Gotham- Spirit Of The Goat

This was kind of a different episode. Most of the time, the series is about Detective Jim Gordon; the one good cop in a corrupt city. However, this episode focuses on his partner, dirty cop Harvey Bullock, and has some nice character development for him.

10 years before the series began, Bullock wasn't that different from Gordon, a more idealistic officer determined to bring criminals to justice. He and his partner successfully closed the case on a serial killer claiming to be the Spirit of the Goat, who targeted heiresses of Gotham's rich and elite. Cut to present day and there's a new killer who's modus operandi is the same as the Goat's, right down to a calling card left out of the police reports.

For once, Bullock is just as if not more determined to close a case than Gordon. We also see that he's been looking after his old partner, who was injured when they took down the original Goat. Bullock pays his rest home dues, and sends him dirty magazines regularly.

And in the end, Bullock solves the case himself (as Gordon gets arrested for Oswald Cobblepot's "murder"), and arrests the common link between the killers- their psychiatrist. She had been using hypnotism to implant the Spirit of the Goat into them in order to punish the 1%. It was really cool to see that Harvey actually is a good detective when driven, and still has some good cop in him, which made him one of the more interesting characters back in Batman: The Animated Series.

The episode also brings some of the series' plot points to a head. Gordon makes an effort to reconcile with Barbara and tell her some of what's happened since the Wayne murders. At the same time, Montoya and her partner in the Major Crimes Unit have enough evidence to bring Gordon in for Cobblepot's death, only for Penguin to show up at the police station alive and well. Bullock is furious at this revelation, and faces off with Gordon just as the episode ends. I get the impression that the show's going on a mid-season hiatus soon, and that the following episode should bring the Falcone vs. Maroni to a head as a gang war breaks out. Looking forward to it.