?!? Son of a bitch, that's my move!!!" Once again, Oswald screws the pooch, albeit in an entertaining way. I get why Butch wants to be normal, but he's got his mind, and Tabitha seems okay with the look.

Jim Gordon for MVP. First, he puts a massive emergency situation on pause, whipping out his dick to Edward. Really, I'm amazed they could measure with the prospect of Gotham City getting blown straight to hell. Of course, Ed falls for the "Hey, there's something I can't quite see, please please move closer." Then he returns to GCPD and introduces Jeremiah to he friend Dee. As in "Deez Nutz." Sadly, his minions pay the price after realizing that their leader wasn't the maniacal messaih they wanted. I'd feel bad for them getting burned alive . . . but they were basically easily lead sheep in discolored wool.

I like the idea of Ra's teaming wit Jeremiah. Somewhat tickled that they're based off the Big Bads from the first two Nolan movies. Hey, maybe we get Bane next season. Maybe he won't sound like Latin America Dr. Evil.

[thuganomics85]

When Jeremiah was carrying that big-ass video camera, I thought it was boombox for a second, and I thought the show was just going to go full-blown "homage" on this thing, and redo that scene in Tim Burton's Batman, with Jack Nicholson's Joker dancing to Queen.

Ah, Jeremiah!  You might have been smarter than your brother; or at least more logical; but it was his unpredictability that made him a danger, and your plan was pretty predictable and flawed, so that is why they were able to stop you.  To be fair, I can buy that he really wouldn't have considered Bullock of all people to save the day, but that's what he gets for underestimating him!  But now he's going to align with Ra's, which should be fun, especially if Cameron Monaghan and Alexander Siddig start competing to see who can chew scenery the hardest!

Oswald, Butch, Babs, and Tabitha together should be equally fun as well.  Even if Oswald's pretty much got everyone against him at this point.

Meanwhile, Nygma has pretty much let Jim just walk right into his head, and is now questioning things about him and Lee.  To be fair, I wouldn't be surprised if Lee is actually using him in some ways.

Obviously doubt Selina will die, but that was still pretty rough.  And I see one of the first things Ra's did was teach Jeremiah the art of blocking poor Bruce and Selina during kissing times.  Not cool, dudes! 

[Kostgard]

Lord, the GCPD sucks. Jim is gone, possibly dead, Harvey tried to take charge and their reaction is basically to fold their arms and go, “No! We’re mad at you! So we’re just gonna sit here instead of doing our jobs!” It would be one thing if someone else was trying to take charge, but no - apparently the plan was to just sit around. Bruce you need to hurry up and get to that cowl, buddy. 

But go Harvey! He had a great episode. A nice reminder that Donal Logue is pretty good at this.

Ed, you should have read the writing on the wall. And by that I mean Lee’s makeup. It’s always an indicator of where she is mentally/emotionally, and her lipstick was a shade lighter and she switched out black eye shadow for gold. She’s leaning toward’s the light again. Also, they are setting it up for Lee to leave Gotham. Again. Like she does at the end of every season. 

Oswald, could you telegraph any harder that you don’t give a shit about Butch’s cure? Butch, just leave him already - can’t you see how hard he’s telegraphing that he doesn’t give a shit about your cure? But instead Butch has pinned all his problems and solutions on Oswald. When he isn’t busy choking him. 

Though, yes, Oswald is trying to cash in, he’s still trying to save the city and still gets crapped on for it. If he joins Ra’s and Jeremiah next week to blow the whole city up, I don’t think I could blame him all that much.

Nice of Jeremiah to label his purge button. Good thing no one saw that and decided to ask questions. 

Bruce really, really needs better security at Wayne Manor.

[darkestboy]

Jeremiah certainly didn't mess around in this episode with his attempts to nuke Gotham (even though he failed) and driving Bruce mad (though he got a little closer there).

I'm not worried about Selina because there's no way in hell the show will kill her off but having her be shot by Jeremiah did make for a good cliffhanger though.

Alfred really went through hell in this episode. 

Good scene with Selina and the Scarecrow. Some good scenes with Gordon, Leslie and Nygma this week as well.

I quite liked the Oswald, Butch, Barbara and Tabitha team up this week but even I don't think Hugo Strange is going to be able to cure the former, 9/10

[Maximum Taco]

Nobody dies in Gotham. Sofia Falcone got shot in the freaking head and she still somehow didn't die, she's just in a long term coma and will be back if they ever have need of her. Selina is gonna be fine, wouldn't be surprised if she's running around in the latter half of next weeks Season Finale. 

Gotta think it would've been much better to end the entire season on the gun shot though. Letting us stew over the summer would be a fantastic move. 

[Snookums]

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I must admit, with all the craziness I thought he was a goner and something strange was going to happen back at the precinct, but I'm glad it didn't.

 Me (tense all ep thinking they're gonna kill Harvey off): YAY, that was great!

(Bruce and Selina have a lovely, age-appropriate kiss that's just so sweet)

Me: YAY, that's so cute!

(Jeremiah SHOOTS SELINA)

Me: GODDAMMIT TO HELL

Poor Selina! I'm sure what's going to happen is that she'll live but be paralyzed, so R'as can offer to dunk her in the Lazarus Pit in exchange for Bruce's soul or whatever he's after this week (although Bruce knows where it is anyway, so he doesn't really need R'as for that.) The Pit will whackadoo Selena's brain and she'll get all cold and wiry and shit and ONCE AGAIN neither of these two teenagers will be allowed one nice thing in their wretched, chaotic lives. DAMMIT. If this is what finally gets Bruce and Alfred to invest in a damn door lock and some window bars, however, I'll be somewhat cynically thrilled.

Okay, honestly? I loved the Ed/Jim scene. Unabashedly and unironically, it was hilarious. Because as I've said, after four seasons they finally figured out how to play Jim Gordon: a weary man who knows heroics and grandstanding are a waste of time so let's get on with the job and save these miscreants' miserable asses for one more day. That and his long history with Ed really fed into the whole "Dude, the fact you're even asking me proves you know the answer" attitude, and how Ed's brains cannot seem to keep his mouth shut long enough to talk himself right back into the same fears that Lee's using him. Mainly because Lee's totally using him. If it weren't for Ed's distracting himself trying to avoid that truth he wouldn't have fallen for Jim's hey, you missed this thing here OH IT'S MY FIST YOU MORON bit. Served him right.

Lee's wardrobe continues to slay. How does she pull that shit off? It should look like a Valley Girl got drunk and ran through a Hot Topic but she makes it work so well! No wonder Ed can't walk away.

Ozzie got the band back together once again to no lasting effect. They really are having trouble working with this section of the cast. If they didn't play off each other so well it'd be unbearable to watch. Luckily the actors are talented enough to juggle whatever they find in the script. This quartet showing up in Strange's latest hideout should be comedy gold.

My husband's having trouble with Jeremiah's version of the twins, pointing out that he's too humorless, and I do see his point, but I think the show is trying to highlight exactly that: where Jerome was too fitzy and shortsighted to be able to really plan beyond chaos, Jeremiah is too locked into his security systems in order to think outside the box. I wonder if/how they're going to meld the two. 

[superloislane]

Selina: "Bruce, I'm going to be here whenever you need me." - Have I mentioned lately how much I love BatCat? And she saved him! I'm glad Bruce is acknowledging that maybe he is a little insane. He'll need that for the future.

I really wish they'd let Bruce do some actual detective work and show how smart he is. That's a huge part of Batman so I don't know why they don't show him really figuring things out more.

Damn the whole making Bruce mad scheme was pretty twisted. Bruce really can't catch a break can he? He FINALLY gets to kiss Selina for the first time this season and...that happens! I can't believe they actually went through (kind of) with the Killing Joke plot - Jeremiah shot Selina! Holy shit!!!! Maybe after this they'll actually get SOME GOD DAMN SECURITY SYSTEM FOR THAT HOUSE!!!!

I love the idea they started with Jerome and Penguin and now Jeremiah and Penguin of the 'normal' type of crazy villain who just wants to run the city versus the chaotic crazy villain who tries to destroy everything.

I thought Barbara had a league of women fighting for her? Where the hell were they during that standoff with Jeremiah?

All of Jim's scenes with Riddler were great. I loved when he messed with Ed's ego by saying he didn't understand something and that Ed made a mistake and then Jim just punched him out! Also him laying it out for Ed about how Lee is clearly using him. It was a very good episode for Jim.

Jeremiah had a back up plan to just burn all his followers alive?! Okay then!

Did not expect Ra's to show up! Hey Ra's!

I actually nearly teared up when the precinct gave Harvey a round of applause. He deserves it after everything this season.

Edited May 12, 2018 by superloislane

[Last Time Lord]

So, I missed a bunch of the season. Like, everything between the winter finale to Mandatory Brunch Meeting, because that was the furthest back Hulu went. 

I can’t believe we just got Killing Joke’d!

Jerimiah freaks me out far more than Jerome ever did. There’s just something even more offputting  about the cold calculating method a la Golden Age Joker compared to the aping of Heath Ledger’s that was Jerome’s influence. 

Oh, and apparently the show isn’t allowed to say “Joker” which is also why he doesn’t have any green in his hair. 

WB is run by morons, Y’all. 

[John Potts]

So I guess Jim just survived due to Plot Armour then? They didn't even give any vaguely plausible explanation for it given how close he was to a nuclear(ish) explosion. Hell, his clothing wasn't even singed!

I quite like the Jeremiah Joker - I like the controlled psychopath, although he doesn't seem to be having much fun (I guess the closest previous portrayal would be Jack Nicholson's Joker). And while it was a rip off of The Killing Joke, at least they're ripping of a good comic storyline and it was at least interesting to have the Joker trying it on Bruce and not Jim.

On ‎11‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 2:55 AM, Miss Dee said:

There were parts of this I couldn't watch, like Alfred cutting himself. And I was shook when Jeremiah showed up at the end and shot Selina.

That scene was pretty horrifying (as it was meant to be) and it totally had me fooled that it wasn't just all in Bruce's head. Alfred was never going to die, but I thought he might be (at least semi-)permanently scarred. And it addressed the plot hole I had while watching of, "How come Bruce isn't affected by the gas?" by having be the only one who actually was!

On ‎11‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 3:08 AM, Danielg342 said:

I'll call it- Selina ain't dead. Neither is Jeremiah.

That seems to be about the safest bet you could possibly make!

On ‎11‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 3:08 AM, Danielg342 said:

Of course, it wouldn't be Harvey if his vulnerability didn't show...him being scared witless with the bomb was a thing of rare beauty. It brought out the "everyman" quality of Bullock while sacrificing none of his humanity. Donal Logue nailed it.

Did love his growing panic at the bomb. And while I'd've preferred it if he'd flipped a coin, I guess "Eeny. Meany..." is as good a way of deciding as anything.

On ‎11‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 3:26 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I have been liking the Lee and Riddler storyline so I hate the fact that it seems to be coming to an end simply by entering Jim into it.  Its stupid and trite and boring.

The worst part was Jim getting into a dick waving contest with Ed. I didn't have a problem with him sucker punching Ed (the guy is a criminal) but worry about the imminent threat to the city first!

On ‎11‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 5:43 AM, Kostgard said:

Lord, the GCPD sucks. Jim is gone, possibly dead, Harvey tried to take charge and their reaction is basically to fold their arms and go, “No! We’re mad at you! So we’re just gonna sit here instead of doing our jobs!”

Couldn't agree more. If they wanted to have the cops just go "We're outta here!" that would be one thing, but there was no reason to refuse Harvey's orders. If somebody else had been giving orders, that would be one thing, but their actions just made no sense.

[Joe Hellandback]

7 hours ago, John Potts said:

So I guess Jim just survived due to Plot Armour then? They didn't even give any vaguely plausible explanation for it given how close he was to a nuclear(ish) explosion. Hell, his clothing wasn't even singed!

I didn't have a problem with Jim surviving, he got clear of the bunker as we see him find the hidden door switch and the watcher Ed had following him drags him clear afterwards.

1. Love it when Jerimiah and his goons turn up outside the GCPD and they break out the iron and go head to head with them without a moment's hesitation, how could anyone doubt Harvey after that?  

2. Babs seems pretty glib at Jim's death! You wonder how she and Tabby will act when they hear about Selina. Oswald knows how to play Tabby and Tabby knows how to play Babs, it's emotional blackmail all around. 

3. Can't the GCPD call on the federal government for help? They occasionally call in the National Guard but Gotham seems to exist separately from the rest of the US? I'd love the President to turn up sometime and be played by Burt Ward (maybe fit in a few Trump like sex scandals). 

4. We really in these eps see the difference between the criminal and the criminally insane, Babs, Butch/Grundy, Tabby, Selina, Oswald etc are in it for the power and the money. By contrast Tetch, Scarecrow, Jerimiah are just whack jobs who like chaos for its' own sake. Ed and Lee fall somewhere in between, noble cause corruption. Interestingly Babs, Ossie and Tabby all seem to genuine care about Gotham.   

5. The torturing 'Alfred' scenes are gory as hell! How did they ever get that past the censor. 

6. Ed and Jim, you never figured them for romantic rivals but it's a terrific scene. Much like Jerimiah you can be intelligent without being smart.  

7. I always thought Babs lived in the clocktower?

8. Way to go Lucius, what would we do without you?

9. Jerimiah was right to burn his followers, they were pretty useless against Babs, Tabby and Butch (note Bab's ninjagirls just sort of cower, never bring a knife to a gunfight!). 

10. So Jerimiah and Bashir together? Interesting touch! Have we ever seen that before?

11. You know if I was Harvey I would have put a bullet through both wires rather than run the risk of choosing the wrong one. 

12. Oh my god! I actually shouted out loud when Jerimiah turned up and shot Selina, "Bruce put pressure on the wound and raise her legs to prevent shock! Alfred, keep on hitting him till your knuckles are raw and his head is a lump of bloody jelly!". 

It is going to be one long wait until Tuesday for the final ep and an even longer one for the next season (hopefully we'll get it at around the same time as the US?)

[Camera One]

There were some good moments when Jeremiah's plans got foiled.  Harvey had an awesome moment with the bomb, and Jim's press conference announcing he's not dead was perfect timing.

I don't usually feel much of the romance between Bruce and Selena, but that was a nice talk they had at the end about a bad day.  

I didn't find the other subplots as scintillating in this one.