Gotham 2×4 Review: Strike Force

I was wondering how Gotham would continue its current dramatic pace after the events of the previous episode, and this week the writers made it clear that they indeed have a few surprises. I enjoyed “Strike Force” because it showed the villainous mastermind, Theo Galavan, start to play some of his cards for total control of Gotham.

I was expecting Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) to oppose Theo, but even he got blackmailed into doing his dirty work. Theo’s plan to run for city mayor involved killing the rest of the candidates, and he even faked an attempt on his own life to ward off suspicion. I didn’t like Theo when he was first introduced, but seeing how manipulative he is has put some much-needed layers on his character. What I couldn’t understand was how he managed to kidnap Penguin’s mother. Shouldn’t Penguin, being the mafia king of Gotham, have moved her to some secure location instead of the apartment she lived in?

Also I’m a bit weary regarding the new captain of the GCPD, Nathaniel Barnes. He came into the station and immediately started to make changes. He got rid of corrupt cops and created a strike force with new recruits. Being the kind of show that Gotham is I wouldn’t be surprised if Nathaniel is revealed to be working for Theo all along.

I was a bit disappointed by Barbara this week. She was reduced to mere eye-candy in the episode. I want her to do more than just going around kissing the Galavan siblings and making drinks. She even voiced her boredom, and I hope Theo allows her to do something or she takes things into her own hands and wreaks havoc just for the sake of it.

The best part of the episode was definitely the Baby Bruce and Kitty Selina love story. A new player was introduced, a comic book character by the name Silver St. Cloud (Natalie Alyn Lind), and she immediately took a liking to Baby Bruce. Not only that, Alfred slapped Selina right in the face because of what she did to Reggie and told her to stay away. Silver comes from a rich family and is an orphan like Bruce, while Selina is from the streets. Silver presents a familiar world to Bruce while Selina presents a different and dangerous one.

There’s definitely going to be a lot of tension between the three young characters and I can’t wait to see what happens. I’m a sucker for the Batman/Catwoman pairing, and I hope the writers don’t demote Selina into just a love interest for Bruce without giving her a character arc this season.

Speaking of romance, Nygma finally asked Kringle on a date, and I was surprised that she didn’t find him talking aloud to himself weird at all. She justified the whole thing by saying everyone had a little voice in their heads telling them what to do and then she proceeded to kiss him. I guess those two weirdoes are meant for each other after all.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Gotham? Who will stop Theo from fulfilling his master plan? What do you think about Silver and Bruce’s friendship? 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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