Martin Carr reviews the tenth episode of Gotham season 5…
There is something anti-climatic about ‘I Am Bane’ that makes it feel like an extended set up for the imminent season finale. Re-unification is happening, water supply purity is back to normal, yet there still exists one large spanner in the works. Old adversaries return, new ones are showcased while kidnapping, experimentation and hazy close ups attempt to instil dread.
When the latent comedy duo of Penguin and Riddler are attempting to escape in submarines, Barbara is going into labour and Doctor Strange is modifying everyone in sight Gotham feels predictable. Being pushed through the corridors brandishing weapons on the run from a new and improved Bane, this show really returns to those comic book roots as plausibility diminishes. If the GCPD goes up in smoke, gets tear gassed or villains run rampant one more time I may lose my patience.
Between key players getting kidnapped, others tackling villainy in a hand to hand fashion and yet more reconciling with old enemies for convenience sake plotting feels lazy. This is no time to forgive or forget about past vendettas, forego the opportunity for retribution or get sentimental. One more grand gesture which results in Gotham being firebombed is neither dramatically engaging nor very surprising. Everyone in this show is made out of granite and coated in Teflon for good measure. People never die, threat is never really threatening and in this episode more than most this remains apparent.
With Bane let loose, military personnel being brainwashed and a villain’s relevance requiring flashback to establish plotting seems to be in flux. Although the interpretation of this super soldier is good while the actor himself does good work, you get the sense that he is wasted. Whether that is a common issue with Bane considering the low impact Tom Hardy had in The Dark Knight Rises remains up for debate. Aside from that there is no escaping the overwhelming feeling of mediocrity which stems from a lack of tangible direction here. For all the pyrotechnics, grand pronouncements and combined location work ‘I Am Bane’ falls short.
Martin Carr
