Gotham 2:20 – Unleashed
As Gotham gets closer to the end of the season, the show seems less concerned with keeping secrets and tightening the screws and more concerned with taking every subplot and stirring them together, and the mixture is volatile. To say there’s an explosion at the end of this episode is an understatement.
The episode begins surprisingly enough, with Bullock – yes, our pal, Bullock – taking center stage. As the burly police captain is still out of commission after being stabbed by Azrael/ Galavan, the need someone to look to. So Bullock gives a little motivational speech, and he spearheads the search to find Azrael. They begin by getting a warrant to search Strange’s office (but Strange isn’t so easily duped) and then he and Gordon look to find out more from Galavan’s sister, Tabitha, who they’ve encountered in the past. They learn that STrange filled Galavan’s head up with all the ancient stories, and when he returns for his old sword (after breaking Strange’s replica in the last episode) Tabitha accidentally reminds him of his real purpose, to kill Bruce Wayne. This being the end of the season, all the threads start pulling themselves together into one story. True: this is contrived.
Yet that’s the point. Anyone who doubts that Gotham isn’t some kind of twisted satire of comic book-type stories will know it for sure after this episode.
Selena comes back into the action here, in full Catwoman mode (save for the fact that the actress seems to favor a different look now) when Bruce convinces her to infiltrate Arkham – she knows ehr friend Bridget may still be there. This happens just as Bruce and Alfred try to shore up the mansion as Azrael is on the hunt for Bruce.
Set against this backdrop, some of the other minor plot threads become intertwined. Selena encounters Ed Nygma, who is attempting to make his escape from Arkham. He guides her down to the Indian Hill facility where she first (in true comic book style) overhears Strange and his assistant plotting, with details that will no doubt be important later on. Then, in the depths of the facility, she meet Bridgette, who doesn’t know who she used to be, but only who she has become: Firefly.
Most of the action takes place at the manor, where Alfred and Bruce fight Azrael. It is a bit convenient that the Penguin should reenter the story around this time, also on the hunt for Galavan (the man who orchestrated his mother’s death and his own downfall) but even with that said, the Penguin’s entrance in this climactic fight is awesome, not to mention hilarious. And this is when we get that explosion I mentioned.
There are a million strange analogies to use to describe this show, but it’s like watching a magician shuffle and mix the deck for a long time, only now, with these last few episodes the quick-handed magician is finally letting the cards fly and executing his trick. I found myself really enjoying the way the show is now almost embracing the supernatural elements. It didn’t do this all at once, but bit by bit. In fact, despite the talk early on in the episode, it remains to see if there is actual supernatural elements or if they are all just crazy science. It might just be a bit of both. Sounds to me like that is a true live-action comic book.
I enjoyed this episode, though it wasn’t as interesting as watching Bruce finally get to the bottom of his parents’ murder a few episodes earlier. There’s still intrigue here, but some crazy action, including a sword-fight between Alfred and Azrael (I couldn’t imagine that ever happening when this series started) and the explosion I mentioned earlier, maybe this episode should be viewed as a strange comedy. Yeah, good call.
Mr Rating: 4.2/ 5
