Gotham (1×06) Review - “Spirit of the Goat”

A crook from the past returns to continue his work, but can he be stopped indefinitely?

For the final episode of the month, Gotham turned its focus towards a different viewpoint; a small back story in the past of Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). In “Spirit of the Goat” Bullock has to confront a problem in a case from the past, thought to be long gone, while the MCU (Major Crimes Unit) is hot on Gordon’s trail thinking he to be the killer of Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor). It was a positive change for the episode as more of Bullock’s deeper emotions (as he calls them: ‘The Black Box’) were revealed and viewers were able to see more than just his gruff stature. We’re used to seeing him giving Gordon (Ben McKenzie) lectures and warning him not to do anything without a green light, only to discover, thanks to his old partner Detective Dix (Daniel Hedaya) that Bullock was once exactly the type of person most, if not all viewers expected him not to be. They’re tracking down a murderer who calls himself a spirit of the goat, someone Bullock and Dix thought they’d put down years ago, and they can’t seem to pinpoint who he is. Did he survive Bullock’s gun shots? Is he more than one man? There’s only one way to find out; read on and stay out of the shadows.

Gotham’s main rule: “No heroes.”

Gotham continues to take small steps towards reaching its vision, and this week we got a better idea of some of the reasons Bullock is the way he is. Of course, it’s not enough as to why he’s always trying to take the easy way out and avoid having to do much work, which is completely childish. Then again, he had more personal screen time which dipped into his past where he and his former partner Detective Dix worked on the case involving a man who claims he’s the spirit of a goat. Just let that sink in for a moment. While Gotham is trying to overcome previous mistakes and is getting on the right path, this “villain of the week” was incredibly lame and didn’t have anything significant to his persona. So the detectives tracked him down to save a girl, and through the chase in an old building Bullock is forced to shoot the goat killer, which also resulted in the permanent injury of his older partner. This is a big turning point in both Bullock’s career and life, leading him to becoming the very pessimistic man he is today.

When a similar goat killer appears in present day, bodies are popping up and through the help of a GCPD coroner and his own history, Bullock discovers it’s the same person and makes a visit to his old partner in a hospital. We learn that Bullock’s actually been paying Dix’s hospital bills and ensures he receives the magazines he wants as well. In an interesting conversation Dix explains that the goat killer isn’t one man, but perhaps many doing the work for the same, twisted cause. Near the end of this scene, we had some laughs as Dix explains that Bullock was in fact, once more like Gordon; the type to run into a fight or scenario regardless of the surrounding situation.

Dix: “Watch out for him.”

Gordon: “Oh yeah, why’s that?”

Dix: “He’s a loose cannon. He thinks he’s a white knight, jumping into the breach, like some idiot in the movies.”

Gordon: “We talking about Bullock here?”

Dix: “We’re talking about Bullock here.”

The goat killer targets teenagers of the wealthy, and hangs them up once they’re dead as some sort of sacrifice or message. Gordon and Bullock find a lead thanks to Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) and track down the latest kidnapping to the same place Bullock shot the killer ten years prior. This scene could’ve allowed for better shot angles and more frantic action but it suited Bullock’s slower style as he fought the goat while Gordon saved the girl. Bullock was about to get smashed in by a hammer until Gordon saves him and beats up the crook with his military skills. We definitely want to see more hand to hand combat rather than long chases and “Spirit of the Goat” provided just that. Something to note is that the killer dressed his victims up as prizes after he’d kill them in a non brutal fashion.

The appearance made the goat killer to look like Gotham’s greatest villain yet, which was undermined when Bullock discovered the therapist Dr. Marks (Susan Misner) actually used hypnosis on different victims to control them and make them attack the rich. There were no significant origins to the goat killer whatsoever, which made this episode fall out for its villain portion of the plot. However, including some of Bullock’s past history was great and allowed viewers to get a glimpse of what’s beneath his rough exterior, more of which could definitely help the series down the road.

The Major Crimes Unit is on Gordon’s tail while he tries to sort things out with Barbara – How far does Renee’s jealousy run?

The MCU has been trying to prove Gordon to be Oswald Cobblepot’s murderer for some time now, and they finally had a thorough source in a homeless man who witnessed the supposed shooting and even identifies him as the shooter. Of course, nobody besides Gordon and the Maroni crime family are the only ones aware that little Penguin is still alive. Barbara (Erin Richards) pays Renee (Victoria Cartagena) a visit only to be told to leave Gotham, because it’s too late to save Gordon. She’s been really on his case harder than most people in Gotham, so what is her issue? What exactly is Renee’s bad deed that Barbara continuously brings up? It’s definitely negative but just how deep is the situation?

Detectives Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen (Andrew Stewart-Jones) arrest Gordon and take him to the GCPD where, to the surprise of all, Cobblepot shows up at the very end of the episode. The look on Bullock’s face was that of shock and then anger when he realizes Gordon played him. This should make for some very intriguing conversation next week, an episode we’re most hyped for since the pilot, especially since it’ll likely become publicly known that Cobblepot’s still alive. How exactly will Fish react to this?

On this week’s Gotham, there were some small yet positive developments in less seen characters and their relationships.

Edward Nygma had some more screen time this week, working thoroughly with Gordon and Bullock to solve the goat killer case. He also showed interest in a file clerk named Kristen Kringle (Chelsea Spack), choosing to very awkwardly sniff her while she walks by him the first time. He also goes on to talk about her last name, making fun of her and her family for keeping it, and even re organizes all her files to his liking, without her approval. This is a very bizarre way of flirting, if that’s what he’s even trying to do here. We’ve always enjoyed Nygma with less screen time and as he gets more, he reveals just how weird he is. It’s interesting that he fits in with the GCPD and their standards.

What’s funny is that Bruce (David Mazouz) is one of the wealthiest people in Gotham, yet Selina (Camren Bicandova) managed to unlock the door of his office room from the outside. She goes through the office, reading Bruce’s news clips on a big board somewhat similar to that of Barry Allen’s in The Flash. This scene is short, but viewers observe Selina, who in turn is observing Bruce while he sleeps (not creepy at all). We’re not exactly shipping Bruce and Selina just yet, and fans agree, as the two younglings need to encounter each other through more screen time.

Final Verdict

What we were very pleased with in “Spirit of the Goat” was the placement and usage of dialogue from the episodes writer Ben Edlund. Though he was awkward in this episode, Edward Nygma consistently brings some funny one liners along with his riddles and Edlund continued that trend. The scene in which the killer is caught also brings laughs when you factor in Bullock’s personality and that he’s heard the goat say the same line as annoyingly before.

Goat killer: “You will never stop the goat. I will always come back.”

Bullock: “Quit saying that!”

The dialogue was good, but the action didn’t keep up. Gotham has a lot more of villains pulling off easy heists which often lead to big chases, not even in cars but on foot. While chases are definitely needed, we feel there isn’t enough hand to hand combat to support it, something that should definitely be tweaked for the future as Gotham is a dangerous place, and where danger’s involved there should be lots of diversity in the action. Whenever Gordon fights someone it looks great, but we need to see a lot more of his military training put to use.

This week, we took a break from Fish’s plot to thwart Carmine Falcone and saw little, but delightful when on screen, of Cobblepot. The villains being the goat killers from past and present, including the mastermind Dr. Marks, were not very dynamic, but enabled us to see into Bullock’s tormented past and the factors behind his sometimes lazy and arrogant ways. Feeling emotions for Bullock isn’t what fans expected but needed, as we can feel for him and root him on more than ever before. Donal Logue performed very well in an episode focused on him and should only improve moving forward. Gotham has more work to do, but the show’s taking small steps with weaker plots as an advantage to pave the way for greater and deeper storylines to follow in these next few weeks, be sure to tune in!