Gotham, ‘That Old Corpse’: A Slow Burn That Eventually Burnt Out

Even in death, Jerome (Cameron Monaghan) causes chaos in Gotham by employing his followers to storm the GCPD. Bruce (David Mazouz) tries to calm down a rattled Jeremiah who’s shaken by Jerome’s presence beyond the grave. Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) attempts to free Lee (Morena Baccarin), while Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Butch (Drew Powell) try and get out of their current funk.

This was one of the more oddly paced episodes of Gotham I can remember in a long time. There was clearly an ambition here. They wanted to create a certain mood with a very slow build up. For an episode where Jerome orchestrated everything from beyond the grave, it felt off. That could have very well been the point though.

The last time we saw Jerome’s brother, Jeremiah, he was being sprayed with a special dose of Joker gas. This episode takes that idea and runs with it. Jeremiah is nervous, paranoid and just plain on edge. It doesn’t help that Jerome has put one of his vintage plans into motion post death. Jerome’s brainless followers are a pleasure to watch as they dance around the GCPD causing mischief, but this gets old. It all goes back to Jeremiah.

As I said, it’s a slow burn. Real slow. Jeremiah’s progression into what he ultimately becomes shows a massive amount of potential going forward, but in this one episode it comes off as clunky. If Gotham is playing with the idea of another Joker taking the reins, this didn’t quite feel right. I’m not convinced what we are left with is the Joker. The Joker is loud and insane. While this threat was insane, it wasn’t loud. It was cool. Calculated. That can certainly be the Joker at times, but this felt a little too quiet. Could this be another villain altogether? Credit to Gotham for giving us a different feel, but in this particular episode, it felt off.

One of the highlights was the Jeremiah/Bruce relationship. If Jeremiah were to become the Joker someday, I like the idea of them being friends first. This had a real Clark Kent/Lex Luthor Smallville vibe. No matter what happens with Jeremiah, this relationship will be intriguing to watch going forward.

For an episode where Nygma and Penguin played important roles, they felt surprisingly wasted. The Riddler was still a blast as always, but he paled in comparison to his last few appearances. They carry the momentum from last episode between him and Lee seamlessly. Their chemistry continues to be a real strength.

Speaking of Lee, we got one of her better scenes with Gordon (Ben McKenzie) this season. While they’ve crossed paths a couple times, they’ve barely had time to speak. For two characters with so much history, we’d like to see more. They finally lay all the cards out on the table and call each other out. Both characters desperately try and convince the other on turning to their side, with Gordon being a man of the law, and Lee the true Robin Hood of Gotham, a term Gordon even calls her.

While this episode had some nice ideas, the slow burn eventually burnt out. This was certainly a big set up with Jeremiah, but we’ll see how it goes. The episode at least offered some funny down in the dumps Penguin/Butch bits, and it did leave Gordon in an interesting place by the end.

This wasn’t one of the stronger episodes, but like most Gothams, it leaves you wanting more.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (Slightly Better Than “Meh”)