The first half of this season of Gotham was quite spectacular. There was nary a bad episode in sight, and they generally did a great job of progressively culling in various storylines as the first half of Season 3 came to a close. Now, they are upping the stakes by going back to the well and bringing back a pretty beloved character.
The first episode back, “Ghosts,†works as the resolution of the Mario Falcone storyline. After having that specific storyline unravel to finish out the first half of the season, I can’t help but feel that this supposed resolution was a bit anticlimactic. That’s not to say that the journey getting there was.
Falcone puts a hit out on Jim Gordon that is to be carried out by none other than Victor Zsasz, which is something that instantly makes any scene better. His extremely dry humor and deadpan persona is perfect for Gotham. But, Zsasz doesn’t get his man this time because Lee had a change of heart after visiting an old friend.
Nathaniel Barnes gives Lee a look into just how crazy the Tetch blood has made him become. This simple meeting was enough to completely change her mind from wanting to be the one to murder Jim to wanting him to stay alive after all. It just seems a bit weird for a character such as her to have wildly swinging emotions thought out a single episode.
The other main character that will see a drastic twist of fate is none other than Oswald Cobblepot. All things were pointing up, which was obviously a red herring for what was actually in store.
One of the stronger plot threads earlier in the season was Cobblepot getting to know his father. They were able to foster a strong bond in the short time they were together, but that strong bond just so happens to be his greatest weaknesses as well, which gets exploited to the nth degree by Nygma.
Nygma used his craftiness in keeping his hands clean while slowly chipping away at Cobblepot’s perfect appearance. Not only did this all take place during a national interview, that was obviously all parts of Nygma’s plan, but it planted that seed of crazy in his mind where he truly believes that his father is talking to him from beyond the grave. We have seen a character come back from the dead in Theo Galavan, but Cobblepot’s father is clearly not getting the same treatment; however, another character is going to get the Frankenstein’s monster treatment, and it was slyly tipped off by a character casting.
Easter eggs are always nice to spot, but I absolutely love when characters transition across media and stick in the same role, which is exactly what David Dastmalchian did coming over from The Dark Knight. Dastmalchian plays Dwight Pollard, a man who is part of a group who worships the clown prince of crime and is helping with his reanimation. Yes, you guessed it, Jerome is coming back! While I’m not sure how exactly I feel with bringing characters back from the dead, Cameron Monaghan was so convincing that it quells the possible issues I may have initially had with the idea.
Bruce and Selina had their story develop further with the waves that her mother has already started to create. Her mother felt a bit thrown into the storyline as a mechanism to bring friction in her and Bruce’s life. It was cute how Alfred started flirting with her, but she just doesn’t feel right for the story, yet. Hopefully this changes as we learn more about why a gangster was after her for an unpaid debt, who is now after Bruce.
