Every once in a while, I get one right. The witch that Bruce is searching for to help cure Selina is indeed Ivy!
After four full seasons of Gotham, this episode finally got the Poison Ivy character right. The character underwent an age transformation last season, not to mention at least two previous re-casts. Peyton List embodies the infamous character perfectly, as she plays the plotting, maniacal, and murderous villain. One minute she is playing a helpless captor, the next she drops three bodies in a matter of seconds. Her lair is filled with bodies encompassed by vines and plants.
Her onscreen interaction with lead, David Mazouz is impeccable. “I’m feeding the Earth with these wretched creatures. It consumes them and then it flourishes. I think I shall plant your body in the ground, Bruce. What will grow from you, I wonder,” Ivy threatens.
Without hesitation Bruce responds, “Those men you killed were right, you are a witch. I can see there’s no good left in you. If you were trying to help this park flourish it would be full of beauty and color. Instead it smells of death. It’s a nightmare.” This whole scene was a personal favorite, and resulted in Bruce getting the magical seed that would hopefully cure Selina.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t again give major props to the wardrobe crew on this show as it’s always outstanding. Ivy’s attire was absolutely perfect without being too cheesy. (As we’ve seen in previous Batman movies) Bruce’s all black attire with leather jacket is just a perfect pre- Dark Knight outfit for him. Gordon’s perfect hair and suits are always on point. He even looks like James Bond at times. Remember, the time period here is purposely ambiguous with some of the cars and flip phones we see throughout. Details are important and the crew of this show always gets it right.
Meanwhile, Jim Gordon rescues a group of kids this episode and is able to get them to safety with the help of an extra violent Barbara Kean. As always, I’m never sure what Barbara’s role in all of this is, but after the death of Tabitha, she is super on edge. Also, I always wonder how Jim is supposedly going to name his future daughter (Batgirl) after this psycho killer. I’m guessing she is going to come up big again in the near future.
Along the way, we meet a ghost woman who is killing people and keeping their teeth and fingers. I tried to research what Batman villain this might be, but couldn’t find anything substantial. We also learn that there is a price on Jim’s head via the Penguin as rival gangs are competing over him. Regardless, Jim says,”They’ll have to try harder” and finds a new safe haven for the rescued children in a scene where I’ve NEVER seen Gotham look so sunny. However, Jim is now in Barbara’s debt. She wants him to help her kill Penguin.
The Ed Nigma subplot moves along with his split personalities, and again I’m just not interested. This was a good first season move, but after four years, it’s just getting stale. We do however find that Penguin may be getting set up by a mystery person during Ed’s story. We’ll see where this goes.
At the end of the episode we seemingly get the end of the Selina Kyle/Catwoman origin story. Bruce lets her eat the magic seed from Ivy, but she has a seizure. Bruce is devastated and blames himself. The Doctors have no idea what is going on but are able to stabilize her. Before Bruce leaves, he turns to Selina’s bed but she is gone and the window is open!
This would’ve been a cool way to end it, but this ending was also fascinating: Selina is fully healed and able to walk again. She hugs Bruce and tells him she feels, “Different.” We get a close up of Selina’s green eyes as they suddenly take on the shape of cat eyes. This was a pretty cool sequence that could have been cheesy, but I think it worked just fine. Again, this is an interesting spin on the Catwoman origin, but I’m okay with it.
Although always fantastic, the one thing I worry about is the time limitations that come along with this five season run. Nothing feels rushed just yet, but things may be starting to very soon. We’re essentially promised that Bruce will dawn the cape and cowl this season, and it looks like the trailer for next week shows Selina in near full Catwoman attire. The cast have been absolutely crushing it this whole time. But the next step is a crucial one and should be treated with the utmost respect to these iconic characters.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
