Gotham: Season 3 (Heroes Rise)/ Episode 18 “Light the Wick” – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Strangely, as Kathryn walks Gotham towards its destruction, she becomes perhaps the first real formidable villain we’ve seen in awhile.

To Betray A Woman’s Trust: Lee, Jim, Kathryn, Penguin, Dr. Strange [BD Wong], Barnes

As Jim digs deeper into what the court is doing, Lee digs deeper into what Jim is doing. Thus leading to her thinking he is continuing his spree as a crooked cop and now not only is Harvey covering for him but Lucius as well. She even tries to appeal to Harvey by noting Frank’s death was a homicide but with Harvey seeming like he has no intention of pursuing it, she seems exasperated. So exasperated she is thinking about quitting and leaving Gotham.

As for Kathryn? Well, Jim finds out what is the grand plan. He learns it deals with Alice Tetch’s blood being extracted from former Captain Barnes and Dr. Strange making it an airborne virus. One which will be spread across the city and cause utter chaos. However, during a test run, to see if Jim could stomach the chaos on a small scale, he fails. He calls Penguin, who wants to meet the court in order to get his hands on Nygma, and Penguin has firefly handle Talon who was supposed to kill Jim if he tried to stop the test run.

Leading to, eventually, Penguin getting captured and being placed in a cage right next to Nygma. Someone shocked to see his old friend alive. That and Kathryn planting the seeds in former Captain Barnes’ head to make sure he places judgment on Jim and executes him.

Commentary

I think it is a true testament to the power of Penguin that he made Jim Gordon tolerable. That and how excellent of a villain Kathryn is being portrayed. For while she doesn’t get her hands dirty, Leslie Hendrix [note]Her Actress[/note] knows how to play menacing and has a sense of authenticity helmed without using Penguin for a crutch. Which is really saying something.

Though perhaps what is most noteworthy is the appearance of Dr. Strange and him noting Fish Mooney is well again. Meaning, more than likely, her army too would have any ailments they had fixed up too. Making you wonder, considering the fall of Penguin, and Barbara’s shaky rise, to me, why aren’t they trying to take things over? Why are they in hiding? It seems each season she tries to make a comeback so is it she’ll appear in the last few episodes and end up one of the primary villains for the beginning of season 4?

Leaving one last thing to wonder about, with Penguin captured, do you think Firefly and Mr. Fries will look for him? Much less Ivy considering Selina’s new quest?

The Continuous Tutelage of Bruce Wayne: Bruce

Bruce continues to be trained and it seems the focus this time is controlling his rage. Something he learns to do by putting away the fact everyone was more worried about him than his parents’ murder. Leading him to perhaps be stronger, if not ready for what the Court plans for him next.

Commentary

Though it seems Kathryn answers to the old man training Bruce, so comes the question if he, much less Kathryn, are truly both looking out for the Court of Owl’s best interest. For while Kathryn notes her family are founding members, and she has done some wicked things, who knows if she may not have found herself like Bruce once did? That is, discovering the dark underbelly of her company but, rather than be naive and figuring she could destroy it as an outsider, she maybe is trying to destroy things from the inside out. Hence why she leaves herself, and the owls, open to discovery so often and how come someone like Jim [note]Who was dumb enough to call Harvey right after he figured out Kathryn’s plan, IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE WHERE SHE OR HER STAFF COULD HEAR![/note], Barbara, Penguin, and Nygma have gotten peeks behind the curtain.

Much less, remember she was willing to kill the children of the elite. Also, she wanted the names of the court’s loved ones they wanted to be protected. Maybe she wanted those names so they could be directly targeted? 

A Cat Always Has Nine Lives: Selina, Ivy

Ivy continues to be a wonder nurse as she, with a slew of plants, making Selina’s room look like a plant nursery, brings her out of a coma. Leading to her, as soon as she gets up, wanting to head to Wayne manor to warn Alfred of the imposter in his home.

Commentary

Shouldn’t Cat have some broken bones? Granted, I’ll give Ivy the benefit of the doubt that, despite her seemingly never opening a book, she can be a horticulture/ botany specialist. However, Selina fell far enough, and hard enough, that she should have cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Now, granted, Catwoman’s lore deals with cats licking and surrounding her and them bringing her back to life, but that isn’t how things were necessarily played here. We did see cats surround her in the last episode, but it is hard to give them the credit considering we have seen Ivy already bring Penguin from the brink of death.

That thought aside, I do wonder if Ivy may takeover for Penguin now that he is captured? For while she isn’t necessarily at that level to be the main villain, she is strong enough to have her own posse. Plus, all things considered, Fries and Firefly came onboard because of her more than Penguin. So, arguably, their loyalty is to her. Add in Selina and she has a decent group. Maybe not one ready to take over Gotham but could cause some trouble.

Collected Quote(s)

Rage and pain are two sides of the same coin