This week’s episode of Gotham continues the three-episode arc featuring Milo Ventimiglia as the serial killer Jason Lennon a.k.a. the Ogre, as he goes after Barbara while Bruce and Selina continue their adventures, and Edward Nygma pulls one heck of a twist.
While I’m still not a fan at all of Barbara, who has done nothing to contribute to this show other than being dead weight, I did enjoy that she sort of shocked Jason and made him having to re-think his entire plan. She was sneaky in a good way; I just wish that the beginning of the series had made something better out of her character. This is supposedly the future mother of Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Batgirl, but based on how the writers have been working with this character this year, I’m finding it impossible for her and Gordon to ever reunite.
This is not me judging the actress, because I’m sure Erin Richards could do so much better if she got better writing material to work with; I can tell that she is doing the best with what she has. Barbara makes a reference to the gallery that she works at, and that reminds the viewers yet again that we have yet to actually see her at her job. It’s another sign of how little they have actually done with this character, other than sending her down a horrible path with drug addiction and her hanging out with two homeless teenage girls (no offense to Ivy and Selina!).
This episode of Gotham tells the origin of Jason and his complicated family background, as well as providing us with another reason to feel sorry for this man. There is a scene where they show what his face really looked like before we met him, and yeah, it was a pretty gross-looking Ogre face to say the least. Ventimiglia is so great in this role, balancing the ruthlessness of serial killer with someone that you actually want to care for, and that’s something that I don’t say a lot about psychos like Jason. The final scene with Barbara and Jason at his place and inside his Ogre-cave (cut me some slack, it needs to be called something) for some reason gave me all sorts of Fifty Shades of Grey vibes.
The epic adventures of Batboy and Catgirl (there is your spin-off FOX; you are welcome) continues to be one of the show’s most fun aspects. There is a perfect conversation throughout the whole episode where that provides more foreshadowing of who Bruce will become and who Selina will become as they get older, and also where they draw their respective lines. The two of them together give Gotham, which takes place in such a dark setting, some much needed comedic relief. I think it’s fascinating to watch Bruce and Sleina learning from each other and see what they will take away from these lessons when they grow up to become vigilantes.
Last but not least, Eddie also goes through something pretty big in this episode of Gotham, as he gets sick of the cop that Kryngle is together with, once he learns that her boyfriend has been abusing her. It wasn’t a big surprise that he ended up stabbing the guy as the promo from a few weeks ago gave it away, but just seeing that moment, where he really snaps, was haunting. It’s fascinating how this show, despite knowing the fates of so many of these characters, can make you drop your jaw because of HOW these characters begin to follow their destinies. That cry that then turned into a laugh was the perfect scene-ender, and I’m dying to find out what will happen with Eddie next.
Overall, this episode of Gotham was another enjoyable hour, and I think this show is a lot better when it’s serialized as opposed to when it’s more of a procedural. The whole thing with Maroni ratting on Penguin to his mother was somewhat overly dramatic, and seeing Oswald making the promise that he will now truly finish him off was a little too much for me. But other than that, this was another strong episode that will hopefully be followed by two more than are just as good, if not better, as we are almost at the finish line of Season 1.
Gotham airs on Monday nights, 8/7c on FOX.
[Photo via FOX]
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