Was looking over screencaps for 3.15, and noticed these lovely shots when Ed has Harvey captured, and demands that Lucius answer his riddles
His shadow here magnifies his poise throughout the whole scene: posture upright but relaxed, hands loosely clasped in front of him. Even despite the extreme provocation offered by Ed - Lucius maintains this manner throughout. He never loses his temper, or panics, or throws insults. He’s calm and assured - offering a counterpoint to Ed’s febrile manner.
You can see this in this next one, too. This is a moment of extreme duress. Lucius has just confronted Ed - asking him if he killed Oswald. Ed was manic enough at the outset of this game, but we can see his grasp on himself worsening even more by the end: rubbing his eyes, and getting the words of his own riddle muddled. Lucius knows Ed is dangerous and fully capable of letting Harvey fall - yet again there’s that sense of stillness from him: hand resting lightly on the banister.
The next one is maybe the most striking. Ed loses his composure, and runs at Lucius with his gun trained on him. He wanted Lucius to be able to give the exact responses he wanted to his riddles, even though Lucius’ answers were correct in their own way. Lucius steps back, but still remains remarkably composed - one hand raised in an attempt to keep a defined distance between them. It’s authoritative in a non-confrontational way: this far and no further, but it’s also placatory - trying to calm Ed.
What’s really lovely is that we see this pose continued in the next shot:
This is maybe the best image. We see Ed retreating further up the stairs, clearly agitated. We can’t see Lucius himself behind him now, but we do see his shadow, hand still outstretched, calm and even elegant. Ed - for all he’s wearing his fancy new suit, is sweaty and scattered - talking to himself and clearly distressed.
I just thought it was a really nice example of using visuals to underscore a message. Throughout the whole encounter, Lucius is just the perfect counterpoint. He’s calm, despite the situation. He remains calm even as he gives the ‘wrong’ answer and Ed becomes more agitated. He’s genuinely authoritative. While Ed needs to resort to these games for a sense of power, Lucius establishes his authority from the outset - rejecting Ed’s claim that Harvey is fine, and telling him clearly that he wants to hear that from Harvey himself - to which Ed submits. He also calmly states the case for why his riddle answers are correct.
Lastly, he’s compassionate - and we’ll see that again later in their scene in the car. Ed is cruel here. He’s tormenting a terrified Harvey and tormenting Lucius. He continues to insult Harvey intermittently. He yells at Lucius for not giving him the answer he wants, and then threatens him - telling him he’s not ‘good enough’ to be his enemy.
In contrast, Lucius remains calm and non-judgmental. He’s obviously not pleased at what’s happening, but whereas every other characters would resort to impatience and anger and insults - he doesn’t do that. He’s measured and courteous, but never obsequious or flattering. He doesn’t patronise or insult him - we don’t hear the word ‘freak’ here. When he finally realises that Ed is responsible for Oswald’s disappearance, his tone is questioning, and then resigned. It’s not accusatory in the same way that Jim’s would be - it’s more calm, almost rooted in a knowledge of him
What did you do, Ed?…..Did you kill him?….You did, didn’t you
His face after this doesn’t suggest disgust or anger, either. It’s calm, sad, regretful.
The answer to Ed’s big riddle in this episode is ‘reflection’. Throughout the episode, Ed is trying to stage manage another phase of his ‘becoming’ - looking for his nemesis. He decides it’s Jim, but Jim - pretty hilariously - just isn’t about town this week to play the role Ed ordained for him.
Instead, he has to deal with Lucius - calm, thoughtful Lucius, who consistently refuses to behave in the way Ed has come to expect, who doesn’t exhibit fear, irritation, anger, or disgust, and who can answer his riddles in ways that are perfectly correct but that he did not anticipate.
Jim, Oswald, Harvey - these are all people that Ed is confident he can predict and use. Jim can be provoked, Oswald manipulated, Harvey insulted. They’re puzzles, in a way: he’s ‘solved’ their nature and can now use them for his own ends as a prize.
Lucius, though, refuses to be puppeteered in this way, and remains his own man - not a puzzle, or a projection, or a reflection. Ed recognises and appreciates this at the end of his spree.
Lucius: Is that the role I’m meant to fill? To be your reflection? Ed: No, because I know who I am. I know how to be him. And you helped that. So, thank you.
okay .. if someone asks why gotham is good ... that´s the post to point to
honestly that set design and cinematography I´ll never be over that
