TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 03 Episode 02: Burn The Witch

After a solid premiere, it was going to be interesting to see how Gotham’s third season went on. Would it go back to its season 01 roots and drag out the story? Or, would it follow Season 2’s motto of closing stories quick to build upon new ones? Thankfully, the latter option was chosen, and another solid episode was the result.

“Burn The Witch” didn’t waste any time giving us the answers many wanted. What was Bruce’s plan once he met the Court of Owls? What would be Fish’s next move to get Hugo Strange so she could live on? What would Penguin do to get her? And of course, what was Gordon’s next move?

The opening scene alone was very intense, and surprising. It was very interesting to watch Bruce react to someone he knew being a part of the group that killed his parents and corrupted his company. Then of course, there was the deal itself he made with them. Now that he knew their existence was real, what was left for him to do? He’s not Batman yet, so he couldn’t take them down on his own. Furthermore, as they would noted, he had loved ones he had to protect. Thus, his option was to agree to not hunt them down anymore, and cease all investigations into them. Now obviously, something will have to give here, but for now, it’s an interesting play. One that could pay dividends later on. And no, I don’t mean by seeing Bruce in dance lessons.

As for basically everyone else, the hunt for Fish Mooney was on. Alliances were forged and broken in the process, and it was honestly very entertaining. From Fish Mooney and her croonies taking on many of the GCPD, and winning, to Fish kidnapping Bullock to find Strange, to Gordon working with anyone and everyone to try and get Bullock back, it was a nice little web of backstabs and double crosses and surprises that led to a fun showdown between Penguin and Fish Mooney.

Now, I’m unsure about this confrontation. On one hand, they did set up Penguin very well here, as they showed his desire to both kill Fish Mooney, as well as his wanting to know why she didn’t kill him in the finale last season. Now, I’m not sure I buy Fish’s answer. It did come off a little cheesy, especially since she went to great lengths to try and kill him in season 01. Now, hindsight can great insight for sure, but who knows if she really believed it. Penguin believed it, and I guess that’s all that matters.

Regardless though, his actions to take down Fish and her monsters made him a “hero” in Gotham, which will no doubt lead to many interesting paths for him. Of all of Batman’s villains, Penguin is one that often walks a more public path. Even doing philanthropy work to endear himself to the public. This could be the beginning of that, which would be fun because Robin Lord Taylor is still killing it as Penguin.

Another fun development was the arrival of aged Poison Ivy. Her “rebirth” was done rather well, as she washed up on the shores of another city (we’re guessing), and didn’t even recognize herself at first. Then, it was clear her transformation had a mental affect on her as well, as she was not only talking to plants (a hint of what’s to come for sure), but she was much more brutal. Killing the guy who helped her because he wasn’t nice to his plants. This older Ivy is one of the big points the creators made for this season, and it’ll be interesting to see how she becomes intertwined in everything Gotham.

Finally, Jim’s part in everything didn’t go unnoticed. And though he didn’t catch Fish (and thus get the million dollar bounty), he did save Bullock, and ended up with Valerie Vale. Now, I know this likely won’t last, but I wish there was more to this relationship than their verbal flirting and subsequent backstabs. But hey, he’s a bounty hunter now, and he’s still hurting because of Leslie, so I guess he’s not asking for much. Oh, and Leslie is coming back! That’s going to be fun.

This episode did do a lot of stuff right, and with Fish and Strange in the wind, and a good majority of the monsters taken down, a new chapter can now open in Gotham. Where do we go next? Well, a man in a hat might know the answer…