Gotham: Azrael

"Azrael" is the nineteenth episode of season two of the crime drama series Gotham, which is based on characters that appear in titles published by DC Comics. It is the forty-first episode of the series overall and is part of the "Wrath of the Villains" storyline. The episode was directed by Larysa Kondracki with a script written by Jim Barnes and Ken Woodruff. It first aired on the FOX Network on May 2nd, 2016.

Notes & Trivia

 * Gotham was developed for television by Bruno Heller. Based on characters from DC Comics.


 * This episode is production code number 4X6219.


 * This episode had a viewership of 3.59 million people upon its initial broadcast, which is down by .13 from the previous episode. It scored 1.2% in 18-49 viewing demographic.


 * This is the eighth episode of the series that is bannered under the "Wrath of the Villains" sub-heading.


 * Actress Morena Baccarin is credited in this episode, but does not make an appearance. She normally plays the role of Lee Thompkins.


 * Actress Camren Bicondova is credited in this episode, but does not make an appearance. She normally plays the role of Selina Kyle.


 * Actor Chris Chalk is credited in this episode, but does not make an appearance. He normally plays the role of Lucius Fox.


 * Actor Nicholas D'Agosto is credited in this episode, but does not make an appearance. He previously played the role of Harvey Dent.


 * This is the first episode of Gotham directed by Larysa Kondracki. It is her only episode from season two of the series.


 * This is the second episode of Gotham written or co-written by Jim Barnes. It is his second episode from season two and his only episode from the "Wrath of the Villains" storyline. He previously wrote "Tonight's the Night".


 * This is the seventh episode of Gotham co-written by Ken Woodruff. It is his third episode from season two of the series and his second episode from the "Wrath of the Villains" storyline. His next episode is season three's, "Burn the Witch", which is part of the "Mad City" storyline.


 * This is the first and only credited appearance of Tommy Buck as Rudy, who is one of the Arkham Asylum inmates.


 * This is the first and only credited appearance of Molly Camp as Sharon, who is one of the Arkham Asylum inmates.


 * This is the second episode of the series with Krista Braun playing a reporter. She was previously credited as journalist in "The Balloonman".

Allusions

 * The title of this episode hearkens back to the angel Azrael from religious scripture. Also known as Azriel, he is regarded as the "Angel of Death". In DC Comics canon, Azrael is the code-named used by Jean-Paul Valley, who became a brainwashed warrior and foe-turned-ally of Batman. For a time, he even replaced Bruce Wayne as Batman when Wayne was crippled following a battle with Bane.


 * A Chimera is a creature of Greek folklore. It is characterized by having the body parts of many different animals. It is usually depicted as having the head and body of a lion with a second head, which is that of a goat, and a serpentine tail. It is also a term used in the field of genetics, which is a single animal organism with genetically distinct cells from two different zygotes.


 * Ethel Peabody calls Theo Galavan "mad as a hatter". This is a reference to the Mad Hatter, who is a character who appears in Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Coincidentally, there is also a DC Comics character called the Mad Hatter, whose real name is Jervis Tetch. He first appeared in Batman #49 in November, 1948. Jervis Tetch makes his first appearance on Gotham in the season three storyline, "Mad City", where he is played by actor Benedict Samuel.

Story notes

 * The name of Professor Hugo Strange's project is called "Chimera".


 * Edward Nygma's inmate number is D-171.


 * Rudy's inmate number is B-127.

Quotes

 * Hugo Strange: Strong as an ox, fast as a snake.
 * Ethel Peabody: Mad as a hatter. There's not much use bringing back the dead if they come back crazy.
 * Hugo Strange: Oh, he's not crazy. He just doesn't know who he is.

....
 * Theo Galavan: Rally to me. Rally to me. St. Dumas will deliver us. Dumas will deliver us. Rally. Heathens. And Dumas will protect us. Heathens, idolaters, Spawn of Satan, prepare to die! No. No. No, don't. Please. Sister? Speak to me, please. Please speak to me. Who are you? Huh? Who are you?
 * Ethel Peabody: Has there been any improvement since he woke up yesterday?
 * Hugo Strange: No. But he's wonderful, isn't he?

....
 * Hugo Strange: Pinewood Farms was started by Thomas Wayne in an attempt to cure humanity's greatest ailments on the genetic level - Old age, disease, even death.
 * James Gordon: But that's not what happened, is it? Karen said the program tried to play God, and you ended up creating monsters.
 * Hugo Strange: I was just a researcher with no knowledge of that until it was too late.
 * James Gordon: A man of your skill and expertise a lowly researcher. Find that hard to believe.
 * Hugo Strange: [Hugo Strange smiles] But it's true. Mr. Wayne excelled at compartmentalizing every aspect of his life. Within Pinewood, the left hand often didn't know what the right hand was doing.

....
 * Hugo Strange: Why are you really here, Mister Gordon?
 * James Gordon: Excuse me?
 * Hugo Strange: This whole city has turned its back on you, despite you risking your life to save it over and over again.
 * James Gordon: I'm not here for a therapy session, Professor.
 * Hugo Strange: No. It's more like an interrogation by a man who's no longer a police officer. Who no longer has the right to demand answers. The only reason you're sitting in that chair is because I allow it. So let me ask you, why... are... you... here?

....
 * Hugo Strange: You've lost everything. You're trying to make up for the sins of your past, and you believe that this case will somehow bring about your own personal redemption.
 * James Gordon: No.
 * Hugo Strange: You're not doing this for your client. You're doing this for yourself.
 * James Gordon: You're wrong.
 * Hugo Strange: You just exhibited several tells - facial ticks expressions and eye movements that people involuntarily betray themselves with when they lie.

....
 * Bruce Wayne: What you did to Galavan. What you knew you had to do, because of the bureaucracy and the red tape.
 * James Gordon: What I had to do? I chose to kill a man in cold blood, and it was the wrong choice, crossing that line. You'll pay for it over and over again, like I have been. Like I still am. And it will make you more like the evil you're trying to fight. You need to be better.