“You play with fire, you’re going to get burnt”- It’s what we tell kids to put them off, not just open flames but anything remotely dangerous. It’s frequently true, but the real interesting part comes in the moments after. They’ve been burnt; are they sad or smiling? Have they judged that the pain was not worth the risk and back away, or are they left undeterred and thirsty for bigger and better thrills? Does being bunt become the reason they play with fire? This week, we meet a few Gothamites for whom fire is “the family business”, but for one of them, it becomes the start of something very different.
Scarification – Theo Galavan continues to use Penguin as his puppet, but his arson based job lists reveals some of his motives that Penguin plans to exploit. Selina Kyle tries to stop her joining the family crime business but it may be too late while Jim and the rest of the Strike Force continue to crack down on Penguin’s operations.
They might be holding back the name check for a big reveal (the mid-season finale perhaps?), but Gotham continues to take some great strides into the Court of Owls storyline. Theo Galavan has mentioned that his family roots go back to the founding of Gotham and this episode we get a 200 year flashback to his family’s (of course under a different name) social exorcism at the hands of the Wayne family. This really enhances Theo as a villain, making his motives more personal than just his city controlling grand schemes. The episode delivers the information well, detailed enough for impact but quickly enough to avoid being a history lecture. It sets up many great possibilities for future episodes. While it’s clear that Bruce Wayne’s life will be targeted, the concluding scenes reinforce the flashbacks grounding that will not be immediate. Just as the Wayne’s of old took over their rivals holdings, so too do we understand that Theo and his associates will look to gain control of Wayne Enterprises first, which will likely require Bruce to be alive and sign on certain dotted lines. This links back nicely to the “Thomas Wayne Cave” and the computer information Lucius Fox is trying to recover. It looks like Thomas Wayne may have seen this “ghosts of the past” attack on his family, coming sought to prepare Bruce for it. Similarly, this Galavan/Wayne blood feud revelation sets up another opportunity for Penguin’s grand scheming just like his story last year. He sees that Theo’s emotional investment in his grand plans as the crucial weakness to be targeted, but just like his scheming over Mooney, Maroini and Falcone last year, this will require a long con approach of many smaller deceptions to setup his killing strike. His first step on that path delivers the biggest shock moment of the season to date as he rips a page out of George R R Martin’s playbook (And let’s face it: There’s a lot to choose from).
In continuation of last week’s Strike Force, the GCPD hitting back antics are very rewarding this episode. Although the opening pyjama party takedown has its moments, it’s the introduction of “The Merc” that steals the episode. This is exactly the kind of material that works brilliantly for the show by delivering creative dark humour. Just the idea that Gotham has a crime gear equivalent of Home Depot is genius in itself. A place that’s having a half price sale on AKA-47s and has a 10% surcharge for using soiled bills. Then, take things even further with the idea with the idea of shoplifting from a criminal store to show that there really is no honour amongst thieves. The final cherry on top is the goon’s C4 smuggling scheme horribly backfiring on him in a moment that feels right of the British dark comedy, Four Lions (worth checking out, one of the funniest films you’ll ever see).
The main story also offers an origin for Gotham’s new take on the villain Firefly (who also appeared in Arrow season 1). This is where the episode comes unstuck. While the different approach portraying as a young girl, Bridget Pike, is interesting, things are too rushed towards the finished result. It’s too steep a transition to see her going from a timid and abused slave to her older brother, to costumed flamethrower-wielding cop killer in half an episode. This would have been better spread over at least a second week. The friendship and lifestyle comparisons to Selina Kyle work much better as the pair argue the merits of each other’s choices, “What good is freedom when you’re alone?.... What good is family when you’re a slave?”. As the pair exit together, it looks like Bridget becomes a similar young girly pal to Selina as Ivy Pepper last season, and there’s the potential for some good story in the emotional fallout of Bridget’s actions. Having Selina trying to stop Bridget going full villain will present her as a protagonist, which should pay dividends in her inevitable “Save Bruce from Theo/Summer St Cloud” story arc. Time constraints take their toll elsewhere in the episode too as the promising premise of Jim & lee double dating with the new couple of Nigma & Kringle feels like a comedy goldmine. Instead, the fondue pot boils down to just a couple of odd jokes in a short and inconsequential dinner scene.
Scarification casts a mild shadow on Gotham’s comeback success this autumn. While it’s an overall good entertaining episode, problems like trying to cram too much in and rushing through storylines are the worrying signs of slipping back into old problematic ways, like the sobered alcoholic that walks a bit too slowly past the liquor store. Gotham has to be careful that it doesn’t scar itself without a payoff. Yet the steps it’s taking in, its bigger Court of Owls storyline are more than enough of a good side to shine at the camera.