That’s Entertainment Plot Summary:
Jerome (Cameron Monaghan) unleashes his final act when he plans to release his laughing gas all over Gotham while also getting revenge on his brother. Much to the chagrin of Tabitha (Jessica Lucas), Barbara (Erin Richards) embraces her destiny as the new Ra’s al Ghul.
This week’s Gotham said screw it and went complete Joker overload. Joker overload isn’t really a thing though. You can never have too much Joker. I’ve said this in previous reviews, but it’s episodes like this that make me detest that utter garbage known as Suicide Squad. It’s impossible to screw up the Joker. It’s not like this episode broke new ground here. They did the most standard Joker plot you can possibly do, yet it was still awesome. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Gotham gets these characters.
We’ve reached the point with Cameron Monaghan where it’s like talking about Tom Brady or LeBron James. How many different ways can I say he’s great? He’s great. There’s no reason why Monaghan can’t be talked about in the same breath as Mark Hamill. He’s that good. While Gotham certainly doesn’t have the writing that the Batman Animated Series had (few shows do), the performance is right up there. It’s the Joker.
My only complaint is they got a little too Heath Ledger, which they’ve done before. I don’t mind it that much because they do the material justice. Other than The Dark Knight, there were plenty of 1989 Batman homages. Those were damn good. You can have all the call backs you want, but it still boils down to character. While the dialogue can be on the nose at times, they certainly hit home on the whole Agent of Chaos mantra. While a strong ending, the idea of Joker being a state of mind is something Gotham has done before to throw us off the scent of who the Joker is in the show. While a rehash, it was still a great climax. I could talk about Jerome/Joker all day, but other stuff did happen in this episode.
I’m thrilled the whole “Brat Bruce” shenanigans are done. We’re back to seeing vintage David Mazouz. At this point, he’s Bruce Wayne. I’ve said it a million times, but I want to see this show go another few years to see Mazouz become the fully-fledged Batman. The way he cuts through people like a laser beam as he walks by them is right out of any Batman comic book or movie there is. He also had a great pep talk for Jeremiah in this one. While Batman isn’t much for speeches, this is definitely something I could hear Batman saying to rally the troops.
What also made the Bruce scenes great were two outstanding moments he has with Alfred (Sean Pertwee) and Selina (Camren Bicondova). Aside from witnessing a significant Batman moment with a certain gift Alfred gives to Bruce, we get a simple, but emotionally satisfying Bruce/Alfred interaction that reminds us all Bruce Wayne is human. Selina also pops in unexpectedly, and this could not have been more perfect between Mazouz and Bicondova. If you’ve been a longtime fan of the show, that had to put a smile on your face. My only criticism is that once Bruce is pulled into the main plot, Selina and Alfred don’t go with him? They just disappear from the episode. That was weird.
While Jerome took over the episode, we still got reminded that Barbara is the new Ra’s al Ghul. I’ve been on board with this storyline ever since it happened, but there wasn’t a whole lot of pizazz to it this week. I’m still intrigued by the idea, but it was understandably overshadowed. Having said that, this was one of the better episodes for Tabitha. Jessica Lucas does a great job of making you feel the disdain she has for Barbara’s new friends. Speaking of villains, Robin Lord Taylor was a great comic relief this week. They put Oswald in a very weird position, but I loved it.
Aside from the villains, Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue drove the episode incredibly well, per usual. While I’ve enjoyed some of the heavy Bullock scenes this season, it was great to get some classic Bullock lines this week.
You could argue this episode encapsulates the long standing problem Gotham has always had: At this point, we are drawing this out. The villains are here, and the only reason Batman doesn’t exist yet is because Bruce Wayne barely knows how to drive. Some ideas may have been repeated, but if it’s done this good, I’ll let it slide. And even though they used a cliché Joker story, they do something with the gas I’ve never seen before that was fairly clever and terrifying.
As the end of the day, who’s going to complain about a great Joker story? Come on.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10 (Really Great)
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