"Half the cops on the GCPD have a Cobblepot and Loeb has the good on all of them. That is what Loeb does!" - Harvey
As far as pre-hiatus episodes go, this was did not exactly pass muster. When you’re about to go on a month-long break, you typically pack the episode full of oohs-and-aahs to make your audience remember how much they love the show. Then you leave it on a big cliffhanger to ensure that even a month later, your viewers will still be eager to find out WHAT HAPPENED.
"Everyone Has A Cobblepot" really did none of those things.
What it did do was set up some Batman building, which is something we’ve only gotten small hints at lately. Jim Gordon will one day go on to be Gotham City Police Commissioner, but right now it’s hard to imagine how he’ll ever get there. Last night’s episode connected a few of those dots.
Jim
Jim once again uses less than upstanding methods to achieve his ‘good guy’ ends, but his white hat is not looking so white anymore.
Harvey
“You tell yourself, ‘I’ll just do this one bad thing, but all the good things I’ll do later will make up for it.’ But they don’t. There’s still that bad thing.” - Harvey
That quote really nailed the overall theme of this episode. Harvey started out just like Jim did, and he was pushed and pulled into a life of a corruption and crime. We’ve seen many times over the course of the season that Harvey truly does want to be a good person and a good cop. But as the episode title says, everyone has a Cobblepot, and Harvey’s got skeletons of his own.
I really respect Harvey trying to show Jim that manipulating his way to the top will not end well. As Jim gets darker and darker, getting his hands dirty with the ways of the Gotham world, we can only hope that he takes a minute to listen to Harvey’s words of wisdom. The ends do not always justify the means.
Penguin
Fish
“You seize control of the basement, take one of my guards hostage, then scoop out your own eye? What am I to do with you?” - Doctor Dollmaker
I’m still thoroughly unimpressed with Fish’s storyline. The Dollmaker is a huge villain in the Batman universe, but I just don’t feel myself getting pulled in. Why should I care about all these nameless, faceless characters on an island in the middle of nowhere? Taking Fish out of Gotham has made her almost… boring.
That blue eye is SO COOL though. Rock it, Fish.
Bruce & Selina & Alfred
"Everyone Has a Cobblepot"
You guys know that I love me some Gotham, but I’m so happy that we’re taking a bit of a hiatus. That’s typically not a good thing to have your audience feeling, but after seven consecutive weeks of new episodes, it’s time to slow down. Let's recharge our batteries and hopefully come back strong with the final four episodes of the season.
It was nice to see Jim start his journey to becoming Commissioner. He's maneuvering his way into positions of power to try to keep the city and its police force clean. But getting your own hands dirty in the process? The road to hell is paved with good intentions, my friend.
Extra Credit
- Bruce and Selina should start up their own private detective agency. The Bat & The Cat: crime fighters.
- No Barbara!
- Harvey Dent is back in all his perfectly coiffed glory.
Demerits
- The CGI on that office manager "doll" was just AWFUL.
- No Leslie :(
- Creepy, bird-killing attic ladies are not cool with me.
- Nygma's girlfriend story was cute at first, but now it's static. Give me something new or get off the screen cutie pies.