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Gotham Season Four Premiere Recap: “Amateur Knight”

By Kelly Shanaphy

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As hard as Gotham originally tried to tell the story of Bruce Wayne before he became the city’s greatest defender, it was inevitable for the series to eventually have to give the young hero a true origin story.

“Amateur Knight,” sees Bruce takes his first real step into the darkness when he finally dons a Batman-esque mask and fights crime in the darkness. However, it’s still Gotham and criminals have run amuck despite having a new hero on the streets to assist Jim Gordon and the GCPD.

Photo Credit: FOX

With Penguin in charge, he’s spearheaded a movement to have crime “unionized” in Gotham which ostensibly gives people a “get out of jail free card,” as long as they don’t murder anyone. It’s won the endorsement of the police and the mayor who like the dip in criminal activity however it doesn’t fool Jim Gordon.

He’s prepared to go to any length to clean up the streets of his city, even if everyone else doesn’t agree with him. However, in “Amateur Knight,” he does gain one powerful adversary in the form of Bruce Wayne, who continues to showcase his emerging abilities. David Mazouz continues to get better every year in Gotham as he adapts from naive orphan to the tortured vigilante he’s destined to become.

Despite the law enforcement in the city standing by Penguin, it turns out that other gangs aren’t so happy to work alongside him. A rival gang decides the answer to their problem is to break into Arkham Asylum and kidnap Jonathan Crane in order to utilize his father’s fear juice. With the terrified Crane under their command, the gang begins robbing banks before Gordon tracks them down.

They are kind enough to inform Gordon and Harvey that their plan is to take down Cobblepot which sends the former to the Iceberg Lounge to warn the boss. Penguin doesn’t take the threat very seriously, but it only provides the gang an opportunity to ridicule him. Ivy (for some reasons) chooses to betray Penguin and align herself with new criminals which forces Gordon to come to the rescue however the damage is done.

By the end of, “Amateur Knight,” Penguin has lost his credibility and has made a new slew of enemies.

Photo Credit: FOX

One of those people who stand against him is Tabitha Galavan who doesn’t like the idea of working for anyone. She has a new partner in the form of a very competent Selina Kyle, who finally gets to use a whip.

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Selina is well on her way to following her destiny to become Catwoman and her complicated history with Bruce shines here as well. The two hang out on the roof of the lounge where he apologizes for dismissing her gesture of visiting while Albert was in the hospital. While all of the other romantic relationships on the show suffer from an unsteady foundation, it’s nice to see these two teenagers continue trying to figure out how to fit in each other’s worlds.

However in “Amateur Knight,” it’s clear that Selina is diving headfirst into a life of crime while Bruce plans to keep his feet firmly on the side of justice. The two will have to be inevitably driven apart by the end of the season despite how much they care about one another and it’s already a heartbreaking thought.

With everyone stepping into new roles on Gotham, “Amateur Knight,” tries to set up a formidable opponent for everyone. By the episode’s end, Jonathan Crane has officially shed his terrified persona to finally become the Scarecrow. He’s prepared to terrorize people with his fear toxin but thankfully both Jim and Harvey are on the case.

Next: A darker version of “Sabrina The Teenage Witch” Spinoff in the works for the CW

Unfortunately for Bruce, he isn’t quite Batman yet and it seems like he’ll be caught by the police early in his vigilante career after attempting to stop a mugging.

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