Gotham is back after its two-week hiatus with, “What The Little Bird Told Me.†Having set up a future encounter with Gruber before its break, all expectations were that we would be left with an exciting episode. While the episode did have its moments, what was foreshadowed previously didn’t really come to fruition.
The episode delves into Gruber indeed being The Electrocutioner and, once getting his tools, being hell-bent on destruction. Or so you would assume, having the name Electrocutioner anyway.
Jack Gruber was simply an alias and Nygma sorted through the files and found that his actual name is Jack Buchinsky. Buchinsky intentionally went into Arkaham, sounds about right for the Gotham Universe. The next target, whose future was tied to a witchcraft doll, just so happens to look a little bit like Maroni. It really didn’t look like much of anyone, but Maroni is still the next target.
While trying to leave to be with Falcone, the Penguin gets thrown about 20 feet after getting zapped by the doorknob. Buchinsky electrocuted the Penguin threw the doorknob; then, another man rolled an electrocution bomb right into the middle of Maroni’s meeting. But, the bomb only made them look like they came out of a roadrunner episode, black smoke on their faces and all. It did force Cobblepot to reveal a bit of the schemes he’s been working on for quite a few episodes. The electrocution made him mutter words to Maroni about a meeting with Falcone, but being The Penguin, he was able to slyly talk his way out of the mishap.
As for the big showdown, Maroni goes to the safest place in Gotham, GCPD Headquarters. Buchinsky, being as crazy as he is, gladly walks in and looks like he’s going to electrocute just about everything. But, we didn’t get that pay off, not in the least. Instead, Jim confronts him and explains that everyone deserves being saved (admittedly a nice moment showing his true white knight status), and foils his plans with a single splash of water. One little toss of water and “bzzzt,†The Electrocutioner is no more. The build-up didn’t nearly make up for the meager payoff of ending such a touted villain.
While the villain angle was pretty lackluster, the Mob interactions were surprisingly great in the episode. Falcone is seen talking with Liza, explaining that she needs to go get married. He wants to give her a bakery or some form of business. She declines, and says she just wants to be with him. In the very next scene, she is kidnapped by none other than Fish. Finally, Fish’s plan is gaining some clarity. She thought the best way to push Falcone out was by threatening him that they would kill Liza if he didn’t relinquish his seat as mob boss. While it did seem to almost work, Cobblepot was able to arrive just in time.
Cobblepot explains the whole setup. He tells Falcone that Liza was a ploy from Fish the whole time. While at first Falcone didn’t want to believe it, Penguin explained that he’s never been wrong. Falcone quickly calls her bluff when confronting Fish in person and kills Liza right there and then. The scene is great because Fish had mocked him previously, saying he was becoming soft. Falcone comes back with a retort saying that her betrayal reminds him who he used to be. The killing of Liza showed his ruthlessness and where his character may be going in the future.
As per most episodes, we get a little bit of insight into other characters, such as an appearance by Zsasz and to a greater extent Nygma. Zsasz, while being great in his first appearance, was relegated to a handful of words, and that’s just about it, poor interactions for such a great character. Nygma, on the other hand, was very riddle-y in this episode. Tons of riddles for coworkers provided some nice comic relief, and we get to see the disdain that the other characters have for the quirky Edward Nygma. It even goes so far as to make you feel for Nygma. Hopefully someday, we get to really see what makes Nygma snap.
