Friday, December 01, 2017

My Review of Gotham's 4x10: "Things That Go Boom"


Written by Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt
Directed by Louis Shaw Milito

Oswald (to Sofia/the Sirens): "You wanted a war. You got one!"

As wars go, not sure this was the most explosive one we've had just yet. This week, the pretense was dropped and Sofia made her intention to dethrone Oswald pretty clear and the rest of the episode was just the two of them trying to best either with both Gordon and the Sirens throwing their own spanners into the work along with Martin for good measure.

For those who hated the idea of Oswald and Sofia being close, this episode must have been a godsend to them. Oswald reacted predictably by trying to have Sofia tortured by a creepy dentist while Sofia managed to blackmail her way into not getting the cavity search from hell before getting snatched by the Sirens in broad daylight.

Having Sofia paired with Barbara, Tabitha and Selina is actually a good move and their plan to use Oswald's affections for Martin (whom Sofia had actually manipulated into telling Oswald about her and Gordon kissing) was actually a decent move until it appeared that Oswald was willing to kill a child in order not be weakened.

The reveal that Oswald just faked Martin's death was a good move as even killing a child would be a no no for Oswald. Oswald spent most of the episode being steps behind Sofia before getting a clue how to play her at the end of this one. As for Sofia, she's got the Sirens under her thumb for now while at the same time having lost Gordon as a pawn too. It'll be interesting to see how Oswald and Sofia's war ends, which I assume it might do next week but not before another player gets added into the mix.

Of course when this episode wasn't about Oswald and Sofia going head to head with each other, there was also Gordon trying to learn more about Professor Pyg. Having the latter open the episode with a death of a fellow inmate before ending it with a guard was a good way to show that Arkham wouldn't be a deterrent for Lazlo and I loved that he slipped when he talked in his real accent to Gordon. Having Pyg on the loose should add to the chaos for next week's mid-season finale.

Last but not least, we got more Narrows stuff. This week both Leslie and Nygma banded together to bring a rival neighborhood leader to heel and as a subplot, it worked well enough. I've quite liked this grudging friendship of sorts with Lee and Ed and that the former was honest about the latter being physically fine. For a moment, it almost as though Ed could possibly turn a corner but then we got a glimmer of the Riddler, so we can all guess what's going to happen next.

- How did Oswald not seemingly know where Barbara was before her phone call? She's been in the same place since her reappearance at the start of the start.
- Standout music: Pyg made sure we'll never listen to Ave Maria the same way again.
- No Bruce and Alfred this week or Bullock. I hope the latter is back soon.
- Chronology: Not long since the events of Let The Eat Pie.

Things That Go Boom was a bit more of a tiny boom than a big explosion. Next week looks like it will be the real war as Oswald and Sofia battle for the city while Gordon blunders everything. There's also the fact that Pyg is on the loose and a certain return to also look forward to as well.

Rating: 7 out of 10

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