Penguin's Umbrella
- Episode aired Nov 3, 2014
- TV-14
- 42m
Word is out that Cobblepot is alive, leading Falcone and Maroni to the brink of war and causing Gordon to go on the run.Word is out that Cobblepot is alive, leading Falcone and Maroni to the brink of war and causing Gordon to go on the run.Word is out that Cobblepot is alive, leading Falcone and Maroni to the brink of war and causing Gordon to go on the run.
- Selina Kyle
- (credit only)
- Edward Nygma
- (credit only)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaVictor "Mister" Zsasz is an actual comic book character who made his debut in June 1992 in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1. His trademark is cutting a number/tally on his skin for each victim he kills.
- GoofsWhen he stops at the edge of the motor pool while chasing Gordon, Victor's gun hand is at his side from behind, but up by his face in the very next shot.
- Quotes
Harvey Bullock: So I've been thinking. You're still a douche bag. But you have the moral high ground. So I'm gonna back your play, whatever it is. I figure I'm doomed anyhow. I might as well join the good guys.
James Gordon: Thank you.
Harvey Bullock: So what is your play? I mean, you got one, right? You said you had one.
James Gordon: Tomorrow morning, I'm arresting Falcone and the mayor for the framing of Mario Pepper. Conspiracy, POJ, Rico, the works.
Harvey Bullock: Well, that's a... that's a hell of a plan. You sit there with a panel of chimpanzees and a bucket of crack and come up with that one?
James Gordon: I figure whatever else happens, we'll stir things up. We might even make the papers.
Harvey Bullock: Oh, yeah, we're gonna make the papers, all right. We're gonna be dead in the streets in time for the evening edition.
James Gordon: Well, at least the people will know the truth. And we'll go out doing our jobs, enforcing the law.
Harvey Bullock: That's the best inspirational speech, you got? Doing our jobs?
James Gordon: You don't have to join me.
Harvey Bullock: No, I'm game. Like I said, I'm doomed anyhow.
Let's start with what works. Gordon basically taking a "well I'm dead, so I'm going down swinging" attitude is infinitely more engaging than the oddly inert righteous indignation he's been riding on for a while. It's nice to see him truly take control of the situation, even though he knows what it's likely to cost him. I'm glad that the show found the sweet spot for Bullock in all of this as well, taking a "oh why the heck not?" attitude rather than going back to the adversarial relationship he had with Gordon at the start of all of this.
The villains are also in top form, as they usually have been. The surface level of respect that the Dons have for each other even as those under their command backbite each other is well played out. Fans are treated to a fun and intimidating take on killer Victor Zasz, here played as a high level mob enforcer and hit man. When Don Falcone says "I'll send Victor," you feel the weight of that statement and when he shows up he does not disappoint (though I don't think he needed the two scantily dressed sidekicks, if I'm being honest.) As has been the case, the Penguin is an absolute delight. It hasn't been clear up to this point how much of what he's doing has been part of a master plan and how much has been merely opportunistic. While there's still elements of both, which is the bigger factor becomes clear in this episode, and it's well played and thrilling.
The problem comes with Barbara. She nearly derails the entire episode. Without getting into specifics of what happens, she has clearly fallen into the standard "hero's girlfriend" trap that has been the doom of so many films and TV shows. She's barely a character. She's a prop, she's a device, and ultimately she's a hindrance to Gordon. She holds him back from doing the kinds of things that audiences want to see him doing. Her very presence becomes a leash that I just want him to break free from. Thankfully there's a nice coda at the end that recovers the episode as a whole, but Barbara herself really isn't adding anything positive to the show at this point.
The show overall has done a pretty good job of adjusted and shedding the aspects that weren't working as well. We don't have as many shoehorned in villain cameos. The relationship between Gordon and Bullock evolved into something more engaging than where it started from. Gordon himself developed layers and isn't the generic white knight we had at the beginning. These are just a few examples of weak points that go stronger. I can only hope that Barbara can follow suit, because right now she's the last bit of dead weight still hanging on from the shaky pilot episode.
- dramafreak42
- Nov 7, 2014