A case from his past comes back to haunt Bullock, while the MCU’s investigation into Gordon gathers steam.

“GOTHAM’S GOLDEN RULE”

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

When I heard that “Spirit of the Goat” was going to revolve around a crazy goat guy murdering people, I was seriously prepared for the worst. Surprisingly, I rather enjoyed the episode, making it two episodes in a row where I have a low amount of complaints. One by one, Gotham is patching itself up and becoming a steady, good show. There are still plenty of eye-rolling moments and some hit or miss characters, but it’s getting there.

Taking the focus off the warring crime bosses and putting it on Bullock ended up being a really smart move. The war for Gotham has been by far the most interesting aspect of the show so far, with the GCPD side of things dragging the show down at times. Delving into Bullock’s past and showing us a very different side of him will surely benefit the show in the long run. The more interesting they can make Gordon and Bullock, the more the viewer will care about Gotham’s Police Department. I had a good chuckle seeing that Bullock started out just like Gordon. He was always up for charging head first into danger, something which ended up getting his partner permanently injured. This helps us understand Bullock’s state of mind a little more, and may explain why he ended up taking the easy route later in life.

The killer of the week was a bit of a dud to start off with, but thankfully “The Spirit of the Goat” turned out to be a brainwashed pawn. The over the top routine and method of killing was a little bit too much, but finding out that Doctor Marks was the mastermind was a cool, albeit a little easy to guess, twist. A killer kidnapping and murdering the children of Gotham’s wealthiest inhabitants sounds kind of cool on paper, so hopefully they revisit that idea with a more capable villain at a later stage. It was a nice change of pace to see Bullock so motivated too, as he chased down leads and ended up using actual detective skills to crack the case.

Cobblepot was fairly quiet until the end of the episode, so extra screen time went to Eddie Nygma. I had mentioned last week that I wanted to see a little bit more of him, but what we got here wasn’t too impressive. His stalker-like relationship with Kristin Kringle came off as far more creepy than anything else, with his behavior likely to get him fired from any real world job. This is Gotham however, a city that doesn’t have many moral standards, so this kind of behavior serves as a good precursor to the obsessive riddle-spewing super-villain he will one day become. Special mention must go to that riddle about the fox, rabbit and cabbage though. I think I must have heard that used on different television shows at least three times this year.

The MCU made a bit of a faux pas this week by jumping the gun and arresting Gordon for Cobblepot’s murder. I’m not sure if Gotham’s laws are different, but I don’t think hearsay, a homeless guy’s testimony, and no physical evidence are good pillars to build your case on, but they went ahead and arrested him anyway. This led to a hilarious exchange between Gordon and Bullock as Gordon tried to clue Bullock in that he really hadn’t killed Cobblepot, while Bullock replied that he knew in a “wink wink” fashion. The culmination of this scene was perfect as Cobblepot made a grand entrance through the doors of the GCPD and showed the world he was alive, with Bullock flying off the handle at Gordon in response. Trust Cobblepot to be quiet for most of the episode before stealing the limelight right at the end. Cobblepot being alive saves Gordon from his most immediate predicament, but he’s going to be in mortal danger once Mooney and Falcone catch wind of it.

THE BREAKDOWN

Overall this was another enjoyable episode of Gotham that keeps the show moving in the right direction. Brief scenes with Cobblepot, Bruce, and Selina, along with leaving several other characters out, led to more time to build up Bullock. In that respect, the episode is a success as we now have a better idea of what drives Bullock. That brilliant ending with Cobblepot sets us up perfectly for next week, which I’m hoping sees Gotham absolutely smashing it out of the park.

Do you feel like Bullock’s character received a big boost this week, or is there still a lot of work to be done? Let us know what you think about this and the episode as a whole in the comments below.

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