Gotham 2×17 Review: ‘Into the Woods’

Gotham returned with another interesting episode this week with ‘Into the Woods’. But it also changed the direction of some character arcs, which might not bode well as the second season progresses towards its finale.

I have been clear in my reviews that the villains are what make Gotham so entertaining. Yes, we have Jim Gordon trying to be on the moral high ground in a place like Gotham, but his story has never been entertaining for me. He could be absent during a whole episode and I won’t miss him. That is one of the reasons I didn’t review the previous episode, ‘Prisoners’, because it was all about Jim Gordon and I was not in the mood for it. I wanted him to be sent to Arkham Asylum and interact with Dr. Strange instead of breaking out.

The best moments during ‘Into the Woods’ were definitely the Riddler scenes. He knew Gordon was after him and he did everything he could to not get caught. He would’ve succeeded if Gordon hadn’t gone to Kitty Selina for help. Nygma freaking out enough to go unbury Kringle’s body made it look as if the show wanted him to get caught. I would complain how the writers dumbed down Nygma in the last few scenes, but him getting caught allowed for him to be sent to Arkham Asylum. Will he start asking Dr. Strange riddles? What will the doctor make of him? Now that’s something I really want to see!

Barbara got released from the asylum after waking up from her coma, and it is clear that Dr. Strange is playing a huge game, or to be more appropriate to his character, conducting a very dangerous experiment. He had already released Penguin and that didn’t turn out well for his step-family after his father’s death.

Barbara is free to do anything she pleases. She directly went to meet Gordon and you know something bad is going to happen soon enough. I can’t wait!

Penguin finally went back to being the psychotic killer that he always was and he also has a huge family estate in his name. He is definitely going to go after his lost position in the Gotham underworld, and there is a chance another mafia war will occur. It might feel like a rehash of the season one main storyline, so let’s see how the writers will try and make it different if they go down this route.

Kitty Selina and Baby Bruce also shared some fun scenes during ‘Into the Woods’. Kitty Selina has been teaching him well when it comes to the ways of living as a thief. However, it was Baby Bruce’s skills at domestic work that made everything feel way too cute. He was clearly being the cook while living with Selina, and he also stitched up her jacket after she tore it during a run. All the feels, people! All the feels!

The only thing I didn’t like about the episode was how quickly they sent Baby Bruce back to living with Alfred. Seeing the future-Batman-to-be living in the streets of Gotham made his character interesting. Now, he’s back to looking at his father’s mysterious computer and I don’t think his arc will be entertaining anymore.

Baby Bruce and Kitty Selina also had an argument before they parted ways, but you know those two will always find their way back to each other. It is destiny!

What did you think of Gotham this week? Did you enjoy the villains during ‘Into the Woods’? 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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