THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE GOTHAM 01×10 – Lovecraft
And so ends 2014 in Gotham…
The tenth episode of season one, entitled “Lovecraft”, was a really fun episode but still brought with it the usual amounts of good stuff, bad stuff, and stuff that made you say “Oh, Gotham…” as you are want to do. So here’s a look a that stuff, now divided into handy-dandy subcategories.
THE GOOD
Selina & Bruce
This was the highlight of the episode for me. It had it all.
There was death-defying bonding.
“As cool as I think it would be to hang out with someone from the circus, I just don’t think I’m cut out for it myself, Selina”
There were teachable moments.
“This is called a PAYPHONE, Bruce. You use change to pay for it?” “What’s a ‘change’? Is that some sort of foreign currency? Does it take hundred dollar bills? I have one I blew my nose with earlier.”
There were challenges.
“You can’t catch me. It’s like I’m a CAT and you’re… some sort of rodent.”
There was adventure.
“You’ve got me? But who’s got you!?”
There were disguises.
“Me? I’m not rich. Nope. See my rags? Wait. No. CLOTHES. You call them clothes. Ugh. I’m never going to get the hang of this being poor thing.”
There was danger.
“You should know, I’m not great with the whole ‘darkness’ thing. I mean, I’m sure I could adapt to it eventually, but I certainly wasn’t born in it. Is this how flirting works?” “Shut-up, Bruce.”
And, of course, there was ROMANCE.
“Selina and Bruce. Sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” “Alfred, come on!” “Sorry, Master Bruce. I must have gotten caught up in the moment.”
Yes. More of this please.
Bruce & Alfred
In a very close second, comes my own personal (and 100% platonic) #OTP for the series.
Just a boy and his butler.
Alfred spent most of his time fighting assassins and being a total badass as he hunted for his Master Bruce.
You can’t see what he’s doing right now, so it’s probably either holding a knife to some dude’s neck, or making the perfect cup of tea. Either way: BADASS.
He even had to team up with Bullock to question a kid who knows Selina.
You see us ROLLIN’… INTERROGATIN’…
All to be reunited with his Master Bruce.
“Fancy meeting you here, Alfred.” Bruce is apparently one of those annoying Americans who pick up a British accent after a few months abroad. Only his “few months abroad” is being cooped up in a mansion with his butler.
And then there’s hugging.
This is what’s called a Kodak moment. Or it would be if anyone actually remembered what a “Kodak” was anymore. But since I can’t see Alfred’s other hand, I’m just going to assume this is a selfie.
#OTP
Wayne Manor
One of the most annoying details about Gotham for me has been that Wayne Manor is supposed to be the massive mansion, but we’ve only ever seen that one study/den/room. You know, the one where Bruce sleeps on the couch all the time, takes meetings with important Gothamites, and stares at his conspiracy wall all day.
Yeah. This one.
In that whole mansion, that’s the only room we’ve gotten to see. Until now.
The Foyer
Upstairs Hallway
Some Back Room place?
Another Hallway
Everybody look! It’s like a real mansion or something! With a room that has a purpose I can’t immediately decipher and everything!
THE BAD
Harvey Bullock
Harvey spend this episode complaining about not knowing what was going on, or saying some of the most hamfisted dialogue in the show’s ten episode history (“Save your cheese, Alfred!”), or both (“Why didn’t you tell me about this foolishness!?”).
But mostly, he just made this face a lot:
Harvey Bullock’s “what’s going on?” face 1
Harvey Bullock’s “what’s going on?” face 2
Harvey Bullock’s “what’s going on?” face 3
Harvey Bullock’s “what’s going on?” face 4
You were kind of worthless this week, Bullock.
Assassins
“But Scott”, I imagine you’re saying, “these assassins weren’t so bad…” And you’d mostly be right. But the things that drove me over the edge on the assassins featured in this episode were egregious examples of extreme overkill and a missed opportunity.
Left to right: Missed Opportunity and Overkill
So, the assassins are hired because somebody let it leak that Selina was a witness to the Wayne murders and supposedly saw the killer’s face. So she’s gotta go. Okay. Fine. Totally get that. Here’s the thing. If you want to kill some random kid, you don’t hire a GANG of highly trained assassins who are lead by a woman who has this as a signature move:
Lady Assassin python legs VS Jim Gordon
Lady Assassin python legs VS the Wayne Manor gardner
It’s OVERKILL. Not to mention the fact that I’m not totally convinced that move would even work on Selina. I think she’s too small and could probably slip right through.
But you see, I tried to look past Python Legs and the Overkill Assassins. I thought, maybe she’s going to catch up with Selina and be all like “damn, this girl is awesome as hell” and adopt her. Then it would turn out that Selina got a bunch of her Catwoman fighting moves/technique from Python Legs. That would have been cool, right? Apparently it was not meant to be, a HUGE missed opportunity in my opinion. And so, the assassins ended up in the “bad” subcategory.
But I suppose Python Legs did make it out of the episode alive so… there’s always hope for a redemption.
THE GOTHAM
Jim Gordon vs Arkham Asylum
Jim tells the Mayor to kiss his ass…
“Kiss my ass, Mr. Mayor,” said Jim Gordon, completely forgetting that he works for the government and probably shouldn’t have.
…and ends up being forced to take a night shift security gig at Arkham Asylum.
“I’m gonna be running this place within the month.”
Because that’s totally how being a police officer works. When the Mayor doesn’t like you, he can have you working mall security with one phone call.
The Return of Ivy Pepper
After making a brief appearance in the pilot episode, Ivy Pepper returns to make another (even briefer) appearance. Last time, she was petting her plants and borderline feral. This time, she’s less feral but definitely more crazy.
Definitely not a serial killer. NOPE.
Definitely not going to go all Single White Female on Selina Kyle. NOPE.
Definitely not plotting the horrible, painful deaths of every human being on the planet. NOPE.
She still didn’t have much of a purpose this time around, but it was a really fun scene so I didn’t mind. She can come back anytime.
Even better, she should come back with a mini Harley Quinn so that all three of them can team up for a tween-aged Gotham City Sirens.
I’d watch that.
I’d TOTALLY watch that.
Make it happen Gotham Gods!
Awkward hugging
Nothing like some Jim Gordon/Edward Nygma awkward huggage.
Did I forget the part where these two bonded?
I think Gordon definitely forgot.
Do I smell a new #OTP?
This Guy
Seriously. Look at this guy.
Why does this guy do all of his business from a lightbox? Is he tracing all of the stuff he buys? I don’t understand.
Just LOOK at him.
“Here’s the keys to that child you ordered.”
Oh, Gotham…
What did you all think of “Lovecraft”? Did the Adventures of Selina and Bruce allow the show to gain a focus it’s usually been lacking? Did you love seeing Alfred kick some ass? How did you feel about the return of Ivy Pepper? Are you planning on coming back to Gotham when it returns in January?
Sound off in the comments below!
