Gotham: Season 1, Episode 21: The Anvil and the Hammer

     The Ogre has been stopped. Finally we see a true monster of a man taken down permanently. What’s crazy is what he’s done to Barbara psychologically. She can’t possibly recover from this easily. She has been mentally broken and I definitely expect to see long term consequences on this show because of it. Seeing her walking around traumatized after witnessing the death of her parents was very creepy. Kudos to Erin Richards for pulling that off so well.

The Ogre had fallen in love with our dear Barbara and was determined to receive her love in return. His regular methods were ineffective at best, as she is “the one,” so he promised to kill whoever she wanted him to. She chose her parents. Wow Barbara, just wow. She is definitely the worst character on the series and this is a show with mobsters, psychopaths and serial killers. They didn’t show much of an aftermath to her story, but I want to know if she got questioned about her presence at the murder and if she took part. I want to see if she’s going to suffer consequences.

The search for the Ogre was interesting these past few episodes. This time it was at its best and most atypical though. Gordon went to see the Penguin for yet another favor and dug himself an even deeper hole. Bullock, proving himself to be my favorite once again, brought the laughs as he explained his acquisition of Italian suits and his disgust with whatever depraved sex act was going on at that fancy criminal night club. Those sound effects were definitely disturbing to say the least. Nothing can quite motivate a cop to be a cop more than personal disgust.

The plot thickens with little Bruce Wayne as he continues his investigation into his family’s company. He’s starting to get more than he bargained for and he’s up against adults who are far more experienced than he is. He learned a lesson in the shamelessness of powerful men, one that I’m sure he’ll hold on to as he eats that cookie that was forced into his hands. Let’s see how he feels about the murder of his parents, since learning of his father’s knowledge of the criminal activity at Wayne Enterprises. Hopefully this is where his friendship with Lucius Fox begins, I want to see that develop more.

Future villains Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma continue to give great showings. Oswald is cultivating and consolidating more and more power in the criminal underworld. He has started a war that I’m sure will run until the end of the season in order to get Falcone and Maroni to take each other out, or at least weaken both sides considerably. The only person gunning for him will be Fish Mooney when she returns, but I’m pretty confident she won’t survive this season.

Nygma, who is really coming into his role as the Riddler is starting to become my favorite part of the show. I didn’t think we would see his transition until considerably later, but I’m enjoying what we’re getting here. His parts are small, but they are very worth it. He has committed his first murder and eliminated all of the evidence, but the best part is his first clue. The Riddler is known for his narcissistic tendency to leave clues behind and the one he left for Ms. Kringle was brilliant. I doubt we’ll see the costume any time soon, but I definitely like where this is going. I’m more than ready for next week’s season finale!

Jonathan Jones

Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.