Falcone (guest star John Doman) places a hit on Gordon (Ben McKenzie). ‎Gordon and Bullock (Donal Logue) discover a follower of Jerome (guest star Cameron Monaghan), who plans to bring him back to life. Meanwhile, Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) spirals out of control before the biggest television interview of his Mayoral career, and Bruce (David Mazouz) and Selina (Camren Bicondova) deal with Selina’s mom’s return to Gotham.

Gotham returns from its winter break with an episode that continues some things from before the break and head straight in to some all new things in an episode that absolutely reflects the ADD season so far.

After Gordon killed Falcone’s son at the end of the last episode it’s a focus on revenge in the absolutely silliest thing we’ve seen this season. Hitmen running around with automatic weapons lighting up places trying to kill a cop seems bizarre even for this series and a mob boss would be much more subtle than this is. Even for a show that’s over the top, this is a bit too much and it’s resolution is so quick that any actual drama is wasted.

There’s Selina’s mom’s storyline which is… a distraction it feels.

Then there’s a focus on Penguin which is actually interesting once it’s clear where things are going by the end of the episode. The build up had me scratching my head and thinking things were a bit silly until the payoff that actually is solid in how it comes together.

Finally, we get a whole new story about the dead rising and the eventual return of Jerome, aka proto-Joker. It’s yet another storyline thrown into an already packed episode and season. It ties into Indian Hill, but maybe it’d be better to save this for the next season?

That’s my issue with this episode, it attempts to do too much adding onto a season that’s already packed with storylines that aren’t focused enough on and not given enough depth. Focusing just on the Court of Owls, or just the rage virus, or just Falcone’s revenge, or the return of Jerome, or Penguin’s meltdown, or two of these things, it’d work and work really well. But packing too much makes the episode and series a master of none of them.

Overall Rating: 6.75

As the virus begins to spread in Gotham, the laboratory that is developing a cure is compromised. Mario and Gordon face off before the wedding, Selina meets an unexpected face and Barbara comes to Nygma with information about Isabella,

Gotham continues its ups and downs this year with yet another uneven episode that features a lot of good and a lot of bad.

The bad is Gordon’s pursuit of Mario who he’s convinced is infected and will do harm to Leslie and wants to stop the wedding. It’s a bit all over the place with a set-up that’s revealed and so complicated it’s eye rolling. To say more would be to spoil things, and I do my best to avoid that. Lets just say as you go down the rabbit hole things get more and more detached. Keeping it simple would have done this plotline a lot of good.

The other issue is that key scenes shows the acting hole actor Ben McKenzie has dug himself. Unfortunately, he does angry, and that’s about it as he channels Christian Bale’s Batman with growling and teeth clenched. There’s some scenes that’d be fantastic with a different style, but the opportunity to show some dramatic flair and let McKenzie act isn’t taken. How it all ends leads up to a direction that feels predictable and a bit to soap opera.

Then there’s Bruce’s mission to figure out what the key is for and his assault against the Court of Owls. Where to begin with this one other than it feels completely insane and reiterates the character should have been sent off to boarding school a long time ago. A Mission Impossible type undertaking is thrown in there complete with over the top tightrope action. The mysterious person who I think is supposed to be one of the Court of Owls’ assassins but looks like Kato also shows up to make things more complicated. Overall, it’s a stinker of a plot.

Then there’s the sort of good part of the episode which focuses on Edward Nygma and the death of Isabella. Barbara of course has to stir things up so she tells Edward what she’s figured out (seriously, she got it before the guy who’s supposed to be good at this stuff?) and that leads Edward into crazy territory again. How it all plays out is really good and hopefully sets the series back up to where it’s strongest when it focuses on the mob flavored stories.

The episode is the usual mix. There’s some good. There’s lots of bad. And the series as a whole feels like it still doesn’t know what it wants to be. As the season goes on it feels more like the campy nature of Schumacher is winning out though it’s diving more into the visuals and color palette of Burton. Maybe at some point we’ll get the Batman we deserve, but it more feels like someone is looking down and whispering “no” right now.

Overall Rating: 6.70

On the eve of their rehearsal dinner, a threat to Mario (guest star James Carpinello) and Lee (Morena Baccarin) is exposed, and Falcone (guest star John Doman) looks to Jim for help. Meanwhile, Nygma seeks revenge and Bruce learns more about The Court of Owls.

Gotham is interesting as it’s all forward with the Court of Owls, the mysterious villains who we saw teased at the end of last season and have been in and out of this one. A hell of a lot is put forward and while a lot of it works, all together it’s a bit of a mess and a plot that’s so over the top it’s just laughable.

The reason I peg it as silly is that this episode revolves around that key that was found last episode and that Ivy stole. That has to do with the Owls, so it’s a bunch of coincidences that all comes back to the murder of Bruce’s parents. As I said, a bit silly and a stretch.

But, the episode gets back to some basics which it does really well.

Falcone stands out and we learn even he has something to do with the Owls. There’s some other aspects of Snyder and Capullo’s run added to the comic series. Overall, it gets away from the silly villain with powers and is more focused on the mob like aspect which is where I think the series is strongest.

There’s also Falcone’s son and his marriage and someone trying to kill him… over course the Owls are involved in that too. Again, a stretch.

Nygma gets his revenge for the people he thinks is behind the murder of his girlfriend. That’s pretty twisted and gets Edward back to his crazy self in many ways. Where that goes will be really fascinating, as there’s something about who behind it all that’s discovered by certain someones who are willing to do something with it.

But, what why isn’t Penguin doing more Mayoral things? That seems to have been dropped.

The episode is better than the last few and there’s some really good here. The episode feels like it has an actually vision for once instead of a bunch of different tones mashed all together. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of improvements and these plotlines actually play out in a way that’s not so coincidental and instead are just entertaining.

Overall Rating: 7.20

Gordon and Bullock become suspicious of Barnes, and comb through evidence of the murder at Lee and Mario’s engagement party. Nygma goes to Penguin when he hasn’t heard from Isabella. Meanwhile, Ivy reveals her identity to Selina and Bruce, but quickly leads them to trouble.

Gotham seems to close one storyline while kicking up another. This week mostly focuses on Barnes going all judge, jury, and executioner as he runs around town. That story gets put into overdrive as Gordon and Bullock figure out something is up.

Barnes is pretty much the Judge from the animated Batman series and it’s an interesting character that will hopefully come back at some point. The story feels like it wraps up in some ways, but also leaves things wide open to continue as well. It’s probably the strongest part of the episode and as goofy as it began, it wraps up in a pretty solid way.

Then there’s the death of Isabella which Edward becomes suspicious over. As a whole, this plot line has been silly and the bromance between Penguin and Nygma hits a different level that continues to be odd. It all feels like there was a concept here and the writers weren’t quite sure where to go with it all.

Finally there’s the grown up Ivy which continues to be creepy for so many reasons. There’s a kid in the body of an adult and that together makes for a combination that makes me so uneasy. Where they have it all going I can’t forget she’s a teenage kid!!!! Seriously, did no one pause to think what they were doing here!? It doesn’t help that in growing her up, they also sexed up the character to a level that’s on full display. This is Poison Ivy, but the sexiness just makes me want to scrub the ickiness of it all off. Such a horrible idea.

Overall, a mixed bag of an episode. There’s some good acting. There’s some good action. And it’s one of the stronger episodes of an uneven season. We’ll see where it goes from here, but it’s clear the season is enterting a brand new phase after this episode.

Overall Rating: 7.15

Barnes (Michael Chiklis) feels the effects of a recent incident and begins to go mad. Meanwhile, Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) is out of his depth in his relationship with Isabella (guest star Chelsea Spack) and Carmine Falcone (guest star John Doman) throws Lee (Morena Baccarin) and Mario (guest star James Carpinello) an engagement party.

Gotham doubles down on Barnes going all the Thing in this episode which has a plastic surgeon being at the center of things. It’s a weird episode where the “villain” is just a foil to for Barnes to rage out and whatever is infecting him to get played out more.

That’s a big part of the episode and we start getting the first steps of how Gordon will eventually become Commissioner, because lets face it, after what Barnes does in this episode he won’t be in that position very long.

It’s an interesting direction for the series but still feels like it’s still not clicking especially when we’ve seen the series do really well when it focused on the mob war. Whenever it gets into the weird powers the series slips a bit and this episode is not an exception. I don’t know what it is, but this entire plotline just feels like a means to the end, getting Barnes out of his job.

There’s also lots of relationship things going on in the episode. Of course, there’s Lee and Mario and Gordon being a third wheel, but the majority of the drama is Nygma/Isabella/Penguin which is still playing out and I still don’t know what to think. The idea is really interesting but the whole Nygma killing the last girl he was interested in and Isabella having no issues with that is just bizarre to me. Plus her looking like his murder victim is even weirder.

And weird I think sums up a lot of this season. From Barnes being infected to the Nygma relationship, to Mad Hatter being just insane, the series has taken a strange dark turn somewhere. It’s better than the beginning of the season, but it’s still not good and nowhere near how good it should be.

The episode is a bit of a transition one taking us from the previous story arc and moving us into the next one and I’m not really sure as to what we can expect other than Hulking Barnes. There’s more of a focus on Gordon and a series focused on how he finds redemption and becomes the Commissioner we know would be good. This could be the start of that, but with so much that’s happened, it’s a struggle to find out.

Overall Rating: 7.05

After coming in contact with a substance by the hand of Mad Hatter, Jim Gordon gets led on a psychedelic trip and must confront his past, present and future. Meanwhile, Penguin struggles with Nygma’s new relationship.

Gotham is an interesting episode in the fact it focuses almost entirely on Tetch and his quest for vengeance with a side of Penguin/Nygma that sets up a future storyline to come.

There’s a lot you just have to let go with the episode. There’s this stuff called Red Queen that feels like it comes out of nowhere and is a bit too convenient and Hatter’s taunting of Gordon is a little odd. Plus, Hatter’s plan as a whole doesn’t make a whole lot of sense (and lets face it, his only motivation is revenge against Gordon).

It’s a bit odd due to all of that, but it’s fairly entertaining in many ways. What’s really interesting though is it feels like the definitive end to this plotline with a long way to go. I have no idea if we’ll see more of Tetch and there’s the whole thing with his sister’s blood that’s still not completely ended, but still, it gives the season as a whole a vibe like there’s chapters to it.

There’s a lot of foreshadowing too of things to come. There’s the mysterious woman who we saw at the beginning of the season who returns in this episode. Comic book fans will know what’s up, but it’s clear the rest of the season will focus more on this plotline than the Indian point individuals or Tetch. At least, I hope so, because as the season has moved away from its silly beginning, its gotten much better in many ways.

And then there’s Penguin and Nygma. That weird relationship has turned into a love triangle and I’m still not sure exactly what the think. Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin is still fantastic in his role, but it’s a bit odd to see Penguin and Riddler be anything more than two villains.

As I said, a better episode that feels like it’s driving the rest of the season into a certain direction. Hopefully it’s better than what we’ve seen so far.

Overall Rating: 7.35