Spirit of the Goat

With this appropriately creepy episode the show manages to add some much needed layers to some characters, while trying to add some unneeded ones to others. Things start with a flashback to 10 years ago when a younger Harvey Bullock helped take down a masked killer who called himself the Goat. Now a decade after that case was closed another victim turns up, matching the Goat's MO to perfection.

Bullock is really given the chance to shine in this episode, whereas before he's just largely been the slovenly foil to Gordon's more straight laced cop. This really is his episode more than anybody else's, and that's nice to see. Granted, having him appear more idealistic in his younger days is a bit of an obvious way to go, but it makes sense and it also lends some concern to what Gordon could become if this city beats him the way it's clearly beaten Bullock. The flashback also gives us the always wonderful Dan Hedaya as Bullock's old partner.

However the episode also spends more time than is warranted on Edward Nigma. Right now Nigma works best as a recurring easter egg: a fun touch in small doses. Trying to show how social inept and awkward he is doesn't tell us anything we couldn't have already guessed and it just makes for some uncomfortable viewing. Selina Kyle also pops up again, for no clear reason other than to remind us that she's around. I'm kind of waiting for her to become legitimately relevant.

The resolution of the case also has a bit of the generic cop show flavor to it. You know how it goes: cop has a moment of revelation, goes to see the REAL criminal that nobody suspected, has a conversation where everything is revealed, things get physical, etc. It works well enough, but it's a bit of a cliché moment.

Despite these slips, this Bullock centric episode is still a strong piece that's well presented. And Bullock isn't the only high point. Penguin continues to be the wild-card in all of this, and it's really exciting seeing how much he throws EVERYBODY off their game plan. It's a great character, because he's very clever but not quite as clever as he thinks he is. It's a delicate balance that's really working for the show so far.

The very end of this episode makes me very excited to see what comes next.

I don't know if I have ever watched a show that is this inconsistent. One week it's complete trash and the next week it gives us it's most compelling story of the entire series. I just want it to stick with what works, and Spirit of the Goat definitely worked.

This was the first episode of the season that didn't feel Bruce Wayne heavy, and too focused on giving us Easter eggs. Let's not forget about that blatantly obvious Riddler tease on Nygma's mug but I can forgive that because of how great the back story was with this episode. Now I don't think it needed to be 10 years back that we saw spirit of the goat considering Bullock looks exactly the same, but knowing the history behind this case definitely peaked my interest. Donal Logue gave his best performance of the season so far and the episode even had my guessing as to what was going to happen. Pretty much every episode so far has been predictable and flat in terms of the villain of the week, but this episode proved that Gotham does have a place on TV, at least for now.

Nygma's side story with the case files lady was unnecessary and completely out of place, especially considering we didn't need Nygma for the rest of the episode anyway. And Selina Kyle's brief appearance was strange and underwhelming. The episode was probably better served having Selina, Bruce, and Alfred all sit out like Mooney and other crime families did. But this was also the first episode where Penguin didn't have a large part (until the end) but still significantly impacted the episode. I am actually looking forward to next week's episode, and that's a first for this show.

So while I think the directing of the show can definitely improve with cuts of unnecessary scenes the show once again has my attention. Now keep it.

+Bullock shines

+Interesting villain story

+Fresh way of storytelling for the show

+Not as many teases for the future

-Nygma scenes felt out of place

-Give Bruce and Alfred a few episodes off

8.6/10

"Spirit of the Goat" was creepy. I mean like super creepy. The opening scene was probably the second best, with the first being the murder of the Waynes. Jim and Harvey have to track down this killer who is killing off the first born of Gotham's richest citizens.

For Harvey, this happened in the past for him and he thought he killed him. Apparently he is still alive. Or is it just one person?

Jim is also being close to becoming a criminal himself because Montoya and her partner found evidence to indict him. The ending to the episode was also well done and episode 7 of Gotham will pick up very quickly.

Be sure to watch next week and on.