Welcome to a Canon Digital Camera Battery specialist
of the Canon Camcorder Battery
Gordon solves the case of The Electrocutioner in character-defining fashion. As I’ve mentioned in previous recaps, it is incredibly important for Jim Gordon to differentiate himself from just a plainclothes Batman. Thankfully, the two-episode Arkham job arc has gone a long way in painting Gordon as a unique hero.
“Little Bird” is propelled by a wager that Gordon makes at the top of the episode. He crashes the police commissioner’s briefing on the escaped maniac situation and, using the false claim that he knows where Buchinski will be heading, makes a deal that will see him reinstated as a GCPD detective if he successfully hauls in The Electrocutioner within 24 hours.
Gordon wants to do good by the city – he’s a good guy, just like Batman – but you know what the Dark Knight doesn’t care about? His job (classic rich kid). That is not the case for Gordon. Jim is so defined by his career that he might as well legally change his first name to Commissioner with battery such as canon NB-11L battery, canon IXUS 240 HS battery, canon BP-208 battery, canon Optura S1 battery, canon Elura 100 battery, canon NB-10L battery, canon PowerShot G1X battery, canon BP-308 battery, canon BP-315 battery, canon Optura 600 battery, canon LP-E5 battery, canon EOS 1000D battery. “Little Bird” is the first time that Gordon’s job has truly been dangled over an episode as stakes, and it goes a long way molding him into a unique character.
Of course, the writers’ efforts to differentiate young Gordon from Batman haven’t always been so successful, and the failures of the past are still lingering and dragging down the episode. Mostly I’m talking about the character of Barbara Keane, who rather than taking a great opportunity to never come back to the narrative, is moving in with her rich ass parents for a few days (and we’re supposed to care for some reason).
Last we saw Barbara, her storyline destroyed an episode. This week her appearance is so inconsequential it might as well just be clipped right out. Sadly, the extraneous inclusion of Barb serves as foreshadowing for an inevitable love-rhombus between herself, Jim, Renee Montoya and Dr Leslie Tompkins, the last of whom frenches Gordon in the episode’s final scene, kicking off what could be a comparatively compelling romance if not for the threat that it might mean more forced Barbara drama.
Gotham is saturated with love plots, all of which are being poisoned by the character of Barbara Keane.
As many lovers as Gotham City houses, there will always be more villains, and “Little Bird” might set a record for number of infamous rogues, emperor of whom is The Penguin.
The duck-footed menace made miracles happen in this episode, and not his usual ones that generally boil down to Robin Lord Taylor’s amazing charisma and abilities as an actor. Oswald Cobblepot somehow blows his cover with Sal Maroni, makes a reputation recovery, and goes on to destroy Fish Mooney by springing his social Rube Goldberg contraption of a master plan.
Gotham’s mob war storyline felt like it was stalling in more recent episodes, and having The Penguin expose Fish’s betrayal shows a huge amount of confidence on behalf of the showrunners. What’s more is that, where previous episodes have left the audience hanging on a major Penguin reveal, “Little Bird” dedicates its final act to resolving the Falcone betrayal revelation.
Previously, Gotham has had success with endings that involve Penguin with showing up unexpectedly or moving a major piece of his plan into place, then waiting for the next episode to show the resolution. A more traditional episode would end when Cobblepot finally arrives at Falcone’s home and tells the old man that Liza is a mole. “Little Bird” goes the extra mile though, resolving the arc with Carmine Falcone squeezing the life from Mooney’s ticking time bomb of a fake lover, and it is incredibly satisfying as a viewer.
Back in the GCPD, more betrayal is brewing too, manifesting in the form of Ed Nigma’s first highly demented and violent riddle. Making the creepiest of moves on co-CSI Christina Kringle, he riddles her this: a pink cupcake with a live bullet smushed into it. His advances fail (thanks largely in part to some bullying by a nameless cop) and the promise of Nygma’s behaviour escalating into a fully fledged workplace harassment suit becomes both clearly inevitable and guiltily tantalizing.
The huge number of villains in “Little Bird” (Zsasz also makes a few scowling appearances) is another comment on the realities of Batman’s world. With so many egomaniacs with costumes and super powers causing a ruckus, it makes sense that the lesser bad guys like Zsasz and The Electrocutioner can gain enough of a foothold to warrant Batman’s bat-gaze. There’s only one Batman, and if there are multiple villains on the loose, even the shitty ones are bound to gain traction. The thing is, without Batman drawing focus and inspiring greater villainy, the lesser crooks are stuck in what must be a frustrating mafia cliche.
And that, in essence, is why “What The Little Bird Told Him” is so fun: it’s an example of why everyone, even the villains, need Batman. The Electrocutioner is everything a super villain should be, he’s just a little too early to the party.