Gotham season 4, episode 8 review: Stop Hitting Yourself
Reviewing Thursday’s episode of Gotham.
Nygma may not be able to be the Riddler, so he tries to be the Penguin in a theatrical portrayal in the fight club’s ring. He does a pretty decent job at it, so much so that Lee warns him about Penguin’s rage when he finds out. Grundy gets flashes of his previous life as Butch while fighting an opponent in the ring. We also see Grundy’s new signature move as the crowd goes wild chanting “stop hitting yourself”.
Following the events of Pyg’s mayhem in the Narrows, the mayor presents Gordon with paperwork promoting him to captain. Conflicted on whether to take the promotion or be loyal to Bullock, the mayor convinces Gordon to hold onto the paperwork and sleep on it. At the GCPD, Bullock is still coping with his guilt as the precinct prepares for a ceremony at a local bar honoring the Pyg’s survivors. Fox is back, but only momentarily to inform Gordon and Bullock that Professor Pyg has gone M.I.A.
Barbara, Tabitha, and Selina appear before Penguin to receive his judgment following some unauthorized and unlicensed crime they’ve committed. When his accountant interrupts with news about Nygma’s performance mocking him, Penguin gets a little stabby and gives the ladies a mission. If they can’t return before midnight to the nightclub with Nygma, he will have Firefly exterminate them.
The three ladies show up to the fight club where Barbara immediately spots Lee, and Tabitha is stunned to see “Butch”. Tabitha sneaks away to get some alone time with Grundy but quickly realizes that he’s not the same man she loved, while Selina easily captures Nygma. The Sirens don’t get far before Grundy realizes that they are attempting to kidnap his friend. Selina evokes a “code of the Narrows” where the winner of the fight takes Nygma.
Meanwhile, Sophia suggests to Penguin to find a hobby to keep him distracted and level-headed. A little mute orphan boy with a knack for Pictionary, Martin, becomes Penguin’s new protege. Sophia revealed to Gordon that she influenced the major into promoting him to captain, while Penguin is suspicious of Sophia’s intentions.
Back at the fight club, the match between Tabitha and Grundy is about to begin. Tabitha is convinced that Butch is still inside Grundy somewhere and believes her love is strong enough to bring him out. It doesn’t look good for Tabitha when Grundy takes hold of her arm in preparation for amputation, but luckily her team tosses her a weapon and she swings hitting Grundy square in the temple. When a few of those hits to the head jogs Grundy’s memory of who he was, Tabitha realizes too late after a swing and a hit causes Grundy to fall unconscious on the floor.
To Nygma’s surprise, the ladies have won, but Firefly shows up because their time is up. When Lee stops Firefly and Barbara kills Cherry, it becomes clear that the Narrows expects Lee to take the mantle. At the bullet ceremony, Bullock decides to not attend. This is what pushes Gordon to sign his promotion paperwork.
The biggest highlight of tonight’s episode, Stop Hitting Yourself, is Grundy remembering his former self. Is Tabitha ready for an undead boyfriend? If a few hits to the head is enough to jog Grundy’s memory, maybe the same method may work to give Nygma his smarts back. If all else fails, Nygma may have a future career on SNL thanks to his Penguin impersonation.
It’s a bit of a bummer that Alfred and Bruce were not in this episode of Gotham, but I enjoyed watching our baddies reveal their vulnerable sides. Gordon and Lee were both given promotions in this episode. Gordon has chosen to cut ties with Sophia, but it’s unlikely that she will let Gordon go free. Like Bullock said, Gordon will have to pay his bill eventually.
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This gruesome episode of Gotham had true gangster shock value and deserves a 4/5. The females in this show are inspiring, even as villains. Barbara’s evolution as a character on the show is astonishing given that she was once the spoiled ex-girlfriend of Jim Gordon. It only makes me that much more excited to see what happens next week.