Gotham Review: Ace Chemicals (Season 5 Episode 7)
It’s official. Gotham is on a hot streak.
Gotham Season 5 Episode 7, “Ace Chemicals,” culminates several strong episodes in a row, as it takes time to revisit several of the show’s core relationships. At the same time, it inserts Jeremiah (can we call him the Joker yet?) into the Batman origin story.
Each story between the characters of Gotham this week is interwoven with Bruce revisiting his origins and battling with Jeremiah.
For instance: Jim requires Lee’s assistance investigating a weird murder involving gangs from the Narrows, which accidentally entangles them with Jervis Tetch and plays into Jeremiah’s master plan.
Oswald and Selina’s “let’s get outta dodge” team-up goes the same way. They look for a tunnel and end up finding Alfred outside a demolished Wayne Manor.
Usually, Gotham tells interesting stories that are divided up among their characters, but “Ace Chemicals” managed to intertwine most of them in a special way. They pulled out a lot of stops for the Joker origin episode and it shows.
Using Jim and Lee as stand-ins for Bruce’s parents was interesting, but the real payoff from that sequence was Selina’s involvement. Selina has expressed regret that she wasn’t able to help Bruce when she was in the alley the night his parents were killed. In Jeremiah’s recreation, Selina shows up just in time to stop him from killing Jim and Lee, illustrating tremendous growth for her character over the last 5 years.
More interesting still is Jim and Lee’s cathartic reunion team-up. The Jim and Lee relationship has experienced some serious turmoil over the years on Gotham, but seeing them team up and both express regret about their past felt real, raw, and cathartic. Plus, lest we forget, the chemistry between the real-life couple Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin is unrivaled.
The rest of “Ace Chemicals” was a revue of sorts, revisiting iconic pairings like Cobblepot and Nygma, Jim and Lee, and of course, Bruce Wayne and The Joker (am I allowed to say that?). Jeremiah’s row with Bruce led to the familiar origin story that included falling in a vat of toxic waste.
Jeremiah: Without me, you’re just a joke without a punch-line.
Really, the Jeremiah/Bruce story gives the familiar story a twist. Most Batman fans know how the Joker came to be, but Gotham has always been its own thing. As such, they’re right to put their own twist on things.
A few stray thoughts:
- I didn’t mention Barbara much, but the love triangle thing with Jim and Lee is getting very interesting
- To compound that, Barbara’s scene with Ed and Oswald is hysterical. Great scene!
- Fan theory time: Barbara Keen is going to have Jim’s baby, and then she’s going to die doing something heroic. Then, Jim ends up with Lee and they raise/adopt the girl and name her “Barbara” in Ms. Keen’s honor. You heard it here first.
- It was really good to see Jervis Tetch again. He’s a very underrated Gotham villain.
What did you think of this episode of Gotham? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Gotham airs Thursdays at 8/7c on FOX.
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Nick Hogan
Nick Hogan is an experienced podcaster and writer (particularly on media topics), who loves discussion and analysis of TV and is always looking for new shows to watch. He is also a parent who loves buffalo wings, blowing raspberries, and his beloved Cincinnati Reds.