Fox’s “Batman-without-Batman” soap opera is the most amazingly weird show on television. For every episode this season, Deadshirt’s own Sarah Register, Kayleigh Hearn and Max Robinson discuss the good, the bad…the beginning? of little Bruce Wayne, skinny Oswald Cobblepot, and Jim Gordon sans ‘stache as they try to find their way in the misery-soaked, work-a-day world of…GOTHAM.
We’re into week two of Gotham Season 3.5, and this episode’s all about Jerome, baybayyyy.
HEY DO YOU GUYS THINK THIS EPISODE IS ABOUT THE JOKER?
Max: Gotham presupposes that anyone, even a trusted coworker, could be a member of the Insane Clown Posse. They introduced the sleeper cell Joker Cult concept a while back, and having them roll up en masse to this Wayne Enterprises facility was fun and creepy.
Sarah: Pretty sure the showrunners typed “Dark Knight Joker” into a stock photo site and got the new laughing clown logo.
BRUCE WAYNE MEETS WITH YET ANOTHER GOTHAM LOWLIFE
Max: Little Bruce sure spends a lot of time buying off the scum of Gotham.
Sarah: *smash cut to Cole attempting to endorse a comically oversized check with a chained pen*
Kayleigh: Surprised Bruce didn’t just hand over a laundry bag with a giant dollar sign printed on it.
MAYOR CRUMBLEPOT
Max: Barbara yelling at a prone Oswald to do his job: weirdly prescient of our current White House.
Sarah: Just another politician who will parrot the people he trusts. But with murder.
Kayleigh: Not only is Barbara’s “disco vampire” line fantastic, it’s an important reminder that Oswald styles his hair that way. On purpose.
I WANT TO TAKE JEROME’S FACE….OFF
Max: Alright well….the guy from Ant-Man is wearing Jerome’s face and giving a speech about how we’re *all* Jerome. This new Cirque production is wild.
Sarah: You gotta admire Dwight’s problem-solving skills.
Kayleigh: It would have been spectacular trolling on Gotham’s part if they brought Cameron Monaghan back just to play a corpse, and then took their “anyone can be the Joker!” premise literally.
Can we talk about the fact that this is literally a scene from The Office? Guys named Dwight: they steal faces.
Max: Gotham’s Dwight is definitely assistant TO the regional Joker.
HOOOOO PENGUIN’S GOT A CANE KNIFE
Kayleigh: One step closer to Oswald flying away with a comically large helicopter-umbrella.
Max: Tommy Bones’s “hhh fine” expression before he gets shot point blank by Tabitha was really funny. Tabitha’s The Black Parade jacket aesthetic is clutch.
JEROME’S IN A COP UNIFORM MOWING DOWN PEDESTRIANS
Max: Lotta Nolan touchstones in this episode, from the mention of The Narrows to David Dastmalchian’s role here, to this clearly The Dark Knight-inspired interrogation scene. Maybe Gary Oldman should’ve tried sodium pentathol.
Sarah: This entire arc has been littered with Nolan cast-offs, and I respect the blatancy of it.
Kayleigh: I like “Has a Syringe, But No Fucks” Lee better than “Sad, Big-Haired Mob Widow” Lee.
Max: It’s A Proces.
MORENA BACCARIN EXPLAINS THE SECOND SEASON OF GOTHAM TO JEROME
Sarah: The best part of this scene is that it felt like a genuine conversation. Just two people taking long drags of cigarettes, saying, “Gotham is a hell of a thing.”
Max: A fond reminder that in-story Theo Galavan’s died two completely different, totally insane ways.
Kayleigh: Who doesn’t love spilling the tea with your best faceless, deathless clown cult leader?
Sarah: Jerome’s bloodied, bandaged faceless-face is the most direct nod to the comics (at least the more recent stuff) that I can remember the show doing. It’s still a little odd that it comes a decade before Batman, but I have to admit I don’t hate Jerome.
Max: Between the Joker face-off and the Court of Owls focus, I kinda hope Scott Snyder’s getting a check from all this.
BIG SURPRISE: SELINA’S MOM SUCKS
Sarah: I feel like Alfred still has no idea.
Max: Selina is the only competent character on Gotham.
Kayleigh: How did she find out that her estranged street urchin daughter was dating Richie Rich, anyway? Does Gotham have Tiger Beat for teen vigilantes?
GORDON’S GOTTA DO SOME STEALTH TAKEDOWNS ON THESE CLOWNS
Max: This is the weirdest, most complicated origin for The Joker, and I’m here for it and Jerome’s stapled on face, diet soda ass Heath Ledger.
Kayleigh: Can I just say “ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew gross ew god ick”?
TIME FOR A SEXUALLY CHARGED FIGHT BETWEEN TWO TEENS
Max: Everyone’s having a bad time this episode.
Sarah: MTV’s True Life: My Boyfriend Paid My Mom to Love Me
Kayleigh: Poor Bruce thinks keeping your lying, thieving mother around is better than having no mother at all.
BLACKOUT
Max: This is actually a pretty decent Joker plot, having him blow up a power plant and tell people to go have fun with it.
Sarah: The next episode is going to be wild.
Kayleigh: Hold onto your faces!
Gotham airs Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
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