GOTHAM Season 4 Episode 18 Review: That's Entertainment


Jerome’s plan is put into action this episode, and Penguin spends most of the time panicking about it. He even went to Gordon to tell him to hurry up. Penguin doesn’t reveal where Jerome is, but tells Gordon about the laughing gas. He knows that nothing good will come from this, and there may not be an empire to rule at the end of this. He’s an honest criminal, after all. 

Jerome takes the commissioner, mayor, and some others, and threatens their lives in a public show for the town. He is using them to get to Gordon, and when he gets Gordon, we learn that he is using them to get Jeremiah and Bruce. You would think after Bruce basically saved his life from his uncle the other day that he would let it go, but Jerome’s actions don’t need to make sense. He’s crazy. He kills the commissioner in this process (which may lead to Gordon finally taking his job). He’s just so crazy. 

This probably isn’t what Bruce wanted to do on his birthday. Alfred got Bruce a car for his birthday, at the place where they sell bulletproof cars (BATMOBILE?). I am so excited about it. Selina came for his birthday too. Selina talks about the act he put on when he was being a jerk, but he isn’t sure if it was really an act. Bruce’s character development has really been one of the most interesting on the show. 

Gordon breaks up the moment to get him for Jerome. Alfred, for once, doesn’t want him involved in danger. However, Gordon and Lucius have a plan. Gordon plans to take Jerome with snipers and Lucius wants Bruce to get close to him to block the signal from his explosive trigger. Bruce is on board immediately, even though Alfred and Selina both think it’s insane. Maybe this is exactly what he wanted for his birthday. Not only is Bruce on board, but he also convinces Jeremiah to get on board too. He really has become such a smooth talker. 

Gordon's plan lasts for about 5 seconds. Jerome takes out Gordon’s snipers, and Jeremiah and Bruce are forced to get on stage. At least Lucius’s plan is still functional. Jerome gets particularly close to his brother as he taunts him for being just as crazy as him. Jeremiah gets up to attack his brother and Jerome beats him. 

Unfortunately, that is the last of their concerns now. The rest of Jerome’s crew busted up Wayne’s chemical lab to make more laughing gas during this little show, and now they are getting on a blimp to drop the gas in the town square. 

Unsurprisingly, Jerome anticipated Penguin’s betrayal. Tetch and Mr. Crane lock him up in the blimp. Penguin breaks out of the handcuffs, but the pilot is under Tetch’s spell and he pulls on a gun on him. Penguin calls Gordon for help, and Gordon encourages him to take over and steer the blimp over the river. Suddenly, the gun isn’t a problem anymore, and Penguin takes over the blimp and quickly learns how to steer it. Watching Penguin throughout this entire scene was probably my favorite part of the episode. 

On the ground, Gordon gets a shot at Jerome (and I want to give a shout out to Bruce for taking out Firefly). Jerome runs off, but Gordon catches up to him and shoots him again so that he is hanging off the side of the building. Gordon tries to be the good guy and pull him back up, but Jerome lets go of the building after giving a speech about how he is an idea that will live on in Gotham forever. 

So, it seems like we get a happy ending. Bruce wants to fund Jeremiah’s work, Gordon lets Penguin stay up in the blimp for a while, and Jerome is officially dead, but we know that won’t be the end of it. A gift is waiting on Jeremiah’s desk. It is a clown with laughing gas in it to drive him insane. Now he will be able to take his brother’s place. 

Meanwhile, Barbara’s storyline is still separated from the rest. She is learning about her legacy in this position, and being shown paintings of herself from 400 years ago. Tabitha is feeling a little left out. She scoffs at the stories of shamans and mystics as if she hasn’t seen Barbara’s glowing hand before. She is pissed that Barbara is skipping out on the club, but I think I would give her a pass in this situation if I were her. She literally has a magic army of women behind her. Barbara calls out her jealousy, so Tabitha leaves, but not before she is beat up by the magic women army. 

At the end, she gets picked up by the guys who are against Barbara in charge. While the enemy of your enemy may be your friend, these guys also seem like they are sexist jerks, so she might want to take a pass on that too. They take her against her will, and somehow plan to use her against Barbara in the future. Butch might be more pissed than Barbara, though. I am interested to see where they take this storyline.

Written by Nicole Teeters, GOTHAM Beat Writer


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