Gotham: 5 Standout Moments From The Executioner
We pick our 5 standout moments from the latest episode of Gotham, “The Executioner”!
Monday in the Fall means a new episode of Gotham! Not a ton actually happened in “The Executioner” aside from Barnes going full on rogue. It seems to mostly setting the stage for the last two episodes before that lengthy winter break. Here’s 5 moments we thought really stood out for the episode!
Fox
1. Gordon Starts Investigating Barnes
In the previous episode of Gotham, before he died, Simon told Gordon it was Barnes that threw him to the street from the bathroom. Gordon could’ve waived that off. But being one of maybe 2 halfway competent detectives in Gotham, he says hey, maybe I should look into Barnes. And of course Barnes being the captain of the GCPD, he has to tread very carefully.
We also see that Barnes has gone from taking moments of opportunity to kill criminals like he did with Simon at the party, to outright kidnapping and murdering them. They might not have been doing anything in that moment or even recently, but they are bad guys that the law hasn’t been able to touch, so Barnes is delivering his own very lethal brand of justice.
I do wish we had gotten to see this develop to even more extremes. Like Barnes kidnapping and brutually torturing somebody who ran a red light or had thousands of dollars in unpaid parking tickets. Sure he’s killing guys and a cop shouldn’t do that, but they are hardcore criminals. It should’ve gotten to the point where he’s killing people who at least hadn’t committed major felonies. I guess they stopped it here because the winter break is coming up soon and this is one angle they wanted to at least put a pin in until the show returns.
Fox
2. Ivy Shows Her Knowledge Of Horticulture
It’s not having giant man-eating venus flytraps at her command, but the newly grown up Ivy shows in the episode of Gotham that she really, really knows her plants. This is indicated in a scene where she explains how plants can be used to do many different things. Such as a perfume that acts as mind control. That’s a real key trait of the character. Ivy mostly uses plant-based concotions and usually doesn’t have any kind of actual superpowers except an immunity to most toxins.
She has made more advancement towards being the fully-realized DC comics version of her character in the span of a few episodes than most characters have in the entire run of Gotham so far. She hasn’t gone full murderous eco terroist just yet and probably won’t in the span of the show, but it’d be nice if they play up her growing expertise with plant life every now and again.
Of course right now all Ivy is doing with this knowledge is robbing a few men blind. And she clearly doesn’t have it perfected yet, because the man she uses the perfurme on recovers after mere moments and assaults her for stealing a very valuble necklace. And yet another vase is sacrificed in Ivy’s escape. But of course we find out that bauble is far more valuable than Ivy realizes…
Fox
3. Ivy Reveals Herself To Selina & Bruce
It seems like Ivy was content to keep who she really was hidden from Selina for awhile longer. But since she robbed the wrong guy and is being chased by some people, she turns to the only friend she’s ever really had, Selina for help.
Selina is a little shocked at this revelation, but given all that’s been going on in two seasons and some change in Gotham, she pretty readily accepts that this random young woman is her former teenage friend Ivy. She brings in her maybe kinds sorta boyfriend Bruce to help out.
Bruce thinks it’s a simple matter of returning the necklace, but when they find the owner dead, it’s clear they have gotten themselves into something really bad. Selina throws the necklace away, only to reveal to it actually contains a key. The significance of the key won’t be delved into until next week’s episode of Gotham, but obviously its going to be super important leading up to the mid-season finale.
It looks like the key is going to tie heavily into the Court Of Owls, and of course this is after Bruce said he’d stop looking into them and his parents’ murder so the Court wouldn’t jut outright kill him. It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.
Fox
4. Barnes Sets Up Gordon
What we really learn in this episode is that the virus from Alice Tetch’s blood doesn’t just unlock the darker aspects of your nature, it changes your whole way of thinking. Even Barnes killing criminals should be the same old Barnes. That Barnes wouldn’t frame a fellow officer who is pratically a mentor to.
But Barnes suspected Gordon was onto him the moment he saw Jim in his office, combing thorugh the files on his desk. He then took Gordon to a location to question a suspect, only to shoot him right in front of Gordon.
Barnes does ask Gordon if he will join him on his currently one man crusade to permanently eradicate the evils plaguing Gotham, but Gordon refuses. Sure he killed Theodore Galavan, but Gordon amdits that he wishes he hadn’t given into his darker impulses and regrets that decision every day.
Gordon manages to wound and not kill Barnes and he is shipped off to Arkham. That leaves a captain’s seat open at the GCPD. Will Gordon fill it? I can’t think of anyone else crazy enough to take the job. And could Barnes still become Solomon Grundy? I think so. Eventually the virus could warp his mind so that he’s merely a rage-filled zombie. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Fox
5. Nygma Visits The Site Of Isabella’s Accident
Nygma was all ready to believe that Isabella had merely had a tragic accident. He merely wanted to visit the site and say goodbye to the love of his life. That he only knew for like, a week.
But that’s when Ed’s analytical mind took over. He realized that the railroad tack was a few mere blocks from Isabella’s apartment. He started to suspect something was wrong with this picture, but it was cemented when a blind homeless man confirmed to Nygma that he heard poor Isabella screaming for help before she was hit by the train.
So Ed investigates on his own, and finds that the brakes on Isabella’s car had been cut. This had been covered up. Who would have the means and resources to do this? We know it’s Oswald, but Nygma couldn’t conceive of that. So he concludes that it’s… Butch? Sure Butch has it out for Ed and rightfully so, but I don’t think he actually currently has the resources to pull off something like this. It would’ve made much more sense to me if he thought Gordon was the one behind it, after all, Gordon is back at the GCPD and Nygma did ruin his life. Certainly makes more sense than Butch, who has been completely a-wall for a few episodes now.
Regardless, since Oswald is the one who actually killed Isabella, he’s all too happy to encourage Ed’s line of reasoning. Butch will of course deny he did anything, but will Ed listen to anything Butch has to say?
And there you have it, 5 moments that really stood out from the latest episode of Gotham. Be sure to check back next week as we ramp up for the mid-season finale and we pick our top 5 moments from the episode “Timebomb”, which airs Monday on Fox!