Gotham - S3E5 - Mad City: Anything For You

Previously on Gotham, “New Day Rising”

Gotham - S3E5 - “Mad City: Anything For You” | Starring:  Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Morena Baccarin, Sean Pertwee, Robin Lord Taylor, Erin Richards, Camren Bicondova, Cory Michael Smith, Jesica Lucas, Chris Chalk, Drew Powell, Michael Chiklis, Benedict Samuel, and Maggie Geha.

Crime in Gotham is at an all-time high as Penguin struggles to uphold his promises to the city. Butch, on the outs with Penguin, goes rouge with the Red Hood Gang while Bruce begins to investigate Ivy’s whereabouts.

I will say this for the writers this season, they are doing a much better job keeping the episodes tight and tied into one another and everyone has their part to play. That can be difficult with this many characters in one show. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not Game of Thrones writing, but the bar’s so low it’s not hard to jump over.  Seriously, this show has gotten much better.

Penguin as the mayor is cleaning up the city. He is busy doing all those things mayors do: kissing babies, cutting ribbons, and such. He hopes his mother would have been proud of him and just when he thinks she would be, the Red Hood Gang puts a stop to that. Penguin wants heads to roll, but he doesn’t know there’s a wolf in his midst.  Butch does not like to play second fiddle and he is using the Red Hood Gang to get Penguin back in more ways than one. I have always been on the fence believing that Penguin could ever be in charge of other supposed big bads, but the writers did a good job here with Penguin’s crime boss meeting. He shows that although he is a mama’s boy, he is very much a crazy mama’s boy and crazy is respected in Gotham.

Butch is trying to get Penguin to realize he needs him and not Nygma. But Butch makes a mistake, and Barbara and Tabitha find him making his plans with the Gang while Nygma is concluding the same thing. Butch improvises and takes out the Red Hood Gang before he wanted to. Nygma shows his true colors and wants to get rid of Penguin and wants to bring Butch into the fold. He even got Zsasz to come back and join his crew. And just in case Butch has any thoughts of his own, they have Tabitha for motivation.

As expected, Nygma double-crosses Butch and not Penguin, and now Butch has to deal with the consequences. It does not pay to care too much for too many villains as Butch has now figured out. He seems to always be the fall guy; first Fish, then Falcone, then Penguin, then Tabitha, then Penguin again. Poor Butch. Then again, having a girl who knows how to carry a gun and can bust you out of police custody is a good thing, too.

Gordon and Vale are trying to keep this thing casual, which we all know Gordon has a hard time doing. Later, Bruce wants to hire Gordon to help him look for Ivy, but they run into a dead end. Little do they know they are on the right track. Ivy finds Selina picking pockets at Penguin’s party, but does not want to tell her yet that she is all grown up. Selina is about to find out another secret about Bruce and his feelings. In the end, we have a Bruce-Selina kiss, a Penguin and Nygma almost kiss (Am I the only one who thought the show was going there for a second?), and Gordon wanting to get serious with Vale as we all knew he would. Oh, and Barnes can walk again… must have gotten a taste of that good stuff!

Best Scene: “It is good to be back!” Nygma is back at the GCPD coordinating the investigation of the Red Hood attack on Mayor Penguin. He even has some helpful lines for Bullock, who apparently has no idea what a razor or a comb is.

Honorable Mention: “Dr. Thompkins, I had heard you were back,” Nygma announces right before he gets a right cross all up on his jaw. Nygma says she should not have done that and Thompkins threatens him right back. She is about to be a Falcone now. Too funny! Who knew she had it in her.

Craziest Scene: Set up for next episode with Tetch killing a women he talks to like she is his now dead sister right before he kills her too. The backdrop of her at the table and him talking is very much a Mad Hatter tea party scene.

Worst/Best Line(s): Fox attempts to threaten Nygma, who does not take the bait. He in turn tells Fox a better why to threaten him if he really wanted to do it. “You are insane,” Fox tells Nygma. “Was insane I have a certificate,” Nygma says.  

Most Ridiculous/Funny Scene: “Now, now, Mayor… don’t go losing your head,” one of the Red Hood Gang members tells Penguin as they take the head off of the statue of his mother.

Honorable Mention: Bruce goes to Gordon for help in finding Ivy. Gordon asks Bruce how long him and Selina have been a “thing.” Bruce says they are just friends. Gordon sees right through that. I have to acknowledge the fact that the show is at least trying to give Gordon some straight funny bits to work with.  He tried and for the most part it worked. I cracked a smile at least.

Best Geek Moment: Seeing Bruce and Gordon talking about their love lives over coffee. Gordon tells Bruce he has become quite the “detective” after deducing that Gordon is seeing someone who is not Thompkins. If they only knew that this is one of many conversations they will have together only Bruce will not be Bruce with the cowl on.

Honorable Mention: Batman and Catwoman kiss for the very first time and she calls him “detective” as well… just in case we missed it the first time Gordon said it.