Barbara finally gets her man – as Ed Nygma experiences problems in the woods…
Bear with the slightly interminable scenes with the future Riddler as he tries to bury Miss Kringle’s body – they pay off in spectacular fashion at the very end of the episode, setting up a plotline that promises much. The scenes do show just how much the Riddler part of his personality is taking full control; it’s definitely no more Mr Nice Guy.
The other main plotline sees Galavan use Barbara’s desire to marry Jim Gordon play out to keep the detective distracted. Erin Richards makes up for any perceived deficiencies in the first season with a very strong performance here, as Barbara goes way over the edge, kidnapping Leigh and Jim and trying to force her former boyfriend to marry her. It’s good to see Harvey carrying out some proper detective work (albeit having ignored orders so blatantly earlier) and the final part of this plotline feels like a lovely homage to both the Michael Keaton and Christian Bale Batman vs. Joker movies!
Galavan of course isn’t keeping quiet: he’s trying to get hold of Bruce’s company, and offers the one thing that he knows young Bruce desperately wants – the name of his parents’ killers. As far as Bruce is concerned, Jim’s arrival to arrest Galavan may save things in one way, but causes more problems in another…
Verdict: A wonderfully loopy noir central plot and intriguing machinations elsewhere make this a strong episode. 8/10
Paul Simpson
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