Gotham 4×15 & 4×16 Review: “The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause” & “One of My Three Soups”

Gotham season 4 episodes 15 and 16, respectively titled ‘The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause’ and ‘One of My Three Soups,’ offered a lot of storyline development as the finale draws near.

Starting with ‘The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause,’ this episode was all about relationships. Not only did we get some awesome Nygmobblepot development, we also got a sweet bonding moment between Baby Bruce and Kitty Selina. Furthermore, the episode brought Sofia Falcone’s storyline to a close, at least for now.

I was not expecting to see a lot of Oswald and Nygma interactions in the previous two episodes. It was a pleasant surprise to see the writers not forget about the weird relationship the two characters shared. The bond between Oswald and Nygma grew stronger in ‘The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause.’ Not only did Nygma rescue Martin, he also broke Oswald out of Arkham Asylum. What’s great is that the writers do seem to be invested in keeping Penguin and the Riddler together.

Even after being tortured by Sofia, Nygma didn’t give up Oswald, which in turn led to Oswald saving his friend (boyfriend?) from Sofia’s henchmen at the pier. The two have forgiven each other and everything is now wonderful as it can be in their messy relationship. I can’t wait to see where these two go next!

Cory Michael Smith, who plays Ed Nygma, recently made his queerness public. So, of course, that made me look at Nygmobblepot in a different light, considering I thought it was a straight actor playing a problematic queer character onscreen.

Coming to Sofia Falcone, I have been waiting for Gotham to do something about her storyline and it finally did. Everyone came for Sofia in ‘The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause.’ Penguin wanted her dead. Lee wanted her dead. Gordon wanted her in jail.

I enjoyed seeing Crytal Reed as Sofia Falcone. However, it was time for her to go. And while Gotham didn’t kill her, I’m glad her character is taking a break so the show can focus on other major storylines as the finale draws near.

Some thoughts and questions about ‘The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause’:

• The episode finally gave Barbara something to do. However, considering what happened in the next episode, I wish the writers had done a better job of handling that plot thread.
• I love seeing Kitty Selina and Baby Bruce working as a team. She’s gotten better at using a whip.
• Gordon (Ben McKenzie) should have been dead after being shot three times.
• But then again, Sofia should have also died after being shot in the forehead. Sigh!
• Yes, to comedic Zsasz.
• Shirtless Victor Fries is everything! Someone start a petition to have him shirtless in every scene!
• Where’s Alfred?

While there was sadly no Nygmobblepot in ‘One of My Three Soups,’ the Ben McKenzie directed episode focused a lot of Jerome and Barbara. We knew Jerome was going to escape Arkham Asylum sooner or later, and he finally did by teaming up with dangerous fellow inmates Tetch and the Scarecrow.

I liked how Tetch’s mission was to distract Gordon while Jerome visited his uncle to find the location of an unidentified female character. Also, I’m all for the Mad Hatter being able to hypnotize people. However, he’s grown too powerful for my liking, being able to hypnotize hundreds of people by projecting his voice through some radio station.

I would have liked a better explanation of Jerome’s plan. But I guess we’ll have to wait for the next episode to air. I wonder if he’ll be using Scarecrow’s fear gas? He did talk about boiling people. So, I’m a bit confused.

The other major plotline dealt with Barbara becoming the head of the League of Assassins. Ever since Ra’s gave her some weird power, I have been waiting to see Barbara get to do more on Gotham. While the revelation that she’s the new leader of the league was surprising (I thought Ra’s was going to use her as a vessel for his rebirth), the writers could’ve done a better job handling this development.

I’m seeing mixed reactions online. Especially because Barbara isn’t a trained assassin. So, fingers crossed the writers are able to do Barbara justice. Maybe Ra’s gave her amazing ninja powers, too? She was able to defend herself when one of the league members tried to kill her. Let’s see what happens.

Some thoughts and questions about ‘One of My Three Soups’:

• I liked Baby Bruce and Jerome’s dynamic. Baby Bruce can’t make himself to kill Jerome. And while this decision makes sense for his character, I can never understand the comic book logic of keeping extremely dangerous villains alive.
• A lot of violence in this episode.
• I wonder who Jerome is looking for.
• Where’s Alfred?

What did you think of ‘The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause’ and ‘One of My Three Soups’? Are you enjoying the current season of Gotham? 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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