Gotham: Better to Reign in Hell...

"Better to Reign in Hell..." is the title to the first episode from season three of the crime drama series Gotham, which is billed under the subtitle of "Mad City". It is the forty-fifth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Danny Cannon with a script written by John Stephens. It first aired on the FOX Network on Monday, September 19th, 2016 at 8:00 pm. In this episode, James Gordon is now a bounty hunter, and the dollar signs light up when the Penguin puts a $1,000,000 reward out for the capture of Fish Mooney. Bruce Wayne returns from Switzerland and openly accuses members of the Wayne Enterprises board of directors of being part of some secret society. A Bruce Wayne look-alike stumbles about the alleys of Gotham. Fish has all of Hugo Strange's experimental freaks under her command, and Barbara Kean goes a little crazier as she stakes a claim on the Sirens night club. Just another day in Gotham City.

Crew

 * Annabelle K. Frost - Co-producer
 * Thomas J. Whelan - Co-producer
 * Denise The - Consulting producer
 * Steven Lilien - Co-executive producer
 * Bryan Wyndbrandt - Co-executive producer
 * Robert Hull - Co-executive producer


 * Scott White - Co-executive producer
 * Ken Woodruff - Executive producer
 * John Stephens - Executive producer
 * Danny Cannon - Executive producer
 * Bruno Heller - Executive producer

Notes & Trivia

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


 * This episode is production code number T13.19901.


 * This episode had a viewership of 3.897 million people, which is up by .279 from the previous episode.


 * Actress Jada Pinkett Smith receives a "Special Guest Star" credit in this episode.


 * Beginning with this episode, actors Chris Chalk and Michael Chiklis are added to the main cast list. They play Lucius Fox and Captain Nathaniel Barnes.


 * This is the fifth episode of Gotham directed by Danny Cannon. He previously directed the season two premiere, "Damned If You Do...". Both episode titles are notable ending with ellipses.


 * This is the seventh episode of Gotham written by John Stephens. He previously wrote "The Son of Gotham" from the "Rise of the Villains" serial.


 * The events of this episode take place six months after the events from "Wrath of the Villains".


 * Morena Baccarin only makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of the episode; no dialogue.


 * This is the 11th and final appearance of Ethel Peabody; dies in this episode.


 * This is the first appearance of reporter Valerie Vale.


 * This is the first appearance of the Sirens night club.

Allusions

 * The title of this episode is taken from lines 258-263 from the poem Paradise Lost by John Milton. The full line is, "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven". The poem was first published in 1667.


 * The song that Stephanie Sasso is performing at Sirens is "I Know What Boys Like", which was written by Chris Butler in 1978. It was released as a single in 1980.


 * Reference is made to Hugo Strange in this episode. Hugo Strange is the former administrator of Arkham Asylum, and is now in prison. It was his experiments that physically altered the Arkham escapees. Ethel Peabody worked as his assistant.

Comic connections

 * Valerie Vale is this show's analog to Vicki Vale, who is a character featured in the comics. Vicki Vale was introduced in Batman #49 in October, 1948 and is a contemporary of Bruce Wayne, and a former love interest. Like Valerie Vale, Vicki was also a reporter. Vicki Vale appeared in the 1989 Batman feature film where she was played by actress Kim Basinger.


 * The freak that James Gordon fights with who jumps out the window is likely intended to reflect the character of Man-Bat. In the comics, the Man-Bat was a scientist named Kirk Langstrom who developed a serum using bat gland extract to improve hearing loss. Experimenting upon himself, the serum gave him bat-like physical features. He has served as both an antagonist and an occasional ally of Batman. He first appeared in Detective Comics #400 in June, 1970.

Quotes

 * Fish Mooney: James Gordon.
 * James Gordon: [Drawing his weapon] Hands where I can see them.
 * Fish Mooney: So, what? You're here to collect the bounty Penguin has over my head? What is it, a million dollars? And to think I let that punk live. Well then, I think you better cuff me.

....
 * James Gordon: How many others you have with you?
 * Fish Mooney: They're all with me. Every wretched soul that Hugo Strange experimented on.

....
 * Alfred Pennyworth: Right, once this alarm is set, Master Bruce, no coming downstairs till the morning, is that clear?
 * Bruce Wayne: Yes, but was a new alarm system really necessary?
 * Alfred Pennyworth: I don't know, was it really necessary offering a challenge to a shadowy cabal? Yes, it was necessary, Master Bruce.