Loved it? Hated it? What did you think of The Mask?

[superhippie2000]

What did you think?

[Aries83]

I gave it a 7. I knew it wouldn't be like last week's episode, but it wasn't as awful as The Balloonman, so it had that going for it.

However, I found a couple plotlines to be too predictable for their own good: Barbara being scared after being held captive and Bruce encountering bullies on his first day back to Prep school (You just knew it wasn't going to go well). To Barbara's end, could she be anymore hot and cold? The night before, she's shaking in Jim's arms, and the next morning she makes a b***** remark (can't recall exactly what she says), then says, "I'm just tired?" Whatever. Was her exit from the apartment supposed to be interesting, because I don't care where she goes, honestly.

I thought this week's "villain," and his mask, was kind of lame, but I liked his little speech about masks in general.

Once again, I am going to have to give props to Jada Pinkett-Smith. I may have been critical in the beginning, but she has become my favorite villain behind The Penguin over these last two episodes. I really hope they keep writing her this way (How awesome was that scene of her stabbing his hand and sampling the blood? ).

One thing I could do with less of is Harvey's constant dismissal of Nygma. I mean, c'mon, give the actor something to do for Christ's sake.

Good episode, can't wait for next week.

[President_Luthor]

This was another good episode. I didn't mind Bruce's school scenes as much, if only because I think it's the first time we actually saw him go to school officially (so far it looked like he was being home-schooled, with all the time he spent in the Manor ).The Waynes, their legacy in Gotham and the loss of innocence/hope with their deaths is a common theme in the Batman legend. In this context, it made sense that any disrespect to his dead parents would tick Bruce off -- and Alfred would also view such comments as an affront.

As usual, Cobblepot and Fish owned their scenes. They are easily among the strongest characters in the series. I haven't had any real concerns about how Fish is portrayed because Gotham villains tend to be larger-than-life and, with each episode, Fish becomes more intriguing.

I also liked that moment when Gordon explained to Essen why they're probably going to run into more Balloonmen, Zsasz's and Black Masks aka Gotham's own potential FOTW's.

Barbara's story arc holds little interest to me -- even if it does co-star Barbara's legs . It continues to be the most "CW" melodramatic subplot on the series. Lana is mad about Clark's secrets and lies, Clark needs to keep secrets and tell lies ... to protect her. Been there, done that. Once was enough for me.

Gotham since the pilot has been surprisingly conservative in its use of Batman's cast of villains (Black Mask is one of them), with only the future Penguin and Riddler, and Falcone too, showing up on a regular/semi-regular basis. It would be extremely tempting for them to get carried away with flooding the series with Batman's large cast of rogues every ep., but so far they're wisely picking and choosing which ones get a mention.

[costas22]

Obviously things were going to settle down a bit after last week. But it was still pretty good. Penguin and Harvey keep evolving nicely as characters. McKenzie had another solid episode, although he reminded me more of Ryan Atwood.

I also liked the stuff with Bruce. Compared to previous episodes, imo they approached what he's going through in a more realistic and believable manner.

Don't know what the Barbara subplot is supposed to accomplish. It just felt like drama for the sake of it, especially towards the end. Of course with Erin Richards around, those scenes are never a total waste.

[Austin 3:16]

I liked the ep but i really am not a fan of Barbara and her plot. Last week she was begging Gordon to let her stay. Now however, she leaves him? Sorry but her behavior just makes me not be a fan of the character. She just irritates me and i really hope we see more of the other characters instead next wk.

Other than Barbara, the ep was really good. I loved that Bullock stepped up and had Jim's back.

Btw the mask the villain wore reminded me of the one Bruce wore in the comics when he was recovering from having Bane break his back. The one Shiva had him wear when he returned to Gotham.

[Backward Galaxy]

Didn't like it much. The police procedural aspects of the show continue to be one of the weakest elements of the plot. The entire investigation into Sionis was weak. There just wasn't anything to it... at all. Sionis wasn't even really trying to hide his operation. I have to call BS on the entire thing.

Bruce's story suffered from being predictable at first and then hard to explain in its conclusion. We don't know enough about Alfred in this verse to understand why he would encourage this kind of behavior, so it just sort of felt like a twist on convention without context. Did nothing for me.

Barbara's character continues to be stupid and uninteresting. If her leaving at the end means she's going away for a while, I'll take it as a positive and move on. What an awful character.

Bullock sticking up for Jim is interesting, but I don't totally buy it. I think someone's manipulating Bullock behind the scenes, probably Falcone, or maybe Fish.

Fish's girl having second thoughts about betraying Falcone seems obvious, not that they earned it by showing us their relationship evolve.

Very sloppy episode. First episode where I really struggled to find something... anything... to like about it. Series low for me.

[Caught_In_The_Sun]

8

Even though I didn't care for the villain or that whole scenario. I might be the only one who gets annoyed by Catgirl showing up without any real reason. Gordon, Bullock, Penguin and Fish were all great. I kinda have mixed feelings about the stuff with Bruce. I am sure it feels good to hurt someone who hurts you but at the end of the day it is a bad message.

ETA: I also enjoyed the Nygma scene when he is going over the body and talking into the mic.

[costas22]

ETA: I also enjoyed the Nygma scene when he is going over the body and talking into the mic.

Nygma is hilarious. Forgot to mention it beforehand, but he's one of the bright spots in whichever episode he's in.

[Jeff0253]

I totally agree about Barbara--hard to figure out what Jim sees in her or what the writers see in her soapy speeches and behavior. As a connoisseur of TV eye candy, I'd give her only about a 7 on a 10-scale; she's actually kind of weird looking. It would be cool if Jim got sucked into an affair with Liza--make him more human and less self-righteous, I'd say.I also think Nygma is really funny. Is it just me, or is Cobblepot's waddle becoming more and more pronounced and penguin-like? Carol Kane is perfect as his Mom! I'm not--for the moment--a great fan of Jada's portrayal of Fish. It seems a tad over-stated and rather stiff/ one-dimensional.

[CKent/KalEl]

What the frack is wrong with Alfred? It seems Bruce will have to find his moral values from within himself and not with help from his trusted butler.

Weird episode. It gets 4 from me. Because Nygma was entertaining enough.

[Aries83]

I kinda have mixed feelings about the stuff with Bruce. I am sure it feels good to hurt someone who hurts you but at the end of the day it is a bad message.

I disagree.

Had Bruce done nothing, people would've complained that he looked too weak.

I think they were trying show that Alfred didn't want Bruce to feel powerless.

For Alfred, I think – as someone watching from the outside in – the issue was already compounded by the murder. In other words, Bruce felt powerless when his parents were murdered and he could do nothing to stop it. Why let him feel that way again?

He was trying to teach Bruce that if you stand up for yourself and let it be known that you're not going to be stepped on, you'll be left alone from then on.

I would rather he stand up for himself than do nothing.

Sometimes, taking the higher ground just doesn't work (e.g., ignoring the bullies and doing nothing).

It's also possible that Alfred didn't want Bruce to become even more avoidant than he already had been. He was already enabling that behavior by letting Bruce stay home for so long after the murder.

Instead of letting him avoid the problem, he helped him confront and resolve it – which is probably how Bruce needs to behave. I mean, you can't just be a shut-in in a huge mansion and hide from life's problems, right?

I will say this, though: Alfred telling that boy to remember that HE let him do it did make him look rather nutty, but I like nutty, so didn't bother me

[Caught_In_The_Sun]

^ That is why I had mixed feelings. On one hand the punk got what he deserved & Bruce standing up for himself is good - I totally get it. However it still isn't something I would advocate. It really depends on the situation.

[Aries83]

It really depends on the situation.

I suppose.

Had the bullying been less egregious, I think Alfred would've let Bruce find his own way, but: Taunting/mocking the murder of someone's parents? I'd be a pissed off butler, too

[Lipzo]

^ That is why I had mixed feelings. On one hand the punk got what he deserved & Bruce standing up for himself is good - I totally get it. However it still isn't something I would advocate. It really depends on the situation.

While it isn't a good thing to advocate to the younger viewers, Bruce/Batman does beat up bullies (essentially that is what most petty criminals are) as a lifestyle. We have already seen Bruce show the beginning of his detective skills in how he has been piecing his parents murder and everything else that is going on together slowly, so I looked at this as the start of the journey for Bruce's training and him realising that controlled violence can be a deterrent/remedy for continuous violence for those in that lifestyle.

[bychance]

I personally think this is the best episode thus far.