Director: Dermott Downs
Writer: John Stephens
Cast: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Robin Lord Taylor, Sean Pertwee, Jada Pinkett Smith, Camren Bicondova, Erin Richards, Zabryna Guevara and John Doman
Synopsis: Detectives Gordon and Bullock track down a vigilante who is killing corrupt Gotham citizens by attaching them to weather balloons. Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot returns to Gotham and gets a new job close to an influential figure in the underworld.
Verdict:
After witnessing Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock take down a pair of peculiar child snatchers in Gotham‘s second episode, this weeks story centres on the infamous cities first ever vigilante…and I’ll give you a hint, he doesn’t dress like a giant Bat. With Gordon seemingly acting as Gotham’s only straight individual in a position of power, this gives rise to a creative new criminal named the Balloonman. Of course, as any Batman fan should very well know, any vigilante that believes murder is justified belongs behind bars alongside Arkham’s finest (a fact Bruce Wayne reminds us of at the episodes conclusion).
Despite the substantial teasing that occurred throughout ‘Selina Kyle’ last week, we are still no closer to discovering any more about Camren Bicondova’s curious young Catwoman. More importantly, we are also still in dark in regards to the murder of the Wayne’s and whether or not Selina does in fact hold to the key to the mystery assailants identity. This is largely due to the fact that ‘The Balloonman’ is packed with so many plot threads, that it very quickly finds a way to dispose of miss Kyle via a clever escape from Gordon involving sewers and handcuffs. This story is once again another filler episode scattered with potentially interesting developments and teasers for the shows many inhabitants. However like last weeks crime-filled tale, this approach may be Gotham‘s way of showing that it is struggling to balance the vast amount of characters it has tasked itself with displaying in such a short time frame. Although, it is always possible that future episodes of the series will decide to focus of a smaller group of characters, in order to avoid spreading themselves to thin (but whether this happens remains to be seen).
Having said that, 22 episodes is a long time to carefully expand upon a large group of burgeoning heroes and villains. Which will definitely keep Gotham‘s writers busy for the foreseeable future, to hopefully craft a world of interesting, multi-levelled characters in the same vein as the CW’s Arrow. Some characters however, are receiving some incredibly captivating story arcs that are no doubt helping to maintain the shows large amount of viewers in both the US and the UK. Robin Lord Taylor’s Penguin is definitely one of these, as his truly horrifying interpretation of the famous Batman villain is easily of the most successful elements of the series thus far. Although Cobblepot is undeniably a slimy, cowardly and violent weasel, Taylor brings a unique and slightly strange likeability to character that is only matched by McKenzie’s Gordon. Jada Pinkett Smith on the other hand, is appearing increasingly theatrical and pantomime-esque in a show otherwise filled with some very disturbing visual imagery and narrative concepts. This is clearly quite out of place at times, but there is still plenty of room for improvement with almost 20 episodes left in Gotham‘s fist season (assuming Smith makes it to the end).
One thing ‘The Balloonman’ is not guilty of however, is forgetting who the series is ultimately building upon. This is of course the future Caped Crusader, the young Bruce Wayne brilliantly portrayed once again by David Mazouz. It is quite a heart-warming sight to witness Bruce and Alfred slowly beginning to bond and learn to live as surrogate father and son, as fans of the character will no doubt expect sooner rather than later. The episode is also great at foreshadowing Gotham City’s future as a frequent home to many more vigilante’s (including Baman himself). Overall, the series’ third adventure is not the best hour of comic book television you could be spending your time with, but it does do a fantastic job of setting up some very interesting concepts for the future.
So far, I am greatly enjoying witnessing The Penguin’s slow rise to power and I am also very intrigued at the episodes brilliant cliff-hanger which leaves the devilish criminal on the front doorstep of the ever righteous and heroic Gordon. On another note, where is Barbara’s bizarre lesbian storyline going to take viewers in the coming weeks? Surely it will present some interesting hurdles for Jim and his continuing battle with Gotham’s major crimes unit.
[usr=3] Gotham airs on Channel 5 every Monday night at 9pm. Check out their official website here.
