Gotham Season 1 Episode 11: Rogue's Gallery -Review
Good episode. Not one of the best, but enjoyable. Some hard to believe moments, but anything comic related tends to need the audience to be in on letting that go for a while. Jim is his ever resilient self, even at his lowest point. Real cops don't actually work at prisons anymore, they're all either owned and operated by corporations, or government owned but still operated by corporations. Prison guards are corporate enforcers not actual official law upholders. They also don't have they same level of psychological or background checks as becoming an officer does. Many of them are people who wanted to be cops but didn't qualify, or washed out once in the program. Some are ex-cops. But an inmate who assaults one of them is still given an assault on a government official charge. Sorry for a prison/corporation rant, but I felt the discrepancy needed to be pointed out..and the rest is ire, I suppose. I am not actually anti big corporations, but I am very against them being given the same rights and responsibilities as actual civil servants. I believe there can be ethical big business, but it is hardly a common thing, and each special privilege we give them is another step out on that ledge.
Penguin is very fun to watch, as ever. Even though his screen time is limited here. The mob cold war going on is ever building and intriguing. Mooney is as calculating and scary as she's ever been. Butch is likable in a weird way, he is not a good person at all, but he is at least deeply loyal for some reason. I don't sympathize with either one, but I do look forward to seeing what happens with them next. Marone I do actually sympathize with. He is brutal and cold when needed, but we have seen many instancestaces where he truly seems to care for many of the people who work for him, or who he owns in some way. He always wants as much power as possible, but he also seems to care about the bigger picture, and wants the underworld to run as smoothly and painlessly as possible. He will probably get killed by someone even more brutal, which is sad, but he is a nice part of the tapestry so far.
Selina and Pamela were fun to see, though their segments seem a bit out of place and filler. Though maybe their youth and innocence is supposed to be a bright spot in the hardcore things going on with the many plot tangents. A lot of people seem to hate Barbara. I don't really get that. I can see where sometimes her character hasn't had a real purpose..but hating her? I get why she left Jim. I even get why she hooked back up with Montoya, too. Not really sure about the whole drug thing, like I'm not sure if that was ever mentioned before this episode. But now it is shown as being a regular part of her past, and something she dove right back into when things fell apart with Jim. Anyone who can't understand someone being broken up over a break up and going on a sex and intoxicants binge after it, doesn't understand being human. The part where she then gets upset about a girl answering Jim's phone is very hypocritical, and obtuse. And people do it every day. Illogical doesn't always mean unbelievable. I love how Bullock swoops in like He Who Shall Not be Named, to help his partner out. His character early on was entertaining but not likable. But they have evolved him into someone we both love and hardly tolerate. Jack Gruber is an interesting addition to the cast, and I am looking forward to seeing where they go with him. Just on the surface he seems to be a combination of Hugo Strange and Maxie Zeus, but he could end up being both or neither.
Overall: 7
