‘Gotham’ season 3, episode 15: On the Riddler, Harley Quinn, and so much more

The news, alas, is true: There is no new episode of “Gotham” coming on Fox tonight. This is something that can be regrettably said for every Monday between now and when the show comes back on the air in April. This is a LONG time to wait, even if we understand that Fox wants to test the waters of “24: Legacy” for as long as they possibly can to see if there’s a potential hit there that they can keep on the air for a rather long time.

Now that we are in waiting mode, let’s talk villains — both in terms of present and future.

Is this the right time for Nygma to become the Riddler? – In the closing minutes of the winter finale, we saw Ed take a ruthless approach to his treatment of Oswald Cobblepot. Easily, he could have recognized that Oswald was being sincere when he explained how he allowed his feelings to get in the way of what he did to Isabella. Yet, at the same time, this was also the moment that he first made it clear that he was no longer interested in allowing feelings to get in the way anymore. By his token, Oswald was now an albatross. Maybe they would get along again for a time, but that could be short-lived the moment they were in another precarious position. In getting right of him, Ed allows himself more free reign of the city.

As for where the Riddler alter-ego comes from (we know it’s coming thanks to a recent promo), we foresee this as a smart way for the character to isolate himself further from reality and focus more on his own agenda and doing what he wants in the way that he wants to do it. In throwing out riddles, he gets to boast about his own superior intellect while also continuing to pursue a crime-based agenda. The riddles are a distraction from his true intentions.

By this logic, the transformation makes sense, even if it does feel somewhat early given that Bruce Wayne is still years away from being Batman.

What will the show do with Harley Quinn? – The biggest issue the show faces right now with Harley (who could be mentioned by the end of the season) is figuring out where to place her in terms of age. By comic-book logic, she would probably be at most the same age as Selina or younger. She’s meant to be younger than the Joker, who could very well be Jerome within this world.

From here, the next challenge is then figuring out how crazy to really make her, given that for the Harleen Quinzel we knew in the Batman mythology, she really didn’t start to develop any sort of alter ego until when she was an adult. Maybe we see some tendencies here and there, but to stretch this out, the show would have to deviate itself FAR from the comic-book canon. For the record, we have now moral issue with the show doing this; it just has to be with the right actress for the part and the right story.

What do you want to see with both the Riddler, and a potential Harley introduction, on “Gotham” moving forward? As always, we welcome some of your thoughts on the subject below. (Photo: Fox.)