HomeTelevisionTV Recap: Gotham, 'Everyone Has a Cobblepot'

TV Recap: Gotham, ‘Everyone Has a Cobblepot’

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Everyone Has a Cobblepot Plot Summary:

When Flass (Dash Mihok) is let off murder charges at Commissioner Loeb’s (Peter Scolari) doing, Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Harvey Dent (Nicolas D’Agosto) try and dig up dirt on the Commissioner.  Meanwhile, Fish (Jada Pinkett Smith) finally meets the notorious Dr. Dulmacher (Colm Feore) and vies for his trust, and Bruce (David Mazouz) vows to go after Alfred’s (Sean Pertwee) attacker.

Now that’s how you go into a hiatus.  Even though the last couple episodes have been merely okay, I had no doubt the payoffs were coming.  Holy overload, Batman, this episode had it all!  It was deranged, there were shootouts, blackmail, betrayals, and Fish got a new eye color.  What stood out to me most was this episode probably had the best overall single story arc out of the entire season.

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Photo Credit: Jessica Miglio/FOX

The corruption of the GCPD was front and center this week with a lot of great call backs to earlier in the season.  After Flass is released at the doing of Commissioner Loeb’s leverage, Gordon had one mission, and one mission only – take down Loeb.  Harvey Dent makes a welcome return, and he was all business.  The pairing of Gordon and Dent is pitch perfect.  Gordon and Bullock (Donal Logue) we already know is one of the best parts of the series, but this episode in particular strengthened their partnership, especially with the tension they set up between the characters early on.  Donal Logue is wonderful as the comic relief, but I always love when they go serious with Bullock, and we got plenty of impactful character moments in this one.

The progression of this story was fantastic, and everything that led up to the ultimate heartbreaking reveal flowed beautifully, including an outstanding performance from guest actress Nicholle Tom.  The driving force of this story though was Gordon, and McKenzie knocked it out of the park.  Gordon made some real dark and questionable decisions, including one with Oswald (Robin Lord Taylor) where the repercussions I’m sure will be devastating.  I’m salivating for that payoff.  Some of these choices felt a little forced for Gordon, but they did a good job of wrapping it up, especially with Bullock’s sage advice at the end.

Speaking of Oswald, this was another great episode for Robin Lord Taylor.  Oswald has been kind of whatever the last couple weeks, but we finally got him out of the club where he was back to his old tricks of conniving everyone in sight.  His last scene in particular was very sinister.

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Photo Credit: Jessica Miglio/FOX

We’re still going strong with Fish and the underground prison, but it’s definitely getting better.  These scenes moved a little slow, but the chemistry between Fish and Dr. Dulmacher shows a lot of potential.  Dulmacher is a take off on a recent Batman villain known as “Dollmaker,” so these writers have certainly done their homework.  There’s one scene in particular that illustrates why he’s got that nickname.  Yikes.  I love that the show is willing to go this dark.  My only issue with this character is we don’t really know his endgame, so there’s a bit of meandering going on.

Some of the other subplots didn’t do much, but still had good writing.  It was nice to see Bruce and Selina (Camren Bicondova) have a scene together, especially since Selina has been wasted with Barbara (Erin Richards) the last couple episodes.  Ugh.  Mazouz and Bicondova have a great chemistry.  We also get more good moments with Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) and Kringle (Chelsea Spack), although something’s got to give on that storyline.  I have no doubt the payoff will be worth it, as Smith showed brief flashes of The Riddler in some of his angrier dialogue.

There was little that failed this week, and the overall storyline was simply a gem.  With only four episodes left, I have no doubt we’re leading up to a great final stretch to cap off the first season of Gotham.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 (Really Great)

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Daniel Cohen is the Film Editor for Pop-Break. Aside from reviews, Daniel does a weekly box office predictions column, and also contributes monthly Top Tens and Op-Ed’s on all things film. Daniel is a graduate of Bates College with a degree in English, and also studied Screenwriting at UCLA. He can also be read on www.movieshenanigans.com. His movie crush is Jessica Rabbit. Follow him on Twitter @dcohenwriter.
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Daniel Cohen
Daniel Cohen
Daniel Cohen likes movies and bagels, and that’s pretty much it. Aside from writing Box Office predictions, Daniel hosts the monthly Batman by the Numbers Podcast on the Breakcast feed. Speaking of Batman, If Daniel was sprayed by Scarecrow's fear toxin, it would be watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on a non-stop loop.
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1 COMMENT

  1. I agree that Ben McKenzie “hit it out of the park.” I wish he had more chances to bring his A game up to bat. Okay, I’m not sure this qualifies, but it was much better than the dull, procedural material he’s often saddled with. Longer scenes that are character-driven is the way to go.

    I can’t bring myself to watch the Fish story and haven’t since the pilot. It seems like more of a strange distraction that takes time away from the other related stories that need more attention, but just my take.

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