Final Thoughts From the Gotham Episode "A Bitter Pill to Swallow"

The thing I found most interesting about these two future criminal masterminds is the way they really are exact opposites, at least as far as murder goes. Penguin will kill if necessary but seems to look at it more like a necessary part of his criminal empire. Nygma, on the other hand, actually enjoys killing people. It'll be interesting to see which one influences the other one more or, more likely, whether their underlying differences will eventually cause a rift.

A big part of this episode was Gordon's dark side starting to show after his encounter with Barbara (Erin Richards). But, part of me wonders if maybe the detective just desperately needs to get away for a while.

The best thing Barnes can do for Gordon is give him a leave of absence and a plane ticket to Hawaii. After all, he's faced several serial killers, had to arrest both his ex-girlfriend and a man he thought was an ally and now has someone trying to outright kill him. It's actually a bit surprising he doesn't completely snap and end up at Arkham Asylum.

Bullock (Donal Logue) was noticeably absent from this episode, which was a huge surprise considering he's supposed to be Gordon's partner. You would think the more experienced detective would have been investigating Galavan's apartment too or, at minimum, been one of the officers that arrived to back him up.

So far, Tabitha (Jessica Lucas) has been very loyal to Galavan. But, I think that loyalty is starting to show some cracks, especially after he chewed her out for trying to have Gordon assassinated. She doesn't seem like a person who really enjoys taking orders and I wouldn't be surprised to see her betray him at some point, especially if she's forced to choose between him and Barbara.

Personally, I think Bruce (David Mazouz) is very lucky to have Alfred (Sean Pertwee) looking after him because, when it comes to his new girlfriend, Silver (Natalie Alyn Lind), he just seems to be clueless. Heck, he isn't even willing to listen to Selina (Camren Bicondova) unless she shows him proof.

Early on in the series, Bruce seemed like he wasn't easily fooled. So, I'm wondering if he really believes Silver is his friend or if maybe he realizes the truth and is trying to deceive everyone in an effort to find out about his parents. If it's the former, I'm honestly disappointed in him.

Overall, I thought this was a decent episode. It had plenty of action in it and those scenes with Nygma and Penguin were very entertaining to watch. I definitely enjoyed this one as a result of that.

My Grade: A