#anyway hi guys reb and I have done a number on these two with how often we discuss and dissect them under a microscope

[reiiishii]

@biskael replied to your post “good to know the feeling is mutual, Quilge.”:

it's more like -- he doesn't know what he sees in her because it's all ... surface level , from a distance . he doesn't understand . he don't know what's going on , & he surely doesn't know the lore . the grandmaster & this ... sad little quincy woman ???

ooooooh you've opened pandora's box now. (Grabs Reb at the same time bc this is their jugo i speak of) @hxbiris bECAUSE LIKE- MAN I TOTALLY GET WHERE HE'S COMING FROM TOO CAUSE OFC, YOU HAVE THEIR LEADER OF THE STERNRITTERS, THE GRANDMASTER. And then she's basically nothing in comparison, granted she's a rather strong quincy & her extended family is practically nobles in quincy society. (i need to write about the Gringoire family ngl but anyway MMMOVING ON.)

They're both on the opposite sides of the spectrum, it works for a while...until you get down to them as people. Because when it comes down to it, Jugram's been LONG gone, he's been given power and he doesn't want to let it go. Whereas NOAH is someone who just wants to see him happy, but her own goals are aligned with freedom and Yhwach's downfall. The so-called deal breaker of things, granted her disdain for Yhwach is VERY present and evident in how she addresses the quincy king... Noah's always been somewhat of a free spirit, whereas Jugram has only ever known what others have taught him or he has experienced and been told.

With Reb's Jugram, SHE was his choice, they have have polar opposite personalities but SHE has treated him like a human being, not a weapon or the grandmaster, just *Jugram.* She's never once referred to him as anything or anyone else. Kindness from the past onward really paid off, and while it's...super SUPER odd surface level wise it really does boil down to their past together & how well they know each other as well as a nUMBER of other things.

I would also like to mention that Noah is VERY well aware of how far gone Jugram is, she's just blindly hopeful of the fact that SOMEWHERE in there she knows is the person she knew in the past but she is painfully aware he is gone. And it's nice to live in a state of denial for a certain timeframe, she knows full well near the end of TYBW it has to come to an end because they're both on opposite sides of the war, that one of them is going to have to come out alive or they might both die. (Reb and I have both written Noah and Jugram actually battling near the end of tybw and it is as heartbreaking as one may expect.) And of course, we know the outcome of this. Jugram dies, Noah Survives.

It's a cruel cycle of 'doomed by the narrative to die' and 'doomed by the narrative to stay alive', 'what could eurydice complain of that she had been loved?', WHATEVER you want to label them. Surface level- you don't get it, it's complicated and downright odd how someone so powerful could offer his hand to someone so pathetic (At times), but when you know the details and just get down to brass tacks it makes sense.....

[sunlitroom]

Gotham, s3e13 - Smile Like You Mean It

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

As always, long post will be long - reaaally long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot may appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

Previously on Gotham.

Jim shot Mario.  Lee wants Jim arrested or dead.  Selina's dodgy mum. Vengeful Ed. Enraged Oswald

We open on the restricted area we saw last episode, where Jerome’s body – amongst others from Indian Hill – is stored.  We hear music and see two guards amiably playing cards.

A man enters and approaches. He's dressed fairly normally. He’s accompanied by several of the Jerome cultists we met last week. 

One guard opens fire. They don’t care and keep advancing, laughing all the while.  Suddenly, we see one of the guards has been shot, not by a cultist, but by the other guard – who was in on the attack, and is part of the Jerome cult.

Walking past the man’s body, they leave behind a joker playing card before heading to the (corpse tanks?  I don’t know what you’d call these)

Dwight spots Jerome and gazes in awe before laughing hysterically.  

Jerome’s frozen corpse grins back

GCPD at the warehouse. Jim stares grimly at the Jerome’s empty tank, which now bears the graffiti we’ve been seeing for a while now. Harvey tells us that when Indian Hill closed, the government sent all materials and subjects back to Wayne Enterprises.  Jim is infuriated at the incompetence/corruption of this.

Jim and Harvey talk about how Jerome wound up at Indian Hill in the first place, pointing out that Hugo seemed to have a special interest in collecting psychopaths (not really sure of the thinking behind that, but anyway)

Lucius is here.  They ask him what he would do with the frozen corpse of a murderer.  Lucius says that it would have to be thawed, and that he’s familiar with this technology from his time at Wayne Enterprises.  Harvey sarcastically thanks him for helping the bad guys.  Lucius says the thaw should take about three hours. About the same as defrosting a chicken, then.

Jim hears a noise, and they find an injured cultist behind some boxes.  Lucius says he should be taken to hospital.  Jim has other ideas.  I agree with Jim. The sick have enough problems without being irritated, too.

Wayne Manor, where Maria's sketchy friend Cole is asking for 200 grand. Bruce and Alfred are obviously unimpressed.  Cole is claiming that Maria lost him money, and that is he doesn’t get it – he’ll have her sent to jail – and then Selina will barely see her. He tells them to give the cash to Maria which…. makes no sense whatsoever, actually – and leaves.  Bruce nods slightly to Alfred, before looking thoughtful.

GCPD.  Jim and Lee are talking.  She’s mad at him for bringing the cultist here and says he needs a hospital. Jim says he has reasons – but Lee tells him he always has reasons for breaking the rules.  Jim tries to thank her for having Falcone call off Zsasz – but Lee dismisses him sullenly, telling him to get Dwight to bring Mario back from the dead, if he reallt wants to thank her.

In the examiner’s room, the cultist is pleased to see Jim.  Jim tells him his friends left him behind, trying to get him to talk, but the cultist says he would have done the same.  He tells Jim he can’t stop the awakening that has begun, and that Jerome is just the first step.  He wraps up by saying they are a small band, but they are everywhere, and then laughs annoyingly for a bit.  

Jim sends everyone in town out to hunt for the graffiti while the cultist still cackles in the background.  It’s interesting to note that the cultists have not been presented to us as intimidating, or impressive, or remotely cool - but as irritating, unoriginal, contemptible.  It’s a cue for how Jerome is likely to see them.

Dwight is in another dubious warehouse with an assistant, attempting to reanimate Jerome.  He’s a little creepy with it, asking fondly if he’s had a good sleep while touching his face.  He then mouths some lines that he imagines Jerome might say, and we keenly anticipate Jerome murdering him later.

Babs reads a newspaper article aloud to a dozing Oswald.  It’s less than flattering, detailing exactly how he fucked up his interview.  Oswald wakes up, and Babs waves the front page at him: Mayor Crumblepot.

She’s trying to explain this situation to him, but all we hear in the background is Oswald asking repetitively and irritatingly about Ed.  Babs tells him to forget that – he needs to fix this situation.  Oswald replies that the city runs itself. Babs clarifies: she means his real job – where his weakness is blood in the water

(An aside – so the mayoral role that Oswald apparently desperately wanted - and was extremely proud of – apparently he didn’t really care about that all along?  Oswald is greedy for power and respect, wants to make his parents proud – but this is suddenly nothing?  Nope.)

Babs spins Oswald a pretty tale about dissent among the families.  Oswald might claim to be the King of Gotham – but Babs says the word is that the King is dead.  Oswald is still going on about Ed being the only one who can fix this – and again, what?   Ed is incredibly intelligent in his way – but it’s Oswald who managed to go from umbrella boy to King.  It’s Oswald who played Fish and Maroni and Falcone off each other, and easily rid himself of the likes of Frankie Carbone.  Why can he suddenly not do his own job anymore?

Babs channels my spirit and smacks Oswald in the face with the newspaper. She tells him Ed isn’t here, but she is.  He needs to shower, do that disco vampire thing with his hair, and then come to a meeting with the families at her place, and be his old self.

Oswald asks why she’s helping him.  Babs says that people think he likes her, and this makes her feared by proxy.  If Oswald is no longer feared, Babs isn’t protected.  Babs leaves, and Oswald is left on the couch, head in hands, trying to take all this information in.  Are we still interested in Elijah’s corpse - or has that turned up - or what?  Not going to even nod towards the whole ghost thing?

Maria is asking Bruce is he’s sure about this in a faux-concerned tone.  Bruce coolly replies that he is.  Selina says that this is ridiculous – if you pay a guy like Cole, he’ll just come back.  They should have him arrested, and get Maria a lawyer.  Bruce says that the worst case is that this money buys them a little time to clear Maria’s name.

Maria says that she could leave.  She doesn’t want to – but it’s an option. Alfred and Bruce exchange looks that confirm to us that Maria is a liar - and that they’ll probably fumigate the place after she leaves.

Selina is infuriated by the whole situation, flinging a ‘fine!’ at them, before leaving.

 GCPD.  Jim tells Harvey that the graffiti is everywhere – maybe there’s lots of groups.  Harvey thinks there’s 50 wackadoos, tops.  Jim isn’t so sure.

Lucius approaches and says electricity is a possible way to find them – since they need it for reanimation. Jim catches on fast, and Jim and Harvey head out to the location of the most recent power surge.  Lucius quietly remarks that he’ll stay here

A random cop overhears Harvey yelling Jerome’s possible location and quietly phones someone with this information.

At the warehouse – we see that Jerome has no vital signs.  Dwight whines at him to wake up.  His assistant runs in and tells him GCPD are coming – and remarking with horror that Jerome’s still dead.  There’s a bit of back and forth about turning it off and on again, and how the assistant gave up a good post office job for this.  The disciples expect to see Jerome’s face.  Dwight electrocutes him, and then remarks

You make an interesting point

Eyeing Jerome’s face, he picks up a scalpel and starts cutting.

GCPD arrive later and see the body on the table.  Harvey wonders why they took his face. 

Yet another disused industrial space.  No hipsters in Gotham, apparently.

The faithful wait to see Jerome.  Dwight slowly enters, telling them that their faith is rewarded - Jerome is here.  They see that he is wearing Jerome’s face, and go quiet.  Dwight insists that their prophet is here.

Jerome would despise these people

The crowd’s not buying it and start to murmur mutinously.  Leatherface throws a hissy fit.

Jerome is alive in your heart.  Each of you

The crowd is just dumb enough to be placated by this.  I’m Jerome! I’m Jerome!  I'm Jerome - and so is my wife!

 GCPD – the examiner’s room. Lee puts on gloves - but leaves her hair down.  As she prepares, we see Jerome’s finger twitch.

Up in Harvey’s office. Lucius hands over the phone found near Jerome's body.  The last number came from the precinct – but it was the general line, and so can’t be traced directly.  Harvey responds badly to the idea of a mole in GCPD – and asks whether Lucius can’t just make some gadget to figure it out.  Lucius eyerolls.

Jim walks out front.  He tells everyone that they have a mole – someone tipped off Dwight.  Jim bluffs – claiming they have the number here, and – holding up the phone – begins to dial back.

Stupid undercover cultist cop panics and runs before being grabbed by several of his colleagues.

Oswald arrives at Babs’ club.

You scrub up nice

Oswald is confused that the place is empty.  Babs lies glibly, pretending that no-one showed up – a sure sign of disrespect.

This is a rebellion - I warned you

Oswald catches on to her game, and starts to play her – all wide-eyed sincerity.

You have been such a friend to me - what should I do now?

Babs tells him that they don't respect him – he should kill both – and clean house.

Oswald laughs, manic-eyed, before drawing the concealed blade from his cane.

Did you really think I would be so easy to manipulate?  He then neatly summarises exactly how Ed has manipulated him:

What was your plan?  Take advantage of me in a vulnerable state? Make me attack my subordinates so they would rebel?  Incite war so you could pick up the pieces?  You are tragically out of your depth.

He then suggests that he should call Bones – and ask him about this planned meeting of Barbara’s.  On cue – the phone rings.  It’s Bones.

We don't work for you no more.  Your day is done - freak

Oswald is livid.  I will gut you.

Bones tells him if he does that, then Nygma dies.  If he plays ball – he might get him back in one piece, and they might let him keep being mayor.

Oswald’s brief moment of having a working brain is over, and we go back to panicky, non-thinking mode. He’s going to kill them.  Gather the men.

(An aside - For fuck's sake Oswald! You’re smarter than this.  You displayed more rational thinking when Gertrud was kidnapped – I’m not buying that you can’t stop and think for a moment now. This just feels like blunting the character to push the plot along.)

Back at Bones’ place, we see Tabs had gun on him the whole time.  He asks if they’re good now.  Tabs tells him he did well – but shoots him anyway.

GCPD interview room. Harvey reads from the mole’ s records, and tells him he’s going to Blackgate – where they love cops.  He replies that he stopped being a cop a long time ago.  Jim doesn’t believe that, doesn’t believe anyone who saw Jerome’s first attack could think that – but he claims that was the thing that changed him.

He taunts Jim and Harvey a bit, laughing maniacally, which leads to them punching him repeatedly. Harvey’s a little more enthusiastic, and as Jim pulls him away, Lee enters, and injects him with sodium pentathol before leaving with an eyeroll.

Jim goes after her and tells her that she shouldn't have done it.  Lee is infuriated, and asks why he and Harvey can bend the rules, but she can’t.  Jim replies.

You're better than that.

Lee responds sarcastically: how sweet.

Jim bats back at her. She can blame him for Mario's death  - he doesn’t care. It’s enough to know she’s OK

Lee’s hostile, and asks whether if she were to break too many rules, change too much, he would shoot her.

Jim tells her that he’s going to talk to Harvey: she came back too soon, and needs to take time off. He touches her arm, but she shakes him off angrily and tells him never to touch her again, or tell her what to do. She walks off.

Jim is distracted, looking after her, when Harvey approaches with news about the cultists’ plans – making an announcement on channel 9.

We cut to the news station, where the boss is explaining that GCPD has asked them to evacuate – but that they’re perfectly safe.  However, the Jerome acolytes invade and begin killing indiscriminately

Lee strides angrily into lab – but stops short when she sees a cop dead on the floor.  Before she can fully react, Jerome grabs her from behind.

When we come back, they’re sitting across from each other, Lee telling Jerome what’s happened.  He is disbelieving, but gleeful at the thought of people worshipping him.  Lee tells him they’re lunatics and idiots, and throws in a suggestion that he shoot himself.  Salty Lee is great.  More of this, please.

Jerome tells her the last year was nothing but darkness – which is likely to disturb Lee a little, with Mario’s death.  Jerome suddenly realises that he knows her.  He asks if they had sex – to which Lee responds

Oh God no

Jerome remembers – she’s Jim Gordon's little twinkie, and how is that relationship going.  Lee tells him they’re not together.  That's a shame, comments Jerome.  What happened?  He killed my husband on our wedding night, responds a stone-faced Lee.  Jerome – predictably – finds this hilarious. Lee’s not provoked though, and watches him – unimpressed.

Jerome remembers that he was ready to kill Bruce Wayne – but didn’t manage. He comments it was all the fault of that jug-eared Judas (ha!) Theo Galavan. He wants him dead, but Lee says he’s too late.  Jerome asks who beat him to it. Lee doesn’t miss a beat

Which time?

Jerome is taken aback. Galavan resurrected too?  Lee replies with a bored mmhmm.

Son of a bitch upstaging me.  Now - where is my face?

(An aside – Lee and Jerome interact well, and that was a pretty long scene to give them.  Just sayin’)

Cops arrive at news station, but Jim is edgy, making an observation that applies across the board tonight:

Something's not right

He’s right – they’ve taken a newscaster hostage, and wired her up to several grenades.

Maria arrives back at the sleazy apartment.  Cole grins. The whole thing was a scam.  He’s thrilled, but she’s not enthused.  Let's just get out of this town

Cole smiles - We won!

Yeah – you did. Selina pushes the door open and wanders in.  Cole tells her to get out.  Maria tells him to shut up.  She looks impassively at Selina.

You caught me

Selina stares at her – telling her she just wanted to make sure.  It was an easy mark.  She learned that Bruce and Selina were connected and came back to pull the scam

Maria does not seem remorseful: You want to hate me?  That’s your choice

Selina is furious, Damn right

Maria’s confused about why she’s angry.  Bruce has money to spare.

Selina says she cares that the mother who abandoned her only came back to use her.

Cole tries to intervene – but Selina quickly has a knife at his throat.  She backs down, but turning to Maria, tells her tearfully

Don't ever come back.

At the TV station - Dwight is orating from chair.  An acolyte rushes breathlessly in to tell him the police are outside and Jim Gordon is on the phone.  Dwight is just about turned on by the similarity between this situation and Jerome’s at the charity function.  He picks up the phone, and begins to talk to Jim – but he’s simply mouthing Jerome’s words from last year, and Jim calls him on it.

You’re the understudy – pretending to be the star.  You’re a fraud

Dwight begins to lose what little cool he ever possessed – yelling: I am Jerome

Jim has no time for this, and taunts Dwight by delivering a home truth

For the record, you’re doing one thing Jerome never did…..boring me.

(An aside - Jim's the best at trolling criminals over the phone.  He should do this more often.)

Harvey tells Jim they can get access via the ventilation system, and they begin to move.

Babs and Tabs at the club – with bickering gangsters at the bar.  Babs is jubilant.  Oswald is murdering everyone in sight, and anyone who’d left is in-fighting.  He’s destroying everything he’d built. Tabitha is more reserved, eyeing her carefully, and adding.

When this is over - Ed dies.

Babs promises her this – and seals it with a kiss.  The fact Tabs needed reassurance is interesting.

(An aside – Butch is now very conspicuous by his absence)

Babs runs through their options at this point.  Plan A: They could appeal to the remaining families’ reason and get them on-side, or – Plan B - kill them all.  Tabs is all for slaughter.

The phone rings.  It’s Ed.  Babs calls him honey, and tells him everything is set, and Oswald is his.  While they talk, Tabs sprays the remaining gangsters with bullets, and Babs tells Ed – yes, Plan B.

(An aside - Babs and Tabs are fun and all – but as the lone person who actually liked all the mob stuff in season one, the merry misrule is sort of tiresome.)

The TV station, where Dwight fucks up his opening line.  

Back at GCPD, Lee watches aghast, gagged with medical gauze.  Jerome grumbles.

No charisma - no stage presence.

Before he leaves, he tells Lee to keep watching – she won’t want to miss what comes next.

In a stolen police car and uniform, Jerome mows down a random pedestrian on his way to the TV station.

Hostage - GCPD outside

Jim has sneaked in with Harvey and strike force

Dwight keeps rambling on

GCPD shoot their way in - and fire on acolytes.  Dwight tries to run, but Jim yells stop and tackles him to the ground.  Oh, good stuff, Jim.  Dwight bleats about it being the night of awakening – but Jim tells him: not anymore.

At Wayne Manor,  Bruce is working on a punching bag.  Selina angrily confronts him, asking him if he knew. Bruce falters a little – and says he wasn’t sure at first, but – yes – it was obvious.  The money wasn’t important to him, and she might have skipped town without it.  Bruce wanted her to stay.

Selina is angry and hurt. Bruce lied to her.  Bruce insists that he didn’t – he simply didn’t tell her the truth, and that’s not the same thing.  How could he have possibly told her that her mother is a con artist who just came back to scam her?  Selina responds that they both lied to her.  She tries to fight him – but Bruce refuses.

Selina steps closer, and jabs him in the chest:

The only reason she came back after 11 years was you.

She strides out, and Bruce stays behind – both clearly hurting.

Ouch.

Crowds outside the station are cheering as Dwight is taken away to be questioned.  We hear another police car arrive – presumably Jerome’s. Jim's phone rings.  It’s Lee – warning him that Jerome is alive and after Dwight.

We see Jerome driving off in a stolen van, a nervous Dwight in the back - because real Jerome is erratic and scary.

At some sort of industrial space. Jerome staples his face back on

How's it look?

Looks good, Dwight shakily replies

Jerome plays with him a little: Wouldn’t lie - would you?

Dwight nervously asks if Jerome is mad about the whole face peeling thing.  Jerome asks what he could possibly be mad about – Dwight brought him back to life, after all.  What’s a stolen face between friends?

Dwight asks Jerome what he has planned.  Jerome tells him: you’ll see.

Van Dahl Mansion of plotlines that need to end soon.

Oswald rants at Gabe about finding Ed.  Gabe says he’s not at any hideout, and tries to tell Oswald that he’s been hearing some weird things.  Oswald’s apparently turned his brain off completely, though, and simply screams that he’ll tear the city apart.

The phone rings.  It’s Ed.  Put Jim on, Oswald – it’d be really entertaining: Jim’s good at this.

Ed delivers a shaky message saying that he managed to make the call, and that he’s being held at Kane Chemicals – but Oswald has to hurry.  Gabe looks somewhat askance at all this.  Oswald trots off straight into a trap – telling Gabe to stay behind in case Ed calls.

GCPD.  Jim tells Harvey random attacks have been taking place around the city.  Lucius walks in and turns on the TV.  Jerome is broadcasting using stolen equipment from the Channel 9 van.  The newscaster says that they want to show the video to help catch him – but actually for sensationalism, because – TV news. Harvey yells at someone to get them to stop broadcasting – but it’s too late.

We see Jerome puttering round an industrial space, wondering if everything’s hooked up right, before deciding: Screw it - let's do it

I died.  Take it from me: Death is dull.  Coming back - that is something.  Dying gives you whole new perspective on life.

We see Dwight hooked up to explosives.

Jerome says that tonight, the city will be in darkness.  No rules. Do what you want.  Kill who you want.  When morning comes - you too, shall be reborn.

He starts to leave, before turning to the restrained Dwight.

And I don't forgive you for my face.

Watching the broadcast – Jim realises where they are – the power plant across the river – and sprints from the office to the roof as Harvey orders a helicopter.

Jim makes it to the roof in time to see the explosion – and all the lights in the city blinking out – one by one.  It’s a lovely shot, actually.

Oh my God......

Something’s not right here.....

Nothing’s right - with scams and frauds everywhere. Dwight steals Jerome’s face, but he’s a poor substitute.  Speaking of cheap fakes – Maria is exposed as maybe the lowest of the low: a scam artist who is willing to manipulate and damage her own daughter for a quick buck. Babs and Ed are pulling off a huge scam on Oswald – who unwittingly figures out the bulk of their plan – but can’t quite hit home, because he’s still fooled by Ed - who’s now wearing friendship as a mask and luring Oswald into a trap.  Lee is very hostile towards Jim – but it’s hard to say whether this is a mask, an overreaction to Falcone’s claim that she still loves him.  Bruce plays a role to try and keep Maria in Selina’s life, but is caught out.  He insists that a lie of omission is different than a regular lie – but Selina’s not so sure.  We see moles and turncoats everywhere, too: at GCPD, at the Wayne Enterprises storage facility, in Oswald’s organisation. Nothing is right, and no-one can be trusted.

Oswald

I said in previous recaps that while Ed might not have directly wished Oswald harm, his tactics in ensuring that Oswald relied wholly on him wandered into red-flag territory.   He was controlling.  He didn’t like him having other sources of support, or alternative viewpoints, and so made sure to isolate him – ensuring that he was completely dependent on Ed.

The result is an Oswald whose confidence is largely shot, and barely seems to exercise any judgment at all, let alone trust it.  Bear in mind how much agency and confidence he had back in season one, playing mob bosses against each other.  Remember his skill in observing situations and discerning motivations. Remember him telling Butch that being under Falcone’s thumb had become ‘intolerable’. Think about how he could keep a cool head and think fast under extreme duress.   Compare that with now.

Jim

I’m still liking Jim right now.  The cultists were annoying as hell – so random punches to the face were endearing.  I also love his telephone trolling.  

Lee

I liked Lee this week. She got to be a person in her own right. My chief complaint previously was that she really just functioned as love interest – and that was it.  She was supportive and/or concerned as Jim’s storyline demanded. But here, she was allowed to be bitter, sullen, sarcastic – in short, to behave like someone who is grieving - hurt and angry.

I also very much enjoyed her conversation with Jerome.  They play well off one another.  I think it was also a very long scene to give them both, and wonder if that lends weight to the Har-Lee theory.

General Observations

Character is what you are in the dark

So Jerome has turned out all the lights, and told everyone to do whatever they want, kill whoever they want, and be reborn.  What will people do when they think no-one is watching?  

In the Babs/Tabs/Ed/Butch/Oswald story – that’s going to be about who stabs who in the back, and why. There’s also the serious tease that this is where Ed is going to really step into his Riddler identity – so a possible rebirth, too.

How people will act in dire straits might come into play, too.  Will Lee’s hostility last if Jim is in danger?  Will they play on her link with Jerome?  What’s Selina going to do, angry and disillusioned.  Is the Court of Owls still in play at all?

Thoughts?