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Last night’s Gotham was a good episode though I was disappointed in the ending.
I think the writers have just shot themselves in the foot. They made a big mistake killing off Jerome.
Gotham can’t decide if it wants to be a prequel or an AU. They’ve killed off Essen, Maroni, got rid of Falcone, all characters who are around when Batman is active. Maroni is even the reason why Harvey Dent became Two Face. We are never going to see Batman on the show. Bruce is only 12/13 in-show, even if he becomes Batman at 18, that’s still 5-6 years away timeline wise (unless they plan to do a full costumed teenage batman, but logically Alfred wouldn’t allow it). Even if each season was set a year after the last season, we still wouldn’t see Batman until season 6 at the earliest. However season 2 is set only a month after season 1 so Batman is a long way off for Bruce and the audience. There will probably be lengthy time skips somewhere down the line due to the fact that Bruce’s actor isn’t going to stay a boy forever. It also isn’t guaranteed that Gotham will even reach four seasons let alone six. As an AU, Gotham works better. You’ve still got your unchangeable events such as the Wayne murders and Bruce becomes Batman, but there’s more freedom to play around with the characters. Yes you’ve got to get them from point A to point B but how they get there is entirely up to creative decisions.
Jerome has now become an unintentionally sympathetic character. In his first appearance, The blind fortune teller, he seemed crazy because he murdered his mother just because she nagged him to do the dishes. However, with the reveal that she used to beat him as a child with whatever man she had at the time, The blind fortune teller just became Jerome’s snapping point. The Galavans broke the inmates out of Arkham, and manipulated and used them as pawns to achieve their goals. Tabitha was constantly watching them from afar. She was there when they threw the guys off the buildings, she was there at the school bus incident and shot one of them when he got caught. I think Theo planned to kill Jerome from the start of the episode in order to look like a hero. The “Jerome’s waiting outside, make sure he stays focussed” is a dead giveaway. Jerome has always been in the room, but now suddenly he’s being excluded. Jerome’s backstory and line “I’ve met a guy dad, he says he’s going to make me a star” becomes kind of tragic. Jerome was an abused kid who was told by his own father (though he didn’t know that at the time) that no one cared about him, that he didn’t matter. essentially that he was worthless. After he snaps and is sent to Arkham, suddenly he meets someone who tells him that he’s important, that he’s going to matter, that he’s going to be remembered. Of course Jerome would go along with Theo’s plan because at it’s core, it gave him something that he had so desperately craved as a kid, the feeling of being wanted. Also Theo praised the maniax for their actions so again that plays into the desire of wanting to be acknowledged as a person (even if the actions were warped and evil).
Jerome said he was 9 and that his mother had only finished “round 1” of “boozing, boning, and beating up Jerome” with the guy she met. He was 18 when he murdered her. So for 9 years, Jerome put up with it and everyone in the circus turned a blind eye. The one person Jerome did tell what was going on turned round and essentially told him that no one cared about him. It is almost certain that his mother’s abuse continued. The tragedy of that situation is had someone actually taken notice of what was going on and stopped it, Jerome could’ve walked a very different path than what he ended up on. His flair as the magician suggests that maybe he missed his vocation.
Another thing that makes me think Theo set Jerome up to die was that the trapdoor that Barbara escaped through wasn’t that big. It wouldn’t have fit two people through at the same time meaning Jerome and Barbara would’ve had to go first and second. Considering Barbara wasn’t the one Theo killed to look like a hero, it suggests that Barbara was always intended to escape whilst Jerome wasn’t. Theo apologised to a dying Jerome whilst stabbing him, saying it wasn’t what they “rehearsed” but as explained above, I think Theo always intended for Jerome to die, Tabitha knew it and Barbara’s lack of surprise makes me think Barbara knew it too, that’s why Jerome was kept out of the room, that’s why the trapdoor was so small, and that’s why everyone seemed to calm and unbothered by Jerome’s death. That was the plan. Also what made Theo Galavan choose those 6 particular Arkham inmates for his “team”?
The main sticking point for me about Jerome’s death was the fact he was so obviously the Joker. He had all the Joker traits and mannerisms. Teasing that anyone could be the Joker was fine throughout season 1, but when they fleshed out Jerome’s character beyond his first appearance, he was obviously the Joker before he took up the Joker moniker, and having him and Bruce interact now before either of them became their monikers actually sets up an interesting dynamic for their future run in as Batman and the Joker.
Not having Jerome be the Joker actually diminishes the potential Joker in the Gotham universe. Joker dislikes anyone trying to steal his “act” so to have someone become the Joker Because they copied someone else’s act is an insult to the character. Joker is the original and the one and only Joker, Jerome was the original and now Gotham’s actual Joker is just going to be a copy-cat because Jerome did it first.
I get that the writers can’t have Jerome running free all season because that would make Gordon look incompetent, Jerome’s actor has commitments to Shameless, and the writers want to tell other stories this season as well. But why didn’t they have Jerome taken back to Arkham and put in solitary confinement which would’ve probably just added more crazy to the point where he becomes the fully fledged Joker? You’ve kept Jerome alive so you can use him for future appearances, you’ve kept him out of the way so he doesn’t steal the limelight from other characters, and you’ve set up the connection between Batman and the Joker. It’s a win/win on all fronts.
Even if the reason Jerome was killed off was because of the possibility that he might “talk” and reveal Theo Galavan’s duplicitous nature, there is an easy way to write around that and still keep Jerome alive. Either have Jerome refuse to talk because he finds it more amusing to see Gordon running around figuratively blind (perhaps solitary confinement could be the punishment until he talks) or since Theo has covered his tracks well and is now seen as the city hero, who would seriously believe the word of a madman over the denial of a hero who saved a room of people from said madman. Maybe Gordon is the only one who believes Jerome and then is quest for the season is to try and find a shred of evidence to prove Theo Galavan masterminded the Arkham breakout. You’ve then got the Gordon against the city dynamic and perhaps even added contention between Bruce and Gordon because Gordon suspects Galavan whereas Bruce trust Galavan and even looks up to him as a hero.
By killing off Jerome, the writers have missed a golden opportunity and wasted a perfectly good character.
Onto other bits of the show:
Barbara- Barbara is so much more fun now that she is evil and it seems like her relationship with both Theo and Tabitha is going to become a source of contention between the siblings. Barbara is delusional in thinking she and Jim will get back together and you can see why Leslie is concerned for her own safety since Barbara views her as the “other woman”.
Leslie- I like Leslie, she’s one of the more realistic characters on the show. She’s concerned for her own safety from Barbara instead of just shrugging it off yet she’s not cowering in a corner and letting it dominate her life. She’s concerned about Jim but she’s letting him have his own space and work things through on his own without smothering him. It’ll be interesting to see where the Jim/Leslie relationship goes (Again, the show has gone AU in this regard).
Bruce and Alfred- I actually didn’t mind Bruce this episode. His role supported the main story without taking time away from it which I think is the best way to handle Bruce’s character until he starts becoming more interesting in the Batman stakes. Alfred’s crush on Leslie was adorable and his disappointed resignation that she was in a relationship with Jim was funny.
Jim and Bullock- Their partnership works and you could believe how Jim would become almost obsessive about making Jerome pay for killing Essen. I also liked how Bullock went to Penguin and warned him about what he would do to him if Penguin messed around with Jim.
Penguin- Penguin did not approve of Jerome’s way of doing things. It could have set up an interesting rivalry between the two plus if Penguin found out that Theo was the puppet master then you’ve got that added dimension as well. But once again it’s a wasted opportunity.
Selina- I don’t think the writers know exactly what to do with Selina. She disappears and reappears randomly. There’s no storyline for her. She hasn’t even mentioned Ivy even though those two hung out a lot last season.
[adrotate group="5"]All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of Felix@surayya, we’ll have to agree to disagree.
I don’t dislike CS, there is some episodes throughout the series where I do think Hook and Emma would be good together eg Tallahassee where the chemistry between them was sizzling, however I’m not feeling the deep connection between Emma and Hook yet.
It’s not as bad as OQ which I feel is a completely shallow relationship with no emotional connection yet we are being told it’s true love and “soulmates”. What we’re being told is not what we’re seeing on screen.
CS has potential, but I don’t think that potential has quite been reached yet. If Emma did have feelings for Hook, I think the writers needed to make that more clear using Emma’s character rather than playing on the ambiguous “does she/doesn’t she” side. They should have made it clear that Emma does have feelings for Hook but is too afraid to admit it to him so it then becomes “will she/won’t she”.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixHowever, even taking the Dark One factor out of the picture, I don’t feel like CS has hit True Love yet.
I agree to an extent. It feels like the writers have tried to fast track CS into true love status without giving it proper set up. It’s not as bad as OQ, which is shallow and doesn’t feel like there’s any deep emotion there yet the writers are trying to tell us it’s true love, however I think CS have skipped a vital step in their courtship.
Emma and Hook first meet in season 2 episode Tallahassee and the beanstalk climb was just sizzling with chemistry. I disliked Hook in season 2 (mainly because of his Belle hurting and Rumple revenge ways) but in that episode I liked him and you could see how he could be a contender for Emma’s affections. However after that episode is when things started to go a bit wobbly.
Throughout season 2, Hook’s behaviour has been very self-centred, so long as he was alright he didn’t give a crap about anyone else. In Neverland he and Neal were in a tug of war over Emma, even though Emma told them to pack it in, yet Hook just kept pushing and not in the good way. (Admittedly during the early part of the Neverland arc, I kept going back and forth between Hook and Neal over who would be the better man for Emma). In 3B Emma wasn’t interested romantically yet Hook kept pushing then suddenly at the end Emma is suddenly kissing him.
CS doesn’t feel like it should be romantic quite yet, it seems like the getting to know each other phase has been missed out and Hook’s just been chasing Emma until she’s given in. (At least it’s not as bad as OQ where Regina showed absolutely no interest in Robin in flashbacks or present day until she saw his tattoo, yet we’re supposed to believe they’re this fated true love and “soulmates”.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixLikes
Belle’s scene with Grumpy- It was nice for the show to remember that Belle has made friends with several of the characters.
Hook coming to Belle for advice- it was nice for Belle to be treated as an actual person with experiences rather than just a walking talking encyclopedia.
Snowing noticing Henry has a crush and giving him advice- We don’t get enough family moments on this show.
Henry and Violet- It was cute and sweet though I hope they don’t make this to be Henry’s true love.
Emma as the dark one and her outfits.
Arthur and Guinevere not necessarily being what they appear but still being good.
Percival trying to kill Regina, Robin nearly dying- It was about time that Regina’s past actions came back to bite her in the arse.
At least we kind of got a semi-explanation why Rumple didn’t bring back Nealfire, the price would’ve likely been someone else’s life close to him aka Belle and Rumple couldn’t do that nor would Nealfire have wanted that.
Dislikes
Regina blaming Rumple that everyone sees her as the evil queen and doesn’t believe in her- No Regina, it’s your decades of peasant murdering and ruling the kingdom with an iron fist that did that.
Hook’s pirate ball outfit- It just looked out of place compared to the other characters.
Robin not dying- I think it would have been more impactful if Robin had died and then maybe getting Robin back would’ve been an ongoing storyline for 5B.
Everyone’s attitude towards Regina- I don’t like Regina as a full blown hero, it doesn’t suit her IMO, so to have everyone be all “Regina you’re the greatest” despite everything Regina’s done is grating. Percival was great though, it’s time Regina starts dealing with consequences for her past actions rather than them just being whitewashed.
Question: Does every dead character get taken to the underworld in a similar manner to Robin? If the dead can be brought back aka Robin, does that mean other dead characters can be brought back (subject to actor availability)?
Overall I liked this episode much more than last week. There was more family and friendship moments rather than it being all about the relationships.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixI am putting in another vote for an Underworld rescue for 5B with Hades at the villain helm. with regards to cast could they just get James Woods for Hades in Once, I can’t see anyone else pulling him off properly.
I’m sure I read somewhere that James Woods had so much fun playing Hades that he put it into his contract that he gets to play Hades in any future appearances.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixPretty much what Bar Farer said. Though, if we fall into that 1.0-.14 range, I think cancellation would be more assured since it’s an older show and it costs some hefty cash, not to mention it being a contract year.
I think it’s the contracts that they’re going to become unstuck on. Obviously Emilie’s pregnant and the baby is due either June/July next year which I think is when filming for a potential season 6 would start taking place. She’s not going to want to leave her newborn baby just to stand around and say nothing in a scene which seems to be what most of Belle’s scenes comprise of.
Without Emilie, who will likely be out for 6A especially if they continue the 11/11 split, RumBelle is shot. Unless Emilie is going to be back for 6B, but then the point still stands. She’s a new mom, she’s going to be tired and everything that goes with a new baby, is she really going to want to spend her time filming doing nothing when she could be spending that time with her new baby/catching up on sleep/etc.
Without Emilie, Robert is going to be very restricted in his storylines especially as the dark one stuff looks like it’s going to be resolved this year. There’s no MRJ, so the Rumple/Baelfire front can’t be pursued. With Emilie out, Rumbelle can’t be pursued, so Rumple will likely be relegated to “Rumple goes evil again” or the “We need a magical thingyabob” guy which really wouldn’t be that interesting to an actor of Robert’s calibre, certainly after the more meatier storylines he’s had in the past.
With RumBelle out, the show will take a massive hit in viewership as Rumbellers will leave because their favourite couple aren’t in it.
Ginny and Josh might decide not to renew their contracts as Snowing are becoming increasingly sidelined and, whilst it is interesting to show that Snow and Charming weren’t always sweetness and light, it’s getting to a point where their characters are becoming increasingly butchered from their season 1 selves.
With RumBelle and Snowing potentially out, that leaves CS and OQ to take centre stage. However the show is likely to take another hit in viewership as people who aren’t fans of those particular ships are likely to jump ship because they don’t want to watch a CS or OQ lovefest. We’re not talking just casual viewers but half of the actual OUAT fandom.
OUAT is a sinking ship, and it’s going down fast. The question is now do A&E jump, tying up loose ends and ending the show at season 5 or do they wait until they’re pushed and the show gets cancelled potentially with an abrupt and unresolved ending.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixHe did quite well in S5 and S6. S7 the wheels began to shake a bit. There was close to *nothing* remarkable in S8 (in spite of getting a new Doctor) and while I enjoyed 901, it was not without problems or Moffat’s trademark “faster than the speed of light” style.
It’s interesting that you say this because S7, S8 and 901 all have one common denominator and that is Clara. The wheels began falling off the show when she was brought on and certainly made to be the centre of everything. Clara is a bad companion. Companions are supposed to be likeable so that when they inevitably leave, the audience feels sadness much like the doctor. I won’t be sad when Clara goes, I’ll be celebrating. Companions aren’t supposed to overshadow the doctor, they’re supposed to be his assistants that sometimes stumble upon the solution that the doctor cannot find. It is a dynamic that has stood the test of time. The companions aren’t equal to the doctor. It sounds harsh but it’s true. The companions come and go but the doctor remains, he is the star and always will be.
I think the main problem with Clara is that the writers tried to shake up this doctor/companion all for the sake of being “politically correct” and it just hasn’t worked. I hated season 8 because it was so Clara centric, the doctor wasn’t the star, Clara was and that shouldn’t have happened at all. I was legitimately thinking of giving up Doctor Who basically because of the train wreck that is Clara and it is only because of the Christmas special (which was ruined when they didn’t kill her off then even though they had the perfect setup) and the news that Clara will genuinely be leaving THIS TIME that I decided to give season 9 a chance.
Clara is not an equal to the doctor, unlike the master/missy who is basically the doctor gone bad, Clara is a companion, and though I don’t want to say that she should “remember her place” because that sounds overly harsh as well, Clara needs to remember that she is a companion and not the doctor.
Per usual, most of my thoughts are in the review but a quick likes and dislikes
LIKED
–The Doctor being the one to do the heavy lifting this episode. Clara was really in the background while the Doctor figured out all the things and went to save the day. As it should be.
–The Doctor’s handy dandy cards for dealing with humans in tough situations. That was hilarious.
–The Doctor/Clara talk in the TARDIS about how the Doctor has a responsibility to care. Danny Pink was looming large in this episode yet no one dared to talk about how this situation (souls being hijacked) was eerily similar to his (soul being hijacked)
–Good CGI effects for the Ghosts.
–Interesting cliffhanger
I agree with you pretty much on all of these. The cards were the highlight of the episode for me and, as you said, the doctor did the heavy lifting this episode whilst Clara was in the more traditional companion role.
The Doctor/Clara talk was interesting in that it hinted at Clara’s soon to be imminent demise. The Doctor is concerned by Clara’s attitude and I do think it is that attitude that is going to get her killed eventually, her need to always be involved in an adventure. Adventures are dangerous and sooner or later her luck is going to run out (probably around the Christmas special). What’s most interesting about this scene is the Doctor. The Doctor has trouble reacting appropriately towards the feelings of others hence why he needs the cards, yet here he is feeling concern when Clara’s all “Come on let’s go, adventure awaits!” which suggests that he senses something is wrong and it’s only going to get worse and potentially life-threatening but he can’t quite put his finger on it.
DISLIKE
–It’s a very by-the-book episode of Doctor Who. That’s not a bad thing, I guess, but it’s too comfortable for this episode to ever be memorable.
–Too many crew members with none of them being extremely memorable outside of one trait or characteristic.
–Of course there was a flood at the base. That’s just straight up cliche.
–Still not digging the Sonic Glasses
I agree about the sonic glasses. The crew members aren’t memorable but at the same time, they’re likeable plus not everyone the doctor meets is going to be special. They’re just normal people.
Something I noticed about the translator is that he was the only one that didn’t go in the ship and see the inscription, and I’m wondering if that is why the ghost didn’t kill him because it’s not seared into his brain or whatever.
I quite enjoyed this episode. Yes there’s no wow moments but at the same time, I wasn’t rolling my eyes because yet again Clara took centre stage. The doctor was the star and that’s how it’s supposed to be. I do agree that the story could’ve been wrapped up in one episode. Two parters should be kept for the “big” episodes with the big villains lie the Daleks, cybermen, the master and the weeping angels (which have become the most iconic out of the new Who villains.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixWe have some seriously talented people in the Once fandom.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixSurely Camelot isn’t Regina’s first ball? She was married to Leopold for nearly a decade, enough for Snow to grow from a girl into an adult. They would’ve had balls, birthday balls, at the very least a wedding ball.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixCongratulations to Emilie!
I think they probably will write it in, they’ve hinted to Belle having an affinity towards babies (examples: When Belle is babysitting baby Neal, Charming calls her a “natural”. Also in the deleted part of the same scene, David actually hints at Belle having a baby with Rumple so that baby Neal can have a playmate).
I always imagined if RumBelle did have a baby and it was a girl, that they’d call it Rose to go with the Beauty and the Beast reference but now that they’ve got the enchanted rose on the show, maybe they will call it a different name.
I can’t see them not writing it in but they need to do it early enough to avoid the scenario they had with Ginny in 3B (Wow Josh and Ginny’s baby would be nearly at least 18 months old by now). In the 3B premiere, when Snow was supposed to not be pregnant, you could tell that Ginny was heavily pregnant and looked like she was close to giving birth at the time when Snowing were only just finding out she was pregnant as if either of them could’ve missed the massive bump that was showing. Also intentionally funny was the scene after the flying monkey attack when Robin helped Regina up but left a heavily pregnant woman lying on the cold damp floor.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of Felix
