'Gotham' Recap: 'Heroes' Alum Milo Ventimigilia Turns Villain
Warning: This article contains story line and character spoilers for this week’s Gotham.
Between this turn as the Ogre on Gotham and his decision not to join the Heroes Reborn series, it looks like Milo Ventimiglia has quite a future in playing bad guys. Seen thus far only in flashbacks, he’ll return next week for a face-to-face meeting with Jim Gordon. But for now, he cuts a dashing figure through the dark streets of Gotham.
The Plot
Fish hatches an escape plan that buys her a ticket off Dulmacher’s (Colm Feore) island but also gets her a bullet in the gut as she pilots the helicopter away to safety.
Gordon finds himself enmeshed in a case that turns out to be a serial killer (known to the police as the Ogre) with a habit of going after inquisitive cops.
Bruce, meanwhile, enlists Selina to track down Reggie Payne (David O’Hara). Apparently, Payne didn’t make much money from the Wayne Enterprises board, because he’s squatting in a warehouse full of homeless people days later. Bruce learns who hired Payne, but chooses not to kill him for stabbing Alfred. Selina, however, seeing Bruce’s conflict, does it for him.
The Good
Penguin’s cartoonish glee feels like he’s in a completely separate show — more so this week than usual with the serial killer element that’s more SVU than GCPD — but it works. He’s at his best when he can use his groveling to advance a hidden agenda. What is it about that particular bar that has drawn his attention? When he says, “This is where I’m going to kill Don Maroni,” he’s staring at a wall of photos, at least one of which is of Maroni. Since Cobblepot is a master of finding weakness, that bar must have some sentimental value for Maroni, which would make dying there that much more hurtful.
Related: Missed the Previous Episode of ‘Gotham’? Catch Up With Our Recap
The Bad
Gotham can get quite ham-fisted at times. It was clear from the start that Fish could pilot a helicopter, and the red herrings they laid to make it a surprise were very noticeable. Establishing Bruce and Selina’s moral boundaries by having her shove Reggie out a window might have been more effective if Bruce hadn’t been making those little grabby-hand gestures moments before.
It’s hard to say if the writers are trying to simplify a convoluted storyline so casual fans can follow along or if they’re trying to split the difference between a show that young and old Batman fans alike can watch. Of course, once you’ve shown a man with assorted foreign body parts sewn onto his body, you’ve pretty much lost the youth crowd.
The Ugly
The use of flashbacks was stylistically weird — all fuzzy and golden around the edges. It could have used some context; say, if the Ogre were writing in his journal. Maybe we’ll get that in the next episode. It’s a shame because the show is quite good at pacing its detective stories; flashbacks kind of take the fun out of it.
Inside Comics Moment
At first, it sounded a little like the turncoat cop’s name was Alan Moore — as in the legendary writer and author of the seminal Batman: The Killing Joke one-shot. His name is actually Len Moore, which may be an homage to both Alan and the first editor of that book, Len Wein. (Moore is famous for blowing deadlines, and Wein had left DC by the time he and illustrator Brian Bolland had finished.)
Also, if you were wondering, Ventimiglia’s Ogre has no connection with either versions of the DC character the Ogre.
Bullock Line of the Night
Decisions, decisions. “And I deserve a mute supermodel who likes pasty Irish guys and loves to cook”? Or, “Let me say it in Spanish. ¡No!”? Detective Bullock has raised laziness to an art form.
Gotham airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.
