God, what a frustrating episode. Gotham is solid when it wants to be – “Spirit of the Goat” remains a genuinely good episode of television – but “The Mask” saw the show give in to its worst impulses. Every single character, save for Bullock and Essen, was annoying as hell, and the clunkiness of the dialogue was ratcheted up to 11, which is baffling, given that the episode’s writer, John Stephens, has worked on shows like Gilmore Girls and The O.C. that stakes their reputations on enjoyable talkiness. Paul Edwards (Lost, Once Upon a Time) provided competent direction, but he had Stephens’ script to work against, and when Bullock calls Gordon an “asshat,” you can’t un-ring that bell.
Gordon and Bullock get the case of Colman Lawson, the stupidly-named would-be finance guy whose body is found by the docks, covered in what looks like ink, with a finger in its mouth. (I will say, one thing Gotham doesn’t skimp on is the violence. It’s no Hannibal, but it’s at the level it needs to be for the tone that Fox is trying to strike.) This leads them to the finance firm of Richard Sionis (played by Todd Stashwick of The Originals), who pretty much immediately outs himself as a bad guy. His office is covered in ceremonial masks and weapons (“warrior baloney,” as Bullock accurately describes it), and right away he starts intensely pressing Gordon with questions about killing and war. (On the way out, Bullock says “I’d give you the ‘good cop’ routine, but I’m afraid it’s not in my toolbox.” That is so close to being a decent line. “I’d give you the ‘good cop’ routine, but that was the good cop.” I shouldn’t be rewriting the dialogue while I watch the show.)
Oh, also, I’m pretty sure Edward Nygma is autistic now, and I’m not sure if we were supposed to notice. He was even more annoying than usual in “The Mask,” and I’m already dreading the prospect of him turning into the Riddler. The Riddler was a pale Joker imitation to begin with, and Cory Michael Smith’s performance lacks the self-awareness of, say, Jim Carrey’s. Carrey at least knew how campy and silly the character was. Smith isn’t sure what kind of show he’s in, but to be fair, Gotham is still figuring out what kind of show it is.
The mob war has abated, at least on paper. Fish and Cobblepot meet to negotiate a truce, which ends with Fish stabbing him through the hand with a brooch pin. Cobblepot, to his credit, doesn’t flinch or cry out, which is probably the only cool thing Robin Lord Taylor did the whole episode. He and Fish both retaliate to the meeting in different ways; she has her honeypot Liza make copies of Don Falcone’s ledger, while Cobblepot kidnaps Fish’s new No. 2 and pumps him for information.
The problem with Liza is I can totally see where this is going: she’s either going to develop genuine feelings for Falcone and betray Fish, or Fish will kill her, probably while cooing something to the effect of “I’m sorry, baby, but mama can’t trust you anymore.” I will say this for Jada Pinkett Smith’s performance: she knows what kind of show she’s in.
The bright spot of “The Mask” was Bruce’s subplot, even if it got off to a problematic start. David Mazouz and Cory Michael Smith must have the same acting coach, because Gotham decided to make Bruce autistic too (I’m not just tossing that word around; watch the episode and fucking tell me that I’m wrong). It’s pretty eyeroll-inducing, until Alfred drives Bruce to a bully’s house just so Bruce can kick his ass. That was a great scene, and Mazouz’s chemistry with Sean Pertwee (as Alfred) continues to be a highlight of this show.
“The Mask” was such a shift in tone and quality from “Spirit of the Goat” (which I’m going to keep bringing up until Gotham produces a better episode) that if this back-and-forth continues for the entire season, I think we’re all going to end up with whiplash.
A Few Thoughts
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Selina Kyle showed up for some reason. I’m officially over her. She’s smug, unlikable, and has no clear role on this show
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Cobblepot’s limp is getting fucking ridiculous
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Barbara leaves Gordon and I think that it willzzzzzzz sorry I fell asleep because of how little I care
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Ben McKenzie handles himself well in fight scenes
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