Sorry for the delay, but I finally got around to watching the newest episode of Gotham. And it was an excruciatingly long wait, let me tell you. But I don’t have to tell you all that… You’re aware of my mega Bat fandom. (After all, I write a weekly column called Baturday for crying out loud!) So enough jibber-jabber. Onto the spoiler-filled review from this week’s episode: “Arkham.”
Jada Pinkett Smith finally takes center stage as the “big bad” of the show, plotting her impending rise to power in Gotham’s underworld… or so she thinks. She shows that she’s a little nasty, a little evil, and a whole lot of unpredictable in the form of holding “auditions” for a special assignment of which only she’s privy to the details. She needs someone with talent, someone with beauty, someone with the ability to seduce, and, as proven by the end of the episode, someone who is willing to kill without question. Someone who really wants it, in other words. She’s also a little bit bisexual, apparently. Or maybe it’s just a power thing. Who knows. She’s sexy.
Jim Gordon is charged with protecting the Mayor and a bunch of other corrupt politicians who are in the midst of being either threatened, bought off, or challenged by various crime bosses in Gotham. There’s a talented assassin who establishes himself as a professional because, as he himself states, he always finishes the job. So when the Mayor’s cronies start getting picked off one by one, Jim races to protect him, resulting in a showdown with the assassin, only to be saved by his partner, Harvey Bullock. The bromance is slowly-but-surely building, even if Harvey’s a bit rough around the edges.
Jim questions Barbara’s past with Renee Montoya, learning that she, just like Katy Perry, once kissed a girl and liked it. But that is not the real issue for him. It’s that she’s keeping secrets and he’s not entirely sure what her intentions are in terms of their future together. But when he starts to dig deeper, it blows up in his face because she asks him a simple question in return: “Who is Oswald Cobblepot?”
What a loaded question. Well, he’s the man destined to become the Penguin. And he’s stealing every single scene of the show that he is featured in. Robin Lord Taylor may not be top billing, but he is certainly the star of the first four episodes. Which is awesome on so many levels for this long-time Bat fan. But what about the Bat himself? Well, young Bruce and slightly-less-old Alfred are seen discussing the merits of Gotham’s Arkham Plan, alongside Jim Gordon. Bruce wonders if the city is worth saving. And though we the viewers see the rise of players like the Penguin, Fish Mooney, and Salvatore Maroni on the horizon, Gordon says yes.
My Rating: 4/5
Another solid episode of character-driven police procedural drama. But what are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. See you next week! (Probably on time, this go-around.)
