Gotham: Enter The Scarecrow; Plus The Return Of A Familiar Face

Gotham: Season 4 started with strong potential last week.  What do viewers have in store this week?  Will The Scarecrow be a good addition to the show? How will Bruce’s “suit” turn out?  Plus, a familiar face returns.

(Photo Courtesy of Fox.)

The Scarecrow Enters with a Bang —  How about the opening to this week’s episode?  It really set the tone for what they want to do with The Scarecrow.  As I said last week, I’m glad they are using this character, and while the writers have had their own take on many of the rogues — some have been a hit, while others a big miss — this is one I feel they have kept extremely close to the source material, which I enjoy.  I like The Scarecrow’s suit.  You never know how some costumes will translate onto TV, but the mask doesn’t look far from what was seen in Batman Begins with a mix of the Arkham Asylum games. The graphics that accompany his fear toxin are well done (creepy clowns never get old).  Taking over the asylum was a nice nod the the Arkham video games as well with the warden having a subtle resemblance to The Joker. Because of the psychological nature of the character, using Scarecrow could provide some great storylines, especially judging from tonight’s episode.  I also enjoyed how the fear toxin is clearly in its early stages.

Everyone Still Hates Gordan — You have to give him props for staying with the GCPD when it seems like a majority of the cops at the GCPD have hated him for the past four seasons.  That’s what makes Gordan stand out from the rest though.  I know he’s the rogue cop fighting for good in a corrupt city, but one would think he’s smarter than going into an overtaken mental hospital by himself with just two guns. Gordan may have conquered the fear toxin quickly, but I am assuming that is because it is such an early version of the toxin, which Scarecrow will go on to enhance.

 

(Photo Courtesy of Fox.)

Bruce’s Storyline is Still the Weak Spot — More of the same from Bruce’s story this week.  Tracking down bad guys, scowling, somehow escaping getting his butt kicked.  Yes, he’s had some training, but he hasn’t had nearly enough to be a formidable adversary, especially with gun-wielding criminals.  Lucius Fox delivers the suit to Bruce.  I’m not sold on it.  While The Scarecrow’s is great, Bruce’s is not.  The mask looks like the Batman Halloween masks for sale, but there was a nice nod to “rock climbing” like when Bruce used “spelunking” in Batman Begins with his interaction with Fox.  I hope the writers don’t use the suit to overcompensate for Bruce’s lack of training.  He still needs much more, hopefully from Ra’s at some point this season.  At this point, I still have a feeling he is turning out like Laurel from Arrow — minimal training, new suit (which actually reminds me of hers), and ready to fight crime.

 

(Photo Courtesy of Fox.)

Barbara is Back From the Dead…Again… — So, Babs is back and looking to recruit Tabitha and Selina in order to supply firearms to the criminals Penguin has granted a license to.  This is her way of making it back to the top.  Now don’t get me wrong, I like Barbara’s character and the Birds of Prey feel she, Tabitha, and Selina have together, but how many times are they going to “kill” her off.  Yes, she said she wasn’t breathing, and I realize the comics kill off characters and bring them back, but that usually supports the longevity of the comic.  Gotham has “killed” off and brought back numerous characters now to the point where I feel that it loses its shock value. Fish, Butch, Barbara, Penguin, Riddler, Theo Galavan, Captain Barnes and Jerome have all been killed (or thought to be killed), and at some point it seems to lose its suspense.  Killing characters off and having a surprise return can be done, but in small amounts, so I think Gotham could pump the brakes with the kill-offs for a little while.  With that long-winded rant out of the way, I do at least like the direction they are taking good ol’ Babs.  It also looks like Ivy may eventually come on board, which would be nice to have a faction of all the strong female characters.  The most interesting part about Barbara’s return is that someone else is behind her new business.  Who could it be?

The Return of Falcone? — It looks as if Gordan is going to ask for Falcone’s help in taking down Penguin.  Now this is another storyline I could get into!  I’ve always said I would love to see more of the “freaks vs. mob” idea, and this could definitely bring more consistent potential to the series!

What’d you think of this week’s episode?  Did you enjoy The Scarecrow?  Do you hope he remains a consistent villain? Did you like Bruce’s suit?  Also, is it good to have Barbara back, or is her death/rebirth saga getting old?  Leave your comments in the usual spot, and thanks for reading!

Gotham returns next Thursday at 8 p.m. on Fox.

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