“Honk, honk”
The “Golden Goose” that is Oswald Cobblepot highlighted another episode of Gotham and brought about some real plot twists. This high octane episode picks up immediately where it left off last week with Penguin making himself known to the GCPD, and simultaneously outing Gordon in the process. With his secret out in the open now Gordon was very much a hunted man in this week’s episode, something we haven’t really seen yet in the show. Publicly denounced by his fellow GCPD officers and partner Harvey Bullock, Gordon set a plan of action in motion that ultimately revealed one of the biggest surprises in the young show’s existence.
It was really interesting to watch Gordon reach “the point of no return” in this episode and fight for his life against the likes of Victor Zsasz and his boss Carmine Falcone. The show is growing bolder with each episode in regards to the pace and the risks it’s taking, this episode could very well have blown up and gone in a multitude of directions but the ending was actually quite subdued. Some good that did happen though was Montoya and Allen began to realize they’ve been jerks the whole season and now seem game to start working in cahoots with Gordon. Even Bullock, who was about ready to rip Gordon’s face off when he saw Penguin was alive, had a redeeming aspect about him after all was said and done. So it seems for now Gordon isn’t forced to try to fix the city by himself.
Spoilers below.
POSITIVES
The revelation at the end of this episode that revealed Falcone and Penguin actually have a deal in place to help each other was extremely satisfying. Penguin always tops himself in these getting himself out of getting killed situations, people better stop dubbing him a pushover because he certainly has shown he’s more than capable of getting what he wants.
The shootout between Zsasz and Gordon was as awesome as anything else in this week’s episode. It really is quite amazing to see how tough and resourceful Gordon is, but it shouldn’t surprise us, the guy has a knack for action. Even Captain Essen gained a little bit of my respect as she actually seemed concerned for Jim and hesitated ever so slightly when she was ordered out of the room with the rest of the police officers.
NEGATIVES
I mean at this point I don’t know who’s more annoying, Laurel from Arrow or Barbara.  Her constant whining about Jim keeping secrets, when she had plenty of her own, was one thing. But to disobey Jim’s wishes to keep her safe, only to approach the man who has given the order to kill Jim reaches a new level of stupidity.
Finally I know I shouldn’t be too surprised at this point, but to watch a hitman such as Zsasz walk into a police station and demand all officer leave, and they actually do it, is a bit much. It was totally an eye roll moment but one I could suffer through.
VERDICT
“Penguin’s Umbrella” was one another one of the strongest episodes Gotham has put out and it’s due largely to the immediate mob related dangers and  not the “case of the week” template. Gordon and Penguin highlighted the episode as two highly devoted men each in search for their own sense of justice. The plot twist at the end of the episode which revealed Falcone actually behind all of Penguin’s actions was a great sense of excitement. It will be extremely fun to watch this play out as no one else knows the depth of what is in store for Gotham.
RATING
