HAHAHA I've not watched this week's yet, but their expressions in that screen cap are such the perfect encapsulation of my feelings right now lol <3

At this point I'm pretty convinced they must be making Jim terrible on purpose just to facilitate some endgame plot point, because I absolutely cannot STAND him right now and I haven't swore at my laptop screen so much in forever.

Stuff I liked:

Penn being back (although, boo that he got offed so quickly). The whole dummy thing was cringe yet still somehow hilarious and also truly a bit sad. Also, I can alllllmost forgive his re-death because of the murder-husbands bonding it resulted in. (I can hear the many cheers at "We were made for each other" from here.)

Barbara is really growing on me this season. I enjoy her hard-line approach to club entry.

I actually loved the whole Jane Doe storyline but found it genuinely tragic. She was great as a character - a lot more understated and relatable and sinister than most of the cartoon baddies we've seen recently. Also, real consequences for Strange's experiments. I knew that when she took off the mask she'd look normal, but it was still heartbreaking. (Also, contrast between Jim's 'I'll rip it off your face' and Harvey's lowering his gun and quietly imploring her.)

Talking about heartbreaking, Harvey is EVERYTHING in this episode. The bit with him and Dix "would it make you feel bad? Then yeah." My heart. Just, him and Dix in general. Like, seriously, this episode totally cements Harvey as nice-guy king of character progression and I want to punch Jim in his stupid face for being such a total prick to him. Harvey's face when he had to shoot her, ouch.

(Also, points for "That sounds like Barbara.")

Not quite sure what the sewer monster guy added to the plot, but I'll never say no to touching family moments between Bruce and Alfred.

To conclude: a rant;

I actually can't even think of anything else I might want to say about this episode because I'm too swamped by being upset for Harvey and I swear to GOD they best not off him before this show is over, especially not for Jim stupid Gordon's stupid manpain.

[EDIT] I thought of something: HALLELUJAH, ED HAD A HAIRCUT!!!!!!

Edited 2019-03-01 07:33 pm (UTC)

I think, at this point, Jim's writing is just plain weird. They started by building him up as this hero bringing hope to the people, then he got the girl and another one pregnant, and now he keeps shitting on Harv as if it's his job?! I mean, I already disliked how he behaved during his eye-fuck sessions with Eduardo, but this is just... baffling.

IMO, the whole thing would've worked a lot better if we had seen more of Jim's reunification efforts. Because in that context, Jim could've simply been fed up with all the shit that's continuing to hinder the reunification process. Plus, it's especially bitter when it's something that's been quietly cooking for the last two decades and could've been prevented by his most trusted friend.

Harvey and Jane were the heart of this episode. I'm just sad that Jim continues to show so little of his. I also consider it a major disappointment that, so far, Lee has been the only person he's tried to open up to this season. I generally hate how Jim always develops this tunnel vision when it comes to Lee.

Idk. I just hope it's all part of a (semi-)good plan for this season.

You're so right with the 'just plain weird'. I can buy most of the self-destructive behaviour, due to extreme circumstances and stress and so on (and let's face it, Jim just being Jim) but the suddenly starting to constantly bench Harvey and then being actually outright cruel to him? That genuinely doesn't seem to make sense, when they'd initially made up after all the shit at the end of S4? (And it's killing me because Donal Logue is a really great actor and he looks so baffled and wounded by it.)

"it's especially bitter when it's something that's been quietly cooking for the last two decades and could've been prevented by his most trusted friend"
Not sure I follow you there? Do you mean the Jane Doe case is something that's been ongoing and could've been prevented by Harv? Which, yeah, I guess. Although I still think it's harsh in the extreme seeing as Harvey was just young and confused and pretty much 'doing his job' (I'll stop defending him now, lol).

Yeah. I suppose Jim's at least consistent with his Lee obsession and so in that sense it's believable (if unhealthy af and if I was Lee I'd be running away so fast) but it's not great writing in the sense that's it's making their lead protagonist come across really unsympathetic to the point of being unlikable :\

Overall, I liked it. That said, I don't think that having three monster-of-the-week plot lines in one episode was a particularly wise or creative decision. However, it kind of gave me an old-school X-Files vibe and I felt entertained, so there's that.

Now to my list of more or less subjective complaints:

- If you make a significant time jump -- I mean, just look at Babs' baby bump! -- why not tell us how much time has passed? Why even give us the number of days passed in 5x01 if you never get back to it when it matters?

- I thought Jim was an asshole to both Babs and Harv.

His semi-threat about what kind of person Babs wants to be after the reunification wasn't cute. I was glad that she got to confront Jim about sending her to jail in order to get custody because that's exactly where my mind went. Not to mention that her previous Arkham stint could easily make her vulnerable to attacks against her character. Jim's I don't want that denial was laughable. Personally, I took it as him not wanting to raise the child alone, not him being particularly interested in Babs' continued freedom.

Didn't really get why Jim treated Harv the way he did. It would have made sense to bench Harvey because, clearly, he was going to be the next victim. Which nobody ever acknowledged. Or were we supposed to be surprised when Jim mad the "the kid" connection at the end? Why didn't TPTB go for that approach and have Jim worry about Harvey instead? Idk. The entire thing feels constructed as hell and I feel a tad queasy wondering why they suddenly felt the need to force this kind of conflict into the Jim/Harv relationship.

- I'm a bit mad that Babs didn't answer the question about where they met for the first time. Or is that something we (should) already know?

- BABS: Is that a promise? I go straight, I'm clear?

*groans*

She will reform for the little one and then die, right? To make it super tragic.

On a less serious note, I didn't appreciate the choice of words. Never go straight, honey. It ain't worth it when a guy like Jim is supposed to be a catch while everyone else gets judged to hell and back by him for even the smallest of fuck-ups.

- Jim's Bullock, wait! when Harvey followed Jane. Maybe it's just me, but why wouldn't he call Harvey by his first name?! This makes it sound unnecessarily formal when a Harvey, wait! could've added a nice emotional beat to the scene.

- How many wheelchair-bound people in Gotham are currently living their best lives while other people in GCPD care starve? (Thinking about the old lady Ed offed in 5x04.)

- I didn't really like the way Oswald talked about his mute muscle, Dale. It could have been a good character moment to have him talk about getting Dale a pad and a pencil -- like the one Martin had. Like this, Dale was used and discarded like a voiceless prop which isn't exactly ideal when paired with an off-hand comment about his exploitable muteness.

- Bruce had night vision goggles in 5x01 (during the Scarecrow raid), but suddenly his sewer adventure is dependent on freaking flashlights. Are you kidding me?!

- BRUCE: The nurse thinks the man that attacked us will never recover. The toxins in the river have done irreparable damage to his brain.

WTF? Isn't that pretty much what happened to Jeremiah at the end of last week's episode? At this rate, they'll soon have more brain-damaged Gotham baddies in that hospital than actual patients.

- It would have made sense to have Lee in this episode. (This is not a serious complaint. Anyway...)

1. It made no sense that the woman would go to Bruce and Alfred specifically in order to beg for help. Or is Bruce somehow suddenly known for helping random people? The entire thing would have been a little more believable with Lee as a mediator assuming that she was the one treating the woman's injuries and listening to her plight.

2. Lee should have been present when Jim interrogated Jane because Jim has the social skills of a brick. (But I was proud of him when he started talking about Jane in the third person!)

3. Lee could have taken Babs aside after Jane threatened her. I just want more Lee/Babs bonding, okay?


Other thoughts:

- I hope that the renewed focus on Strange means that we will get to see him pay for his crimes in the future.

- Harper had lines! And she looked good.

- I cheer for the name SS Gertrud.

- I thought Ed looked better in this week's outfit than he ever looked in Riddler's green suits. Sorry.

- The position Oswald and Penn ended up in during Mr. Scarface's death scene was highly suggestive. I'm headcanoning that Ed killed Penn for that reason alone.

- Favorite lines:

• ED: Oh, please, Oswald. It's what you do.
  
  TRUTH. And he should say it.

• OSWALD: And yes, I was not a good friend. To you or to anyone. It's why I'm alone.
  
  More self-awareness than I had expected from him in this episode. Still, it means little when we remember that he spent the first half of the season as a wannabe dictator starving and working his people to the bone.

• BRUCE: Part of being a family is that we can be strong for each other.
  
  Don't @ me. It's a cheesy-ass line, but I'm here for Bruce supporting Alfred.

Edited 2019-03-03 03:36 pm (UTC)