[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Director: Rob Bailey
Writer: Tze Chun
Stars: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue & David Mazouz
Summary
Captain Barnes loses control while Nygma has issues in his relationship with Isabella.
Positives
Michael Chiklis is great in this episode. Everything with Barnes is great. In a city like Gotham, it’s easy to see how someone could lose his mind and we have seen that. Someone who believes in the law as much as Barnes does would be crushed by how corrupt Gotham is. Barnes, like Gordon, came to Gotham thinking he could turn it around but the city has only gotten worse. The system is so out of wack that known Arkham inmates are in positions of power all throughout the city. Combine that with a virus that brings out one’s worst qualities and we have a nice combination for a new super villain. Chiklis does a great job of displaying the conflict Barnes feels as he succumbs to madness. There is a struggle that is intense and sad.
While I was starting to enjoy Gordon as a bounty hunter, it is nice to see him back at the GCPD mainly because he gets to interact more with Bullock. I’ve missed their bromance so much and Bullock gets some good lines this episode.
The Isabella story is more interesting thanks to the insanity of it. This girl is out of her mind. There is a severe danger that Nygma could kill her and that only makes her want him more. And I do like Nygma dealing with his guilt of killing Kringle and trying to redeem himself through Isabella. Also, the way Penguin deals with Isabella at the end of the episode is fantastic. It’s as over the top as one could want from this show.
Negatives
Is anyone else sick of Mario? He is such an obnoxious third wheel. I am curious if his insecurities are going somewhere. Lee keeps describing him as such a good man but we have not seen that at all. We’ve only seen him be overly insecure and controlling. I just wanted Gordon to snap this twig in two. He actually seems more mad that Gordon might be in love with Lee as opposed to the fact that Gordon nearly got Lee killed. He’s pathetic and boring; maybe this whole marriage thing will go somewhere interesting but I do not care right now.
Verdict
Overall, this is a solid episode mainly thanks to Chiklis’ performance and the story focused on Barnes. It’s really interesting and parallels nicely to Gordon. I like expanding the mythology and creating a new villain that could be really cool. The engagement party is insufferable especially any scene with Mario but the episode is a lot of fun besides that.
