Gotham S04E03 Review: Return of the Demon

Gotham, Season 4, Episode 3: They Who Hide Behind Masks

Not going to be super-chatty about this episode. It's a pretty decent one, but it's one that really feels like a collection of scenes to set up the rest of the season. Which isn't something that I generally expect, because there isn't a full A-plot going on in this episode.

Gordon goes off to recruit Carmine Falcone, but Falcone is dying. Instead, we get his daughter, Sofia Falcone (who is a lot prettier than her comic book counterpart and also not a giant). Sofia is set up as this new crime lord that seems nice but wants to prove herself to her father. It's not an uninteresting beat, but the kissy-scenes with Gordon and her seemingly being set up as Gordon's new love interest makes me wince a little bit considering the rather poor history that Gotham has with Gordon's love interests. He returns to Gotham City and so does Sofia.

This random lady that's the Riddler version of Harley Quinn (Riddlette, I think, we hear her call herself?) frees Riddler from the Iceberg Lounge, but Riddler's a bit of a psychopath. Oh, and also hass his brain a little broken from the ice because he can't even answer normal children's riddles. By the end of the day, Riddler's gone off on his own, and Riddlette gets a bullet put in his head by Zsasz. Zsasz is just great in this episode, isn't he? How he answers Riddlette's riddle with a very pleased expression or noting how Riddler's ice cube melted 'clears out the room' is just hilarious. 

We get to see the annointment of Ra's al Ghul in 125 AD, and how he's looking for a successor to free him from the 'curse'. We also get the confirmation throughout the episode that Ra's is Barbara's sponsor, and why she's alive. I did feel that it's a bit too soon to bring Ra's back, but if season four is going to be the last season of Gotham as many people think it is, well, then we need as much buildup as we can, don't we? Ra's fucking Barbara, I think.

Barbara sends Selina to get some embalming knife that we saw in Ra's flashback, which Batboy!Bruce also happens to be investigating. With Alfred's help, Bruce gets to practice acting both as a billionaire brat (which Mahouz portrays amazingly well!) and as a random scrawny brat. The show manages to portray Bruce with a fair amount of competence but also makes it pretty realistic that he doesn't get super-good overnight, because Alfred bails him out a fair amount of times in this episode. He and Alfred also get some of the funniest lines in the episode. Still not a big fan of the Bruce/Selina plotline, but eh, it's not the worst. 

DC Easter Eggs Corner::

• Sofia Falcone Gigante is based on a character from the comics, but her portrayal here couldn't be any more different. In the comics, Sofia is a big mammoth of a woman, and one of the most powerful enforcers of the Falcone family. She is particularly significant in the "Long Halloween" arc. 
• "Bruce Wayne, billionaire brat", is of course a variation on the famous "Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy" epithet that's associated with the character.
• Selina wears a domino mask while trying to steal the knife, which, of course, is a reference to some of the earlier Catwoman costumes that features a domino mask. Another Catwoman look is seen when Riddlette first frees Riddler, where she sports goggles and a cowl that sort of resembles cat ears, a reference to the more modern Catwoman look.