Gotham season 4 episode 5 review: Enter Solomon Grundy
Let us begin by offering up some praise here to Drew Powell, a man who has underwent a vast physical transformation for this role. He’s now blonde, shirtless, and completely unaware as to his past life. This is something that the Riddler was keen to look at as an advantage. That makes some sense — he sees Grundy as someone he can use and manipulate in some way, which is useful since he needs allies. We also feel for Nygma given that he knows his past capabilities but is living his life as more of a shell. He doesn’t understand why he cannot do more than he is.
Gotham season 4 episode 5 is a villain-themed episode more so than any other. How else do you explain all of the great Ra’s al Ghul mythology, getting to see his relationship with Barbara Kean (who he revived), or seeing whatever is going on with Sofia Falcone and Oswald Cobblepot. She is getting through to him slowly and surely, but will Oswald ever think of her in the same way that he did Nygma? Can he be played in the same way twice?
Oh, and the Ra’s / Bruce Wayne content was all sorts of crazy and insane, whether it be Bruce first visiting him in prison or seeing the plot for Ra’s to get away. Then, there is of course the whole scene of Bruce stabbing Ra’s with the knife and watching him almost-instantly become a rotting corpse. He seems to be gone — with the emphasis here on the word “seems.” We’ll probably learn the answer to “is Ra’s al Ghul dead?” soon enough.
The other cliffhangers at the end of the episode
While Bruce found himself wondering whether or not he is the hero Gotham needs anymore at the end of the episode, we saw Nygma continue to convince Grundy that they need to work together so that the Riddler can be smart again. He also told him that the two were “best of friends” and needed Grundy to make the two of them some money.
Oh, and what about the cliffhanger about the battle arena?
CarterMatt Verdict
Was Gotham season 4 episode 5 consistent throughout? Probably not. This was an episode that had you on the edge of your seat for both the Ra’s al Ghul and Grundy stuff, but elsewhere we just found ourselves eager to get back to that.
The one thing we will say that is that if Ra’s is indeed gone, we are very concerned that the show hasn’t done enough with this character, one of the greatest villains in all of the Batman world.
What did you think about Gotham season 4 episode 5?
Is Ra’s al Ghul dead in your eyes, and what do you think about Grundy’s debut, as well? Sound off below!
Also, be sure to visit the link here if you want to preview Gotham season 4 episode 6, otherwise known as the installment featuring Professor Pyg. (Photo: Fox.)