Gotham
Episode Title: “The Scarecrow”
Channel: Fox
Director: Nick
Copus
Writer: Ken Woodruff
Genre: Crime,
Drama, Thriller
Runtime: 42 min
Rated: TV-14
Original Air Date: February 9,
2015
There was a lot going on in “The
Scarecrow,” some of it interesting and some of it unnecessary. The
audience gets to see the culmination of Dr. Crane's plan, Gordon
being very uncomfortable with his new inter-office romance, Bruce
finally dealing with his grief, the Penguin gaining a measure of
safety, and Fish Mooney establishing herself in her new setting.
Quite frankly it was too much for a single episode, and some of it
just didn't need to be there.
The stronger stuff first. The Dr.
Crane and Jonathan angle redeemed itself this week. It's actually
seeing his plan in action that made it compelling; the previous week
featured mainly the killings and didn't differentiate the character
from every other murderer we've seen so far. Witnessing the fruits
of his labor and his strange obsession with purging his son and
himself of all fear caused the characters to be worth watching. The
other positive moments of the episodes revolved around Bruce and his
desire to complete a hike that he and his father had made a tradition
of. At first I anticipated that this hike might result in his
encounter with the bats that are so integral to his origin, but it
didn't. After the initial disappointment of not seeing the birth of
his adult persona I began to appreciate the scenes for what they
were. Bruce finally grieved for his parents in a way that makes
sense for the child that he is. He also flashed early signs of the
determination and sheer stubbornness that will later define his
character. He and Alfred also shared some quality moments, with
Alfred more than ever taking over the role of Bruce's father.
The rest of the episode ranged from
being just all right, to boring, to unbelievable. The Penguin is
given control of Fish's club and tasked with opening it as soon as
possible. When he arrived at the police department o deliver an
invitation to Gordon he and Nygma crossed paths. While the scene was
mildly entertaining I'm not sure what the purpose is of having those
two characters share scenes at this point in the series. Falcone
manages to buy Penguin's life from Maroni with the offer of a judge
to do with as Maroni pleases and two hundred thousand dollars.
Maroni doesn't seem like the kind of guy to so easily forget a
grudge, and he tells Penguin as much when they meet near the end of
the episode. Maroni is merely waiting for Falcone to die or lose
power so that he might exact his revenge.
Fish Mooney has been taken to some sort
of basement dwelling containing dozens of other prisoners. I know
that the means by which she's going to survive and return to Gotham
are important enough that the viewers need to see them. That doesn't
change the fact that Fish's scenes were just boring. Her campy
threats against two men looking at her the wrong way were just too
campy to be taken seriously. The ease with which she snatched
control of the prisoners away from a man named Mace felt cheap and
forced to happen too quickly.
Finally, Jim's reluctance to
participate in public displays of affection with the department's
newest Medical Examiner, Leigh Thompkins, seemed like a way to
artificially add tension to the new relationship. Is the audience
really supposed to believe that with all that goes on in the
department that anyone would care if Gordon and Thompkins were
together? I think they're too busy taking bribes, framing suspects,
and doing other corrupt things to care what Gordon is doing with his
personal life. It might even help him gain some credibility with the
other members of Gotham's police force if he was seen to be
participating in anything
that doesn't conform to the boy scout's morals he generally clings
to.
Conclusion:
Too much wasted time on stories that could have waited or been
dropped all together. The origin of the Scarecrow and Bruce's growth
kept the episode from failing completely but couldn't distract me
from the weak parts of the episode. I never thought that after the
meandering path Fish's grab for power took that I'd be asking for
anything to be slowed down, but between her ascension to leadership
in the prison she's occupying and the wink wink, nudge nudge moments
between future rogues I think “The Scarecrow” could have
benefited from a change in pace.
Rating:
6.25/10
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