Gotham: Five Standout Moments From Better Reign In Hell
Our Top 5 Standout Moments From Gotham: Better To Reign In Hell
Greetings Batman fans! It’s been a few months since you’ve heard from me but it’s that time of year again! The third season of Gotham premiered this week and I’m here to give you my review of the episode, titled Better To Reign In Hell, before next week’s episode. We here at Caped Crusades are fond of the slideshow style of review so without further ado here are our top five moments from Season 3 Episode 1: Better To Reign In Hell!
Next: #1. The Introduction Of Valerie Vale
Standout Moment No. 1: The Introduction Of Valerie Vale
FOX
Within the first few minutes of the episode, right after Gordon confronts the Indian Hill escapee at the pharmacy, Captain Barnes and the former mayor of Gotham Aubrey James hold a press conference at the GCPD building to inform the press of Gordon’s apprehension of the escapee (read: scraping him off the pavement after a truck hit him) and the assure the public that the situation is under control. One of the reporters present introduces herself as Valerie Vale, who is the aunt of Bruce Wayne’s future love interest Vickie Vale, also a reporter. She quickly establishes herself as a reporter who is willing to ask questions that might get her in trouble.
Next: #2. Cobblepot Reveals The Truth
Standout Moment No. 2: Cobblepot Reveals The Truth
FOX
Oswald Cobblepot and Butch Gilzean arrive at the GCPD just in time for Penguin to interrupt Mr. James with a shout of “Liar!” as the former mayor claims that the police have the situation with the Indian Hill monsters under control. The press, particularly Valerie Vale, are looking for more information than Barnes and James are giving them so of course are eager to here from Penguin as he tells them that the Indian Hill escapees are an organized bunch following the orders of Fish Mooney. Though Barnes declares that she hasn’t been seen in six months and must be either gone from the city or dead, Cobblepot insists that she is the one controlling the monsters of Indian Hill. Ms. Vale clearly believes Penguin as she starts hunting for information on Fish, and later on is approached by Selina Kyle because she is apparently willing to pay for knowledge about Ms. Mooney.
I think the importance of this scene is fairly self evident, as Cobblepot’s announcement to the press makes the people of Gotham aware of the larger threat and even starts turning the public to his favor since he’s telling the truth while the police & mayor are trying to keep things quiet.
Next: #3. Bruce Confronts The Board
Standout Moment No. 3: Bruce Confronts The Board
FOX
At the end of Season Two Bruce and Lucius Fox are held prisoner in Indian Hill when they go to Arkham Asylum to speak to Hugo Strange and get a tour of the facility. Strange tasks Edward Nygma with finding out how much they know about Indian Hill and those who are really behind it. Through riddles and death threats Nygma reveals that some secret criminal organization (the Court of Owls) has infiltrated the board of Wayne Enterprises and it is they who are behind Indian Hill and all of the criminal activity Wayne Enterprises is involved in.
Bruce and Alfred have spent several months away from Gotham, hiding out in Switzerland once again, for Bruce’s safety and to give them time to research the Court and find proof that it really exists. In this episode Bruce and Alfred meet with the board to confront them on the existence of the Court of Owls and to openly challenge the Court. Bruce gives the board 24 hours for the Court to contact him so that they may speak face to face or he will give his proof of the court’s existence to every news outlet and paper in Gotham.
This moment is important to note because it sets things into motion for the coming season and prompts our standout moment number five to happen at the end of the episode. It also means that Bruce is another step closer to finding the ones who were truly responsible for his parents’ murders as well as a lot of other criminal activity going on in Gotham City.
Next: 4#. Barbara & Tabitha Stand Up To Mobsters
Standout Moment No. 4: Barbara And Tabitha Stand Up To Mobsters
FOX
At the start of season 3, Barbara Keane and Tabitha Galavan have apparently gone at least somewhat legitimate. They run a night club called Sirens. And they run it without any help from Gotham’s mafia. Penguin seems to be holding back from either muscling in or outright killing at least Tabitha out of respect for Butch, whom Tabitha left and he still is very hung up on.
That doesn’t protect them from other mobsters in the territory though, as they try to forcefully get a cut of the club’s business. But this is stabby Babs and Tabitha Galavan, they are not women to be messed with and can quite easily take care of themselves, as they show the mobsters unfortunate enough to be trying to take a piece of their business. The nightclub will likely serve as a hotbed of criminal activity and planning throughout the season is my guess.
Next: #5. Talon Kidnaps Bruce
Standout Moment No. 5: Talon Kidnaps Bruce
FOX
Bruce has been kidnapped! Alfred has been beaten severely and probably needs to go to a hospital! Must be Monday. But unlike previous instances, the goal here isn’t to kill or even necessarily hold Bruce Wayne hostage. Bruce wanted a meeting with the Court Of Owls, and their top man, Talon, was sent to fetch him for that meeting.
Odds are they could’ve gone about it in a less violent fashion, but I suspect this is to test how he’ll react under such circumstances. Though considering what Bruce has been through the last two seasons, this might merely be seen as an inconvenience. Will Bruce be getting some of the answers he seeks? Will he return with concrete evidence of the Court Of Owls and be able to root them out of Wayne Enterprises? Those are all questions for episode 2 and beyond, but they aren’t taking things slow at the moment, so those should be answered relatively soon.
And there are 5 standout moments for the season 3 premiere episode of Gotham: Better To Reign In Hell. I thought the episode was pretty exciting and certainly plants a lot of seeds for things to come in the next 21 episodes. Be sure to watch Gotham every Monday on Fox to keep up and check back here next week for the top 5 moments from episode 2 titled Burn The Witch!