Gotham: Top 5 Moments From Smile Like You Mean It
We pick out our Top 5 moments from Episode 13 of Season 3 of Gotham, “Smile Like You Mean It”
Well, you know it’s a good episode when arguably the least interesting big moment of last night was Jerome returning. Not that he didn’t do important stuff, but his actual return itself wasn’t the biggest or best moment by far in an episode filled with big reveals and even a great quiet moment or two. Read on for our top 5 from “Smile Like You Mean It”!
Next: #1. We Are Everywhere
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1. We Are Everywhere
The most disturbing thing about the something like the cult of Jerome is that it doesn’t just appeal to people on the fringes of society. This is something that could potentially appeal to a darker side that is in almost everybody, especially in a city like Gotham. And that’s why it’s so dangerous. Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock find that out when it’s been revealed not only are there signs of the cult (looking very much like a Joker tag, they aren’t even trying to be subtle about Jerome basically being Joker anymore) all over the city they never really noticed before, but the cult seems to have its tendrils in multiple aspects of the city, making it far more than some crazy fringe movement.
For example, yeah, there’s the seemingly normal security guard who turns on his co-worker at the beginning of the episode, but there’s also the veteran cop who is the mole for Dwight and his followers. It’s hinted that the plans are actually much bigger, that Jerome is just one step. But of course later in the episode Dwight is killed by Jerome, and Jerome doesn’t really strike me as a guy with a plan. So we’ll probably never find out what that was supposed to be…
Next: #2. Mayor Crumblepot
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2. Mayor Crumblepot
Despite being a murderous lunatic, Oswald Cobblepot has managed quite a few sympathetic moments on Gotham. So I almost want to feel sorry for him with all the psychological torture he’s being put through by Ed, Babs & Tabs. But he’s very much earned this, so I’m deciding to enjoy it quite a bit instead. It also puts Ed on another level in terms of intricate schemes, building to his eventual Riddler persona which we’ll hopefully see later on this season.
Barbara and Tabitha may be planning to kill Ed as soon as the scheme is done, but odds are Ed knows full well who he has teamed up with and is prepared for that. In the meantime, for a brief second, it seemed like Penguin had caught on to what was going down, since he never believed Barbara was trying to help him, but his blindness as far as Nygma is concerned continues to be his undoing. He can’t last much longer as mayor or “King Of Gotham” at the rate things are going. Maybe he should just settle down and go smaller for awhile. Maybe open up a nighclub where the finest of Gotham’s underworld gather and do illicit deals on the side…
Next: #3. Lee & Jerome Catch Up
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3. Lee & Jerome Catch Up
Well, Jerome coming back in and of itself wasn’t much of a moment because they’ve been teasing the damn thing for months. But this was just a very disturbing but fun scene where faceless Jerome holds Lee hostage in the GCPD morgue and having just woken up, gets caught up from her on the events of the past year.
Again, it’s horrific and tense. But also really fun because it’s almost, ALMOST like two old friends catching up. But the difference being one is a psychotic serial killer. Especially with such as Jerome being annoyed that Theo Galavan kind of upstaged him by coming back to life first and commenting on how Dwight (who has taken a news station hostage and his broadcasting his message of “we are all Jerome” with Jerome’s face no less) lacks the charisma and presence for the role he is trying to fill. It’s a very, dare I say it, Joker-esque scene.
In an episode filled with a lot of flair, drama and big moments, this was actually a very quiet and well-played one that stood out and I hope at least with Jerome we get more like it. I mean, there’s so many people he has to catch up and reminisnce with (and then possibly brutally kill)!
Next: #4. Selina Finds Out Her Mom Pulled A Con
GOTHAM: Camren Bicondova in the ÒMad City: Smile Like You Mean ItÓ episode of GOTHAM airing Monday, Jan. 23 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Cr: Jessica Miglio/FOX.
4. Selina Finds Out Her Mom Pulled A Con
Now Selina Kyle is someone who you absolutely should feel sorry for. It seemed like her life was really starting to come around. She had a nice billionaire boyfriend, her mom had come back into her life and it seemed like a family dynamic between the Waynes & the Kyles (and the Pennyworths) was coming together. There was that nasty bit of business with some dude from Maria’s past but give him some chump change (well chump change for Bruce Wayne anyways) and he goes away.
But it was all a sham. And of course it was. Because Selina’s mother is just out for herself and she never even gave thought to the fact that she’s not just conning some rich kid out of money he can easily afford to lose, but she’s conning her daughter into it as well. The worst part of that is it doesn’t seem to phase her much when Selina calls her out on it.
Bruce knew though. Bruce knew all along. But he was willing to play along if it kept Selina and her mother together for even a bit longer. That he knew is actually a pretty big “Batman” moment, but I honestly think the bigger one is when Selina attacks him and tries to get him to fight back. We keep seeing Bruce talking about his physical training, but beyond him punching a bag, we haven’t really seen him do much. Here he shows he’s pretty much on par with Selina, blocking and dodging her moves and not even trying to strike back. We’ve seen Bruce start to have the mentality to be Batman, but this is probably the most prominent physical display that shows he’s getting ready for the challenge of punching Gotham’s criminals
in the face as well.
Next: #5. Jerome Starts The Purge
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5. Jerome Starts The Purge
I hate to compare anything to a series of garbage movies like The Purge, but that’s essentially what Jerome is doing here, both symbolically and literally. By taking the bright lights of Gotham away from the city itself by blowing up the power plant and openly encouraging not just his followers, but all citizens of Gotham to indulge their darkest impulses in the night while the city is in complete darkness.
Sure, some people are upstanding citizens and will remain so, but this city has a larger percentage of people on the edge than usual (you’d have to in order to continue living there). Something like this would be more than enough to push them over the edge. Only the dawn of the next day will bring some form of respite. Who will make it through the night? Does Jerome have a bigger plan for the city beyond pure chaos? I’ve said Jerome doesn’t strike me as a big picture guy, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a plan. And it is definitely something that involves the young man he failed to kill the first time around, Bruce Wayne. Something tells me it will lead to the first of many epic confrontations between these two who seem to be destined to do this dance forever…
Well, just one more episode to go before another very lengthy break. How much will be resolved in just one episode? It seems like nearly all the current arcs are getting ready to mostly wrap up and we’ll be on to at least mostly new stuff when Gotham returns in the Spring. But be sure to catch the Winter finale of Gotham next Monday on Fox and check back here later in the week for our thoughts on the episode!