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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 5 Episode 2: Trespassers

January 11th, 2019 by Todd Black Comments

After a very solid setup, Gotham didn’t just move forward, it literally picked up right where it left off. With a young boy coming to seek help from the GCPD, and Gordon agreeing to help him. You might think that with only 12 episodes, such episodes like “Trespassers” wouldn’t be worth doing. But you can’t have everyone active all the time, else it’d be hard to continue bringing things to bare. And while slow in some areas, this episode did live up to its potential.

For example, Barbara was a shining light in this episode despite the fact that she was grieving the loss of Tabitha. The tension between her and Jim is still evident five season later, and the lighting in the Sirens Club scene was really great. She didn’t mind giving Jim what he wanted because she wanted him dead for not intervening, and yet, she knew that in the end, he would be her best bet for killing Penguin (which we already know he doesn’t do because of the Flash Forward, but it’s still good stuff), so she comes to save him in his time of need. It’s nice “full circle” stuff, and I appreciate it.

Seeing more of No Man’s Land leading up to the big feuds were going to get was important. We saw the “Badlands” as well as the “Dark Zone”, and some rather non-comics looking groups in the areas. Sure, they might not have been the most intriguing, but they served their purpose, and they’re just the appetizers before the main course of Penguins, Freeze, Man-Bat, Firefly, and Bane, among others.

“Trespassers” also showed the danger of a situation like “No Man’s Land”, because when people are secluded, and forced to survive on their own, they turn most of the time, and become the things like the Soothsayers, or the Badlands gang. And then…there’s “Mother” and “Orphan”.

Though who are familiar with “Batman and Robin Eternal” know the significance of those names, and the danger that they posed to Gordon and Bullock after they got separated from their caravan. Mother was indeed terrifying, almost coming off as superpowered at times. Orphan was a bit of a letdown (especially since in the comics, Orphan because Batgirl, aka Cassandra Cain), but for what it was, it was alright. And again, it shows the monsters we can become if the situation is right.

Nygma’s journey is still very intriguing, as he apparently kidnapped a biker to get information, then wiped out the gang and tried to start a war that will end in Penguin’s death. But the question is why? And why can’t Riddler remember? What did Hugo Strange due to him?

Finally, there was Bruce, and his quest to find the “witch”. It literally dawned on me when I saw the greenery that the Witch was none other than Poison Ivy, and it actually really worked here. If it was some random healer, the impact wouldn’t have been felt. But because it was Ivy (in a very comics-like outfit), the drama was real. From her killing of the men, to her being happy Selina would die, to her being joyful at the struggle Bruce was having in regards to the “seed” and more, it was fun. I don’t know if we’ll see Ivy again before the end of the season, but it is a fun thought.

And now, Catwoman is coming out of Selina, complete with green cat eyes. What happens next? We’ll find out next week.

“Trespassers” may seem like another setup episode, but this was an important step for Gordan and the GCPD. They’re doing good, which means that eventually, it’s all going to come crashing down.

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!