The Review at the End of the Universe
“Legend of the Dark Knight” – Gotham’s final season Gotham season 5 ended the show in what seemed to be a very respectful manner. The two strongest vibes I got were a remembrance of a lost friend and of a child tidying up under the watchful eye of a stern parent. Being honest I didn’t…
A Dark Knight arc – second half There is a turning point in Gotham season 4 that is heralded with the second half’s opening but that slaps you right awake in episode 14 when Sofia’s plan is revealed. Here her power to manipulate people returns – no plot needing to happen off camera or in…
A Dark Knight arc I still very much struggle with the Gotham’s choice of style. The MCU TV connections are mostly going for the gritty angle, the Arrowverse has its various levels of fun to play with, and then Gotham takes… soap opera? I mean action-soap as a theme is unclaimed by any other superhero…
Heroes Rise finale: “Destiny Calling” and “HeavyDirtySoul” Gotham ends season 3 with many characters questioning their identity: those having been infected with the virus supposedly seeing their real selves; those caught up in the chaos seeing what they’re made of in the face of it. Some of these questions definitely had a greater effect on…
“Heroes Rise: All Will Be Judged” It feels like last week’s episode of Gotham was more of a setup for this week’s rather than something I could enjoy on its own merits. This week the strength of The Plot Force (the force that makes characters make out-of-character or silly decisions to suit the needs of the…
“Heroes Rise: Light the Wick” Gotham returns this week to the too-many-characters problem of season 1 but worse, manages to undermine most of the episode’s plot by removing all purpose and meaning from character interactions. As we sometimes still see with this show the needs of the plot can seem to outweigh the needs of…
“Heroes Rise: The Primal Riddle” I do like to understand the episode and arc titles Gotham uses, if only because it helps overcome my concern I might be missing something important in an episode. I confess to being slightly unsure what ‘The Primal Riddle’ is though. Is the prime question one of who we are…
“Heroes Rise: These Delicate and Dark Obsessions” The rise of heroes in Gotham season 3’s final arc still seems more of a future promise than a present event. Certainly Bruce is moving into his training in earnest but it’s difficult to see how Jim’s upcoming dance with the Court of Owls will make him a…
“Heroes Rise: How the Riddler Got His Name” So Gotham is set to finish season 3 with a rising force of heroes to counter the preceding Rise of the Villains. But this would appear to be a promise at this stage, given that the latest episode focuses so much on The Riddler – unless Lucius…
“Mad City: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” Gotham’s second mid-season finale this winter presents a villain-off between Jerome and Nygma. In a competition of scheming, both have emotional issues to resolve, Adam-West-era kill devices and an image to sell. All in all I thought this delivered a very good episode but almost entirely through Jerome, who…
