Gotham: Season 3 (Heroes Rise)/ Episode 20 “Pretty Hate Machine” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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So, Gotham tries to do the unexpected. However, with such robotic acting from the people who should surprise us, it sort of falls flat. But, thanks to some old friends, it seems the finale at least will be interesting.

To Love Him Is To Love His Darkness: Lee, Jim, Harvey

Lee wants Jim to stop ignoring his darkness. For with her taking the virus, she realizes she loves her some Jim. However, she can’t be with this holier than thou version. She needs her man to embrace his darkness. So, when he comes to confront her, she knocks him out and buries him alive. On top of that, she gives him a walkie talkie and one syringe with the virus. Then, to really drive things home, she walks into the GCPD and taunts Harvey, lets him know Jim is buried alive and etc.

At the end of the episode Jim takes the virus, tries to stop the bomb that the Court of Owls agreed on, but Lee stops him. Thus allowing the virus to spread through the city.

Commentary

So, this would technically be the 2^nd time they tried to give Jim some edge right? The first time was when he became a bounty hunter who didn’t necessarily care about the law. Now he is going to give into his deepest and darkest desires. OOOOOOO, so scary.

But something tells me that, if anything, he is going to keep this almost John Cena like persona. As in, as much as there is talk about darkness and all that, it isn’t going to reach the level of when he thought he killed Penguin. He may do like we see Batman does in most of the movies, where he definitely may put some in the hospital, but we aren’t going to see anything drastic. Especially for it seems destined that Lucius, who has been missing for a while, probably will have a cure by the end of the season finale.  So enjoy some form of big ole, bad Jim while you can.

Setting Jim aside though, imagine if Lee turns into Harley Quinn. I mean, Lee is a nickname for Harley, she is a doctor, so all that has to happen is a maiden name or middle name of Quinnzel and there you go. For while Barbara has long seemed like a prime candidate, or at least spiritual successor, Lee seems to more and more be a possibility. Especially since they refuse to just write this character off.

Was It All A Ruse?: Bruce, Alfred, Dr. Strange

Was Bruce just playing The Shaman, as the captions call him? It seems so. For he wasn’t following orders and hesitated whenever he was tasked with doing something bad. Yet, considering Bruce, back in the first season, had the goal of getting back his company, he can’t end things with yet another middle man. He needs the person at the top.

Something Alfred probably didn’t catch on since, while he has faith in Bruce, and has noted military training, the man doesn’t think strategy that well. Hence why he lets Hugo Strange go, after interrogating him, and shoots the man who could give Bruce the answers he seeks. Not just some random place to go and random person to see. But, what do you expect? Alfred has nothing but Bruce so naturally, his parental instincts blind him to the bigger picture.

Commentary

The Court of Owls got massacred so quickly that it almost kills how formidable they once were. They were supposed to be more badass than Falcone. Kathryn truly presented the first villain on this show to be taken seriously. Yet, she gets beheaded and they all are stabbed to death within two episodes. Which bugs the hell out of me for, sooner or later, you know they are going to kill off a mainstay villain. If just for the sake of shock value. But, considering they couldn’t keep us in the dark about Selina, and how many times everyone has come back alive, including Fish, it may be time to admit this show has the same problems most comics do. They just keep rebooting storylines for they have no clue where to take things without certain characters.

An Anti-Climatic End: Penguin, Ivy, Fish Mooney, Ed

So, Mr. Fries and Bridgit have left Penguin to do their own thing. With that, you’d think Ed would have the upper hand. Well, he does. However, Ivy is still around. That counts for something right? Granted, it is hard to say why she is loyal to Penguin, who mostly yells at her, but I guess him not abandoning her means something. I don’t know.

What matters here is after Ed, as usual, gets the chance to kill someone but takes too long to shoot, Fish pops up. She pops up, whisks Penguin away and that’s it. Putting a definite pause on Ed getting to truly kill Penguin.

Commentary

Let’s backtrack to Ivy real quick, what is her deal with Penguin? For he isn’t handsome, he isn’t rich, he is borderline verbally abusive, so why has she been sticking by his side? She is into plants, not baby bird types. I mean, I get, without Penguin she is another character to toss on the side but nothing is really being done with her. She just pets plants, pretends to be a botanist, and seems like a borderline airhead. Like Barbara without any desire for significant power.

Ivy aside, I’m trying to understand Fish’s role in all this. Granted, she likely wants to be on top of the underworld again, but why would she need Penguin for that? She has an established relationship with Dr. Strange’s freaks already, so she doesn’t need him. On top of that, wasn’t she trying to kill him? She had two guys with machine guns, she could have killed many birds with a magazine of bullets. She could have gotten her throne back and revenge. But I guess everyone thinks like a James Bond villain on this show and would rather drag something out to leave an opportunity for escape than just get things done. Well, unless you’re a member of the Court of Owls that is.