Gotham 4×5 Review: The Blade’s Path

I took my time reviewing this week’s episode of Gotham, titled ‘The Blade’s Path,’ because I needed to figure out Sofia and Oswald’s relationship. This show better not backtrack on Oswald’s queerness!

One of the things that I enjoyed in last week’s episode was how the writers hinted at Baby Bruce trying to cope with deaths that are somehow linked to him. I liked that ‘The Blade’s Path’ didn’t ignore Alex’s death and continued to build on the decision Baby Bruce made.

Turns out the mystical dagger can be used to kill Ra’s and Baby Bruce is all for it. Now, I get that Batman isn’t supposed to kill but Gotham has always taken liberties with comic book lore. Having Baby Bruce stab Ra’s with the dagger because he realized that Ra’s won’t stop tormenting him otherwise could surely make for some interesting character development down the road.

Coming to the rest of the episode, we saw Butch transforming into Solomon Grundy. The good news is that Grundy can speak and understand things way better than his comic book version. This also leads to him forming a friendship with Nygma who’s still trying to make his brain work like it used to.

Will Butch/Grundy regain his memories and realize what Nygma did to him and Tabitha? I sure hope so!

Now, coming to what made me take a bit of time before I decided to write this review, Sofia is clearly up to something. She wants to get close to Oswald and she seems to have a foolproof plan to do just that. Oswald has always had a strong bond with his mother and Sofia is trying to create a similar bond with him.

I saw some online complaints about the show trying to make Oswald and Sofia a romantic pairing. I get the reason for such fan outrage. The queer community doesn’t have a lot of representation in media. Even though Gotham has problematic representation, it still took the step of making Oswald queer. However, by throwing Sofia at him, it seems like the writers are now backtracking on Nygmobblepot.

Oswald could very well be bisexual and fall for Sofia, but I don’t think the writers are capable enough to handle such a plotline. Right now, it seems as if Oswald ended up falling in love with Nygma because he was lonely. The whole thing might come across as more support for the theory that people decide to become queer because they’re desperate for companionship with anyone.

Sigh! Gotham. I hope that the scenes between Sofia and Penguin were supposed to be ‘motherly’ and not romantic. Let’s see what happens.

Some thoughts and questions

• The Indian Hill storyline is the best plot device this show has. Need a new villain? Let’s bring back Indian Hill!
• Nygma should just take a dip in the Indian Hill-toxic swamp at this point. It might heal his brain.
• I’m really excited to see the gift Ra’s gave to Barbara.
• How did Sofia manage to find Oswald’s mother’s goulash recipe?
• Crystal Reed is doing an awesome job as Sofia Falcone.
• Does Penguin not remember anything from season one and how Fish Mooney used Liza to harm Carmine Falcone? He should be able to see through Sofia’s tricks.
• Why is Lee back? What is the point of her still being on this show?

Quote of the week: “Just because you know you’re capable of doing something doesn’t mean it has to happen again.” – Gordon to Baby Bruce.

What did you think of Gotham this week? Did you enjoy ‘The Blade’s Path’? What are your thoughts about Sofia and Oswald’s relationship? Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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