Gotham season 4 episode 2 review: Bruce’s new suit; A new Ivy, Barbara
If you recall back to the first season of the show, there was a personal vendetta that Jonathan Crane had against Jim Gordon. He wants to make him suffer and as miserable as possible. He managed to trap him in the compound, expose him to some fear toxins, and then make him start to witness some of his worst fears come true within the halls, That included seeing Lee Thomkins dying in a bathtub, with her proclaiming that he destroys everything that he touches. He basically set up Jim into a situation where he would not be able to overcome his fear … until he did.
The truth of the matter here is that Jonathan has about a billion or so weaknesses once you get that toxin out of his reach. He’s not experienced in combat, and his greatest skill at that point is mostly just running away at full spring.
Will we see the character again on the show? We’ve got a good feeling it’s possible. What we do know courtesy of the end of the episode is that we’re going to be seeing Jim reach out to an unlikely source in order to ensure that he gets help against Penguin: The Falcone family.
Introducing the new Barbara Kean
Is there a new side to Erin Richards’ character? She’s almost like Harrison Wells on The Flash in that there is a new iteration to this woman every single time in which we meet her. This time around, she’s getting into the arms-dealing business and sporting a platinum bob. She wanted to work with Selina and Tabitha, and in the process of learning if they accepted her “arrangement,” she had to deal then with Penguin showing up to impose some of his rules.
As it turns out, though, Barbara was able to make the ultimately deal to convince Tabitha and Selina to work with her. She showed that she was willing to lose a hand for it, something that Tabitha at this point is very familiar with. Barbara’s now rebuilding, and it absolutely helps her that she has such a familiar face in her corner.
Bruce battles back
We’ve learned at this point that there are two different people in Gotham City who are working back against the Penguin. First, you’ve got Jim Gordon. Beyond that, you’ve got Bruce. He made the bold/reckless/crazy move to go after some of the hoodlums working under Penguin’s arrangement. He made it out alive, but barely.
This is why it was so important that Bruce start to actually dress like a vigilante for a change. This is where Lucius Fox comes in! For the first time we saw him fulfilling the same role as Morgan Freeman in the Christopher Nolan movies, giving him a costume for his “rock climbing.” He’s not full Batman yet, but the kid is well on his way to getting the cowl.
An Ivy cliffhanger
At the end of the episode she decided that she needed more power, and with that got herself mixed up a little bit in potion-mixing. What is she becoming? That’s a good question; it could be a new, more-powerful iteration of her than we’ve seen before. For now, we don’t have any indication when Maggie Geha will return in this role.
Our CarterMatt Verdict
Gotham season 4 episode 2 was a nice step up from the premiere. While the whole license storyline is still a little wonky, the Scarecrow showdown was fantastic and it’s nice to see another different version of Barbara out there in the field. The pace is moving quickly this season and we like that.
What lies ahead on Gotham season 4 episode 3?
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