Gotham “Ruin”

I hadn’t realized how much I missed Zsasz until he popped up in this episode.

There are a handful of characters on Gotham by this point who never quite got tiresome.  I will never forget thinking Professor Pyg of all characters was awesome.  Penguin has his moments, as does the Riddler.  But Zsasz?  Something about that guy seems to be operating on a whole different level.  It’s the delivery, really.  While other villains go full blown melodramatic megalomaniac, Zsasz seems to underplay his lines like he’s having a casual conversation, that he really is your best friend, and he just happened to be a very competent serial killer.

I mean, this episode had him remind everyone he scars his body for each kill, and he’s still so darn charming.

What it comes down to this time is are the people of Gotham City a bunch of easily-led boobs who will follow whatever id passions are striking them at a given moment, or are they calm, cool people who listen to reason and never do anything…you know what?  I can’t even finish that sentence.  The citizens of Gotham really are easy to lead into stupidity on a routine basis.  I am pretty sure what’s why every bad guy on the show, no matter how psychotic, always seems to amass followers without even trying all that hard.

I mean Jeremiah this time.  Selina gives him a couple good stabs before Bruce and Alfred get her out of there, so I am sure there will be an argument in the next episode about how Bruce robbed her of her rightful vengeance or something because you can set your watch to their arguments, but that’s about all I will say about that.

No, this time it’s the Penguin’s leading a kangaroo court to convict Zsasz, seen leaving the scene of the crime, so he must be the guilty party, right?  Oh yeah. Oswold is still mad at Zsasz’s betraying him to Sofia Falcone, but man, Zsasz just thinks Penguin should just get over that.  Regardless, there’s a guillotine, and the crowd roars that Zsasz should be executed for bombing the refuge.

Of course, by that time, Nygma and Lucius found evidence that the blast came from a rocket-propelled grenade shot from across the street.  Zsasz couldn’t have done it, so Gordon tries the tried and true method of appealing to the crowd’s better instincts to save a serial killer for one act of mass murder he didn’t do.  And when that doesn’t work, he and Harvey help Zsasz escape, leading a lot of those angry citizens, including some cops, to forget Gordon had food and move back to the Penguin’s district.

OK, so, to be clear…Gordon did save a serial killer.  He did lose a lot of people to a flamboyantly loud mama’s boy.  And he got drunk afterwards.  That’s probably not an excuse to hook up with Barbara afterwards, but that’ll be what he has to end up going with.

Still…it sure was nice to see Zsasz.

Oh, and the Riddler is the one who blew up the refuge.  He just doesn’t remember it.  And he dumped the old lady in a wheelchair, the one witness, out of her window to her death.

I knew the crazy would be somehow crazier when compressed into a final half-season, but still…