Gotham: “Knock, Knock” — Sept. 28, 2015
Photo courtesy of Fox
There’s even more explosive tension among the residents of Gotham, both good and bad, in this episode of Gotham. Special Contributor Ralph S. takes us to the action. – David F.
Well, after last week’s escapades it seems that Theo Galavan decided to step it up a notch in what is now obviously his plan to take over the city. First he ‘persuades’ the mayor to disappear but not before saying that monsters are coming to cleanse the city in blood and fire. Next he takes the leash off Jerome and the other four nut jobs whose escape from Arkham he engineered. The nuts go about making a name for themselves in a rather unique way. They kidnap several shipping company employees, dress them up in some very fashionable straitjackets and then launch them, one by one, off the roof of the Gotham Gazette. Normally this wouldn’t go down as anything unusual in the annals of television villainy but Jerome adds quite a nice little touch to this endeavor that not only creates fear but also gives an identity to the perpetrators. The victims all have letters spray painted on the front of their straitjackets and as each one hits the street they spell out the new gang’s name MANIAX! Howzzat grab ya? “Now that’s a headline,” Jerome cackles.
Afterwards Theo congratulates his merry band of misfits on their debut performance and wastes no time in getting them ready for the next act, but not before settling a small dispute between Jerome and the fuzzy-topped serial killer Robert Greenwood over the gang’s alpha male status.
Theo hands the pair a nickel-plated, pearl-handled revolver with just one bullet in it and…well, you get the picture, but Jerome manages to inject a little flavor into the mix. After Robert takes the first turn and survives Jerome grabs the gun points in at his own head and pulls the trigger — three times. No brains decorate the walls and there’s no further dispute from Greenwood. In my view this act and his quirky little mannerisms clearly point to Jerome as the one who will one day become ‘the clown prince of crime,’ the Joker. Just about then Barbara shows up and it appears that she’s feeling underused in this little scenario. “When is my time coming?” she impatiently inquires of Theo. He says she’ll be up very soon and proceeds to pick her brain for details concerning her ex, Jim Gordon.
Meanwhile, at stately Wayne manor, young Bruce, and his faithful guardian Alfred are checking out the contents of the cave that they gained access to last episode. There are an assortment of guns, a bullet-proof vest, refrigerated pints of blood (sorry, camera didn’t get close enough for me to read the blood type) and, oh yeah, a super computer. Bruce figures the computer contains all the info that will answer the questions he has about Wayne Enterprises and the dirt that’s gone on there. As Bruce fires the box up, Alfred, in a fit of guardian-ly concern — or so he says, takes a sledgehammer to it rendering it all but useless. He tells the boy that whatever was on the computer was probably responsible for Bruce’s parents’ death. Bruce doesn’t take this development well at all and fires Alfred on the spot. Really! Talk about taking liberties with the mythology. Alfred packs his bag and exits stage left with Bruce offering to provide references for him should they be required.
Our man Gordon is not just sitting idly by on his ass fretting about this little turn of events. After tossing out a few orders to some minions and the precinct, he makes his way over to Harvey Bullock’s bar to have a small confab with his former partner. Gordon also wants to get him to come back to the force. Bullock’s fiancée shows up and puts the kibosh on that quickly. However, the efforts aren’t a total loss. Bullock directs Gordon’s attention to the fact that the victims whom Jerome and his crew used like letters on Sesame Street all worked for the same shipyard. This lead pans out when Gordon discovers that the Maniax stole a fuel tanker truck from said shipyard. After informing Commissioner Essen about this development, Gordon saddles up for the hunt.
Using the aforementioned fuel truck the Maniax next manage to abduct a school bus full of perky cheerleaders and commence their adaptation of a pep rally complete with a ‘bonfire.’ After restraining and thoroughly frightening the busload of teeny-boppers Jerome douses them with petrol and pulls out his trusty lighter which fails him at the moment of truth, allowing Gordon and his troops to arrive in the nick of time to save the day. After splashing gas all over the place, Jerome and two of his piggies make their getaway leaving one little piggy behind who seemed very willing to spill his guts to Gordon about Theo and his plans. One small problem, though, was that Tabitha put a bullet in his head. It seems that the Tigress is not only talented with the whip, she also has some skill with a sniper rifle. DAYUMN, what a woman. Makes ya wonder what’ll happen if ya take her home to meet Mom.
It seems that Bruce comes to his senses and catches up to Alfred at the train station. He asks Alfred to come back and help him prepare for the task Bruce has set for himself. When Alfred protests saying that Bruce is too young and that he just isn’t ready Bruce pleads for his help. “Make me ready,” Bruce says. “You’ve lived a dangerous life and you’ve survived so teach me. Teach me how to do the same.” Alfred finally consents but only if Bruce follows his instruction to the letter. Bruce agrees but mandates that Alfred must fix the computer. Alfred meets up with Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk) who works at Wayne Enterprises Applied Science division. After some wary conversation, they enter into an alliance to help Bruce Wayne on his path to ultimately becoming the Dark Knight. Lucius next makes a house call at Wayne manor to begin work on fixing the computer.
Giving into her requests, Theo puts Barbara in play as part of the next step in his plan to dominate Gotham. She calls and draws Gordon out of the precinct building and into an alley where he receives a major beat-down from one of the more physically developed Maniax. While Gordon’s busy assaulting that guy’s fist with his face, Jerome and the rest of the Maniax waltz into the precinct dressed as cops and start playing O.K. Corral with the real cops there. Needless to say, the actual cops don’t fare too well in this one. After the smoke clears, Jerome confronts a visibly shaken Essen and they have a bit of a tussle. Barbara calls off her goon and advises Gordon to get back to the office. He arrives to find the carnage left by the Maniax. Essen is among the dead.
It’s still too early for Gordon to take the big chair, no matter how fast and loose the writers play with the mythology. However, these events do cause Bullock to come back to the fold. On a lighter note, Edward Nygma manages to get himself slightly wounded while saving the life of Kristen Kringle (Chelsea Spack). This should greatly increase the chances for the romantic interlude that he’s been hoping for with her throughout the series. You just never know when Cupid’s little arrow will strike.
I must say that so far they are wasting no time getting down and dirty with this season of the show. But I’m REALLY interested in seeing what’s planned for the character of Jerome. In the original mythology of the Batman the Joker’s real identity was never really clear, so far Jerome’s on his way to being an excellent candidate. Cameron Monaghan is having way too much fun portraying the role and he seems to be able to take bits and pieces from the performances of those in whose footsteps he’s following (Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Mark Hamill and even Caesar Romero) and craft them excellently into his own adaptation of the role. Right now he’s making the show really fun to watch. We’ll have to see where it goes from here.
Gotham airs Mondays at 8/7c on Fox.
