Gotham: 5 Standout Moments Of This Ball Of Mud & Meanness
The Five Standout Moments From This Week’s Episode Of Gotham, This Ball Of Mud & Meanness
Warning: Spoliers for Gotham: This Ball of Mud & Meanness follow
This week’s episode of Gotham was very Bruce & Penguin heavy, and featured a lot of character development. I actually found it a little tough narrowing the list down to just 5 moments, but I managed! So let’s take a look at 5 standout moments from the latest episode of Gotham, “This Ball of Mud & Meanness”!
Next: #1:....Cupcake
#1.Cupcake
Alfred gets a chance to show how tough he truly is, but that is not what makes this a standout moment. Though rather improvised, Alfred uses this fight against “Cupcake” as a lesson for Bruce about how you can make a larger opponent’s size work against him in a fight, and actually showing him how it works. That’s not boxing in the mansion, this is a lesson that will really serve Bruce well. Especially now, when he’s still a kid, but also in the future, as Batman often comes up against foes much bigger and stronger than he is. This also might be the continuation of a running gag, because even Bullock notes that for a butler, Alfred sure does get beat up and/or sent to the hospital on an alarmingly regular basis. One thing Bruce also may have gleaned from this is that while the streets of Gotham can be ruthless, many have a code that they stick by, and if you understand that code, they are easier to deal with.
Next: #2:....Gordon Finally Starts Investigating Kringle's Disappearance
#2. Gordon Finally Investigates Kringle’s Disappearance
I will give Gordon a little more benefit of the doubt than usual here. I’m sure he thought Kristen Kringle running off with her abusive ex when she seemed so happy with Nygma was odd, but he had things like The Order of St. Dumas and Mr. Freeze keeping him busy and just really didn’t have time to think about it. However, Leslie noticing that Kringle hadn’t cashed her final paycheck and had no forwarding address finally forced Jim to think something really was off about the whole situation, which leads to him questioning Nygma about her disappearance.
However, beyond that thread being pulled, what really happens here is we start to see the true Riddler persona of Edward Nygma start to emerge. He’s paranoid as heck, but he also believes he is way smarter than Jim Gordon and the rest of the GCPD, so it’s more of a game to him than anything else, and we’ll really see that emerge in the next episode of Gotham.
Next: #3:....Bruce Doesn't Kill Matches Malone
#3. Bruce Doesn’t Kill Matches Malone
Batman would never kill anyone or use a gun (you know, aside from all the times he’s done that, but that’s for another time). But this isn’t Batman. It’s 15 year-old Bruce Wayne having the opportunity to kill this malicious monster that took his parents from him at such a young age. Of course his first thought is just to kill the guy. And maybe, if Matches Malone was a monster who enjoyed killing and especially if he begged for his life, Bruce Wayne might’ve killed him. But Malone doesn’t care He barely remembers even killing Martha & Thomas Wayne, two prominent citizens of Gotham, the highest of high profile cases. And he needs help remembering the most tragic moment of young Bruce Wane’s life that he was integral in making happen. He’s not a monster. Just a man. A broken, hollow husk of a man, but a man just the same. And so, Bruce doesn’t shoot him. It might’ve been a good idea for Bruce to take the gun with him so Malone doesn’t shoot himself and take with him the best hope of finding out who hired him to kill the Waynes in the first place, but hey, the character development is what’s important here.
Next: #4:....Penguin Is Released From Arkham
#4. Penguin Is Released From Arkham
After passing the most sinister ice cream test ever devised, and not killing a feelow inamte thathreatened his life when he had the chance, Penguin is declared sane and no longer a danger to others and fit to return to regular Gotham society. The joke here of course is that no one would ever declare Penguin sane and Gotham society is about as crazy as it gets. Also, Penguin went to Arkham Asylum because he confessed to murdering Theo Galavan (because he was crazy), I’m pretty sure being released from Arkham would merely mean he’s mentally fit to stand trial for murder.
But maybe Hugo Strange pulled some strings, he did release Penguin as part of an experiment and said he has grander plans for him. We’ll just have to wait and see what those plans are. One thing we do know from next week’s preview is Penguin not only meets his dad’s side of the family, but is all buddy buddy again with Nygma and telling him all of Gordon’s deep, dark secrets, so the “treatment” clearly wasn’t aggressive enough.
Next: #5:....Bruce Decides To Live On The Streets
#5. Bruce Decides To Live On The Streets
Bruce Wayne has a deep desire to help the people of Gotham, to help Gotham become a place where people aren’t afraid anymore, and not just the privileged. But I think in this latest episode, with all he experienced that most people who have his upbringing never would, is that you can’t fix Gotham’s problems just sitting an ivory tower and maybe throwing some money at the problem every once and awhile You have to see how the city works, you have to see the city at it’s worst, and then somehow figure out how to fix that. Possibly while dressed as a bat and punching thugs. But the only way Bruce will come to that realization is spending time on the streets of Gotham himself, so that’s exactly what he decides to do. It’s a pretty important “Batman” moment, one of several season two of Gotham has had so far and been pretty successful in showing that Bruce can really grow into this protector of the city he’s destined to become.
And those are our top 5 standout moments of this week’s episode of Gotham, “This Ball of Mud & Meanness”. Any other moments you thought stood out (the Ice Cream test just narrowly missed the cut, for example)? Let us know in the comments and we’ll be back next week with an all new 5 top moments from the next episode of Gotham, “Mad Grey Dawn”!