50 Shades | Gotham “Beasts of Prey” Review

Gotham returns from another break with the episode, “Beasts of Prey,” and it’s easily one of the shows standout episodes. This episode took on a dual personality of sorts and is dealing with two very distinct plotlines. The first, of course, shows the rise of Det. Jim Gordon, while the other follows the very divisive Fish Moony. I’ve generally enjoyed the former rather than the latter, but I quite enjoyed the scenes with Fish during, “Beasts of Prey.”

Fish is quite the enigma when it comes to this show. She’s easily the, “love-to-hate,” character, and I know I’m not the only one excitedly filled with anticipation waiting until Fish’s past catches up with her. But for now, she is “running” things with The Dulmacher, or so she thinks.

Fish’s first scene shows a feeble escape attempt; an attempt that was only endeavored to find out how Dulmacher dealt with escapees. For all the things you can say about Fish, she’s easily one of the smartest characters on the show. The only one smarter is probably Cobblepot, although his intelligence takes on a unique side. She sneaks into The Dulmacher’s office to steal a key and is caught in an intense showdown with the doctor. The tension in this scene was the real deal, and I honestly thought that Fish had drawn her last breath. But, as Fish tends to do, she is able to slither her way out, for now.

Since she does need some muscle, she convinces the other inmates to help her, but Dulmacher isn’t stupid either and he confronts her. In one of the least eventful scenes ever, the inmates are let free and beat up Dulmacher for a couple seconds before rushing out. Fish told her muscle that they have to take the boat since none of them can fly the helicopter that is sitting so neatly outside. But, as Fish is all for self-preservation, that was a lie. Somehow, of all Fish’s abilities, one of those is flying a helicopter. Out of left field would be an understatement as this hasn’t been as much as hinted at up until this episode’s reveal. But, in her escape attempt, she is shot while flying the helicopter off of the island. The shot to her stomach doesn’t appear to be fatal, although it’ll be interesting to see how or if The Dulmacher will catch back up to Fish.

It’s crazy how the writers have made Fish a decent character in this episode. Dare I even say she is quite likeable? Placing her against The Dulcmacher makes her appear to be a shining beacon of hope. It’s almost a shame that it has been revealed she won’t be making a comeback for next season, but I am deeply interested in how she will end out her run in Gotham.

The Det. Gordon storyline this week was great because we were finally given a look into the Gordon we’ve come to know. As with almost all heroes, they are defined by their villains and what a villain we have this week.

A fellow cop with GCPD emphatically has Gordon taking on a long forgotten case. The cop explains that he believes in what Gordon vows to do in cleaning up the city and GCPD. But, it’s easy to see through his intentions, and later, we find that cop was told to get Gordon on this case by none other than Loeb. I love that the tables turn back on Gordon for his strong fisting of GCPD in previous episodes. Gordon’s excitement is met with Bullock’s consternation. He quips, “Would you want to work less or more?” Typical Bullock. But, he does join the case, and, after rummaging through speak-easys, they find out what may have happened to this cold case.

When Bullock and Harvey found a bit more about Grace’s disappearance, we were given a look into what actually happened. Enter the dashing Milo Ventimiglia playing Jason Lennon. He is chatting it up with the victim, when he says that people become frightened by one thing. That one thing is, “unconditional love.” It all sounds innocent enough. They go back to his absolutely stunning penthouse and make love. But, this relationship turns very “Christian Grey,” very quickly. She tries to leave for work, and he grabs her, forcing her to stay. They are later seen eating dinner, Grace with her hands tied at the table, and she pouts over how she thought she overcooked the lamb. Jason becomes annoyed at her apologies and uses the oldest line in the book, “it’s not you, it’s me.” So cliché, yet so true as Jason Lennon has a house of horrors that would make Christian Grey jealous.

After the peek into the killer’s work, Nygma finds an old piece of evidence, a broken heart. Bullock immediately pulls Gordon aside and explains that they are dealing with a police department’s worst nightmare, a serial killer. The images in Jason’s kill room, so to speak, mark her as #13. Nicknamed, The Ogre, he walks free because the GCPD is too afraid to go after him. If anyone attempts to go after him, he will attack your loved ones.

What a brutal character, and Milo did a great job in his portrayal. The drastic change from the attractive playboy, to stone cold killer was fantastic to see. Now it’s clear why Loeb wanted Gordon on this case. He knew that Gordon couldn’t resist going after the Ogre, thus putting those he holds dear in jeopardy. Loeb’s play on attempting to get back at Gordon by putting Thompkin’s life at risk was a great attempt, but it will surely come back to bite him. I also hope that we may get to see Harvey Dent make a return to help Gordon capture The Ogre, although that’s all just conjecture on my part.

Two other plotlines, although not immediately as impactful as the previous two are that of Bruce finding Reggie and Cobblepot buying a small bar that will create ripples that will last far into “Gotham.”

Bruce is on a hunt to find Reggie and figure out why he would stab Alfred. A chilling scene occurs when Bruce is standing in front of a gun range, where Reggie was said to be, and Cobblepot saunters on the sidewalk right behind him. I don’t know why, but it was just an eerie scene in its short stay. Selina then, literally, drops in on him and explains that this isn’t the only place to find a shooting gallery.

They find Reggie on drugs sitting in an attic in Gotham. They coerce him to tell Bruce who hired him by Selina dangling his “medication” out the window, and they get the name Bunderslaw. We aren’t exactly sure who this man is, but it’s safe to assume he is somehow part of Wayne Enterprises, considering the last few episodes showed Reggie getting his payment from them. Then, Selina pretends to drop his drugs out the window. Reggie runs to the window and sees them on a ledge within reaching distance. When he bends over to pick them up, Bruce sees the opportunity to exact revenge on Reggie for hurting Alfred. For a split second, I thought he might actually do it and push Reggie out of the window. But, I should’ve known better as Bruce will never kill. That would only turn him into what he desperately tries to fight against as The Batman. Instead, Selina has no qualms about giving him that push over the side.

It’s hard to say that this scene was Seminole to the series, but it does show Bruce’s integrity and his no killing policy. In contrast, it shows where the rift may be created between her and Bruce when they get into their older years. Even though Selina almost seems to be protecting Bruce by doing what he couldn’t, it also shows what will become her villainous side.

As for Cobblepot, he wants to buy a small bar, but the owner isn’t impressed with his offer. She won’t even consider it unless they can get her daughter to dump her musician boyfriend. So, how do you stop a guitar player from dating someone’s daughter? Cut his fingers off, of course. I love that their version of Cobblepot is no holds barred. He kills ruthlessly and without any emotion. Why does he want the run down bar that’s “just bricks?” He says that this is the place where he will kill Maroni.