The Balloonman

I just binge-watched the first three seasons of Gotham and I loved it. The show combines cop drama, slasher violence, teen romance, and some very grown up soap opera sexuality. Dozens of characters here are strong enough to carry a series all on their own. Robin Lord Taylor plays the young Penguin with street smarts, demonic intensity and childlike charm. He's the best screen villain I've seen in years! And I'm saying all this as someone who was never a fan of Batman or his universe.

This third episode demonstrates how strong the show is, even when the main premise is silly. The balloon man captures people who've hurt Gotham and sends them thousands of feet into the air tied to a weather balloon! That's a chilling idea, but it doesn't quite work visually. But Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock have such natural chemistry as the good cop, bad cop team, and the actions of the Balloon Man force them to confront the real issue in Gotham: vigilantes step up because the GCPD is not only inept but hopelessly corrupt. The cop dialogue here is actually far better, more authentic and more gripping then what you read in trashy best sellers like Don Winslow's THE FORCE.

Some people don't like the soap opera side of GOTHAM, but I think it's interesting that, even very early on, Jim Gordon's golden girl Barbara Kean is being set up for darker things. There's something terribly sensual and sinister about the way she lounges around her luxurious apartment, puffing weed behind her cop boyfriend's back, all the while fending off advances from a stunningly beautiful and exotic dusky-skinned lady cop.

Is this the shape of things to come?

After feeling incredibly underwhelmed by the overstuffed and poorly paced pilot episode, I find myself becoming more excited with each subsequent episode. The previous one thankfully slowed stuff down into a more measured pace, and this one is the first episode that really feels like it's telling a solid story and it's settling into the world as a whole.

This episode deals with Bullock and Gordon on the trail of a vigilante killer that the papers dub the Balloon Man, who targets well known corrupt figures of authority in the city. The episode touches on the bigger picture issues like Montoya and the MCU targeting Gordon and the continuing mystery of the Waynes' killer, but for the most part it sticks to the immediate case and that's to the show's benefit.

This show really finds its stride when Bullock and Gordon get to work a case. Their dynamic, while still confrontational, is starting to settle into something more watchable. Bullock is starting to slowly accept that Gordon is going to push to do the "right thing" while Gordon is slowing starting to accept that Bullock is capable of doing decent police work and that his network of hookers, crooks and low-lifes can actually yield usable information. They're not just pointlessly butting heads anymore, but there's still the tension and it's working much better overall.

The show has thankfully stopped cramming pointless ties to future Batman characters into the show where they don't belong and are letting the story dictate what is being used. Selina Kyle appears in this one, but there's an organic story based reason for her to do so. Ditto for the newly introduced rival gangster Sal Maroni. The few scenes of Bruce Wayne also don't feel as out of place as they have in previous episodes, and Alfred is starting to gel as a character after his first few rather schizophrenic appearances.

Gordon is starting to grow on me, but he's got a bit of a way to go. His slow partial acceptance of Bullock's way of doing things is the start of taking the shine off the character a bit. Because the whole "white knight" routine from the pilot was frankly kind of boring. Now the guy's developing shades: he seems to be learning that he can't just fight against the corrupt system but that he has to work within it at least a little bit.

The Penguin continues to be a wonderful highlight of the show, and it's hard to put into words why. Really it comes down to the performance, this guy just sells the in the moment switches from cowering toady to vicious killer so well that you don't question it. He's becoming an oddly intimidating figure in a rather unassuming way and it's a fascinating way to build the character.

The tone of the show overall seems to have found a good place as well. The first episode was just so overly dower and dying to be taken seriously. This episode, by contrast, has some glorious moments of humor that feel organic to the setting and the story. It lets you know that it's OK to have fun, even in as dark a place as this. I hope that this is an indication of what the show will be going forward, because I could definitely use more of this.

Gotham has so far been good, but it could be great. It has struggled to keep the whole series going in the same direction. Some aspects are incredible, while some are weak and bland. The Penguin and Gordon remain the strongest characters the show has seen so far. Bruce Wayne has been overused (as hard as that is to believe) and I don't think the show actually knows where it's going.

All the Fish Mooney scenes continue to make me cringe with disappointment. The Falcone family should have been the vocal point of the show and possibly showed the past relationships with the Wayne family. But at the same time focusing on Penguin's rise to power is an interesting and fresh take on the city and the legend.

We got a little bit a glimpse into Bruce and Alfred's daily activities, including a sword fight which is a fun twist on Alfred's character. I'm not sure Bruce will be fighting true crime anytime soon so while it was a cool scene, it seemed a bit unnecessary. Gordon and Bullock's relationship is once again tested as they take on another weak villain, The Balloonman. The show needs to find it's identity in terms of villains or it will lose my interest.

While being a disappointing night for a few reasons, Gotham didn't do anything new to excite the fans and is struggling to stay consistent. It does have promise though.

+Gordon & Bullock once again tested

+Different Alfred

+More Penguin

-I hate Fish Mooney

-Identity crisis

-Bruce's training was out of place

6.7/10

Just as the title says, the penguin is back! He is very ruthless in this episode and will kill anyone to get his way. This episode also introduces Salvatore Maroni, played by David Zayas. He is a very good actor.

The main story line with Jim and Harvey was good. It was a pretty simple premise: A man is attaching corrupt Gotham citizens to weather balloons and then they eventually pop. We didn't see any Riddler in this, but I'm positive he'll have his time to shine.

Gotham is turning out to be a interesting show and piqued my interest in getting the graphic novels to learn more about the villains. I thank Gotham for that.

Stay tuned next week for Arkham.