This was the episode that Gotham set up since episode one. All of Gordon’s “mistakes” had come back to haunt him. He was an honest man, he believed in Gotham, and he spared Cobblepot’s life. And now it was time to settle things.
From moment one you could feel the tension in the episode. Even from the previews! Gordon was truly alone, and almost innumerous people wanted him dead. Yet Gordon kept going with the determination and will that we saw since the beginning. Anyone who doesn’t think this Gordon isn’t the one we know from the comic/movies should watch this episode.
It was fun watching Gordon as he did everything he could to both save the ones he cared about (Barbara, Bruce, his captain), but also make sure justice was done. And he didn’t care who knew about what he was going to do. He accepted that this was probably his last hoorah, and as long as justice was served, he was fine with it.
No doubt what many a fan will cheer for is the beginnings of the team that Gordon is known for in the comics. Cause in one episode, Bullock, Montoya, and Allen all came to his aid and was willing to help in one form or another. This is great for me personally, cause I’m big fan of the true MCU, of which these four are apart of. And these four were also the stars of the much beloved GCPD comic series that is still talked about today. I was hoping that they would be beginning to team up soon, and hopefully this episode will be the catalyst of their eventual, total, unity.
Yet if this episode really brought something to light, it was the inner workings of the mobs of Gotham. And we got to see both the Falcone’s and the Maroni’s in action as they continually tried to one up each other in an attempt to get control. As always, the Penguin served as the catalyst for many of the events this episode. What do you expect from a show that title’s the episode, “Peguin’s Umbrella”? It was enjoyable as he smiled, connived, and conned his way into the proceedings and get what he wanted. Including the death of a fellow Maroni guy who didn’t like him very much.
However, one could argue that the true star was the one and only Carmine Falcone. Many an episode has tried to depict him as failing, or weak. Which was fine as we thought there would be a violent end to his character. But if this episode is any indication, he’s nowhere near the end of his life.
You could just tell he was fine going through the motions and seeing what the others did. And as the head of the family should, he always got his way. Including sending one Victor Zsasz to fetch Gordon. This was one introduction I fully approve of. As he happily waltzed his way into GCPD headquarters, and demanded that everyone leave save for Gordon. And everyone did. That scene was incredibly powerful, and showed just how cops either respected or feared the power of the Falcone mob.
If there was a small downside to this, it was that Gordon kinda didn’t get his wish. Despite getting Bullock on his side, and arresting the mayor, and almost arresting Falcone, he didn’t get the justice he wanted. Which in turn would’ve meant a huge shift in power for the show. Instead, because of Barbara, he got to live, and go back to work in the corrupt system he knows and hates. Also, the scene with Bruce was touching, but sort of irrelevant now that he’s alive. True, it was nice to see him caring for Bruce so much that he wanted him to know his promise would still be kept, but again, it’s kind of pointless now.
The above would’ve been a major downside if not for that last scene. As we found out that Cobblepot and Falcone were in cahoots since the beginning of the series. Albeit in a “gambling with my life” sort of way. It was awesome to see how much foresight Penguin truly had, and how he used his knowledge to win the respect of Falcone. Now that Falcone (officially) knows about Fish Mooney and her true desire to usurp him, it’ll be fun to see how he plans to deal with her.
In the end, “Penguin’s Umbrella” brought a kind of capper on the first six episodes of stories, while bring forth a new set to keep us going for the future. New loyalties will no doubt be brought into the spotlight now, and the quest to save Gotham just got a lot more interesting.
Todd Black
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!
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