TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 5 Episode 7: Ace Chemicals

You know the name, you know what it means to Batman lore, and “Ace Chemicals” honestly did a great job of adapting the place to the legendary conflict that created the Joker, all the while paying homage to everything that happened last season. You see, in the comics, the Joker blames/praises Batman for what he unintentionally did to him, but here, we get a very fun twist on things, as Jeremiah wants to be “connected” to Bruce in a very deep and emotional way, and to do that…he wants to be part of Bruce’s “most important day”…part 2.

The idea of recreating the day that got the Wayne’s killed is a bit silly in context, but Gotham honestly pulled it off beautifully. From “recreating” the Waynes (slightly older though to ensure accuracy), and getting every single detail of that day perfect from top to bottom, even “recreating” the Mark of Zorro (the actual film from the comics that Bruce got his parents to leave), and going back to Crime Alley to kill them was both creepy and powerful.

You could tell that Jeremiah really wanted to have that connection with Bruce, and he was willing to go to any length to get it. And then, with Leslie and Gordon unintentionally getting wrapped up in the “big day”, it got even deeper and profound. Personally, I loved how everything ended here. The battle between Bruce and Jeremiah in Ace Chemicals was great, Selina denying her revenge on Penguin so that she could go save Bruce was great, and Jeremiah’s fall into the chemicals…and yet is still alive!!!…yeah, that was cool too.

If that was the entire episode, it would’ve been a 5/5, but other things didn’t ring true. For example, while I’m glad they followed up with the Barbara pregnancy (which again, I don’t know how she realized she’s pregnant so fast), and it honestly led to some great conversations between her and Leslie and Gordon, it ended very weirdly with Leslie saying that because he slept with Barbara, that he “let her down”. How does that make sense? He was at a really low point, he hadn’t heard from Leslie in months and though she was out of the city, how is that a disappoint moment? And then, after a slap, they make out! I hate relationships in comic shows…

Then, there was Penguin, who despite saying he wanted to get out of Gotham…didn’t actually know HOW to get out of Gotham. And though I liked the teamup with not only Riddler, but Barbara too…it just felt rushed.

Still, “Ace Chemicals” built its own legend around the iconic location. And while not everything worked, most did, and that’s what counts. 5 episodes left…