God, was it awful! I’m still trying to figure out why Barbara even exists since she doesn’t really add anything to the plot.
THIS FOR ALL THE FREAKING COOKIES IN THE WORLD
GOD I HATE BARBARA
I’ve been talking to others on another forum, so I’ll just repost my latest thoughts on this show here
the episode was so unbelievably disjointed because it had way too many stories going on at once: Barbara and the dynamic orphan duo who give life lessons, Jim and his new squeeze, Fish and the most uninteresting plot ever, Penguin sitting in his nightclub, Baby Batman goes to work, and the real reason I tuned in: the Joker (with a surprise side of Robin’s parents because we really need to add in every possible Batman figure just in case the show is cancelled before they get a chance to do them all).
I’ll say this though…the kid who played the Joker? Wonderful. Keep him. Use him. Make him do something besides be a nod to the comic book figure. Because he was great. That smile, the laugh….perfect. Also, I really liked the dark comedy this week, like following a snake to a dead woman.
They have got to reduce the number of plot lines. Is it a mythology show that is building origins, is it a tough and gritty cop show? Yes, it can be both, but not by dipping their toes into every possible pool imaginable. I’m not opposed, at all, to seeing the Batman figures pre-Batman (it was a big reason why I tuned in originally) but none of them are getting any kind of development, with a minor exception to Penguin. They’ve had Penguin, The Riddler, Joker, Scarecrow, possibly Harley Quinn if Nygma’s girl in the file room turns out to be her, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and now prenatal Robin. And this is to say nothing of the entire mob plot that is important to the feel of Gotham as a city that needs saving, but is so slow and heavy and full of silly scene chewing (like Fish) that the mob portion is becoming unwatchable most weeks.
What are we building up to here? The finale is in two(?) weeks and I don’t know where this show is going or what it’s striving towards. Arkham keeps getting teased but then put on the back burner while they bring in new comic villains. The mob war which was front and center since the pilot seems to be resolved with Meroni and Falcone making up and Penguin’s life secure as a loyal Falcone man and Fish…doing whatever the hell Fish is doing. Baby Batman is no closer to finding his parents killers and the other under-13 squad are just crashing in a penthouse until some wise adult decides to do something about them. So, my real question is, what was this season really supposed to be doing?