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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 03 Episode 09: The Executioner

November 15th, 2016 by Todd Black Comments

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Gotham had another amazing episode with “The Executioner”. Much like the best Gotham episode, they didn’t let the new developments in their stories simmer or fester for long periods of time, instead, they brought them to the forefront and dealt with them outright. Or in a way that sets up new stories.

The real focus of course was the rise of Barnes as the “executioner” of the “guilty”. It was good that we got to see him again kill bad guys before the events of the episode went down. Because if we didn’t, it wouldn’t have held as much weight. As his kill count was only two. That’s a lot to be fair, but not worthy of the villain the Gotham writers were trying to make him. So the hanging scene, along with the shotgun kill midway through, really sold who he was now.

Yes, there were obvious parallels to The Punisher, or even Red Hood (Jason Todd), with Gordon acting as the Captain America/Batman surrogate. The thing is, it really worked. And moreso, it really helped cement Gordon being back in the GCPD for the right reasons. He WANTS to be the good cop again, not the vigilante or the bounty hunter. He wants to be a cop people can believe in. So for Barnes to kill right in front of him, then want to frame him, then kill him, it was very powerful stuff. All the while adding to the notion that Gordon wouldn’t kill him, even when he knew how dangerous he was.

So, will Barnes be back? I’d say so. He’s alive and in Arkham, and still infected. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t return sometime this season.

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The unexpected surprise this week though was the reunion between Ivy and Selina, with Bruce along for the ride. She’s been teasing Selina for awhile now, but once she got in trouble, she fell back into old habits and went to her for help. What worked here was the dynamic between the three. There was a very fun chemistry between them all that sold everything that happened. Ivy is still an 11 year old girl mentally, but now has a 20-year-old body, which makes for some fun scenes. Like when she didn’t realize the emerald she had was worth WAY more that $1,000. Now true, we didn’t know who the bad guys with crossbows were, but if the preview for next week is to be believed, they’re part of a group we all know.

Then of course, there’s the Penguin/Riddler storyline. Isabella is indeed dead, and not surprisingly, Ed figured out there was foul play involved. The writing is on the walls that he’s going to figure out it was Penguin and their “bromance” will end. I REALLY hope its soon, because it’s taking WAY too long. And how is it that Nygma thought that Butch was “rich and influential” when he was only that way because of Penguin?

Some small faults aside, “The Executioner” was a very good episode. The previews for next week are very intriguing, so I look forward to seeing what happens next.

4.5 out of 5 nerds

4.5 out of 5 nerds

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!