Gotham, Episode 24 “Knock, Knock” Broadcast on September 28, 2015
Written by Ken Woodruff
Directed by Rob Bailey
“Previously on Gotham,” Essen is promoted, Gordon makes a bloody deal with Cobblepot, there’s an escape from Arkham Asylum that includes Barbara Kean, and Bruce enters his father’s secret room. In the present, the Galavans have kidnapped the mayor of Gotham, whom they convince to call his secretary, telling her that he’s run away with a woman and he’ll be sending written instructions shortly. “Why are you doing this to me?” the mayor asks. Theo responds, “You’re part of a great endeavor. A great cleansing. Monsters are coming, Mr. Mayor.” At the Gotham Gazette, the editor and chief is upset at the front page gossip that’s been published about the mayor. So much so, that he fails to see or hear the bodies falling to their deaths outside his window. Men are being tossed from high above by the four male escapees from Arkham, lead by Jerome. Each poor soul thrown to his death has letters spray painted onto the straight jackets they’re wearing, spelling out a word on the street below. “Now that’s a headline!” Jerome says before giving a maniacal laugh. Cue opening title sequence.
At police headquarters, Essen tells her men they have no leads on the murders outside the Gazette, but Gordon has been put on as the lead officer. Back at the Galavans’, Theo congratulates the inmates. However, they need to make themselves more presentable to the public the next time they appear. His conversation is interrupted by the mayor, whose head is in a lockbox, entering the room being whipped by Barbara and Tabitha. The women complain they’re bored. Barbara wants to know when she gets to go out. Theo reassures her it will be soon, then asks what she knows about James Gordon. Cue first commercial break.
This episode really brought the insanity of Batman villains to the forefront of this series. The villains steal the show, with Jerome being the highpoint. His scene with Robert was outstanding, foreshadowing who he’ll eventually become (My fingers are crossed that it’s him!). I like that Jerome’s age was stated, giving him a bit of an edge on Bruce Wayne, but I’ve always thought of the Joker as a tad older than Batman. Alfred and Bruce have a terrific relationship strengthening in this story, and another supporting character who made a brief appearance in the previous season is brought into the fold. His scene with Alfred was fantastic! I was pleased to see that everything involving adults, not the crazy ones, doesn’t have to involve Bruce. The first action sequence where the villains are looking to score some terror points felt like it came straight out of the comics. It was just the right mix of insanity and comic book hijinks, though the solution was a little too easy. The final action sequence was pretty brutal, and it put these villains high up on the evil tote board. It was good to see a potential villain have a nice action sequence, which should increase his stature with a co-worker.
The Good: Ben McKenzie getting to do a lot, Zabryna Guevara getting an excellent speech, Sean Pertwee being stunning, Cameron Monaghan being fantastic, and the welcome return of Chris Chalk. Loved seeing the villains in action and squabbling. Two character deaths?! So soon?! Excellent justification for a character’s return. Nice camera footage to end the episode.
Fun lines: “A little to the right. Okay, that’s the spot,” “You gentlemen need to learn a little stagecraft,” “The laugh is fabulous,” “What do you want to know?”, “It had to be done!”, “You all know this game?”, “A new day,” “Go away!”, “Understood,” “How do I look?”, “Ow,” and “You got me. My turn.”
The Bad: That was a really obvious clue that Harvey gave to James; no wonder the Gotham Police Department can’t solve crimes if they can’t think to do that. The interior of that bus is completely dry, as are the occupants, the last two times it’s shown; that’s a major continuity error. The music and sounds are pretty over the top when James gets a phone call at the station just before a commercial break; less would have been more. I can’t believe that a specific pair of characters are granted access to police headquarters after what’s occurred; it’s not possible.
The final line: Even with all my “Bad” comments, this was a unbelievable entertaining show. Seeing the villains do things one would expect in a Batman adventure were fantastic. If the rest of the season is half as good as this episode, this is going to be must see viewing. Overall grade: A-
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