TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 02 Episode 17: Into The Woods

I truly believe that Gotham’s second season is the best comics show on TV right now (meaning not including Netflix), and “Into The Woods” is another reason I believe I’m right. This episode not only wrapped up several storylines, but pushed forward once again into new territory, with no clue on how it’ll end.

Right off the bat, it was good to see Jim and Bullock working together to try and find out who framed Gordon for murder. I found it good that their “big lead” was based off something Harvey Dent told him once (I believe it was in Season 01) and thus why Bullock didn’t think of it earlier. Bullock’s no slouch, especially when Jim’s on the line, so if it had just been a “why didn’t I think of that?” moment, it wouldn’t have felt real.

The fun though was when Gordon went to Nygma for help, still thinking he was his friend. That whole scene was both tense and insightful. From the talk of the tape (knowing it would soon reveal it was Nygma), to their discussions about what it means to be a psychopath, to the inevitable reveal, it was all great. As was Nygma thinking ahead and wiring Gordon’s chair with electricity. Shocking…couldn’t help it, sorry.

But of course, things couldn’t end without Nygma getting caught. And with the help of Bruce, Alfred, and Selina, they did get not only Nygma to lead them to Kringle’s body, but also to confess to framing Gordon. It was sad though that after getting his innocence back (at least in part) and getting his job, he still wouldn’t call Leslie. Though I doubt he’ll be alone as we saw…

Bruce’s storyline was also very strong. Him showing his confidence in the early chase scene was great, as was his dumping of “his half” of the loot, “I saved enough for burgers!”. I also liked the nice touch of Bruce fixing Selina’s jacket, and that might be a bigger thread (pardon the pun) than people realize going forward. Alfred’s reveal that Lucius had FINALLY fixed the computer was a welcome notification. As I had been wondering what was going on with that front. Cause it appeared he had it ready when Bruce was taken hostage near the mid-season finale, and it’s been a while (in-world time wise) since that happened, so I wondered when it would come back around.

While I look forward to that, I do find it odd that Alfred didn’t want Selina to get involved. He really does have a love-hate relationship with her, and you’d think after she helped save Bruce from the Order of St. Dumas that she proved she could handle herself. So forcing Bruce to break off ties with her “for her protection” really felt off.

Speaking of off…Penguin! We all knew he had to snap eventually, and thankfully we didn’t have to wait long after his fathers death to have it happen. And yet again, it was done in a believable way. Everyone has a breaking point, and for Penguin to find the bottle that killed his father (who you knew he loved well and truly) and go back to who he really was was great. As was his serving of Charles and Sasha to Grace. Wow, very Hannibal Lecter.

“Into The Woods” continued the great pace Gotham has kept up, it shows no signs of slowing down, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. This is comics television at its finest.