Even I would have a hard time not killing Tetch if I had to spend time in the same room with him, and I’m not even infected with Alice’s blood. He talks in rhyming riddles the entire time, and doesn’t give us any more information than we already know. However, when Barnes truly loses it, Tetch is bound to be the person that the GCPD will have to ask for help from. I’m mentally preparing myself for hearing his shrill laugh even more (oh, how I wish it was Jerome’s laugh instead).
Currently, Gordon and Harvey have no leads in their investigation of the murder Barnes caused. All they know is that extreme strength was necessary in order to kill someone that brutally, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they suspect it to be an escapee of Doctor Strange with that description (but since Fish Mooney has disappeared, apparently this storyline has too).
Instead of heeding any warning that Tetch gave him, Barnes decides to go to Lee’s engagement party, which is literally hosted by one of the biggest criminals of all time. He is already surrounded by criminals, but once he sees the plastic surgeon, everything goes to shit. Any plans he had of turning himself in, killing himself, or just simply telling people the truth about what is going on with him is tossed out the window, while the plastic surgeon is pushed through a wall. Despite the loud horn of the car he landed on, and the large hole in the wall, he still got away with it.
Barnes is now “seeing things clearly.” No longer is one criminal guilty for his actions, but the whole city is responsible (I feel the same way about the election results). The voices in his head are telling him that everyone around him is guilty, yet considering the guests at a Falcone party, that may be true. After all, even Barbara showed up briefly to remind Lee how exciting it is to be with Gordon instead of Mario. Granted, Barnes is also drinking champagne at the party, and I can’t imagine that alcohol and disembodied voices are a good combination.
The end of the episode ends with a cliffhanger where Gordon finds the injured plastic surgeon and is informed that Barnes is responsible for this. Turns out Barnes wasn’t able to totally get away with this. Shame that Gordon has to go after the guy that just gave him a job, but to be fair, Gordon also has bigger problems than that.
Mario takes Gordon aside during the engagement party to call him out on still being in love with his fiancé. What starts as a tense conversation leads to Mario literally punching him in the face – he truly is his father’s son. Looks like Mario isn’t going to follow Lee’s advice to just forget about it; maybe the doctor realizes that repressing his wife almost getting killed isn’t the healthiest thing.
Besides Gordon’s everlasting love for Lee, Ed isn’t letting go of his infatuation with Isabella. Honestly, I thought he might get sick of her always answering his riddles correctly; I think he enjoys being the smartest person in the room. Yet, they seem close as ever. He even wants to hear about the librarian conference she is going to (I spent a long time being suspicious over the credibility of a librarian conference for no reason).
However, her glasses are identical to that of Kristen’s. After witnessing this, we once again see Ed talking to his imagination in the mirror. Instead of seeing his glassless self, he sees Kristen, who tells him that he is just a killer that is bound to harm Isabella soon enough. Overall, Ed is shook. So what does he do? He talks to his best friend about it.
Penguin looks very happy that it won’t work out, carefully using his words to convince Ed to break up with her. Ed doesn’t catch on to what Penguin is doing; emotional Ed is a dumbass. Emotional Ed is also a coward because he asks Penguin to break up with her for him – they are both middle schoolers I swear to God.
Penguin takes this opportunity with such happiness. The joy as he tells her “you are not on his level” is astounding, but, damn, Penguin take it down a notch the girl is crying. Isabella isn’t willing to back down that easily, however, and unlike Ed, she is still quite smart and attentive when she is emotional. She knows that Penguin loves him too, and she won’t stand down against him. Why you would go against Penguin, the kingpin of the criminal underworld, is beyond me, but she doesn’t hesitate.
All she has to do is send a note to Ed and suddenly he is at her door despite not having the nerve to show up earlier. She talks to him from behind the bathroom door, and I was convinced that she was just going to walk out naked, but instead she walked out dressed up as Kristen. She forces him to face his fear, puts his hand around her neck, and ends up kissing him. Kristen must be rolling in her grave with how weird this all is.
Of course, this does not mean that she has won Ed. After all, it is Penguin that she is going against, and with how infatuated he is with Ed recently, he will not want this battle to go on for much longer. Thus, the simple solution is really to just cut her breaks. I was hoping that Penguin would do something a little more extravagant and vengeful than that, but I understand the necessity of the simplicity. We can’t have Ed figure it out too soon now, but oh when he does there goes any chance that Penguin had. Not to mention he will also be in mourning for a little while now too, so Penguin still has to wait to profess his love for him.
This show did have a definite lack of my favorite female baddies; Again, no Mooney or Ivy to be seen. Selina wasn’t shown either, and I’d like to think she is having a nice time with Bruce. At least we got to see my girl Barbara for a little bit. I’d just like to see a girl in this not be used a love interest. Hopefully, this means that these characters are going to come back soon and with a fascinating new storyline. Until then, I am content watching Penguin and Ed act like middle schoolers.
Written by Nicole Teeters, GOTHAM Beat Writer -- Click to read Nicole's posts
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