Review: ‘Gotham’ Season 5 Episode 3 – “Penguin, Our Hero”

“Penguin, Our Hero”
Writer: Tze Chun
Director: Rob Bailey
Starring: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Robin Lord Taylor, Erin Richards, Camren Bicondova and Francesca Root-Dodson
Review by Steve J. Ray
Warning: If you’re not up to date with Gotham this review contains minor spoilers.
Well… The Cat(woman’s) out of the bag! After taking the root given to Bruce by Ivy, Selina is back on her feet and ready for battle. In this episode Bat-Teen and Catgirl start the hunt for Jeremiah, while Gordon and the GCPD protect Haven sector from an all out assault by Penguin and Gotham’s street gangs.

Purrfect Pairing

This season is certainly pulling out all the stops. A ton of action, beautiful direction, great visuals and spectacle, but without losing the heart and character that the show is known for. Selina has never been more of a cat on the hunt, and Bruce has never been more of a grim protector. David Mazouz and Camren Bicondova are amongst the greatest Bat/Cat pairings ever seen on screen. I would honestly love to see these two fine young actors reprise these roles in a big budget blockbuster movie in years to come.
They face off against Mutants (not the Marvel kind) homicidal yuppies and the twisted proto Harley Quinn, A.K.A. Ecco (played deliciously by Francesca Root-Dodson). This is one messed up young lady! Selina and Ecco give incredibly physical performances in this episode. The fight scene between Bruce/Selina and the Mutants (straight out of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight) is also first rate.

Penguin Followers Get Cold Feet

The splitting of the action between the quest to find Jeremiah and the battle for Haven is very well handled. At no time during the episode did I feel that too much was going on, nor that the action was dragging. I also love when T.V. makes comrades out of bitter enemies, and after last week’s shock of Barbara coming to Jim’s aid, the events this episode are also sure to have long lasting ramifications.

Conclusion

The one flaw I’ve found with the season so far is how little we’re seeing some characters, while a lot focus is placed on others. I do understand why, though. with only 12 episodes to play with this year, something had to give. I missed Cory Michael Smith this week, as I missed Robin Lord Taylor last time. Credit where credit’s due though, I only realised this after the episode had ended. Every instalment is full and there’s no respite. Yes, there’s a huge lack of Alfred this season, but the writers and actors are giving us a whole lot of art in a very little frame.
Has Oswald turned a page? How will Selina react when she’s face to face with Jeremiah? Will Bruce be able to keep her from crossing the line? We’re already a quarter of the way through the final season, and I can’t wait to see more.
(This review was originally published on the Dark Knight News website on January 18th 2019)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought Bubble 2024 convention & festival dates announced

Image
Article by Steve J. Ray Thought Bubble  is, without a doubt, the UK’s best entirely comic-based convention and art festival. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the show for the last three years, and have been anxious to see what’s in store this year. Well, the wait is over, as the team behind the event has announced the Thought Bubble 2024 convention & festival dates. THOUGHT BUBBLE ANNOUNCES 2024 COMIC CONVENTION & FESTIVAL DATES ACCLAIMED COMIC ART CONVENTION AND FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE ACROSS YORKSHIRE THIS NOVEMBER THOUGHT BUBBLE FESTIVAL LEEDS & ACROSS YORKSHIRE 11 -17 NOVEMBER 2024 THOUGHT BUBBLE COMIC CONVENTION HARROGATE CONVENTION CENTRE 16 & 17 NOVEMBER 2024   https://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com “Thought Bubble is the place to be. This is the show where everyone feels and is treated like family” –  Dark Knight News “Thought Bubble is the most important comic convention around” –  Popverse Returning to the Harrogate Convention Centre,...
Read more

Mystic Muses: A D&D Podcast

Image
Article by Philip Clark An all queer cast. An all femme ensemble. A non-binary Dungeon Master. Throw in some quality story-telling and role playing too, this sounds like a whole lot of fun! If any of the previously mentioned things has piqued your interests, then I implore you to check out Mystic Muses. You can find this wonderfully crafted podcast where you can find all your other favourites including Spotify. There are currently four episodes out. Episode 0 is the prologue and character introductions, and I have to say it is very well put together! The intro to each episode is cleverly crafted, with the players and DM each sounding off a sentence to bring us into the game space. Speaking of bringing us into the game space, Adam, the talented DM sets the scene for the story very nicely. A descriptive, yet concise introduction to the environment gives both the players and audience a vibe of what we're in for. Then come the delicious character introductions that give vivid descripti...
Read more

Fantastic Universes Interview: Madison, Matthew and Macsen Lintz From 'The Walking Dead'

Image
Interview panel led by Steve J. Ray, with a gathering of Comic/TV Media Journalists. I've spoken to some amazing people over the last couple of years; writers, artists, costume designers, and actors from some of my favorite TV shows. It's no secret that I'm a huge comic-book fan, and one of the TV series that's based on and inspired by a comics title - but has gone on to be so much more - is The Walking Dead . At a recent Comic-Con in London, I had the great opportunity of leading a panel where some fellow journalists and I spoke with Madison, Matthew and Macsen Lintz, three siblings who played Sophia and both iterations of Henry on the show. The eldest, Madison Lintz (born 1999) played Sophia Peletier - Carol's daughter - in the first two seasons. She's also well known for playing Maddie Bosch in the Amazon series Bosch . She started acting at the age of six, filming commercials and voice-overs. Matthew (born 2001) took over the role of Henry from ...
Read more