TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 01 Episode 20: Under the Knife

So, we’re now only a few episodes left in the season, and part two of The Ogre storyline showed just how dangerous and deadly things could quite possibly get.

“Under The Knife” intensified things immensely, with Gordon doing all he could to not only find The Ogre, but make sure that Leslie didn’t get hurt in the process. True, previews showed that wasn’t going to happen (at least in this episode), but the scene of Gordon confessing that he loved Leslie was very nice. These two honestly do make a good couple, and I would hate for something to happen to them because this case possibly going bad.

Which I found out I wasn’t the only one with that concern, seeing Bullock concerned for Jim and his sanity was very nice, and showing that he does really care for Jim. A stark improvement over where they started in the beginning of the season.

The hunt to find the true Ogre was actually rather compelling. You have to remember, The Ogre is a real DC Comics character, but they changed him radically for this series, so anything and everything was up in the air in regards to his origins. What we got was actually both very insightful into the mindset of The Ogre, and very disturbing in and of itself. Though not entirely sympathetic, you will realize why he does what he does, and why he needs it so badly. Which leads me to…

Barbara! Finally, after so long (SO LONG!) she’s an interesting character again. Yes, it took a while to get her righted out personality wise, but it worked here. Especially when she changed the mind of The Ogre with simple words, and not actions. You almost have to wonder by the end of the episode if he really does care for her. Also, with Jim now knowing that Barbara is with him in some capacity, things are going to escalate somehow, right?

Moving on to Bruce Wayne and Selina, who honestly had a really good storyline this week. Easily as good as the last one, if not more revealing. I mentioned last week how I wanted Bruce and Selina to do the “one rule” chat, as that is the biggest difference between them in the comics. And low and behold, we got in, in bulk! True, them talking loudly at the party was kind of weird (“will you keep your voice down?!?”), but it did serve the point very well. Also, for a “first date” between them? It wasn’t bad. Especially since Bruce got the next step to possibly taking down the board who wants him dead.

An unexpected escalation came in the form of Penguin and Maroni, the latter of whom “revealed” to Cobblepots’ mother that he was a killer, and a brutal one at that. Something has got to give with these guys, there’s not going back from this. Either Maroni gets killed (which could upset continuity) or one of them gets depowered. It’ll be fun watching which happens.

Speaking of unexpected, Nygma got to show both his passion and his backbone as he “took care of” Kringle’s abusive boyfriend. I liked how Nygma honestly did the right thing twice before resorting to violence. He’s not Penguin, he doesn’t go straight for the kill, he gives people a chance to “do the right thing” before intervening, and that was shown here. Yes, he did kill the guy, but he actually felt bad about it, another key component of the character. How riddles will factor into this is anyones guess…but it should be interesting.

All in all, “Under The Knife” did a great job bringing things to a head for the remaining episodes. Things are about to explode. The only question is, who will be left standing after the blast?