If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Gordon and Bullock try to stay one step ahead as Jerome zeros in on his next target. Meanwhile, Nygma hosts a riddle game show in the Narrows and faces his toughest challenger in Lee Thompkins, and Penguin goes to see Butch with a proposal. (IMDB)
Writers: Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt
Director: Maja Vrvilo
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 42mins
Airs: Thursdays at 8pm on CTV (Canada)/Fox (United States)
Perhaps the series has turned a corner as this episode served as a worthy successor to one of the best episodes in the series last week. Such a run of good episodes is unprecedented when it comes to Gotham as it has survived on decent to mediocre episodes for the last 3+ seasons. In this episode, Jerome’s plan is revealed while Ed and Lee and Penguin and Butch face off.
The beginning of this episode continued Bruce’s quest to find Jerome with him finding a lead on who Jerome was looking for, a man named Xander Wilde. Unfortunately, the man who gave him that information was hypnotized by Tetch and was wearing a bomb and he eventually blew himself up.
Jerome then set up a brunch meeting between his gang of criminals. His plan was to paint the town crazy. Gordon and Bullock learned that Wilde was a structural engineer. Meanwhile, Jerome went to the firm he was working to try and find him but he did his work with them through a proxy so he got the name of the proxy. After telling Bruce to back down, Gordon and Bullock needed him as they found a connection between he and Wilde in that Wilder built a building for Wayne Enterprises.
Jerome found the proxy, a woman named Ecco (Francesca Root-Dodson), but she was ready for him and knocked him out. He was taken and placed into a cell full of cameras while someone was watching him. Both he and the person watching him obviously shared a connection. Gordon and Bullock then showed up and were let into Wilde’s underground bunker. They were surprised to see that Wilde was actually Jerome’s twin brother Jeremiah (Cameron Monaghan).
Jeremiah was taken away from their family home to protect him from Jerome. He was given a new name and a new life. He wasn’t worried about Jerome as he had been preparing for his arrival all his life. Gordon and Bullock quickly figured out that Jeremiah was holding Jerome captive. They wanted to take Jerome with them but Jeremiah thought he could take care of it. The arrival of Tetch and Scarecrow complicated things.
Luckily, Jeremiah built his bunker like a maze and knew the only way out. Ecco found them but she was hypnotized and was about to take Jeremiah to Jerome, however, was taken out. Jerome found his brother and he aired his may grievances. Hearing those made it seem like Jerome maybe wasn’t the bad guy after all. Meanwhile, Bullock disposed of Tetch and Scarecrow in a hilarious way which led to he and Gordon interrupting Jerome and Jeremiah.
The Riddler was hosting his own game show within the Narrows where losers had to spin a wheel of misfortune. Lee decided to put an end to it by challenging him. Her plan was to best him using her connection with Ed. She ultimately stopped him by rendering him incapable of saying “I Love You” to her. Lee had a different plan for him, The Riddler loved her as Ed did and she thought they could rob banks together.
Penguin wanted a backup plan in case his alliance with Jerome went south so he tried to recruit Butch but he wanted none of it. He went against Butch’s wishes and came back to offer him a way to cure himself and get Tabitha back which would be to find Hugo Strange.
Gordon brought Jeremiah to the GCPD to put him in protective custody. Penguin brought Butch in to join their team. Finally, Jerome’s crazy gas was tested on a man who appeared to laugh himself to death.
Overall, this was another good episode that followed one of the best episodes in the series. That’s two in a row now which is surprising. It focused on the one plot with Jerome while cutting to the others to break things up, however, it would have been better to focus on Jerome for the entire episode. Bullock chasing Tetch and Scarecrow was definitely a highlight. The brother twist was a surprise and so was the secondary twist, if you chose to believe Jerome. In terms of evil plans, Jerome’s isn’t the worst. The Lee and Ed/The Riddler combination is intriguing. The subplot with Penguin and Butch did feel shoehorned in though. Either way, this season has been on a roll as it has better utilized its characters and streamlined their storytelling in producing much more compelling episodes. It will be interesting to see how long this can continue.
Score: 8.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
