Gotham Season 3 Episode 16 Heroes Rise: These Delicate and Dark Obsessions Review

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: Gordon discovers new information about his father and uncle’s past just as the Court of Owls devises a new plan for the future of Gotham. (IMDB)

Writer: Robert Hull

Director: Ben McKenzie

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 42mins

Looks like the show may be going all in with the Court of Owls as the episode started with a meeting where they voted on the idea of bringing in a weapon so they can cleanse and rebuild Gotham themselves. Where Frank’s allegiances lie are unclear at this point but he hesitantly went along with the rest of the court.

We also learned a little more about Bruce’s new location. We met a mysterious shaman who needed his help with something. The first chance he got, Bruce tried to escape but that was easier said than done. The shaman needed him to move on from that dark alley where his parents died because this fear was holding him back from the person he needed him to be (aka Batman). The shaman used some special magic to take him there to relive that moment.

Perhaps not fully believing Frank’s story, he was looking into his father’s accident and found some new evidence proving that someone tampered with the report so there may have actually been something more to it. Frank told Gordon about the weapon and that the court has done it twice before. Gordon wanted to help but Frank wanted him to keep his distance. After an awkward moment with Lee, Gordon learned that Falcone payed for the lawyer of the drunk driver who killed his father.

Gordon then visited Falcone. Falcone wasn’t part of the court, however, they only worked together. Falcone told him that his father’s death was a hit and he didn’t call it, Frank did. Gordon went to confront him, telling him that his father would have wanted justice so he tried to arrest Frank. Frank got away although he gave him a lead on the court’s weapon. He told him about a dock where it supposed to arrive but it couldn’t look like he was involved so he called Barbara and her gang. We learned that whatever the weapon was, it had already come in and it was from Indian Hill.

Frank invited Gordon to his house because the court wanted him to kill Gordon but Frank had other ideas. Frank wanted Gordon to kill him and take his place to help bringing the court down from the inside. Frank killed himself.

In the last episode, we learned that Ivy had saved Penguin and had been nursing him back to health. Now that Penguin was awake, they weren’t exactly getting along. He didn’t quite understand her because he was focused on getting his revenge. She offered to help but he didn’t see her as worthy just yet. He asked her to send a message to what he thought was a loyal soldier. She didn’t trust him, however, he didn’t believe her. She was right when he ended up betraying him with Ivy proving herself by helping him get the upper hand. Penguin still wanted an army so Ivy brought up all the freaks in Indian Hill. This subplot was meant for the two of them to bond over their freakness so this just fit right in.

The episode ended with Gordon getting a call from Catherine just like Frank had predicted. She was not surprised to hear from him and Gordon thought they should meet. Catherine agreed and a car just happened to be outside the cemetery where Gordon visited his father’s grave.

Overall, this was a great episode that finally gave the show some direction by having Bruce begin his Batman training (I assume). The Court of Owls have an interesting villain and weaving them with Gordon and his family have been fun to watch so I can’t wait to see how it plays out. Ivy has been a useless character so far but the pairing with Penguin has been entertaining to watch. The season is finally looking promising although my expectations are not very high at this point. Kudos to Ben McKenzie for directing this episode as well.

Score: 8.5/10

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Keith Noakes

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.