Martin Carr reviews the twenty-first episode of Gotham season 2…
Back in the saddle and circling the wagons is how I can best describe my position right now. With the re-emergence of a person we thought ourselves well rid of Gotham throws another spanner in the works. To reveal is to spoil but suffice to say their return could be considered a mixed blessing rather than contractual obligation.
I am not going to hark on about this, but it must be said that their return must have something to do with the level of success Gotham has reached. Their departure for many was considered not only a high point but the humane act of a character being jettisoned who simply did not work. That this person is back because the dead horse got up and started galloping after two clean shots to the head, smacks of opportunism on a base level and not something I am comfortable condoning. Also it is akin to someone building the pyramid and then a smart arse turning up for the topping out ceremony and stealing said glory. This sort of shit would not happen with Constantine or dare I whisper it Preacher, for those guys have more moral fibre and a bigger set of conjones. That there are some networks unwilling to kowtow period. However I digress.
What ‘A Legion of Horribles’ brings beyond the return of an unforgettable blight is some solid scenery chewing from B.D. Wong, a slice of breaking and entering combined with lots of fire. Throw in some dodgy looking head devices, flame retardant assailants and the most obvious arrow since Steve Guttenberg asked people to ‘Get It Here’ in 1984. And Gotham is continuing to run at breakneck speed into a season closer which may prove barnstormingly brilliant, or lacklustre lukewarm and lethargic. But right now my money is on the former.
As people with mind control, chameleon qualities and fire resistant epidermal layers begin to rule said roost, you have to ask yourself how much further down the road of loony can this go. With heroes such as we have in ever increasing levels of holy crap stick something has to give. Despite the fact that Mazouz and Wong share a solid character scene this week which almost overshadows all that malarky, there is still an element which leaks out between the cracks.
Bullock running the GCPD for one while Gordon’s rogue persona is no longer tough and brazen spending much of his time, as he does, getting caught and interrogated. Never have so many characters been so easily caught and captured. Only for their fate to be left hanging in the balance for next week. If Arkham is detonated while everyone finds their way out through as yet unknown secret passages do not be surprised. After all this build up and quality groundwork it would be the damp squib that sees Gotham season two go out with a whimper, rather than the feral haka it so deserves. Let us hope that the latter comes to pass, for the alternative would be all kinds of unforgiveable.
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published May 19, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
