Gotham 3×14 Review: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

January 31, 2017 Farid-ul-Haq

Gotham Season 3 Episode 14 The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

Gotham brought an end to Jerome’s arc in “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” while delivering a highly enjoyable winter finale.

The last time we saw Jerome, he had initiated a purge in Gotham. The GCPD has a lot to take care of, with numerous followers of Jerome’s cult wreaking havoc throughout the city. It even ended up troubling the Court of Owls. Jim Gordon took a backseat in “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” which focused on Jerome vs Baby Bruce, and Nygmobblepot.

Though the show can’t have Baby Bruce in his Batman costume right now, the writers did an amazing job of showing the kind of man he’ll grow up to be. Baby Bruce didn’t surrender in front of Jerome and kept fighting till the end. The whole episode was full of crazy, including a circus of torture, and Baby Bruce could’ve easily succumbed to his dark side (which I would’ve loved). However, he realized that there’s a thin line between vengeance and justice.

While the young David Mazouz has been growing in his portrayal of Bruce Wayne, you can’t deny that Cameron Monaghan’s Jerome steals the show the moment he comes on screen. There is just something creepy yet attractive about the way Cameron acts. I just can’t get enough of it! The good news is that with Jerome being shipped off to Arkham, which sounds like a bad idea, we’ll get to see more of him soon enough.

The Court of Owls also had a role to play. After seeing the damage Jerome was able to cause, they set the pieces for something the show has been hinting at for quite a while now, even though I’m not sure what the endgame is. With Baby Bruce wanting to be more proactive, the court sent out his doppelganger. To make sure Jim also fulfilled his part, the court sent Jim’s Uncle Frank to meet him. The court also had a plan for Penguin but with how things ended this week, I’m not sure if he’s still being considered as a player.

So, coming to Nygmobblepot, “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” made use of the pairing in an enjoyable and kind of heartbreaking manner. Ed wants Penguin dead. However, Ed wants Oswald to realize he’s incapable of loving anyone but himself before dying.

I still think that killing Isabella was a selfish thing for Oswald to do, but then again she wasn’t a real character to begin with. Isabella was a plot device to create a rift between Penguin and Nygma and proceed to give rise to a whole lot of drama.

It took Oswald some time, but he finally realized what it meant to love someone. Even with Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch threatening to kill him, Oswald didn’t betray Ed. Furthermore, Penguin was more than happy to die for Ed. I mean, come on Gotham! You made everything worse but in such a delicious manner.

So, did Nygma really shoot Oswald? I do think so. We are talking about murderous psychopaths here. But is Oswald really dead? I’m not sure. I feel that Penguin will return somehow. Maybe Oswald needed to be shot and be pushed into the river to drown to realize that Ed doesn’t love him? I hope that Oswald returns soon and realize that he needs to be more than someone waiting to be loved back. He needs to move on and quickly.

Don’t get me wrong. I still ship Nygmobblepot. I won’t complain if those two eventually get together. But Penguin needs to have a character arc that is more than him pining for Ed, even if he knows it’ll just be as a friend.

Cory Michael Smith also tweeted about Nygmobblepot, which Robin Lord Taylor supported, due to comments about queerbaiting (I told you so). Do you agree? Even though I thought Ed was pansexual, I still get the point he’s trying to make.

Gotham will return for its spring premiere on 24th April. The previews show it to be focused on Ed as the Riddler. So, let’s see what the writers have in store for us.

Some thoughts and questions:

  1. Kind of sad that Jerome broke the crystal owl as if it was nothing. Poor Baby Bruce.
  2. Where were Kitty Selina and Bud Ivy during the purge?
  3. With Penguin gone, will Ed allow Barbara and Tabitha to reign over Gotham?
  4. I need the whole Lee and Jim ‘will-they-or-won’t-they’ to stop already. Give Lee something better to do as a character!

Did you watch Gotham this week? What did you think of “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”? 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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3 thoughts on “Gotham 3×14 Review: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”

  1. Nice review, Farid! I think Gotham has done a solid job with their version of the Joker, creepy skinned face and all. For so long it seemed like they wouldn’t commit to Jerome as the Joker. Now that they brought him back to life it seems like they are all-in. But even though they poked fun at it, the resurrection plots are getting old. First Galavan, then Fish, now Jerome… When death becomes meaningless, the plots do too.

    I don’t know what to say about Nygmobblepot. I agree that Isabella was nothing more than a plot device, and a bad one at that. I think, as villains, Ed and Ozzy were never meant to have a loving relationship, which this episode explored. However, Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch seem to have a stable, polyamorous thing going on. I don’t think Penguin is gone for good. We’ll see.

    I’m so over Jim and Lee. I liked Valerie Vale and I was so bummed when they wrote her off the show. And then I was shocked at how quickly things went back to status quo (mostly) after Jim killed Mario. I thought they would have made a bigger deal out of the fact that no one (other than Jim) witnessed Mario about to kill Lee and that the knife fell in the water, but they swept all that under the rug real quick and just blamed it on the tainted blood. Cops, amiright?

    Basically, Gotham is just not a place for romance. Too much crime and corruption.

    1. I agree. Gotham’s take on Joker-Jerome is very entertaining. However, they need to slow down with the resurrection plot.

      I’m okay with Nygmobblepot being a mess, but the whole Isabella thing, and then the fight between Ed and Oswald because of her (someone who wasn’t even a character) was disappointing. Let’s see what happens when Oswald comes back.

      The Jim and Lee thing needs to stop. And yes, I too liked Jim with Valerie. Gotham doesn’t work as a show that has a romance, especially a romance that can be a bit stable. I’d prefer Jim with Barbara cos of all the crazy. The writers need to tone the Jim and Lee thing down, and give Lee something better to do as a character.

  2. Pingback: Gotham 3x15 Review: How the Riddler Got His Name Review

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