Written by Tze Chun
Directed by Scott White
Grundy: "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday."
From now on, I will be referring to Butch Gilzean as Solomon Grundy because that's who he is now and if this episode is anything to go by, I am in total support of that. I've never really commented on Drew Powell's acting on the show and Butch has been a character I've liked but not been as invested in as I have been with others. After this episode though, he got more interesting.
The idea of having Solomon Grundy under our noses all this time instead of adding a new actor into the mix to take on the role was a good move on the show's part. This episode started with Butch being callously dropped into a toxic waste swamp and then emerging a lot worse for wear, no memory at all and adopting the Grundy name after hearing the rhyme on a gramophone and pissing off a bunch of homeless guys.
Of course the best part of Grundy's debut though was having him come into contact with Nygma, who couldn't even rob a pharmacy this week without being easily duped. Last season, Ed and Butch were hardly the best of friends and now this season, it seems like Nygma and Grundy are going to be buddies and it's a rather inspiring dynamic as the pair of them look out for each other while also getting involved in some underground boxing club run by a strange woman named Cherry.
The other aspect of this story turned out to be that the doctor involved in the underground club was Leslie, sporting a Deadpool style look. The reveal was hardly shocking but I guess the show had to reintroduce Leslie at some point and here seemed to be the right place to do it. I'm also hoping for now, it means her interactions with Gordon will also be kept to a minimum for now.
Speaking of Gordon, this week both him and Alfred banded together to try and stop Bruce from killing Ras, only to completely fail on that one. Ras clearly played Bruce like a fiddle this week and I don't believe for one moment that Bruce actually succeeded in bumping Ras off (the latter clearly had some contingency plan with his weird interaction with Barbara this week) but the latter did manage to succeed in getting under Bruce's skin and doubting his whole mission plan with what felt like very little effort. I don't doubt Ras will be popping up later in the season again though.
As for Oswald, the dynamic with him and Sofia definitely intensified this week. I've seen certain shippers literally crap themselves in fear about a possible romantic angle with the pair but going by their interactions this week, it seems more like Sofia is coming at Oswald in the same way Fish had Liza go after her father back in the first season.
Playing an almost maternal type role (the goulash, tending to his foot etc) is certainly a clever tactic on Sofia's part. You can see Oswald knowing she's up to something and trying to work it out while at the same time, succumbing to her 'kindness' and it's rather fascinating to watch. For shippers, I don't think you have anything to worry about there.
- Gordon and Bullock came into conflict over the Pax Penguina thing. Oswald's only been getting 86% results though, which maddened him this week.
- Grundy's transformation still had an Indian Hill link like nearly all of our Rogues on the series.
- No Selina, Tabitha, Ivy, Zsasz or Lucius this week.
- Chronology: Could it really have been a Monday when Grundy emerged from the swamp? Let's pretend it was, shall we?
The Blade's Path continues on what has been an extremely strong start for the season. Right now, it seems that Bruce's crusading and Ras are being put on hold but with the birth of Grundy and another rogue about to show up next week, I think the show can afford to hold things off for a bit there.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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