TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Gotham Season 03 Episode 17: The Primal Riddle

Man, that was a good episode. It’s sad at times when an episode has so many storylines going that it can’t make each of them hit. But with “The Primal Riddle” they did, every single one of them, and that’s why it’s going to get a great score.

I loved how they let Riddler be the focus here. Since his true debut on Gotham two weeks back, you had to wonder how the show would let him grow, the answer was…let him be Riddler. By that, I mean let him be the narcissist that is known to be. But in true Gotham form, they let him get his own personality by being a showman through and through. Even going so far as to abduct a stage play to make a statement.

Even the act of Barbara coming to him to get to the Court of Owls was a brilliant move, as she knows about the court because of last week, but she knows she’s not smart enough to figure it out, thus, she went to Ed. Much to the chagrin of Butch and Tabitha, who are still trying to get him killed. Which of course led to a fun little betrayal that made Barbara the one with the chagrin.

Tying into this was Gordon trying to get into the Court of Owls, who was threatening exposure because of Riddler. So, if Gordon could bring him to them, he was in. It’s all nice tied into a bow. And it worked!

The show even got to doing a little eye-winking at themselves by noting things that we outside of TVLand would ask. Like, why does Riddler need to put on a big show? Why doesn’t Tabitha get her revenge? Why do the police get the clues ahead of time? Etc.

Onto the sidestories, the Bruce clone is dying, and as we find out, he’s not entirely evil, he just wants a place to belong, which is why he happily joined the court. But with the confirmation of death coming, he went to go find Selina. Not that she was happy to see either Bruce in her current state, but it proved how much she cares for the original that she chewed the other one out, which led to him pushing her out a window Batman Returns style…but something tells me she’s not dead…

Finally, Penguin began his crusade to get his team of freaks, and started naturally with Mr. Freeze and Firefly. It’s fun seeing him go on this recruiting mission, and I look forward to seeing who’s next on the list.

If there was one downside, it was Leslie, and for the record, I know she’s trying to do something good by finding the truth about Jim’s uncle, but thinking that he killed him? Really? Just saying.

That small slight aside, “The Primal Riddle” was an amazing episode, and a highlight of Season 03. We’ve only got a few episodes left, lets see where it all goes. Oh and welcome to the Court of Owls, Jim.