"You father was the most honest man I ever met. But he carried a knife." - Falcone
I'm of two minds about this season finale.
First off, there was action, suspense, betrayal, death, and a whole lot of WOW factor going on. So in that sense, the finale achieved what it set out to do: give us a damn entertaining episode.
But on the other hand... nothing really happened. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of "All Happy Families Are Alike," I just don't think it did what a finale is supposed to, which is resolve hanging threads and leave a few more teased out for next season.
Nygma
For weeks and weeks they'd been teasing the rise of The Riddler, and technically I guess he did rise...out of the depths of Ed Nygma's demented personality. But... that's about it. He murdered once, drove himself a little crazy, and then giggled for a while. I didn't exactly want to see him in full question mark getup terrorizing the city, but I expected a teeny bit more.
Jim
"The least worst option." - Jim
Even if Jim didn't get to be more than a witness to the episode's goings on, he had that one AMAZING fight scene in the hospital, plus a few zingers. So overall, he had a good finale episode. Bravo, Jim.
Barbara
After giving Barbara an A for Erin Richards stunning performance last week, I was ready to be just as harsh on Barbara as ever this week. But I have to say, I like nutso Barbara way better than any of her previous incarnations. She might be totally out of her mind, but at least she's interesting! I do have to criticize the show for devolving her so quickly, though. I just don't see any kind of longevity in this mental break. I expect her to start of Season 2 recovering from this episode, and that's the last we'll hear of it. Like I said before, it was an exciting part of the episode, but not really an important one.
Fish Mooney
So long, Fish. You had a great first run and a seriously shitty final stretch.
I couldn't help but wonder why the hell Selina was ganging up with Fish at all, but then I realized there was literally no feasible way to include her in the finale otherwise. I'm not typically a fan of inserting a character someplace they very clearly don't belong (*cough*Camille O'Connell*cough*) but it was almost worth it to see Cat nuzzle Fish like adorable little kitten.
Fish then took a flying leap into the river. If this were any other show, I'd say she's probably still alive. Sadly, Jada Pinkett Smith has left Gotham for good, so Fish is most likely dead as a door nail.
Penguin
Bruce
"Don't you dare press that bloody button." - Alfred
The BAT CAVE, guys! THE FREAKING BAT CAVE! That ending saved the whole episode in my opinion! And how hilarious is it to think of Thomas Wayne programming Prokofiev to play ominously in the background as the secret door to his underground lair opened up? What a dork.
All Happy Families Are Alike
So yeah, overall a pretty fantastic episode. But not a great finale. There was no real resolution on the gangster wars of Gotham. What about Wayne Corp and Bruce's mission to expose them? Nothing on the Wayne murder case? Not even another Joker tease? The main problem with this finale is that the premise was set up in the last two minutes of the previous episode, making the BIG SIGH of relief at the end of the finale very hollow. Another one-and-done episode when you think about it.
Extra Credit
- Fish died in a river... come on, Lindsay, there's a joke in there somewhere!
- Selina's hair. OMG YES.
- Gif courtesy of Midstorm
Demerits
- Wait... no more Lucius?
- Barbara wearing a night gown all episode and then getting into a girl fight is just... why do I bother?
- Bye, bye Maroni. You won't be missed.