All Happy Families Are Alike
"All Happy Families Are Alike" | |
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Gotham episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 22 |
Directed by | Danny Cannon |
Written by | Bruno Heller |
Production code | 4X6672 |
Original air date | May 4, 2015 |
Guest appearances | |
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"All Happy Families Are Alike" is the 22nd episode and finale of the first season of the
Plot
A group of street children, among them Selina, witness the arrival of Fish Mooney and the escapees from Dollmaker's Island. Mooney approaches Selina and states that it will be a "new day". Selina and the children soon join Mooney's gang.
Two weeks later,
They get to Falcone's safe house but are taken hostage by Mooney's gang. Mooney is even more furious after noticing Butch's brainwashing treatment delivered by Victor Zsasz and Cobblepot. Mooney makes a trade with Maroni: in exchange for Falcone's head, Maroni will return Mooney's territories. Mooney also plans on killing Cobblepot for brainwashing Butch but spares Bullock's life. However, during the meeting with Maroni, Maroni makes sexist comments about Mooney, which causes her to shoot him in the head. Maroni's and Mooney's gangs then fight, which gives enough time to Falcone, Gordon, and Bullock to escape to a cargo container. Falcone decides he's "done" with business and plans on retiring. Selina's gang recaptures them and bring them back to Mooney. Cobblepot appears with a machine gun and kills some gang members. He then pursues Mooney to the rooftop of the warehouse while Falcone, Gordon and Bullock escape. Meanwhile, during the therapy, Barbara reveals that she murdered her parents, enraged that they never loved her. She then suffers a psychotic breakdown and proceeds to attempt to kill Leslie for stealing her fiancée Gordon. Leslie manages to neutralize Barbara in self-defense just as Gordon, Falcone, and Bullock arrive.
On the rooftop of the warehouse, Mooney and Cobblepot engage in a violent fight. Butch arrives with a gun, but as he was brainwashed to obey Cobblepot and with his loyalty to Mooney, he doesn't know whom to shoot. Unknowingly, he shoots both of them. Mooney forgives Butch for shooting her but Cobblepot insults Butch. He then pushes Mooney to the edge of the rooftop, which makes her fall in the water, seemingly killing her. A shocked Butch watches in horror as Cobblepot climbs to the edge of the rooftop and shouts, "I am the king of Gotham!"
In the GCPD, in the file room, Kristen Kringle reveals to
Production
The episode's title is a variation on the opening line from the novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way".[1]
Reception
Ratings
The episode was watched by 4.93 million viewers.[2] This was an increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 4.58 million viewers.[3] This made Gotham the most watched program of the day in FOX, beating The Following.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
GamesRadar | [7] |
Paste Magazine | 8.5[8] |
TV Fanatic | [9] |
New York Magazine | [10] |
"All Happy Families Are Alike" received mixed reviews from critics but acclaim from fans. The episode received a rating of 59% based on 23 reviews, with an average score of 7.3 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus stating: "'All Happy Families are Alike' brings season one of Gotham to a somewhat confusing conclusion, but some exciting twists hint at a promising, and hopefully more consistent, season two."[4]
Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "okay" 6.3 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict: "Gotham's Season 1 finale had some cool parts involving a freshly insane Barbara and an unexpected mob death, but the rest of it was so dang sloppy (Fish's attire, Selina joining Fish, Falcone quitting, Butch's brainwashing all of a sudden returning after being ignored for months, etc)."[5]
Darren Orf of EW stated: "Gotham's first season ends much as it lived—with confusion, poorly plotted scenes and by turning a blind eye to everything that makes Batman great. To say 'All Happy Families Are Alike' is a letdown would be to expect too much from this finale to begin with. But after this week's episode finally cuts to black and the credits roll, it’s hard not to feel like the entire first year was a missed opportunity."[11]
The A.V. Club's Kyle Fowle gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "The first season of Gotham has been a mess of incomplete or simply terrible ideas, but much of the finale proves that the show does have something to offer when it remains focused. The mob power struggle was dragged out over too many episodes, but the finale boasts a narrative concision that’s promising for the show moving forward. There's hope that after an auspicious start, Gotham has found a bit of footing in the last half of this season. Then again, maybe Penguin is right: 'Hope? It’s for losers.'"[6]
References
- Nerdist. Archived from the originalon June 18, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
- ^ Baron, Steve (May 5, 2015). "Monday Final Ratings: '2 Broke Girls' & 'Mike and Molly' Adjusted Up; No Adjustment for 'Jane the Virgin'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- ^ Baron, Steve (April 28, 2015). "Monday Final Ratings: '2 Broke Girls', 'Mike & Molly', 'Stalker' & 'The Night Shift' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ a b c "All Happy Families Are Alike". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- ^ a b Fowler, Matt (May 4, 2015). "Gotham: "All Happy Families Are Alike" Review". IGN. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Fowle, Kyle (May 5, 2015). "With a bang and then a whimper, the first season comes to an end". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ "Gotham". GamesRadar. October 18, 2022.
- ^ "Gotham Review: "All Happy Families Are Alike"". pastemagazine.com. May 5, 2015.
- ^ "Gotham". TV Fanatic. May 4, 2015.
- ^ "Gotham Recap: The Women of Gotham". Vulture.
- ^ "'All Happy Families Are Alike': Gotham ends its freshman season in a confusing place". Entertainment Weekly. May 4, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
External links
- "All Happy Families Are Alike" at IMDb