Gotham – Arkham – Review

This week on “Gotham,” the show introduced one of the most iconic locations in the Batman mythology – Arkham Asylum. While it’ll one day house the criminally insane members of the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery, here, it’s the latest battleground in the growing war between our cast of characters.

Teased in the past two episodes, “Arkham” reveals that the asylum – and the surrounding area - is one of the last undeveloped districts in the city. Before they were murdered, Thomas and Martha Wayne were involved in a development initiative designed to benefit the city’s less fortunate, with affordable housing and a new state-of-the-art mental health facility. That plan, Gordon later learns from Alfred, was co-opted after their deaths by Falcone (I remain curious if there’s some deeper connection between him and the Waynes), who stands to profit from the construction work. But a competing proposition – to raze the land and turn it into a waste disposal site – is being pushed by Maroni.

After the murders of two city councilmen and an attempt on his own life, the corrupt and cowardly mayor (who’s portrayed with just the right amount of oiliness by “Spin City” alum Richard Kind) ends up engineering a compromise. As Gordon attempts to rationalize to Bruce, and to himself, this solution may have stemmed a lot of bloodshed. But all it’s really done is delayed the inevitable. Maroni has taken a bite out of Falcone’s business, wildcards Fish and Oswald are waiting in the wings, and the status quo of the criminal underworld is only getting shakier.

But while the pieces in the bigger puzzle are interesting, the actual procedural story in this episode is an absolute mess. The hitman at the center of the case is pretty bland. His weapon of choice – a pop-up metal spike that requires him to get up close with his targets – seems like it was written for its stylishness on-screen vs. any kind of sense to the story. No explanation is given as to Falcone and Maroni coincidentally hiring the same independent contractor, or why they would need to go outside their own organizations at all. Future Riddler Edward Nygma (in another drive-by appearance) is apparently so gifted that he’s able to confirm that the victims shared similar wounds when one is still stuffed in a canister and burnt to a crisp. And I couldn’t help wondering – wouldn’t the murders of city councilmen fall under the purview of the Major Crimes Unit, which we know the GCPD has? Just a lot of disjointed elements that didn’t entertain me.

I did enjoy the Penguin parts as Oswald got to show off scheming smarts over his penchant for stabbing. Picking up last week’s cliffhanger, Oswald knows that Gordon isn’t going to kill him (despite the Christian Bale-esque growl Ben McKenzie ramps up during these scenes) and uses that to his advantage, pitching himself as a loyal secret agent who owes him his life. He also arranges a robbery at Maroni’s restaurant that both endears him to the don and fills his own coffers. Pretty slick, Mr. Cobblepot. Robin Lord Taylor is really stealing the show so far.

While all of this is going on, Fish is auditioning singers for her nightclub. Given she’s more interested in their seduction skills than their singing abilities, I suspect she wants the winner to take the place of Falcone’s girlfriend, who Fish engineered an attack on already. The show tries to spice it up with girl-on-girl fighting and kissing, but it’s a snore of a subplot. And considering how many characters already aren’t getting enough attention and screen time (Nygma, Captain Essen, Allen and Montoya), I can’t say I’m keen on a slice now going to Liza. I am wondering how and when Fish will cash in the IOU favor she collects from Bullock.

On the personal front, despite reaffirming her faith in him last week and not appearing particularly rattled by their surprise visitor, Barbara does an abrupt about-face and demands Gordon explain all about Oswald Cobblepot. She also surprisingly spills the beans about her romantic history with Montoya when Gordon presses about the connection between them, I wasn’t expecting that to come out for a few more episodes. In the end, Gordon is forced to let Barbara go when he can’t risk letting her in. It’s too bad I’m not invested in this relationship at all.

How crazy were you about “Arkham?”