‘Gotham’ season 3, episode 14 (winter finale) review: Jerome vs. Bruce; is Oswald dead?
Tonight, the “Gotham” winter finale delivered just about everything that you could possibly want in the way of entertainment. After all, just look at some of what it brought to the table! There were dramatics, shockers, humor, and of course even more dramatics.
The main event, of course, was Jerome, who entered this episode with a significant ax to grind and a plan: Destroy Bruce Wayne in any way that he possibly could. That meant at first going to Wayne Manor and kidnapping him. Originally, his plan was to kill him there, but Bruce managed to appeal to his inner showman, making it clear that it would be a whole lot more fun to bring him to the carnival and turn murdering him into a spectacle.
Of course, this is the biggest weakness of Jerome as a character — he always has to have a show. In taking the time to paint Bruce Wayne’s face and drag him to the carnival, Gordon, Bullock, and Alfred all had the necessary time in order to track him down. For the record, Bruce was also not willing to accept his impending doom without a fight. When the GCPD showed up, he managed to break free and prepared to take on Jerome man to man. This was a fantastic showdown if there ever was one, especially since it ended in the least-fun fun house that we’ve ever seen.
What Bruce did in here was almost Ralphie straight out of “A Christmas Story” given that he pummeled Jerome to a pulp. It was somewhat weird why he’d just leave his body there, given that it gave the show’s Joker a chance to run out of the house of mirror and nearly cause some more chaos. This could have ended badly! Instead, we had one of the grossest scenes ever watching Jerome’s eye get knocked straight out of his head.
Jerome was defeated, but this time around, he was not dead. There is a chance of a return someday, but we’d be shocked if it happens this season. Meanwhile, Bruce and Alfred came up with what could be Batman’s first rule: To never kill. He’ll remember that.
The fall of Oswald – After a complicated past few episodes, Nygma managed to finally get the Penguin where he wanted him, but for some reason, he didn’t want to kill him instead. He tried to set him up instead for a larger scheme instead that he, with the help of a luckily-placed police officer, was able to escape. This led to Oswald barely ever getting out of the woods, given that soon after he was captured by Tabitha Galavan and Butch. Barbara Kean got her moment in the sun as she was set to rule the city with Nygma.
Strangely, it was in this moment of almost dying where the Penguin had a revelation: He didn’t necessarily love Nygma. He just loved the idea of someone making him feel special, which is not something that he necessarily had the majority of his life. This was an important realization for him to make, since it was him understanding what Ed always wanted him to understand. It was arguably his biggest step forward as a character, but it may have been too little and too late given that he already had lost what little of his friendships he had left. This definitely seemed true given the stand-off at the episode’s end, one that led to Oswald getting shot and knocked off a cliff. Is he dead? Doubtful, but it’s not looking good…
Cliffhanger city – Let’s just say that the Court of Owls are still planning and plotting, with Jim Gordon being at the center of them. We also saw here the presence of Jim’s uncle Frank in the closing moments, whatever that may mean.
Overall – A crazy, action-packed, and insane episode that will probably change Bruce in many ways forever. This brings him so much closer to becoming Batman. Meanwhile, it disposes of Jerome for now, but there’s still a chance for the future. Grade: A-.