This week, Gotham features the conclusion of the gang war between Sofia Falcone and Oswald Cobblepot. Early on, it looks like Penguin holds all the cards as Cobblepot calls in Carmine Falcone back to Gotham to rein in his daughter dearest. You see, Carmine does not want to see dear Sofia fall down the same rabbit hole of a lifetime of murder, violence, and corruption that he plunged down for thirty five years as Gotham City’s father of the mob. At Penguin’s behest, Carmine arrives to take his daughter out of Gotham City for her own good. But then the unthinkable happens and the elder Falcone is gunned down as we are forced to say goodbye to one of Gotham’s earliest players. We have been on many adventures with Carmine as he has been a major figure in Gotham, but now, we have to watch Carmine suffer a very Godfather-like death. Sofia gets shot as well, and it looks like the Penguin did it all. Barbara, Selena, and Tabatha are all caught in the middle and Professor Pyg is still out there after escaping from the GCPD. So with that set up, we are hit with all the drama for a suitable mid-winter finale. It turns out Penguin didn’t kill Carmine Falcone. Pyg did- at the behest of Sofia! Penguin is innocent and is arrested by Gordon who must now accept the captaincy of the GCPD knowing that he is basically a puppet with Sofia holding the strings. Zsasz joins with Sofia and Sofia kills Pyg! So I guess we’re just killing future Batman villains now? Well, okay. Plus, alright, a nice character arc for Zsasz! You gotta love that. I have to admit, while everything has that over the top, semi-camp Gotham sheen, the whole gang war thing is pretty gritty and twisted. The more players Gotham adds to the drama the more intriguing the drama becomes. This show should be an utter mess, and really, it is, but for some reason the messier it all gets, the more fun it all gets. Sofa has become an intriguing foil for Gordon and has really given us a break from the on again off again Lee Thompkins drama. All this is a blast, but you know what isn’t? Affluenza Bruce Wayne. The series really hasn’t justified Bruce acting like a half Joffrey Baratheon. I mean, Bruce becomes Batman rights, not Bratman (God, I’ve been waiting to use that joke)? It’s one thing if the series took us on the journey into Bruce’s descent into bratitude, but it really hasn’t. While I enjoyed Alfred beating down petulant Bruce Wayne, this plotline really can’t end soon enough for my tastes. Weepy eyed Alfred being sassed by Bruce Wayne just isn’t my idea of fun. It’s not good when a Solomon Grundy story has an edge up on a Bruce Wayne story. This week Grundy gets kidnapped by Tabitha. The always-dangerous Tabby beats Grundy about his big white head in the hopes that she jars some Butch memories loose. Sure enough, it seems that Tabby knocks a few screws back into place and let me tell you, it was way more fun to watch Grundy get hit in the head repeatedly than it was watching Bruce Wayne doing his best impression of the Bebe.
