Mad world.
By Matt Fowler
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow…
While certainly flawed in typical Gotham-y ways, “Knock, Knock” was still demented fun. I’ll stand behind this one. Issues with tone continue to run rampant, but parts of this one reminded me of the Tim Burton Batman films in terms of playful darkness. And, in particular, when we’d get scenes featuring Nicholson’s Joker or The Penguin’s Red Triangle clowns causing chaos all over town, tying to make their mark and terrorize the city. Because things got very violent this week. Spring-boarding off last week’s puppeted, decapitated head, “Knock, Knock” gave us a bunch of people hurled off a roof, a bus full of cheerleaders almost being burned alive, and a huge massacre at the GCPD – which counted Commissioner Essen among its victims.
And is it weird that one of my favorite parts of this episode was the fact that Penguin wasn’t on it? Penguin, who many could argue is the show’s best, most-watchable character? One of my gripes about last season was that there was this constant need to include everyone in every episode even if they weren’t called for. So Penguin would show up just to have a scene with his mother when it would have been better to keep him off-screen for a few episodes and use him when it really mattered and/or when he specifically had some story to get through.
And now they’ve done it. Penguin wasn’t needed this week so Penguin wasn’t used this week. A great step for this series. A step toward more focused episodes and a larger confidence in the ongoing, central story. And whether or not Jerome’s supposed to be The Joker or Barbara’s supposed to (somehow) be Harley, and all the bickering that debate can cause, the two of them are still currently representing this show’s version of those characters. Proto-versions and/or surrogates. I mean, the fact that we know Jerome’s full name is a big indicator that he probably won’t turn out to be Joker, whose origins are notoriously shrouded. But the Joker spirit is certainly present, and Cameron Mongahan’s cackling madman is a force to behold. And his laugh is pretty great. Galavan was right to applaud it.
Was it easy to spot Essen’s death on the horizon? Of course. All of a sudden she gets meaningful lines describing bits of her character and motivation? Oh, she was a goner for sure. But it was a still a huge move for the Maniax to gun down just about every cop in the precinct. This was a cold episode. And even though those cheerleaders didn’t get set ablaze, the idea behind it was still dark enough to resonate. And, yes, the third act massacre was big enough to help me buy Harvey returning to the fold, no questions asked or explanations given. And, on a side note, I really liked that Harvey’s resentful fiancé was Scottie (Maria Thayer), the support group gal he asked out back in “The Fearsome Dr. Crane.”
Again though, tonally, there were times when things felt a bit too silly and frolicsome on the villain front. Just the fact that the “rapist” of the Maniax, Will Brill’s Arnold Dobkins, was played off as a quirky, soft-spoken comedic character didn’t quite sit right. And the continuous whipping and beating of Richard Kind’s mayor (whose head was in a box the whole time) was also played for laughs, as most everything Richard Kind does. But yeah, Tabitha and Barbara were just going to town on him, not even knowing if they’d killed him at one point. So the specific vibe the episode was going for was hard to get a handle on at some points. But overall, “Knock Knock” kept me very interested. So that’s my overriding litmus test right now. I was engaged.
And Barbara, while not displaying typical Harley-traits, is still a formidable force on the show. She didn’t get to be a full-fledged member of the Maniax, per se, but she was instrumental in drawing Gordon away from the gunfire – and then unleashing Aaron Helzinger on him, who was first seen back in “Rogues’ Gallery” (played by a different actor then). And while Essen may have fallen in the attack, she at least got a notable exit, verbally sparring with Jerome and then firing back with a headbutt at one point.
Meanwhile, big things also happened between Bruce and Alfred after Alfred smashed apart Thomas’ computer – causing Bruce to fire him. No, I didn’t expect Alfred to return to his job so quickly, in the same episode, but at least the rehire came with Bruce’s promise to listen to every damn order Alfred gives going forward (he’ll even go to school!). So hopefully there’ll be no more petty spats between them. Plus, Lucius was brought more directly into the mix after Alfred saddled up to him in a bar and let loose a barrage of British-isms designed to both baffle and entice.
“Knock, Knock” wasn’t a smooth ride, but parts of it did feel like the series was newly reinvigorated with focus and confidence, fully embracing madcap violence. And the villains’ big, game-changing move at the end was just what the show needed right now.
