GOTHAM Doesn’t Clown Around
Episode 116 “The Blind Fortune Teller”
[Photos: Jessica Miglio/FOX]
Well, that was awkward.
OK. Last week’s episode pretty much gave away the ending for this week’s episode. And on some levels, as has been pointed out elsewhere, the story just doesn’t hang together well if you think about it too much. But Gotham has done this sort of silly/crazy before, especially in the over-the-top pilot.
The case centers around a murder at Haly’s Circus, giving us our first direct connection to Robin within the Gotham mythos, as we meet John Grayson and Mary Lloyd — the Romeo and Juliet of the circus crowd. Their families have been feuding (and working together) since a horse was stolen before World War I.
Now, before you comment of the absurdity of that notion, consider that World War II began as a dispute about telegraph poles (at least, according to the Joker… **).
OK. Back to our story, which basically has the Lloyds and the Graysons accusing each other of cheating with Lyla the Snake Charmer, who apparently had a thing for anyone male, body temperature, and breathing. The Lloyds (the clowns) invade the center ring for fisticuffs with the Graysons (the acrobats) and Gordon has to step in, effectively ending his date with Dr. Thompkins.
Related: GOTHAM Sends In the Clowns for SciFi4Chicks Podcast
When Lyla’s son Jerome mentions she’s out without her handbag and no one seems to know where she might be, Gordon suspects that there’s been foul play. Lyla’s snake is agitated, so Gordon asks Jerome to release the snake, following it to Lyla’s dead body.
Now, for a second, let’s examine this notion that the snake could be used to track her owner. Certainly, a snake’s sense of smell is keen, and it’s the primary sense used to track prey. Could it be used to track Lyla? Some snake owners contend that they have formed bonds with their snakes, even if there’s no emotional attachment such as you’d find with puppies. At the very least, many find their snakes to get used to a certain routine over the years. Could Lyla’s snake have gone straight to her like that in the real world? Probably not, but the notion isn’t as far-fetched as some critics on other web sites may have you believe.
Is it a silly notion? Maybe. But look where we are. Haly’s Circus in Gotham City. We’re in a show based on a comic book. So… comic book logic, right?
Leslie turns out to be a thrill junkie, and she’s all over this case. The excitement is like a narcotic to her, making her giddy with the notion that she and Jim are on the case. And when the titular blind fortune teller, Mr. Cicero, comes in with a message from the murder victim, she’s all over it like stink on a skunk. But Jim’s not buying it. If a dead person wants to send a message from the grave, why not the name of the killer? Leslie gets the message from the blind man in the purple hat, and in the middle of dinner with Jim, figures out what it means. And they’re off!
Under the bridge in Arkham Bridge Park, Gordon and Thompkins find the murder weapon, which has been marked to look like it came from an old Satanist group that used to operate on Gotham many moons ago. And here’s where we get our second DC Comics show in as many weeks making a Marvel reference, for the group is the Hellfire Club. Between this and Barry’s “don’t flame on” in last week’s episode of The Flash, I think there are some Marvel fans on the writing staffs.
Gordon is instantly onto the real suspect, figuring the weapon has been planted by Cicero to protect someone. And that someone is Jerome, the young man with the Norman Bates vibe. And it really would have been a fun surprise to see him as a proto-Joker if we hadn’t already seen it in the promo last week. Fox blew the first surprise, but the second surprise is in Cameron Monaghan’s performance. This young man nails it. A mix of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, with a dash of Norman Bates for good measure.
The thrill Leslie gets from the chase doesn’t quite pay off for her in the capture, as Jerome’s confession brings with it a sense of twisted horror that helps her understand the things Gordon has to endure in his job. Which leads to the snogging in the locker room? OK.
Snogging in the locker room just as Barbara Kean just happens to walk in and see them?
Let’s talk about Barbara for a moment. And only for a moment, because Erin Richards is getting shafted by the writers of Gotham. Really. Barbara comes home to the Watchtower, obviously with a hangover from being out somewhere, and she finds Cat and Ivy squatting in the apartment, eating the food and living it up rent free. Does she throw the urchins out? Confront them in any way? Call Child Protective Services? Nope. She accepts that they’re trespassing, accepts they saw Jim drop off his keys and leave, accepts that there are strangers in her house, and sits down with ice cream.
And then, on top of that, asks those homeless trespassing burglarizing street urchins for fashion advice because she’s off to win back her man. Yes, and she’s still wearing Batgirl colors. She is.
You know, at this point, I’m almost glad Montoya and Allen are still missing, because I’m not sure the writers would know what to do with them. They clearly have no clue when it comes to Barbara Kean. Unless they’re playing a super-long game with a payoff the size of Metropolis. Really. I cannot begin to describe my frustration and disappointment with this story thread.
Speaking of missing characters, Butch is back! Which is a welcome event for fans.
Well, sort of. When Victor Zsasz shows up at Penguin’s club with Butch in tow, Penguin’s first reaction is a natural blend of panic and terror, followed by confusion as Zsasz explains that Butch is going to help Oswald get the club up and running properly, so it makes money for Falcone and keeps Penguin alive. But there’s something about Butch. He’s been brainwashed or lobotomized or something, because he’s not all there anymore. There’s a piece of him missing.
Missing pieces are all over Fish Mooney’s plot, too. That whole “harvesting body parts” thing… well… Fish gets some decent material, but the whole idea just feels so disconnected from everything else. And it’s hard to see that there’s any point to it at all. One has to wonder how this is going to intersect with the mob plot.
That mob plot may bleed into Bruce’s plot, too, as the young Wayne confronts the board of directors and puts them on notice that he expects to find out just how organized crime got their hands on the Arkham Project, and why Wayne Enterprises is building chemical weapons. Alfred, of course, is convinced they’re going to end up dead in a ditch, but Bruce is determined to rattle the cages and see what happens.
Not much for Nygma. Not much for Harvey outside of wondering if Jim’s playing a prank on him with all the circus performers in the bullpen. It was a nice bit, but any episode without Harvey Bullock is an episode full of missed opportunities.
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[Show Web Site at FOX] [Previous Recap: “Scarecrow”]
