Heroes Rise: Light the Wick

"Heroes Rise: Light the Wick" is the eighteenth episode of the third season, and 62nd episode overall from the Fox series Gotham. The show is itself based on the characters created by DC Comics set in the Batman mythology. The episode was written by Tze Chun and directed by Mark Tonderai. It was first broadcast on May 15, 2017.

In the episode, Gordon discovers more about the impending judgment planned to occur in Gotham City by the Court of Owls. He sees that they possess the Tetch virus and plan on unleashing it over Gotham in order to clean the city from its dark selves and the Court enlisted Hugo Strange's death in order to achieve it. Meanwhile, Lee finds evidence that Frank Gordon's death could be staged as a suicide rather than a homicide and thinks Gordon is involved in his death. Also, Cobblepot begins planning on finding Nygma and seeks Gordon's help while Bruce continues his training with the Shaman.

The episode received generally positive reviews, with critics praising Gordon's storyline although Bruce's storyline and the slow progression received criticism.

Plot

In Arkham Asylum, Barnes (Michael Chiklis) is escorted by orderlies outside the prison for transference. He uses his strength to break free, causing the orderlies to flee. However, he is confronted by Talon, who sedates him although he is nearly killed. All these events are watched from Tetch's (Benedict Samuel) cell. Barnes is brought to the Court where Kathryn (Leslie Hendrix) has Professor Strange (B. D. Wong) drain some of Barnes' blood.

Lee (Morena Baccarin) shows evidence to Bullock (Donal Logue), regarding Gordon's (Ben McKenzie) involvement in Frank's death, implying he may be involved in it. Ivy (Maggie Geha) visits Tabitha (Jessica Lucas) to ask for Selina (Camren Bicondova), discovering she is in the hospital. She arrives at the hospital and is told by a doctor that Selina's injuries are so severe that she will probably die. Back in the Court, Strange is revealed to be affected by the Tetch virus so that it can spread throughout the air. Meanwhile, Gordon takes a sample of hair from Kathryn's mask, sending it to Bullock.

After receiving information from Bullock, Gordon finds Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) and Bridgit (Camila Perez) waiting for him outside. He demands information regarding Nygma's (Cory Michael Smith) location although Gordon negates his knowledge. Cobblepot gives him a phone in order to call him later. Gordon infiltrates Kathryn's house and finds a Wayne Enterprises access code in a drawer. He informs Kathryn about Cobblepot's suspicions and Kathryn reveals that with Gotham in the edge of darkness, and as such, they will unleash a weapon in order to bring out "their darkest selves". Gordon instantly deduces the weapon is the Tetch virus

Back in the mountains, Bruce (David Mazouz) continues his training with the Shaman (Raymond J. Barry), who sends him into his parents' wake. He makes Bruce see the fact that he is still angry at his parents' death and in order to move on, he needs to let it go. Arriving at a lab, Gordon and Bullock are attacked by a man infected with the virus until he is stopped by Strange. Seeing they can't arrest Strange to risk the virus getting unleashed, Strange gives them notes and a vial of the virus compound. Kathryn then calls Gordon in order to meet him for a reunion.

Gordon meets with Kathryn in a reunion of socialites where the plan to put a dispersal bomb with the virus. After Kathryn leaves, Gordon gives a call to Cobblepot to inform him of the bomb. With the time running out, he attacks Talon and after a fight, Bridgit arrives and kills Talon with a flamethrower, causing everyone in the building to flee. Ivy uses medicinal plants in the hospital in order to cure Selina's illness, who is hell bent on killing Five. Gordon finds Lee leaving the GCPD. After a final confrontation regarding Mario's death, she leaves. Cobblepot is kidnapped and jailed in a cell by the Court, reuniting with a shocked Nygma. Kathryn meets with Barnes, telling him that Gordon is a threat for them and orders him to kill him, deeming him a traitor. Barnes replies he's guilty and he'll be his "executioner".

Production

Development

In April 2017, it was announced that the eighteenth episode of the season will be titled "Light the Wick" and was to be written by Tze Chun and directed by Mark Tonderai.^[1]

Casting

Sean Pertwee, Erin Richards, and Drew Powell don't appear in the episode as their respective characters. In April 2017, it was announced that the guest cast for the episode would include Leslie Hendrix as Kathryn, Camila Perez as Bridgit Pike/Firefly, Raymond J. Barry as the Shaman, and B. D. Wong as Hugo Strange.^[1]

Reception

Viewers

The episode was watched by 2.98 million viewers with a 0.9/3 share among adults aged 18 to 49, a new series low.^[2] This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 3.03 million viewers with a 1.0/4 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3] With this rating, Gotham ranked second for FOX, behind Lucifer but beating Lucifer in the 18-49 demographics, fourth on its timeslot and ninth for the night behind a rerun of Kevin Can Wait, The Wall, two reruns of The Big Bang Theory, Man with a Plan, Scorpion, Dancing with the Stars, and The Voice.

The episode was the 58th most watched for the week in terms of viewership.^[4]

Critical reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)	100%[5]
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)	6.87[5]
IGN	6.6[6]
TV Overmind	[7]

"Heroes Rise: Light the Wick" received generally positive reviews from critics. The episode received a rating of 100% with an average score of 6.87 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.^[5]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode an "okay" 6.6 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "The return of Barnes and Hugo Strange provided some highlights in a rather harried chapter that rushed us through Jim's time as man trying to thwart the Court from within."^[6]

Nick Hogan of TV Overmind gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5, writing "Overall, this was a fantastic and exciting episode. Though I had some issues with the way it was executed, I’m still as excited as ever for what’s to come."^[7] Amanda Bell of EW gave the episode a "B" and wrote, "Two pieces of the puzzle are quickly coming together for the Court of Owls' plan to devastate Gotham, but there's one wild card they seemingly were not expecting: the return of Oswald Cobblepot from his watery grave."^[8]

Vinnie Mancuso of New York Observer wrote, "Until Steve Harvey becomes the Pope, there is not an actor-to-role combination better than Wong and Strange, except for maybe Wong and the transgender cyber-terrorist he plays on Mr. Robot."^[9] Robert Yanis, Jr. of Screenrant wrote, "Gotham wisely delegates much of the focus on the aforementioned Court of Owls, which actually gets more screen time here than perhaps it ever has in a single episode."^[10]

Kayti Burt of Den of Geek gave the show a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Bringing in the Court of Owls has been a strike of genius for Gotham this season. By giving both our favorite heroes and our favorite villains a common antagonist in Kathryn and her Court, they are allowed to work together and interact in a way we have never quite seen from this show. Surely, it cannot last, but, for now, the boundaries between the protagonists and antagonists of Gotham have never felt more permeable and I love it."^[11] Megan Vick of TV Guide wrote, "After many tense episodes of separation, Gotham put Penguin and Nygma back together again -- at least physically."^[12]

References

External links

• "Heroes Rise: Light the Wick" on IMDb
• "Heroes Rise: Light the Wick" at TV.com