Rise of the Villains: Scarification

"Rise of the Villains: Scarification" is the fifth episode of the second season and 27th episode overall from the FOX series Gotham. The episode was written by Jordan Harper and directed by Bill Eagles. It was first broadcast in October 19, 2015 in FOX.

Plot

The Galavans kidnap Sid Bunderslaw and remove one of his eyes to gain access to a safe in a building owned by Wayne Enterprises. Through Selina Kyle, Cobblepot and Gilzean enlists the help of an infamous family of arsonists called the Pike brothers to ensure Theo's goal is reached. After another hit on Cobblepot's illegal business by the GCPD strike force, Gordon kills one of the Pikes, forcing the rest to use their stepsister Bridgit (Michelle Veintimilla), to sneak inside a Wayne Enterprises building and steal an old knife that belonged to the Wayne family. Theo asks Gordon to support his candidacy for mayor, but Gordon declines. Cobblepot discovers the history behind the knife: in the 19th century it was used by Jonathan Wayne, Bruce's ancestor, to punish Caleb Dumas for his alleged sexual abuse towards Celestine Wayne, Jonathan's sister. After the Wayne's erased the Dumas name from history, the surviving members were exiled as punishment. They changed their names to Galavan, leading their descendants, Theo and Tabitha, to seek revenge on the Waynes by killing their last descendant, Bruce. Cobblepot plans to use this information to blackmail Theo and free his mother. During another heist, the Pike Brothers abandon Bridgit as Gordon and Bullock attempt to stop the Pikes and she is forced to flee with Selina's help, accidentally killing a member of the strike force. Desperate, Gordon agrees to support Theo if he can help GCPD to clean up Gotham. Theo is visited by Father Creel (Ron Rifkin), who states that their revenge on the Waynes is soon at hand and that Bruce will be dead.

Reception

Ratings

The episode was watched by 4.19 million viewers.^[1] This was an increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 4.17 million viewers.^[2] This made Gotham the most watched program of the day in FOX, beating Minority Report.

Critical Reviews

"Rise of the Villains: Scarification" received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The episode received a rating of 79% with an average score of 6.5 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus stating: "'Scarification' suffers from an overabundance of plot points, but the episode's attention-getting acts of violence hint at more compelling developments to follow."^[3]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.3 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict: "There wasn't anything egregiously wrong with 'Scarification' except that it felt like the show was backsliding a bit. Supposedly, the 'cases of the week' are gone but this episode sort of proved that you can't fully leave that aspect of the show behind. Yes, this week's case tied into a 'future' DC villain, but it also worked to take our heroes even further away from the main conspiracy. They're now three times removed from the main plot. Anyhow, I feel like the Firefly stuff will have to get more intense, and therefore more interesting, next week in the second half of the arc. Just given the sort of character Bridgit is supposed to wind up becoming down the road."^[4]

The A.V. Club's Kyle Fowle gave the episode a "D" grade and wrote, "'Scarification' is Gotham in a nutshell, an episode that's narratively scattered and consistently uninterested in moving along meaningful and engaging plotlines, and also deepening the show's ever-expanding roster of characters."^[5]

References