Warning: There are spoilers in this review.
On this week's episode, Fish Mooney finds out that Cobblepot is still alive and wants to "talk" to Gordon. Meanwhile, Gordon wants to take the crime bosses down, but no one will help him. Falcone sends Zsasz after Gordon. Allen and Montoya end up saving him. Maroni refuses to give back Cobblepot so Falcone's men start hitting up Maroni's gun trucks. In the end, there's a huge reveal as to what's really going on.
The big thing, for fans, with this episode is how is Zsasz going to be portrayed? Zsasz is a bit more charismatic than his version from the comic. Understandably, there's going to be some differences in the two versions, but it feels like the essence of the character was a bit lost on the television series. However, this is years before Zsasz truly becomes the man we all know, and this version is not very disturbing. I found myself hating this version of the character, at first, but after the episode wrapped up, I found Zsasz to be a very well done character. He's merely a pawn for Falcone. Something is going to change in Zsasz in the decade between this show and when Zsasz becomes the insane serial killer fans know. There's a lot of room to grow into that as well. Zsasz is used so sparingly and it works extremely well.
The fear of this show being a "villain of the week" type show is gone here. Sure, Zsasz is here, but he's not the focus. The focus is entirely on the growing tension between Maroni and Falcone and the start of their war. As far as pacing and story go, this episode was a complete home run.
I loved seeing the growing tension between Maroni and Falcone. It's been a slow build and the beginning of the gang war starts here. These scenes are just as important as what's going on with Gordon and the GCPD for the growth and evolution of Gotham and as fans know it today. Blood is shed and Penguin starts to take a leadership role. His charismatic and manipulative side comes out, along with his murderous side, and we get to see how he sets up his chessboard. Once again, Robin Lord Taylor's performance is powerful and captivating. His monologue before killing one of Maroni's men, before turning on Penguin, is powerful and delivered with excellence. By the time the big reveal comes out, Penguin becomes one of the most important characters in the series.
On the annoying side of things, Bruce Wayne is shoehorned into another episode. The whole reason it exists is so Gordon can tell Bruce that Montoya and Allen are on the Wayne murder case. It's unnecessary. It doesn't add anything to the show. The viewer doesn't need to see this scene. Looking back, it feels like nothing more than filler between scenes and just a moment for the viewer to catch their breath. As far as the whole episode goes, this was the weakest part, and the only part of the episode that can be seen as "bad."
The gun fight in the police station between Gordon, Zsasz, and Zsasz's partners was incredibly exciting and this episode doesn't go over the top with it. It builds suspense and takes the viewer along for the ride. It's a great chase, and while we all know Gordon will live on for years, that moment he gets shot is a shock and you'll be on the edge of your seat seeing how he survives.
A big part of the overall story deals with Gordon rising up against the villains of Gotham. Gordon's fight against crime and corruption in Gotham grows as Montoya and Allen join him. Eventually, Bullock is on board too, even though he feels betrayed by Gordon originally. Bullock isn't around the first half of the episode, until he comes to the realization that he's screwed either way, so he wants to do something good before getting a bullet in the head. It finally feels like Gordon has a fighting chance. This series has been great with making Gotham seem like a lost cause. This is the turning point. We're all rooting for the good guys now.
Oh god, that ending is awesome. Spoiler-mania ahead. We find out that Gordon not killing Penguin early on was all part of the plan and that Penguin working for Maroni was as well. Penguin and Falcone planned it all out and Penguin spilled the beans, back in the first episode, that Fish and Nikolai are planning on taking it all over. What a great turning point. It feels like the show is breaking away and trying to do something different. This is how you grab people into the show. What a way to end it this week.
"Penguin's Umbrella" is the best episode of the season, thus far and not just because Selina Kyle wasn't forced into it. Almost everything in this episode made sense and felt like it was moving in the right direction, minus the forced Bruce Wayne scene. The war is building and everyone is a pawn in this giant game of chess that no one is controlling. While I can't say you should jump on now, start at the beginning. Work your way through some decent and mediocre episodes to get to this point, it's worth it. Gotham is still surpassing my expectations; however, I don't always have the most faith in comic book television shows.
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