Gordon faces some tough decisions in his fight to clean up the GCPD.

FOX

“A NEW DAY”

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

I’m really hoping that this whole “Dulmacher” thing is leading to a Ra’s Al Ghul-style (Batman Begins) reveal. Colm Feore is a fine actor, but the character he is playing came across as something of a soft touch here. Other than sewing female body parts onto his assistant, I thought Dulmacher seemed like he was easily swayed by Fish. He could of course be playing her, but Fish ended up with a new eye, new living quarters and a cushy new job. I did like that Fish now has to turn on her friends in the basement, although we all knew that was coming.

The rest of the episode was enjoyable. Gotham can actually be a pretty good show when it wants to be, especially when bland, case of the week episodes make way for something different. Gordon’s mission to take down Loeb certainly had a feeling of Deja Vu to it, but I’m happy that they’re revisiting the “dark choice” plotline that seemed to have been completely abandoned a few episodes ago. Bullock warned Gordon about going down this path, but Gordon seems to be caught up in his own sort of power trip. He’s so consumed with cleaning up the GCPD that he doesn’t seem to care too much about the consequences of his actions. He even used blackmail for personal gain this week, which is a very interesting turn to take. He now finds himself owing Penguin a big favor, which will surely come into play quite soon.

I’ve been bemoaning the quality of Penguin’s storylines recently, but this was a bit of a return to form. He got to get away from the terrible club subplots and take part in the central story. His interactions with Gordon are always fun, and I especially liked how he handled himself around the old, murderous couple in the house. Penguin tricking Gordon and Bullock, and subsequently getting the old lady to kill her partner was a great turn of events for the character. He’s been looking quite weak over the last few weeks, so seeing him return to his old murderous ways is a big positive. His line before shooting the old lady, “I was down to one shell,” was the icing on the cake.

FOX

The Loeb storyline had a nice twist to it too. It looked like a rather run-of-the-mill case initially, with Loeb covering up the murder of his wife by hiding evidence in the attic. That evidence turned out to be his rather unhinged daughter, who was actually the real murderer. Loeb’s daughter, Miriam, was a special kind of crazy, the kind that crushes birds’ skulls with her bare hands so she can make lovely bone necklaces. The whole situation was genuinely creepy. I did like that Loeb was protecting her out of his love for her, though. I’m not sure how much of a part Miriam will play going forward, but I had a little vibe that she could be the perfect companion for Penguin.

THE BREAKDOWN

So once again, Gotham delivers a solid, enjoyable episode. There was nothing outstanding here, so I’m looking for the show to build a more solid foundation before hopefully improving. Bruce and Alfred didn’t get much screentime this week, but I really did enjoy Bruce ordering Alfred to get back into bed. It was very reminiscent of all of the times Alfred has tried to get a grown-up Bruce to rest in the comics. Gordon’s back on a dark track again, and I really like that. I have a feeling it’ll affect his personal and professional relationships in more ways than one. I’m just hoping that they don’t back away from this story as quickly as the last time.

What kind of favor do you think Penguin will ask for from Gordon? I have a feeling it’ll be something that could lead to the downfall of Maroni, but I want to hear your thoughts. Tweet them @OldSnake24 or let me know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow us @YouNerded.

78/100 – Good

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