“Under the Knife” was a mostly dull, inconsequential episode of Gotham, although I will admit that it took steps towards making two of its worst characters more interesting. The problem with this whole Don Juan Killer/Ogre arc is that it’s about ten percent as interesting as Gotham thinks it is. And since the villain isn’t even canonical, this storyline doesn’t even have the benefit of the show’s usual blatant pandering to the fanbase. Oh, but the goggles that Selina always wears on her head and never eyes kinda look like cat ears – is that a thing? No? Okay, never mind.
So the DJK (I refuse to call him the Ogre, that’s fucking stupid and makes no sense) is looking into Jim, who refuses to drop the case. He asks Lee to leave Gotham, and of course she says no, because never in the annals of television or film has someone in danger left town when they were asked to. (I will say that there’s a scene in Lee’s apartment that’s a nice fake-out.) DJK follows Gordon around as he investigates deeper, and for some reason he takes pictures of Gordon on the precinct steps even though he already knows what Gordon looks like and has like fifty pictures of him already.
Here’s what I don’t get about the DJK – in what way is he charming? I’ve seen killers on SVU who have better game than this guy. Milo Ventimiglia’s wooden performance consists of deep, soulful eye-staring, and doesn’t that shit get boring? Ladies, would that appeal to you? “Oh my stars, this guy hasn’t made me laugh once all night but I’ve known him for two hours and he’s talking about transforming me! Is that a flip phone? So long, panties!” Not to mention he’s tacky as fuck. When he comes up to Barbara at the Wayne Enterprises Ball, he pointedly mentions a ten thousand dollar donation. But I guess Barbara is tacky as fuck too, because this tactic totally works on her.
Also at the ball: Bruce and Selina, who have come to get they key to Bunderslaw’s safe. (Where the fuck did that name come from?) Bruce and Selina are at their best when they’re allowed to be kids for a minute, and when they first get there, that’s exactly what they’re doing – dancing awkwardly and a little too far apart, Selina complaining that her shoes hurt. Adolescent shit like that goes a long way towards humanizing both of them, and Selina could use as much of that as possible, because on a show with infinity corrupt cops, she still manages to be the most unlikable character on the Gotham. It doesn’t help that David Mazouz acts circles around Camren Bicondova. See how fast my goodwill turned sour? That’s because when we cut back to Bruce and Selina, he’s starting an argument about her killing Reggie. This is another example of Gotham‘s patented clunky dialogue, as it’s just a set up for Bruce to start expounding his no-kill philosophy. (Side note: Batman has totally killed people.)
There were a couple scenes in “Under the Knife” that were…well, not good, but at least interesting. Foremost among these was Don Maroni’s harsh words to Gertrude Kapelput, as he grips her arm tightly and tells her that her son’s a psychopath (the scene’s unsettling aspect was undermined somewhat by Carol Kane’s over the top histrionics; Gertrude has officially overstayed her welcome). David Zayas is an intimidating presence, and his eyes always gleam with mistrust, so he’s always welcome on screen.
Um, what else, let’s see…Nygma took his first step towards becoming the Riddler. He killed Ms. Kringle’s abusive cop boyfriend. It was an okay scene, but Nygma’s “Oh dear, oh dear” reaction went on far too long. Also, this fucker needs to wise up. Kringle went right from Arnold Flass to this Officer Dougherty prick, so she’s clearly only interested in bad boys behind badges, not autistic weirdos who bring her watermelon bouquets.
Barbara finds DJK’s room of medieval weaponry, probably because it’s located right next to the bathroom. How has this guy gone uncaught? Anyway, she seems interested rather than repulsed, and in twenty episodes that’s the first interesting thing Barbara Keane has ever done.
A Few Thoughts
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I skipped over a lot – well, all – of Gordon and Bullock’s investigation. If anything it served to muddy the waters about the DJK. Does he have mommy issues or abandonment issues? Both? It’s frustratingly opaque. Writing serial killers isn’t as easy as it looks, is it, Gotham?
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Selina’s dress was nice, but girl needed to ditch those gloves
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