User Reviews

Another excellent episode! I'm delighted to see Gordon get his 'Bud White' on this episode, his undisguised contempt for the cops who turned their back on him in the previous episode and the ass kicking he hands out to the 'job seekers' were both a joy to behold. Kudos also to young Master Mazouz; I was a little disappointed that he didn't have enough in the tank to put Tommy Elliott down the first time, but once Batman's righteous anger began to flow at the end of the episode, the ferocity of his attack fully justified his casting as the nascent Dark Knight. Penguin's machinations are grinding away nicely, I'm hoping he has a large part in the downfall of Fish Mooney, who richly deserves what's coming to her! I'm still not sold on Nygma; his playing M.E. this week was more delusions of grandeur than superiority complex. Harvey's return to the light is also shaping up nicely, Logue is playing him with just the right blend of diminishing cynicism. Cat being smart enough to successfully bypass a high spec security system to rob a fur store, yet childish enough to think she could get away with literally daylight robbery could have been dumb, yet it worked thanks to the actress playing the part. I'm very interested to see how she and Bruce Wayne interact.

The main plot of 'The Mask' (a company with sadistic CEO who forces his new hires to fight--literally--for their positions) is a tad ridiculous. Particularly on its face. That it actually manages to still entertain is a testament to the talents of those both in front of and behind the camera. But what lifts this episode above your standard filler are the smaller stories taking place within it.

Bruce finally goes back to school, and it's here, away from the confines of home, that he takes his first real steps toward his destiny. Young David Mazouz gets to stretch his wings a bit here (no pun intended) and acquits himself quite well. Also good is Sean Pertwee as Alfred. This is a different take on the character than what we've seen in the past, and I really like it. This is an Alfred that you don't want to cross.

The Penguin's journey also continues, with Robin Lord Taylor doing an exceptional job in the way the character has evolved during his climb through the criminal ranks.

Along with the developing bromance between Gordon and Bullock, and the machinations of Fish Mooney (the icily seductive Jada Pinkett-Smith) this is an episode where the smaller pieces prove to be far more interesting than the main story.

After a string of very strong episodes were kicked off by "Balloon Man," this is the first episode in a while to slide back into some of the less polished and enjoyable aspects of the show that the pilot was drenched in. There's still some of the good stuff peaking through, enough to keep it afloat, but this is not up to the show's current standard.

For what's good: the relationship between Gordon and Bullock gets stronger with every episode. These guys are never really going to like each other, or the way the other goes about their job. But they do have a mutual respect at this point and the dynamic makes both of them better when they play off each other. I continue to enjoy Jada Pinket Smith and her characterization of Fish Mooney, and the Penguin is delightful as always. There are several more villains from the comics introduced here, Black Mask and Hush, and the way in which they're introduced is much more organic than we've seen before. This is especially true in the case of young Tommy Elliot, the future Hush. Though it's worth noting that Black Mask, while well integrated, doesn't really amount to much by the end of the episode.

However Barbara continues to be a massive drag on Gordon and on the show as a whole. This episode, literally the only things she does is drink and mope. I understand that she's damaged at this point, but the show never bothered giving us enough reason to really like her before having her break down like this. As a result she's just a burden, and I found my attention waver badly whenever she was on screen. It's doubly damaging because when she's present she takes over what's going on, and she's just not interesting or fun. I only hope that her "leaving" at the end of the episode is permanent, though I doubt it.

The other big problem is a relatively new one, and that's a shift in the portrayal of Bruce Wayne. Up to this point we've seen him dealing with adults like Alfred, Gordon and some people who work for his parent's company. And in those interactions he's come across and intelligent and trying to understand this world that he's probably too young to be dabbling in, which works. But now we see him in a school environment and that "trying to figure this out" mentality is maintained even with people his own age. Frankly he comes across as having some mild streak of autism: he flat out says to Tommy's face that he doesn't understand why the other boy is acting the way he is, and does so in this detached way of speaking. He offers to give Alfred statistics on why he should just be home schooled. If this was meant to be an undercurrent of the character, it was never properly made clear before because it feels like it comes out of nowhere.

The things that have been strong continue to be strong, but this is an episode where the weaker aspects really pull things down. Usually they're just little annoyances, this time they almost killed the episode. Fingers crossed that Bruce at school isn't something we'll see much more of and that Barbara will stay gone for at least a few episodes.

****SPOILERRRRRRRRRRR***** After reading quite a bit of DC comics, especially Bats...I watched Gotham until now without putting a word of protest. Now it is just way too much. I can ignore everything from Nigma, unflashy and insanely slow penguin build up, Barbara (that could never be Batgirl), to the Catwoman who wore the same clothes and had the same style for 20 years - But sending Bats to school!!! OMG!!!! Was this inspired by the Gotham Highschool art Not another Smallville

That was terrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cant have Bats and Supes having a TV life when they are about to meet BIG screen after all the cool animated DC works. That'd suck...totally!!

Gotham has great potential....yet to see the next 10 episodes...but I really hope that there is more cooler stuff with a greater addition to the young Bats and Gordon and Selina...for that matter...a 1 sentence mention about Venom that Bane uses in 1 episode as an Easter Egg.

Easter Eggs are great for movies...in TV shows - might as well explain it elaborately...rather than explaining the relationship of a treacherous cop and a Barbara (if you know Mrs Gordon only from the movies...don't even bother) that would totally and 10000% surprise me if she turns to Oracle at this time of storyline