Hey YouTubers, it's Charlie.
So this is going to be my Gotham Episode 13 video.
It was a good story that proved that the criminals aren't the only bad people in the city.
Gotham in general is full of really crappy people, and this just put the focus more on people who you would
normally think are legit.
So just careful for spoilers if you haven't seen the episode yet.
Starting with Top 5 Moments:
No. 5: Fish Mooney is plopped on the table like fresh fish getting ready to get carved up.
I really love the spirit of this scene, although, there were some moments that got a little hammy.
I've always felt like Jada Pinkett-Smith is channeling a little bit of Eartha Kitt in her performances.
Which I think is totally appropriate for the setting.
But when we see someone go into a torture chamber like that (a make-shift torture chamber) you're expecting to
see something from a "SAW" movie.
Like some, crazy, torture porn.
It's too bad the show isn't on basic cable, because some of those gratuitous shots, even Zsasz coming to
clean up later would have been really effective.
That's one of the things that shows like Game of Thrones has in it's favor, being on HBO.
It can show you someone getting their head squished like a grape.
So you get a lot of extra people talking about the show just because something SO crazy happened
that you would never expect on-screen.
Generally you can't really do that with network shows, but Gotham gets pretty close.
I was kind of hoping, when Bob pulled out the power tools, that he'd draw a little blood.
I feel like Jada Pinkett-Smith, she's a great actress, so she's be able to take it to that place.
So it was a little bit of a bummer that they chose to play it safe.
'Butch to the rescue'
Don't you just wonder what's going on between the two of them?
I feel like Fish Mooney has really close relationships with a lot of different people.
And not just men.
She had that weird connection with Liza.
Like she was trying to be her mother, but she was more like her big sister, or even some sort of passive lover.
Then you have her relationship with Butch which seams really close -- a really genuine friendship.
I felt kinda bad after what happened to him, but I don't think he's dead.
Add to that that Bullock looks like he really enjoys her flavor of fish.~
You can make as many jokes about that as you want.
'Bullock like fresh fish'
That Bullock scene at the end was actually really, probably, the most touching Fish-Mooney moment.
She seemed much more like a person, and less like a comicbook villain.
I really do want to learn more about what's going on between her and Bullock though.
No. 4: The Penguin's acid-trip victory montage.
Of all the montages in the episode (there were several), this was the craziest.
I almost put it on my Thumbs Down list, but it's one of those things that's so bad, that's it's good.
It's almost like he's having a two minute orgasm.
And that speech that he gives -- that was so funny.
Like he just starts to go crazy, and Fish Mooney walks in.
If you haven't read the comics, the Penguin actually does own his own club; it's called "The Iceberg Lounge".
And later it was renamed to, "The Iceberg Casino". He turned it into a casino.
There's a high-roller area in the back where super criminals go to meet. There's a resturaunt up top.
As a character, the Penguin loves the trappings of high society, so owning an upscale club is totally natural
for the character.
Although the Penguin on this show is a long way out from that.
Did anyone else spit out their drink whenever he was standing next to that big fish plaque?
That was just...it was just so ridiculous.
But you love it so much.
I totally don't mind when Gotham gets a little cheesy.
As long as it leans into the curb.
Having his mother around helps a lot too.
She is just so wild.
Whenever she met Gordon, I felt like she going to try and eat 'em alive.
I'm more scared of her, than I am of any of the other villains on the show.
No. 3: Victor Zsasz, cleans up the mess.
It wouldn't be a party without mister 'no eyebrows'.
That's actually a good way to creep people out:
just shave your eyebrows off.
You'll ten times scarier.
Not quite as scary as the Penguin's mother, but still pretty scary.
Of all the montages in the episode, his felt like the most fun.
Just because he felt like a steamroller (like he was unstoppable).
Somebody should tell him not to play with his food.
I kinda wished that he would've finished off Butch, but I understand why they're keeping him on the show.
He's a fairly valuable character, especially when Fish Mooney is around
so they're going to want to bring him back in the back-half of the season.
I think that's why they gave him that 'antihero' escape moment earlier in the episode.
Whenever he busted out of the back of the truck, Batman-style, and escaped.
It's a fairly common shot, but anytime you see a character look one way, and then there's nothing --
and then look back and all of a sudden someone's there -- people just think that as Batman now.
Like that's "Pulling a Batman" on someone.
Anytime they give a character that kind of shot, like they give him that kind of moment, you know they're getting ready to do something bad ass.
So I'm actually waiting for the Riddler to get a shot like that.
That's what I want to see.
No. 2: The Riddler and Ms. Kringle.
What gives away really awesome gifts, and is probably going to go crazy before the end of this season?
Answer: The BEST character on this show.
That might be a bit of a stretch.
The Riddler might not be THE best character on the show, but he's definitely one of my favorites.
Any character that can bounce back and forth really easily between crazy and funny...is AMAZING in my book.
I think them adding this 'young love' dynamic to it makes it that much funnier too.
Just the awkward component of him really liking Ms. Kringle, and all these other douchebag cops just stomping all over him.
That's why I was kind of bummed at the end of the episode when Gordon took Flass down.
I was kinda hoping that the Riddler was gonna do something crazy.
Or that card that he left was going to turn out to be something a little more sinister.
Like he was going to try and turn the tables on them.
We're not to that territory yet.
And it actually seemed pretty hopeful the way they ended with Ms. Kringle.
Looking at her character, like she hasn't had that many lines.
I felt like her reaction was probably the best it could have possibly been.
"Just don't...just don't speak!"
"Don't make it worse!"
That moment almost felt uncomfortably autobiographical.
Who has NOT been in a situation like that?
And, my No. 1 moment: Gordon and Bullock vs. the Commissioner.
Make no mistake, even though Flass was the criminal they arrested at the end of this episode
...the Commissioner was the real villain.
The captain explained that all the steamrolling that happened to everyone in the episode
was because the Commissioner was putting his weight behind it.
So the false report about the suicide: all Commissioner.
The stash houses and the dirty cops:
Commissioner.
I don't think he's going to end up being the biggest villain of the season.
I don't think it's going to be that simple.
So now I'm actually wondering who he's working with.
I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being someone on the Wayne Board we haven't met yet.
Someone behind the Venom precursor.
When you look at the villains of this season, you have the street criminals (like Fish Mooney);
you have the Mob.
Then you have the white collar criminals, like the people in the Wayne Foundation and the Commissioner.
People that work inside the government.
It makes you wonder if there are any heroes in positions of power.
So don't be surprised if, in some big twist, Falcone ends up being one of the big protagonists.
Even though, technically, he's one of the biggest villains.
That's one of the charms of Gotham, is that everyone is bad.
So when you try to differentiate between protagonist, and antagonist, you really end up picking from the same bucket.
Here's my big question for you guys:
Who do you think is going to be the bigger villain at the end of the season?
Is it going to be the Commissioner, or is it going to be Falcone?
I'm kinda hoping they don't roll out too many new characters.
Usually you want to meet who all the important people are by the first-half of the season, or even in the first couple of episodes.
I think the writers are still finding the voices of all the characters so it IS getting better with each episode.
So I'm really optimistic for the last arc of the season.
Usually what you get is too many arcs. You get like, a block of 3 or 4 episodes that tell a minor story.
Next week's episode is actually going to be a two-parter.
They will be doing a scarecrow-ish, type story.
Like a 'Jonathan Crane/Fear Toxin' prequel story.
Here's some of the bigger Easter eggs that I saw in the episode
(but if you saw any that I don't mention, just feel free to write 'em in the comments):
So I already mentioned the Penguin's club, the Iceberg Lounge (or the Iceberg Casino).
However you want to think about it.
We have the Riddler's notes.
He's already left clues.
Now he's starting to leave his signature 'notes'.
When Alfred and Bruce are walking around, he tells them he's gonna get, "ripped to shreds" by the females.
But that just feels like a Catwoman fight, waiting to happen.
The drugs that Gordon finds aren't specified by name, but they remind me of the Venom derivative.
It terms of really notable drugs, shows typically find something and stick with it.
Like on Arrow for instance:
They're sticking with Vertigo, even though they did it in Season 2.
I didn't see any Easter eggs during the Poison Ivy seen but you guys can let me know if you spotted any.
Right at the end, Bruce actually talks about going to Switzerland.
I'm trying to remember, I think that he actually battled Ra's al Ghul in Switzerland.
Like it was a part of a Ra's al Ghul story arc (in the Batman comics).
But somebody can feel free to correct me on that.
So as much fun as the episode was, there a couple of thumbs down I had.
A couple of things I felt just didn't work.
The Bruce Wayne/Catwoman scene at the end -- where she rejects him -- obviously very clearly likes
him so much that she's pushing him away.
I felt like that was a little forced.
Plus, Bruce crying later. Anything with Bruce crying...
...just get rid of that.
I feel like it's just interminable.
So, a couple awesome montages in the episode, but the first one where Gordon started to
question the police had this really weird music playing behind it.
Like it was meant to be funny, but it just ended up sounding a little weird.
And then, the Penguin kissing Fish Mooney's feet.
That was another 'so bad that it's good' moment, but I put it on the Thumbs Down list just becuase
it was SO over the top.
Like it was CRAZY.
You guys can let me know though:
I mean, do you like it when the show does REALLY crazy things?
Where it's just like, "Okay, they're very clearly not taking themselves super seriously".
Sometimes it can be fun. Sometimes it doesn't work.
So, big stuff:
Next week is gonna be the part of a two-part episode, so be sure to subscribe to get that.
New episode of The Flash tomorrow, and then a new episode of Arrow.
There've been some liberal spoilers for Episode 13 of Arrow.
I'm not gonna mention 'em here, but it has to do with what's going on with Oliver, and Laurel's, "Black Canaries".
So.
If you want to read about that, you can just go to IMDb.
I'm freaking excited about it, but it's just too spoilery to mention.
So while you guys wait for The Flash tomorrow, you can click here* to learn about Gorilla Grodd in the comics.
The producers said that he IS coming back in Season 1, but they didn't say which episode.
And, you can click here* for last week's episode of Gotham.
Thank you so much for watching.
So, gorilla-sized high five.
I'll see you guys tomorrow.