The frustration Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) feels when he finally descends the secret staircase he found in the May finale only to discover a locked door mirrors mine with “Gotham” as we head into season two with “Damned If You Do....” It’s a show with a premise chock-full of potential, and has a great, game cast, but it is struggling to live up to its promise.
After addressing the cliffhanger, the episode slides a month into the future with a montage. James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) has been busted down to beat cop, not entirely unwarranted since it seems he did in fact let Carmine Falcone leave town and retire. But an altercation with a street nut and a fellow officer gives his nemesis Commissioner Loeb (Peter Scolari) the ammunition he needs to boot Gordon from the force altogether, over Captain Essen’s (Zabryna Guevara) objections. Leslie (Morena Baccarin) – who has taken over Barbara’s role of standing around an apartment and being supportive of Jim – thinks it’s for the best. So does Bullock (Donal Logue), who had already been drummed out and is seemingly better for it. “It’s the job, Jim,” he advises his friend, “Makes us angry, makes us hard.”
But Gordon’s a stubborn SOB. He still believes he can effect change, be an agent for the greater good in Gotham. That’s why he yet again goes hat in hand to see his “old pal” Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor). The favors, though, cost a bit more now that Penguin is in power and what he wants is for Gordon to collect a debt for him. Gordon struggles with what to do, but after a dressing down from Bruce, he makes his choice. And in the act, he winds up murdering a mobster.
It’s somewhat a dark echo of the decision Gordon made in the pilot not to kill Penguin. But while in that case he couldn’t take a life – which actually indirectly caused him some of his current problems – here he has blood on his hands that will surely haunt him in the weeks to come. I dunno if I like this development. The mythology, of course, is that Gotham descends into such chaos and despair that it needs a champion like Batman so Gordon can’t every truly succeed at cleaning up the city. That said, does that mean he has to get down in the muck with everyone else?
Anyway, the deed done, Penguin pays up, in a way too long scene where he waxes on about peanut butter and his henchman Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan) plays with a severed head. Claiming that Loeb can’t be blackmailed because he has no secrets (...wasn’t there a whole episode last season where Gordon dug up dirt on him to help Bullock?), Penguin instead spooks Loeb into retiring. Installed in his place is Essen, who naturally reinstates Gordon as a detective. It’s an interesting shakeup of the GCPD chain of command, though I hope it doesn’t mean we’ll see less of Essen than we already do.
Back to Penguin, he’s still settling in as Gotham’s crime boss, trying to stamp out anyone who poses a threat. Besides Zsasz, two other familiar faces are in his employ. There’s Butch (Drew Powell), his constant twitching a reminder of the torture he suffered last year and the potential wild card that makes him. And there’s Selina (Camren Bicondova), who Penguin enthuses is “like having a cat around the house.” I hope the show gives more of an explanation as to why Selina signed on with the mob because it’s been too fast and mostly off-screen.
Meanwhile, two more villains are rising in the shadows. When he speaks at Loeb’s retirement ceremony, Theo Galavan (James Frain, “True Blood”) is introduced as a “distinguished businessman, visionary scientist, acclaimed philanthropist.” But we soon see he has a sinister side. Galavan’s the one who sent the street nut after Gordon, an elaborate plant he and his sister Tabitha (Jessica Lucas, “Cloverfield”) use to break an assortment of inmates out of Arkham Asylum (which I suspect will also be fodder for episodic cases). It seems that the first stage in their master plan is forming a team of criminals working together, but ultimately disposable. A...squad, if you will.
Two of those inmates are the Joker-esque Jerome (Cameron Monaghan) and “fan favorite” Barbara (Erin Richards). While I still think it’s too soon for the show to be touching the Joker – and it’s silly how much he’s dominated the show’s promotional campaign – Monaghan is undeniably great in the part. And letting Barbara embrace the crazy has given the character a recharge and Richards is having a ball with it. Several screenings later, her phone call to Leslie (“I just wanted to say that I hope you die screaming, bitch. Byeee!”) continues to make me laugh.
Surprisingly, the Bruce subplot doesn’t get much screen time. He and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) dryly banter about homemade explosives and tea for a while. Bruce finally blows the door open and the episode closes with him reading a letter from his father (that reveals that the World’s Greatest Detective never tried his own name as the five-digit passcode), warning him that he should only pursue the truth if he feels a “true calling.” Mazouz is excellent as always, but I wanted more from this story after all these months.
So that’s my take on “Damned If You Do....” How are you feeling about season two so far? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
