Episode 10: "LoveCraft"
Synopsis: Following a misstep, Gordon is reassigned to duty at Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile, Selina leads a new friend on a perilous journey through Gotham to evade the assassins after her.
Recap: GOTHAM has always been presented as a series about James Gordon, the city's avenger before Batman came on the scene. But, in recent episodes, the shift has put the young Bruce Wayne at the center of the story and this week is no different. Opening this episode we see a group of mercenaries take down some employees of Wayne Manor and using their blood to stage an accident while the young Master Wayne practices death-defying acts atop the bannister of the second floor landing. We quickly learn these mercenaries are there for Selina Kyle.
The relationship between Bruce and Selina Kyle continues to feel like it has a natural evolution, but the writers keep needing to force Selina to say things like "do you want to kiss me?" as if we cannot tell the two actors work together pretty well. But, they redeem themselves by having Bruce once again go all Aspergers and tell Selina she is a good person, but she is just not nice and doesn't see him as a suitable romantic partner. In all my years reading Batman comics, I never got the impression that Bruce was anything but dedicated to becoming the one who avenges his parents. Here, the showrunners have neutered Bruce and made him something of a weird little kid.
The best part of the opening action scene is finally getting Alfred to kick some ass. Alfred has gone between loyal servent, whiny parent, and mentor over the last nine episodes but now we get to see the Wayne's butler truly show his colors as he fights with cane and gun, even through a bullet wound, before screaming Bruce's name as he and Selina run off towards the city. This also finally brings Bullock into Gordon's plan involving Harvey Dent, Dick Lovecraft, the Wayne murders, and everything else building to this point. Bullock once again gives his weekly "that case is closed, don't do this to me" speech while Gordon argues back. Only now, Alfred tells them both to shut up. Thank you, Alfred!
Gordon confronts Dent who secretly leaked some names to sources to corroborate the threat against Lovecraft. While Gordon goes to find Lovecraft, Bullock and Alfred get to team up as they search for Bruce. While Bullock uses threats, Alfred used hundred dollar bills and that brings them to Fish Mooney who runs the fences in Gotham, one of which is Selina's new contact. Bruce and Selina part ways when she admits she was never going to testify about the Wayne murders. Bruce chases her over the Gotham rooftops, almost losing her when he can't make the jump from one buidling to the next. When he makes it, the two decide to stick together.
Meanwhile, at Falcone's mansion, the mob boss brings Oswald Cobblepot under duress to ask how Moroni knew to find his secret stash at the armory. Falcone accuses Penguin of the crime but he denies it and insinuates it was Fish. Liza walks in and gives Penguin a knowing look which Falcone misses despite immediately saying he can handle Fish. The fact that her plan continues to work under his nose makes me question how good of a mob boss he is, but the tension is killing me as the crime syndicate subplot continues to build. We even get a nice UNTOUCHABLES homage where Falcone kills one of his men to prove a point in front of Fish.
Stopping by Fish's place, Butch gives Bullock the runaround until Alfred goes all cockney and takes him down and puts a blade to his throat. In moments like these, I almost wish this series was an origin story abour Alfred before he became a butler. Fish knows all about the Lovecraft play and she laughs in Bullock's face. Alfred manages to persuade Mooney by placating her ego, showing just how adept the Brit is at playing all sides.
At an underground hangout for street kids, Selina gets Bruce some new clothes and the pair run into the young Ivy Pepper, last seen in the pilot. The future Poison Ivy actually fits into the plot a bit more naturally than she did in the pilot and it is nice to see the writers call back to the pilot. Ivy relates that she holds no ill will towards Bruce for her father's death or her mother's suicide and we catch a glimpse of some neuroses in her speech. The nice moment here is when Ivy and Selina agree that young Bruce Wayne is cute, a funny little throwaway moment.
Gordon finds Lovecraft at his condo. Lovecraft says the same killers came after him and he professes he is just another cog in the Gotham crime machine. He pulls out some files saying there was a run on Wayne Enterprises stock just before they were murdered and he decided to take advantage. As they talk, Gordon hears the killers enter the condo. They scuffle and Gordon is knocked unconscious. He gets a call from Bullock that they have a lead on Selina and Bruce. Gordon finds Lovecraft dead in the bathtub, shot with his service revolver to frame him.
When Selina and Bruce are locked up by her fence, Clyde, the mercenaries arrive and pa off Clyde. As they try to escape, Bullock and Alfred arrive. Alfred goes in, guns blazing, while Bruce and Selina sneak around trying to escape. Gordon arrives and rushes in to help Alfred and the lead assassin corners Bruce. At gunpoint, she threatens him to find out where Selina is, but Bruce protects his friend. Letting him live, Alfred finds Bruce and the two have a cordial yet loving reunion. Ths episode, more than any, has made me appreciate the dynamic between these two characters on this show.
Back at the station, Gordon learns his fate for the death of Dick Lovecraft. The mayor chastises Gordon and Dent, the attorney siding with the Mayor who threatens them before revealing that while Dent knows how to not cross the lline, Gordon tells the Mayor to kiss his ass. At a press conference regarding Lovecraft's suicide, the Mayor reassigns Gordon as a guard at Arkham Asylum. Edward Nygma hugs Gordon before he leaves. Gordon promises to be back and bids farewell to Bullock.
The episode closes with Bruce Wayne reuniting with Selina at Wayne Manor. Selina returns what she stole from Bruce but keeps an ornate silver box with something that seems to remind Bruce of something. Selina quickly kisses him and leaves. Alfred arrives and says the house seems quiet without Selina. The next morning, Gordon arrives at Arkham for his first shift.
Verdict: 8/10 Gotham PD Badges
It has become popular in recent years for highly serialized dramas to have mid-season finales, leaving fans with a cliffhanger for a couple of months. With the second half of GOTHAM's debut run being billed as "the next chapter", you would expect some closure this week. In fact, we get nothing of the sort. Fish and Penguin are still at odds, Falcome still believes Liza loves him, and we are nowhere closer to solving the Wayne murders. But, we do get a lot of progress for Bruce and Selina, giving both characters their most interesting hour of the season. Alfred is able to kick ass this week, too. The developments this week for Gordon are minimal as we have no references to Barbara, but we do finally see Gordon punished/reassigned for his actions the last nine weeks.
As far as a mid-season ranking, it is hard to say GOTHAM is anything but mediocre at this point. There have been glimmers of what could be a great series, namely this episode, but for the most part, the show has been pretty blah. If each episode beginning in January can be this natural and consistent, we should be in store for a nice dozen stories to close the first season.
Next Episode: GOTHAM returns with new episodes on January 5, 2015