"You're going to make a big production out of this, aren't you?"
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Gotham played it mostly smart this week in "The Primal Riddle" (title taken from an actual comic arc) by sticking with Edward Nygma and his newly developed criminal genius status, showing us the ups and downs of having such a particular persona.
At some point, I may list off a full rundown of things Gotham's not allowed to do anymore (Wayne Manor invasions, attacks on the precinct, etc) as a new item on the docket is "villain holds hostages live on the evening news," but at least with Nygma's crusade this week -- a quest to solve the puzzle that is the Court of Owls -- we got to spot the fatal flaws behind being The Riddler. As well as some of the advantages. Most importantly though, we saw why it was so important for him to do the things he did the way he did them.
Truth be told, the main reason Nygma got the drop on Jim in Season 2 was because he was anonymous and hidden. Jim had no idea what was coming. Now Riddler must make it known that it's Riddler who's committing the crime. That's the thrill. And it works, even though it must certainly make things immeasurably more difficult for him. At the same time though, the fact that the police are under an extra amount of pressure to stop his crimes and solve his riddles because they do get a huge heads-up was also highlighted here. The citizens of Gotham would be irate if the cops couldn't crack the codes and stop all the murder. It was nice to dig into the DNA of Riddler like this and Cory Michael Smith is doing a bang up job in this new showier showing.
Pitting Riddler against the Court, and by default against Jim since Jim's doing the Court's bidding, was a nice twist for the tale and one that allowed Jim and Edward to come together once again in a way that didn't involve Riddler trying to put him through an obstacle course from hell. It also meant that the two of them, before the Court took Edward away, got to reflect on their past together as colleagues and that one time Jim and Lee went over to Edward's for dinner when he was seeing Kringle. Man, both of those romantic pairings went savagely south, didn't they? I hope you like Lee's new role at as the GCPD's "Doakes" - out to prove Jim's up to no good at every turn.
The rest of the episode was okay. Penguin rounded up Mr. Freeze and Firefly (thank goodness her brain rebooted out of "goddess mode) while Tabitha turned on Barbara and helped Jim thwart Nygma (I appreciate Tabitha's hatred of Edward being acknowledged, as well as Tabitha doing something), but the Deuce Wayne story, as usual, played clunky and cold. The clone, who's been getting by as Bruce by telling people he's either sad or tired, is dying (while the Court/League is prepping Bruce to return?) and so a few mean words from Selina caused him to push her out of a window, Max Shreck-style.
NOW we can talk about something that needs a bit more addressing, which is Gotham's lifting of notable Batman movie elements. From every era and iteration. Bruce getting a Batman Begins-type lecture last week aside, and Riddler hiding Harvey's badge inside the stomach of a guy Dark Knight-style notwithstanding, Gotham's latest M.O. seems to be (lovingly?) pirating movie moments at an unprecedented rate. Some of it's fun and most of it goes down easy because it's a lift with a twist. It's never a full scene. But Selina falling just like she did in Batman Returns? Landing in an ally? Body contorted the same way? And then all the cats come in to tend to her (or feast on her, whatever)? That's just trespassing. That's hyper specific to Batman Returns and the Burton films. It felt really wrong to ape this.
In all likelihood, Gotham will be back for a Season 4, but this ramping up of the borrowing makes me wonder if there is some sort of rush to get to a certain spot. As if these remaining four episodes might have to stand as the show's final bow and closing statement. Will we get, basically, teenage Batman and Catwoman? Like, as full versions of themselves and not younger proto-parts? This is concerning.
The Verdict
This weeks' Gotham stuck by Riddler's side as he launched an official "investigation" into the Court of Owls, showing that his only goal is to be the top intellectual mind in the city, regardless of who he's pitted against. This character, like Jerome/Joker, is working out really well, and he's still fun to watch outside of the context of Batman. The rest of the show, though, feels like it's rushing its teenage characters into places they shouldn't get to for another decade.
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