Gotham: All Happy Families Are Alike

May 5, 2015 11:50 AM - Season 1, Episode 22

Jim is forced to protect Carmine Falcone to prevent the gang war from spiraling further out of control, as Maroni, Penguin, and Fish jockey for position. Leslie helps Barbara deal with her trauma. Selina finds a new mentor. Bruce discovers one of his father's secrets.
posted by Small Dollar (15 comments total)

This episode was utterly ridiculous, especially the Jack Bauer sequence of Gordon taking out thugs in the hospital. It was also the most fun I've had watching the show. I'm in favor of bending a bit more towards the ridiculous if it means these plots actually go somewhere and we get payoff.
posted by bfranklin at 12:13 PM on May 5, 2015

Crazy Barbara is the best Barbara.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:19 PM on May 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

We [finally!] got serial-killer Barbara, Fish Mooney looking like she just got back from the set of the new Mad Max movie (and temporarily adopting Selina), and this. All in all, wildly exceeded anything I could have imagined.
posted by mstokes650 at 2:11 PM on May 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

That hospital gunfight was the most insanely ridiculous thing I've ever seen. By that I mean it was poorly made crap that wouldn't have even been attempted in a Stephen Segal movie. The rest of the episode was a crappy mess, but that gunfight is the standout. I don't think the A Team would have had as many missed bullets.
posted by Catblack at 2:30 PM on May 5, 2015

Did anyone else cheer when Fish shot Moroni?

Oh and I saw Crazy Barbara coming. When the Ogre showed her the Fetters of London showroom, for that one brief moment before they cut to the credits the look in her eyes wasn't horror.
posted by localroger at 5:56 PM on May 5, 2015

When the Ogre showed her the Fetters of London showroom, for that one brief moment before they cut to the credits the look in her eyes wasn't horror.

Yes, which is why her surprise and horror in the beginning of the next episode made so little sense. But then when they showed the bodies of her parents, they'd been carved up in what looked like bloody....floral patterns, or something, which pretty clearly wasn't the Ogre's MO.
posted by mstokes650 at 8:04 PM on May 5, 2015

HOW DOES THE FIREPLACE STILL WORK IF IT'S MOVING?
posted by mon-ma-tron at 8:08 PM on May 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

In a sense Barbara has been acting her entire life. She is coming into a sense of herself, sometimes faltering as she realizes what is possible. It's clear the Ogre was right when he realized Barbara was The One. She wasn't in real danger from him, at least not the kind of danger she had any reason to fear.
posted by localroger at 8:09 PM on May 5, 2015

HOW DOES THE FIREPLACE STILL WORK IF IT'S MOVING?

It's Wayne Industries next product.
posted by localroger at 8:10 PM on May 5, 2015

Helluva season. Loved damn near every minute of it. Even Lil' Bruce has grown on me.
posted by davidmsc at 9:40 PM on May 5, 2015

Barbara is basically the Princess Fiona to the Ogre's Shrek.
posted by Small Dollar at 11:29 PM on May 5, 2015

I've missed a bunch of episodes this season, watched last night with my neighbour. Some commentary from both of us, in no particular order:

"They shoot like Stormtroopers."
"WTF? Mad Fish Max?"
"She is so going to waste that guy for calling her babe-- yep."
"Seriously, everyone shoots like fucking Stormtroopers."
"Roof eh? Can't kill the Penguin, guess Fish is going for a swim."
"Hey? Hey guys? Maybe stopping twenty feet from a gunfight to have a heart to heart isn't the best strategic move? You should go somewhere and.. no not there you idiots."
"Bruce found his dad's porn iPod."
"HOW DOES THAT FIREPLACE EVEN"
"This is the longest therapy session ever."
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S JANEY"
"please let the penguin fall off please let the penguin fall off"
"I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD"
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:17 PM on May 6, 2015

I wouldn't cut Fish out. She hasn't used up nine lives yet.
posted by localroger at 5:37 AM on May 7, 2015

Can Barbara please be dead? She was boring even as crazy B.
posted by ktkt at 7:11 PM on May 9, 2015

This episode was fabulous! They totally shuffled the deck for season 2 and it's fantastic. Barbara is crazy, on the way to being Batwoman. Selena is crazy, on the way to being Kittengirl. Gordon is crazy, on the way to being... dunno what, but he kept doing Christian Bale Gravel Voice so it can't be good. Butch is crazy, shooting everyone. Ed Nygma is crazy, on the way to being the Riddler. Kris Kringle is going to be crazy soon. Penguin is on the way to being King of Gotham. Fish is on the way to being with the fishes, although left with an opportunity to come back. Falcone is on the way to a permanent fishing vacation. And of course there's a Batcave.

Loved the Mad Max tie-in with Fish being all Aunty Entity with the hairdo. That was deliberate, right?

Loved this episode. Crazy fun.
posted by Nelson at 9:59 PM on May 14, 2015