Gotham has returned from the winter hiatus and is making big strides already. I'm still a little creeped out by that Brecht-ian take on Shakespeare's The Tempest that the inmates at Arkham Asylum put on. Next week's episode has the creepy title "What The Little Bird Told Him" — what could that mean for Gotham ? Everyone is on the lookout for the Arkham escapee Jack Gruber, who was seriously paying homage to Silence of the Lambs with his farewell. What could a bird have to do with anything at all? The phrase "a little bird told me" is typically used to describe information from a source you won't give up, but is totally obvious. It's a type of irony; we always know who the bird is. How does that phrase apply to Gotham? This is the official synopsis of the episode, courtesy of TV Guide.
Gordon tries to get his job back by capturing Jack Gruber, a deranged electrical genius who escaped from Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile, Falcone struggles to hold onto his empire when Fish Mooney makes her next move.
Is Gruber the bird, because he flew the coop that was Arkham Asylum? What did Gruber tell Gordon that would give him that kind of confidence? Last week, it looked like Gruber was gone for good. Is he back so soon, or is Gordon taking his search to the next level in order to get his job back? Here's the promo for the episode. It begins with Ed Nygma coining the villain as "The Electrocutioner." Is the future Riddler planning a crossover episode with The Flash's Cisco Ramon?
Now it would seem that "the bird" in question is Oswald Cobblepot, The Penguin. In the promo, we see him calling Fish a "sly devil" and giggling like the DC villain he is. In the still from the episode above, we see Copplepot talking to Sal Maroni. They must be making their next move soon, to begin an all-out war between Fish, Don Falcone, and the other crime families of Gotham City. This adds a little extra layer of irony to the phrase "a little bird told me," since we're talking about a person who literally identifies with the name of a bird. Penguin may not be able to fly, but it doesn't take much to make him sing.
What could Penguin possibly have told Maroni now? We already know that he's the best snitch on the Gotham block. He also clearly hasn't left the police station since Maroni ordered the cops to let him go at the end of the last episode. Maybe career criminals really can't boss around the cops that easily in Gotham. Maybe they wanted to have a chat in a safe space over coffee before they hit the bricks. Whether the title refers to Gruber, Copplepot, or both, I'm glad that Gotham has hit the ground running in the second half of its first season.
Image: Jessica Miglio/FOX
