The Fearsome Dr. Crane

"The Fearsome Dr. Crane" is the fourteenth episode of the television series Gotham. It premiered on FOX on February 2, 2015 and was written by John Stephens, and directed by John Behring. In this episode, Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Bullock (Donal Logue) investigate homicides where the victims are killed with their greatest fear. Meanwhile, Maroni (David Zayas) begins to question his relationship with Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) after a tip.

The episode was watched by 5.79 million viewers and received positive reviews with critics commenting on Julian Sands's creepy performance.

Plot

A man (Julian Sands) hangs another man from a building and kills him after dropping him from the building and steals his adrenal gland. While Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) dines with Maroni (David Zayas). Maroni receives a call from Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), where she tells him Cobblepot works for Falcone (John Doman). Maroni then takes Cobblepot on a road trip.

Gordon (Ben McKenzie) finds Selina (Camren Bicondova) in his apartment. She reveals to him that she lied about the Waynes' murderer and flees. He visits Bruce (David Mazouz) where Bruce tells him he will investigate the case. Cobblepot is taken to a shack in the woods where Maroni reveals the information Mooney gave him. Cobblepot takes his gun and shoots him, but the bullets turn out to be blank. Maroni knocks him unconscious.

Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) is suspended after performing an examination in a corpse from another medical examiner. The killer kidnaps a man afraid of pigs but Gordon and Bullock (Donal Logue) find the man in a hideout. Noting all of them were related to a group support, where they recognize the killer as a man named "Tod". Tod tries to kill a woman by drowning her but he's stopped by Gordon and Bullock. They manage to save the woman but Tod escapes.

Maroni takes Cobblepot to a car compactor, where he locks him in a car so he will die crushed. Cobblepot calls from the car to the man who controls the compactor and threatens to kill him if he doesn't save him. The car compactor stops and he flees. Nygma frames the medical examiner by making it look like he stole body parts. Cobblepot is then found by a group of church woman in a bus to Gotham. Meanwhile, Mooney's boat is captured by a group of mercenaries. The episode ends as Mooney and a mercenary prepare to fight.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was watched by 5.79 million viewers, with a 1.9 rating among 18-49 adults.^[1] With Live+7 DVR viewing factored in, the episode had an overall rating of 8.59 million viewers, and a 3.2 in the 18–49 demographic.^[2]

Critical reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)	88%[3]
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)	7.7[3]
IGN	7.6[4]
The A.V Club	C+[5]
"GamesRadar"	[6]
Paste Magazine	7.0[7]
TV Fanatic	[8]
New York Magazine	[9]

"The Fearsome Dr. Crane" received positive reviews. The episode received a rating of 88% with an average score of 7.7 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus stating: "Though similar to previous episodes in form and feel, 'The Fearsome Dr. Crane' introduces a gratifyingly creepy villain while integrating humor and tension."^[3]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.6 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "The fearsome Dr. Crane parts of 'The Fearsome Dr. Crane' were actually the weakest parts of the episode, believe it or not. Maroni and Penguin had a great falling out (which Penguin barely escaped alive) and the Gordon/Dr. Thompkins relationship slowed down a bit so that the two of them could actually try to build a rapport outside of his work (though it didn't stray too far). As for that final scene with Fish on the boat? I don't know what that was about. That soldier busted in on her, the two of them shared a knowing glance, and then they leapt at each other like they were about to have an anime fight. I actually chuckled, though I don't expect that's what the scene was meant to evoke."^[4]

The A.V. Club's Kyle Fowle gave the episode a "C+" grade and wrote, "That kind of character development, which is admittedly minor, could have been used to bolster the Gerald Crane storyline. On any other show, I’d hold out hope for the second part of this arc exploring more of the dynamic between Gerald and Jonathan, and also giving us more insight into Bullock’s sudden crush on Mullen. But Gotham has proven time and again that character insight is an afterthought, that the audience should be satisfied just hearing the Crane name spoken. Next week’s episode is called “The Scarecrow”: what are the odds it amounts to more than just a hollow invocation of a canonical character in order to draw in viewers?"^[5]

References