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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 03 Episode 12: Ghosts

January 17th, 2017 by Todd Black Comments

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Coming back much quicker than last years break, Gotham returned with a very meaty episode that helped put everyone on news paths for the back half of the season.

Obviously the key one was Gordon feeling the repercussions of his killing of Mario. Though it was a bit odd we didn’t get the real “moment after” reactions to how it all played out, it likely would’ve dragged on if allowed to happen, so a little time jump wasn’t too bad here. Props to the writers for having Leslie being stone cold to Gordon here. We don’t get to see her be angry like that a lot, and here, though with flawed logic at some points, it was totally believable because she just lost her husband to the man she once loved.

Which also brought us to the father himself, Falcone. Who was rightfully angry with what Gordon did, and thus put out a hit on him via Zsasz. If I was to give an MVP vote to this episode, it would be to Zsasz and his actor. For he really got to show why he’s a menacing man, yet add some personality to him that we honestly don’t get in the comics. Sure, he said he doesn’t “try” when he goes after people…then failed three times to kill Gordon, but hey, it’s a show about Gordon before he came Commissioner, we knew he wasn’t going to die.

That being said, I wish they had let Leslie stew for an episode before having her visit Barnes and change her mind. Sure, this meant that Gordon would’ve been running for a while longer, but that could’ve been fun. But here, she did the 5 stages of grief in like a few days, if that. It made it feel hollow, and I don’t know if Carmine would’ve really called off the hit like he did. Though he made it clear that he still wanted Gordon dead.

Moving onto Penguin, we got to see some “literal” ghosts in form of Penguin’s father. Now to be honest, I thought it may have been the actual return of his father, as the character (played again by Paul Reubens) stated in his initial appearance that he once saw his own father in the house one time, so it was cool to think the ghost was real. But after it was revealed that he was “warning” Penguin about the new guy, it was clear it was Nygma. Although, it was fun to see him unravel on national TV, and show the people that he’s not exactly a good man.

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Then, there was the family Kyle. I was waiting for some twist to arrive about Maria, about her being there to con Selina, but in fact, that didn’t turn out to be the case. At least not in the way she intended, or expected. It was clear she wanted to see her daughter, and it was very believable how Selina didn’t want any part of her. I liked how Bruce was the one who helped bring them back together, though I’m unsure how this “Cole” guy will play out. Although, seeing Alfred being smitten with the adult kitten was very adorable. He’s not good when it comes to charming women, except for that one time with Fish Mooney of course.

Finally…Jerome. Yes, he’s coming back, and it’s next episode. And this one was the perfect setup for his return, as we saw the Joker Cult in full effect, complete with head honcho…who was a Joker follower…in hte Dark Knight! Yep, the guy who “killed” Gordon? That was him! Cool huh? While a little on the nose, it was important to show more of the people who Jerome has inspired over his time in the spotlight, and what his “influence” has done to them. Now just imagine when he comes back…

In the end, “Ghosts” was a welcome return for Gotham, and set things up for what’s to come. I just hope by the end of next episode…we don’t all die laughing…

4 out of 5 nerds

4 out of 5 nerds

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!