Gotham Season 1 Episode 20 Review: Under the Knife

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I initially thought that a title like “Under the Knife” would mean Dollmaker had gotten his hands on Fish and would be performing some insane surgery on her.

But Fish was nowhere to be found in Gotham Season 1 Episode 20. Instead the hour continued the hunt for the elusive Ogre, while revealing the backstory to the character and his transformation from disfigured to handsome.

Oh, and he’s set his sights on Barbara Kean.

It’s certainly a convenient way to bring Barbara back into the fold and not just have her hanging out with kids in her apartment. And yet, at this point in the story at least, she’s not just some damsel in distress.

The Ogre’s interest in her obviously was because of her connection to Jim, his desire to harm the ones closest to those investigating him. He’s running on some dated info, clearly, but her interactions with him seemed to have surprised him.

Not only did she flat out say she didn’t have a boyfriend, but I think he liked the way she sort of took control of the situation. She wasn’t just fawning over him.

She was definitely a new challenge for him, and it was surprising to see him attend the Wayne charity ball for her. Though after she got a good look at his Fifty Shades of Grey room, the conversation might change between the two.

But has he ever voluntarily let one of his dates just enter the room without being forced in?

The guy obviously has issues, and it was great to get some history on that as Jim and Harvey uncovered the Ogre’s past. To find out he was a butler’s son and not from a wealthy family was an interesting reveal, as was the fact that he had changed his psychical appearance, as well.

On top of that, he was defeated in the second episode that we got to see him in. It’s great for Gotham to give us a longstanding villain (not including the mob stuff and Oswald, of course) rather than wrapping up the case neatly by the end of the hour.

It certainly allows the character to have more of an impact, and it will hopefully make Jim facing off with the Ogre that much bigger of a deal.

At least the Ogre didn’t get at Leslie, but I do wonder if Jim going back into Barbara’s life will mess up that relationship. And it’s been going so well, too.

On the smaller front, Edward continued his path towards the villainous Riddler, stabbing Kris Kringle’s abusive boyfriend. I’m not so sure though that that’s going to help make his relationship with her any stronger, but that’s a big turn for him.

As for Oswald, he certainly has more reason to take out Sal, who revealed to Oswald’s mother that the future Penguin is a killer. I was far less interested in those interactions for this hour, but I’m pretty sure we’ll see an attack on Sal by the end of Gotham Season 1.

Then there’s the continuing buddy-duo of Bruce and Selina. I still think at this age for their characters that we should be seeing less of them, but it is nice to see their growing relationship. Plus, it is refreshing to hear Selina be rather blunt about things.

Overall, I’m definitely looking forward to how the battle against the Ogre turns out, and it is good to see that we seem to be heading towards some big moments for the characters by the end of the season. 

What did you think of the Ogre? Will Oswald take out Sal? Tell us what you thought, and be sure to watch Gotham online for all the origin adventures.

Under the Knife Review

Editor Rating: 3.9 / 5.0
  • 3.9 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.7 / 5.0 (10 Votes)

Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.

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Gotham Season 1 Episode 20 Quotes

Selina: Everyone's staring at us.
Bruce: Well, I am Bruce Wayne.

Jim: I do. Love you.
Leslie: It only took a serial killer to get you to say that.