Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "Damned If You Do?"

[KSiteTV]

What did you think?

[vantheman77]

Only things I liked were Bruce, Alfred, and the cave along with stuff with the villains especially at the end. Redundant to have Jim Gordon be dismissed only to go to Penguin and be reinstated as I hope they don't go back and forth with it. Congrats to Sarah Essen on being the new Commissioner.

[Kal26]

Loved this episode. The dynamic between the villains was great, Barb is my new fav, and what a way to end the episode!

[Aries83]

I gave it a 7, mainly because I thought the cold open was a little haphazard. They show Bruce and Alfred at the cave door, then cut to some looney tune swallowing a mysterious liquid before he wanders the streets only to cross paths with Gordon? Sure, they explained what he and company have been up to and how it played into the episode, but: They could've done better.

Overall, it was a good episode. I liked everything with Bruce and Alfred, Penguin, and—surprisingly—Barbara. Talk about a 180! Thank God. I'd rather have her become a scheming villain than the sad sack she was last season. I enjoyed it. She's my Fish Mooney this season!

I thought the stuff with the villains at Arkham was ok. They sure dispatched of Richard Sionis really fast, though. We'll have to wait and see what the Galavans have planned for the city.

I loved the letter Bruce's father left for him (and his reaction as he read it), too.

Redundant to have Jim Gordon be dismissed only to go to Penguin and be reinstated as I hope they don't go back and forth with it.

Agreed. Hopefully, it won't become a crutch for the writers. Now that Jim is back, I'm sure Bullock will come around soon enough.

I'm sure it'll get better as it goes on, but: A definite improvement over last season.

[Aurora Moon]

this was a very decent start to season 2. and I love Barbara as a villain... she's actually better this way.

[costas22]

It was ok. The good thing is that it doesn't look like the show will deal with many balls in the air this time. Not a fan of seeing Jim cross the line like he did and maybe that's something that will come back to haunt him later on.

Erin Richards shone in her new role. I still think they took the easy way out with her character, but she's making the most of it.

[Aries83]

Not a fan of seeing Jim cross the line like he did and maybe that's something that will come back to haunt him later on.

I can understand why it might bother some, but he's going to have to get his hands dirty if he really wants to change the city. I think the writers were trying to soften the blow of his actions by having Bruce support what he had to do.

To Bruce's end, I really wish the writers would've made him a little more patient about figuring out the pass code instead of just resorting to blowing the door off. Last season, he was smart enough to get into Sid Bunderslaw's office at WE, but he can't even think to input his own name as a pass code? I get that he was supposed to be blinded by his curiosity (and he was), but to just give up and blow off the door was too easy.

Erin Richards shone in her new role. I still think they took the easy way out with her character, but she's making the most of it.

Yeah, she really shined. Maybe it's just me, but I found it odd that she strolled into Arkham with two suitcases like some sort of runway model moving into an expensive hotel...ok...

[President_Luthor]

This one was alright. Who'd have thought that Barbara would be the highlight of the episode. She's far more interesting as a nutty villain-to-be than in the wife/ex-wife role she was stuck with last season.

In a city like Gotham, survival often means getting one's hands dirty -- and Gordon would be no exception. Having Bruce support this thinking was probably necessary, just so we won't think he became a totally dirty cop. It was actually surprising that something like this didn't already happen last season with him. It was a means to an end. (And Batman himself is no boy scout, he's not above bending rules to achieve a greater end. So Bruce's behaviour is actually in line with how he'd behave one day as a superhero.)

I think they realize it's the villains that are going to be the focus on Gotham and that putting too much plot on Bruce (who is limited in what he can do, due to his age) doesn't really pan out. He's going to be Batman, and there should always be allusions to this destiny, but on this show Bruce Wayne is only one piece on the game board. Sometimes he'll be the focus in one episode, sometimes he won't. And I'm fine with this.

[lonewriter]

I loved it. I really hope to see more of Bruce this season now that he is in the cave.

[jon-el87]

Decided to give this show one more chance.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. Felt it was a bit pointless to have Jim loose his job, only to then regain it. Though, the fact that he had to get his hands dirty to get it back, will no doubt come back to bite him. It also beats the Arrowverse thing where they introduce something major in one episode, only to have it be resolved in the next.

I like that they have, what will eventually become the Batcave, and the secret passageways to it be a pre-existing thing (though, I would've expected it to be a bit bigger). A logical problem with the Batcave is how Bruce was able to set everything up, without drawing unwanted attention to what he is up to. Sometimes it's portrayed as so complex, that there is no way that he and Alfred could've done it themselves. Here the problem is solved by having the cave be something set up by his father (though, of course, not intended for what Bruce will use it for), possibly ages ago. If anyone helped Thomas Wayne set that place up, they wouldn't be able to connect it to Batman, when he appears.