‘Gotham’ Fears The Scarecrow On This Week’s Geeky TV

Gotham‘s season 4 premiere opened with Bruce Wayne beating up a bunch of muggers in a mask. And then, it segued into a rickroll, before revealing the Penguin had what was basically a scheme straight out of the ’60s TV series. And, somehow, it only got campier from there, and it looks to continue tonight.

If you missed the premiere, the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) has been handing out “licenses for misconduct,” basically get out of jail free cards. Needless to say this rubs Gordon the wrong way, and, like every scheme the Penguin has, you can see exactly how his brittle ego is going to ruin it all. It doesn’t help that Penguin got a massive dose of fear toxin, or that Gordon (Ben McKenzie) burst in and saved the day. And where did this fear toxin come from? A teenage Jonathan Crane (Charlie Tahan), who was abducted from Arkham Asylum, forced to make the toxin, and then locked in a room with what he feared most. Yeah, that did not end well, and now he’s unhinged and packing a lot of dangerous chemical weapons. In the middle of this is, of course, Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), who, last episode, accidentally crashed a burglary and got arrested for it.

Embracing the campiness that was always at the core of the show was something of a risk for Gotham. But it’s paid off, especially now that the show is full of vigilantes and frozen villains in the middle of nightclubs. As the show’s realized it can be, well, Goth ham, it’s loosened up and started having fun. This season seems out to top the third one, and we’ll see if that happens tonight at 8pm ET. Join us, won’t you? Our open discussion is below.

×