Gotham is back with an all new episode.  What will become of the current feud between Penguin and The Riddler?  Is Nygma now working for The Court?  Will Gotham finish the season strong coming off the news that it has been renewed for a fourth season?  Read on the find out the good and the bad from this week’s episode:

Good: The Beginning of the Episode — I’m not the biggest fan of the super-strong Captain Barnes, but the beginning of the episode was great seeing that we got to see Barnes, Talon, and a brief cameo from Mad Hatter.  This led to The Court needing Barnes’ blood in order to purge the city of its decay, and who did The Court get to obtain his blood?…Hugo Strange.  It’s good to see a number of the characters who I feel were a part of some of the better story lines (Mad Hatter and Hugo Strange).  I hope they will be more than extended cameos.  

Bad: The Court of Owls Story Line — I was extremely excited to see The Court on TV.  I loved their story in the comics, and had high hopes for this interpretation.  Unfortunately, it has dragged for too long.  Introduced back in September, it seemed as if The Court was going to be the main antagonist of the season.  While they have been, in an over-arching way, the end result has been advancing extremely slow.   Each episode keeps hinting towards their purge of Gotham, but there isn’t much sustenance to their mission when it comes to the build-up. At this point it seems more like the writers are trying to find a place to fit Jim Gordan in rather than focusing on the actual antagonists.

Good: The Connection Between Selina and Ivy — Ivy and Selina werefriends before her transformation, and it looks like Ivy may return the favor after Selina’s upcoming change.  I enjoy the interaction between the two as it is another connection not only to the Gotham Rogue’s Gallery, but gives it a Birds of Prey feel as well.  Moving forward I would like to see the Rogue’s Gallery begin to take down Gotham from the inside out rather than The Court’s purging of it.

Bad: Bringing Back Hugo Strange Without Fish — Dr. Strange had said that he was taken against his will, which is believable, but why wasn’t Fish Mooney with him?  What did The Court do with her?  When Strange and Fish were last seen, did they go their separate ways?  So many questions that I would have rather had answered than the long, drawn-out Bruce scenes.  Bring Fish back!  Imagine throwing her into the mix going against Penguin, Nygma, Barbara and Tabitha, etc.  That would be a good story line!

Bad: Gordon Taking Down Talon — Technically yes, Firefly took down Talon, but leading to that was a brief fight with Gordon.  Talon took out a room of full Barbara’s men who had machine guns, and a physically enhanced Barnes, but Gordon could hold him off in a fight?  Right…

Good: The Stare Down — I was going to put the end of the episode, but that was before Barnes hulked out before his mission to kill Gordon.  Prior to that, the next Talon throws Penguin into a cell with someone right next to him in another cell…Nygma!  There were few words spoken, but an extended pause before Penguin tried to grab Nygma.  After that they exchanged another moment of stares.  This part was great because it left me wondering exactly what was going through both of their minds.  Both hate each other, and want the other dead, but now they are next to each other in their cells.  Are they going to talk it out now that they have time, or will their hatred for each other increase?

This week’s episode was alright.  It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great.  It seems as if there was more build-up leading to The Court unleashing Barnes, and Bruce’s return to Gotham…sigh. What’d you think of tonight’s episode?  What will happen with Nygma and Penguin’s feud? Will Selina have some heightened powers now, much like when Ivy returned?  Does Bruce really need to return?  Leave your thoughts in the usual spot, and thanks for reading!

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