TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 03 Episode 20: Pretty Hate Machine

So, that was quite a way to end a season huh? Well you see…*gets tap on shoulder*…what? That wasn’t the season finale? Really? EPIC!!!!

I kid, I knew that wasn’ the season finale, but “Pretty Hate Machine” (a reference to Nine Inch Nails if you didn’t know) definitely felt like a season finale, and I mean that in a good way. I mean, everything in Gotham tonight felt like end of season material. Gordon got captured and buried alive by a virus infected Leslie Thompkins, Riddler almost killed Penguin…only to be saved by Fish Mooney (she always knew how to make an entrance), the Court of Owls was wiped out, and of course, the virus was released by the end of the episode. Good times everyone!

There was a lot going on here, and for the most part it worked really well. I liked how they showed Gordon resisting taking the virus for a long time until he knew that Harvey didn’t hear him about the virus placement, and to save Gotham he took it. That was cool. And then Leslie stopping him from stopping the virus? Wow.

Then of course, there was Alfred and Bullock teaming up again to try and get Bruce safe…except he didn’t want to be saved because of the Shaman’s magic…or should I say…Sensei’s magic? If you don’t know, Sensei is a character from DC Comics, and has been both a teacher and student of…yes…Ra’s Al Ghul…who also got name dropped here. Now yes, this does basically mean that this attack is a now almost full circle recreation of Batman Begins, but honestly, it’s different enough that I don’t care about the symmetry.

Speaking of which, I’m glad about the fast one the writers pulled about Penguin’s “army”, and how they deserted him once he got captured. That was funny, and hearing Penguin reminisce about the old days (Season 01 basically) was actually pretty endearing. And then for Fish to save him from Riddler’s clutches? Wow. Didn’t see that coming.

Now, with the two-part season finale next week, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. What drew Ra’s to Bruce? What will happen to Gordon, Leslie, and the rest of the city now that the virus is spread? It’s a bunch of questions, but that preview has me very excited for what’s coming both next week and possibly next season.