“All Will Be Judged†works as a statement by many of the characters in Gotham during this episode. Most obviously, Barnes (The Executioner) is out to provide the justice he feels is needed by sentencing Jim, but there were various others characters that have made some dire decisions throughout this one.
Getting this out of the way early, yes, Barnes looks a bit goofy. I’m not sure if it is his detachable razor arm (or whatever you want to call it), or his dominatrix-looking costume, but he just didn’t seem all that interesting from an appearance perspective. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy his villainy here. He is Nathaniel Barnes ratcheted up to 100. He seeks justice and, as he states often, he is judge, jury and executioner.
I find it ironic that he partakes in all those roles because that essentially undermines the justice in which he is seeking in the first place. Nevertheless, the scenes where Barnes is holding a trial for Jim and the sequence where he flies down from the rafters are really well done. The slight twist where Kathryn says that he needs to stop this nonsense, and then he proceeds to cut her head off was darkly comedic. It also goes to further show that you can’t really control anyone with the Tetch virus, it simply preys on your deepest desires and emphasizes those desires to a comical level.
The whole Court of Owls plotline is continuing to run its course, and things have only become more intriguing with the death of Kathryn. Shortly before he beheading, Alfred came raging into the interrogation room and put a knife through her hand demanding where they took Bruce, and she mentioned that she thinks it is hilarious that they believe she is the one that runs The Court. Â So, the only remaining character that has any potential of actually running The Court is The Shaman; although, he alludes to the fact that he wants to take out The Court, but it could be all a ruse.
It always seemed like The Shaman was the one taking the orders. It could be because he has the more feeble old man appearance, but there are some serious layers peeled back throughout the entire episode. Bruce is still unsure of completely putting the death of his parents behind him, but after The Shaman shows him one specific memory, he finally does decide to forget the pain from that night. The Shaman showed him a memory of himself talking to a man that had a part in, or knew who killed the Waynes, and he expressed his displeasure and killed a man.
It’s hard to say if this memory was “cooked†because The Shaman knew that this would push Bruce to wanting to forget the pain that night caused. Of course, The Shaman has ulterior motives and proves this by showing his control over Talon, who is another person taken from an orphanage and coerced to let go of a painful memory. The Shaman tells him to cut off his pinky finger and he does so with no emotion. Bruce now will be under control of The Shaman and will, apparently, do his bidding with no emotional attachment or ability to refuse so. It’s unclear what exactly The Shaman will do with Bruce or how he will be able to break out of his control.
Penguin and Nygma were sort of reunited in this episode, and it didn’t take long for the hilarity to ensue. The two are locked in cages next to one another by The Court. Nygma was in there because he was infatuated with uncovering the riddle of The Court, and Penguin was locked up because he is headstrong in exacting his revenge of Nygma attempting to kill him. The banter between the two comes to a head when Nygma jokes that he had the guard poison Penguin’s coffee, and then actually shoots Penguin with a blow dart. As Nygma is escaping, Penguin is able to alert the guards, and they beat up Nygma. The two do come together once they realize that they can’t do this alone. Their terms are as outlandish as you would imagine, but they do manage to get out of there. It’s a shame that these two are going up against each other because they make one hilarious duo.
Finally, Lee Thompson has a few pivotal scenes. Her anger for Jim has caused her to look to an unlikely source for more information, Jervis Tetch. Tetch is always able to twist people into doing what he wants through his cunningness, and that is no exception here. He somehow convinces Lee to steal one of the few remaining vials of the Tetch virus, and she injects it into herself. The Tetch virus looks like it is here to stay, but it will be interesting to see how crazy she goes when going after Jim Gordon.
