Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: bruce wayne, Edward Nygma, entertainment, gotham, Jim Gordon, Oswald Cobblepot, television
Six Important Moments From Gotham – Mad Grey Dawn
This article contains spoilers for the recent Gotham episode Mad Grey Dawn.
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I've noticed another website is doing a "Six game-changing moments…" article about Gotham. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
I haven't been too excited about the direction the series has taken since coming back from their mid-season break, but overall the episodes have been pretty good. Then came Mad Grey Dawn. This felt like the writers were impatient to get everything to where they want it to be for the rest of the season. There were some huge jumps in character development and that is without the time jump. But lets breakdown the important moments (as we have been doing for a long time).
1 – Oswald Cobblepot is out of Arkham Asylum and back into society but doesn't have a place. He visits Butch Gilzean where he is tared and feathered, he swings by Edward Nygma's who wants nothing to do with the new Oswald and he finally ends up at his mother's grave. There he just happens upon Elijah Van Dahl, his father. Van Dahl takes him in immediately, brings him home to his family and we get to see another scene of Oswald taking a bath while a doting parent stands by. That's kind of creepy. The main thing we take form all of this is that Hugo Strange really did bury The Penguin deep down inside of Oswald.
2 – Now, Edward Nygma who we've watched slowly build towards becoming evil suddenly jumps into the full-fledged version of the Riddler. His plan is insanely complicated and full of coincidence. He's suddenly a bomb maker, is able to get a piece of art into a museum and leaves subtle clues that only Jim Gordon can solve. This is all very 1966 Batman. Gordon then uses a crowbar that Nygma can use later to kill a cop that he got to sign an I.A. form. This plan is a mix of careful plotting and happenstance. Seems like they should have had more of a trial and error type of scheme, but nope… they went into full elaborate Frank Gorshin mode.
3 – Jump over to the adventures of the street with Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Selina has a plan to rob from Butch's nephew's set-up where Ivy Pepper is working. Bruce announces that he's perfectly okay with robbing from bad guys…. what? And when it all goes wrong and they get caught, Bruce finds an amazing clarity in getting his ass kicked. He now knows that no one can break him. I wonder when they'll introduce young Bane to the series.
4 – The Riddler's plan coincides with getting the Theo Galavan case reopened. Seems Penguin told Riddler about Gordn's involvement and now he's using this madcap caper to frame Gordon for murder which goes off without a hitch. Nathaniel Barnes arrest Jim after he found him standing over the dead cops body and his fingerprints were on the murder weapon. This case is so open and shut that they don't bother even showing us the trial. Jim just gives up, feeling guilty over having killed Galavan he accepts being convicted of another murder instead and sends the woman he loves away.
5 – Everything jumps a month ahead for what I can only assume is that nothing important happens. Bruce has no incidents while living with Selina. Oswald blends right in with the Van Dahls. Gordon puts up no defense. Harvey Bullock just eats donuts and drinks coffee instead of following up on the bomber case… what did happen to that bomber in four months? This is what makes me thing the writers got impatient. They wanted Jim in prison, Oswald in that family and part of Bruce's time on the street out of the way.
6 – The final important moment is that Barbara Keen has woken up. Now this could lead to a lot of possibilities. From her getting out and putting Leslie Thompkins and her baby at risk to her spending time with Strange and becoming cured. I'm curious what they have planed for her since there are so many pieces already in play right now. Not really sure if we need another crazy killer on the loose, story wise I mean.
This was my least favorite episode of the series, not just the season. It made some major changes but I don't think it earned them. The show has been great about doing the slow build on so many things that this double jump forward just seems way out of place. Nygma has moved a long way towards his character, but this leap to the end kind of takes all the hardwork away. Here is hoping the get back on track next week.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/R-Jb-c5HVgQ[/youtube]