Gotham Season 04 Episode 14: Reunion

I don’t know how, but one of the things that Gotham does better at times than anyone else is stuff in as much story as possible…and make virtually every aspect of it work. There were many spots in “Reunion” tonight where I felt the show was about to end, only to find out that the show was only halfway done, or still had a good chunk of time to go. It was great, and that’s why tonight’s episode was one of its best this season.

Let’s start off with Ivy, who continued her rampage through the city in an attempt to not just save the plants, but get revenge on all who have wronged her. This includes Harvey Bullock, who shot her father in the first episode of the series. Harvey was fine at first, but things got dark once Gordon tried to protect him, only for Bullock to get under Ivy’s control. Props to Jim for knowing what buttons to push in order to get out of the situation he was in.

While Ivy’s plan was a bit cliche, it did have its merits, and again, that plant coming out of people’s bodies was pretty gruesome. She also wasn’t a fool, and hired muscle to ensure that her plan could succeed. If it wasn’t for Harvey and Bullock pounding the pavement, she honestly could’ve gotten away with it.

Which leads to one of the coolest scenes, the confrontation between her and Selina. It was great seeing Selina want to do the right thing and stop Ivy from killing more people. Her “I’m not a hero” line was very cool, as was the standoff when both of them had an opportunity to kill the other. Ivy’s still out there, and she could come back before the season is over.

Then, there’s Bruce, who’s still trying to deal with the vision he saw in last weeks episode. I loved how his arc in this episode had him bouncing back and forth between his “confidants” in Alfred and Selina, only to be shot down both times. I also appreciated the writers making Bruce return to his bratty side when Alfred didn’t give him the advice he wanted to hear after the speech. Only to understand that sometimes who you are…is who you are, and he became the vigilante once again. Hopefully, with the threat of Jerome rising up once again, we get to see him in the mask once again.

Meanwhile, there was trouble in the Narrows, as Sophia was trying to muscle in on Leslie in a bid to gain power over Jim, and Leslie didn’t want the Narrows to give up anything because they had nothing to give. So, she tried to barter, only for it to backfire and have her place at the top taken and her hand pulverized by Sophia. I’m not sure I liked this personally because it makes me wonder what Leslie will do now. I liked her as the “Queen of the Narrows”, hopefully she doesn’t go away again. But, Jim is furious now, and he wants Sophia’s head on a stick, so that could change things too.

Finally, Nygma had to deal with the Riddler again, but it led to some very powerful character moments. Including Ed admitting that the only way to save Leslie was to kill himself. It was very powerful, and believable, he knows how dangerous he is in his Nygma persona, and to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone…he was willing to take his life. Sadly for him, he was still being played, and now the Riddler is out, and he’s with Penguin once again. This can’t be good.

See? Look at all that’s happened. Now, not everything worked, sure, and that’s why this won’t get a perfect review. But, it was still a darn fine episode, and I look forward to seeing what’s next.