Director: Karen Gaviola
Writer: Ken Woodruff
Cast: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Robin Lord Taylor, Sean Pertwee, Jada Pinkett Smith, Erin Richards, Camren Bicondova, Zabryna Guevara, Makenzie Leigh, John Doman and Nicholas D’Agosto.
Synopsis: Trying to close the Wayne murder case, a young Harvey Dent encourages Gordon to team up with Mayor James. Meanwhile, Penguin makes contact with Mooney’s secret weapon, Liza.
Verdict:
After last weeks Gotham decided to slow things down in terms of the shows (seemingly) central storyline revolving around the rise of the Penguin, episode 9 mixes up the format slightly with the introduction of a brand new character to proceedings.
Harvey Dent will no doubt be a name most commonly associated with Aaron Eckhart’s acclaimed portrayal of the character in Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT. However, this weeks Gotham attempted to re-introduce the future Bat-nemesis to audiences in the form of a younger iteration played by Heroes‘ Nicholas D’Agosto. This a slightly unexpected casting decision for a character that few expected to make an appearance on the show yet. Fortunately however, D’Agosto is a fantastic fit for the gritty crime drama with his presence varying drastically from the square-jawed white knight of Nolan’s blockbuster. The former Grey’s Anatomy star possesses a uniquely defined style that suits Gotham‘s corrupt, Scorsese-esque world perfectly. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Dent is the title character, D’Agosto’s young politician is given a ridiculously minimal amount of screen time, which is disappointing given that he’s easily the highlight of an otherwise dull story.
One scene that stands out is the episode’s tantalising teaser in regards to Harvey Dent’s future as one of the caped crusaders most feared adversaries. Dent shows his second face for a terrifyingly brief moment when threatened by the most recent Wayne murder suspect, which comes as a huge shock to viewers not anticipating his anger management problems. It should also be noted that the on-going investigation into who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne is beginning to get slightly tedious at this point. This week’s latest suspect is another new character named Dick Lovecraft, who may or may not end up as yet another rabbit hole for Jim to run through in this drawn-out storyline.
The other clear highlight of ‘Harvey Dent’ is the inevitable meeting between the Cat and the Bat, that has certainly been a long time coming. Selina and Bruce have now ended up residing within the same house thanks to Jim and his busy schedule, accompanied by a lack of time to deal with the feisty young feline. This is a slightly forced means in which to pair the future lovers together, but it definitely works on all levels. In fact, viewers should not undermine the large amount of praise deserved by the two young stars, as the extremely talented youngsters actually have some great chemistry on screen. This is a brilliant way for Gotham to establish some strong foundations to build upon in future seasons, and also give some credibility to the bond shared by Batman and Catwoman in their adult lives. The expanding relationship between the two characters is something I will be highly anticipating in the stories yet to come.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am also quite disappointed that Robin Lord Taylor’s phenomenal Penguin has yet again been side-lined for multiple narratives that have trouble co-existing in a singular episode, resulting in a disjointed adventure with some truly muddled character arcs. However, the limp-legged villain is very carefully beginning to pull the strings of almost every other mobster within the series, with Mooney, Liza, Maroni and Falcone all falling under his large umbrella in some form. I am eagerly awaiting the foreshadowed moment that the ruthless criminal decides to send the house of cards falling down, although we may still have a bit of a wait yet.
Overall, ‘Harvey Dent’ is another example of the shows writers throwing multiple characters at the wall and seeing what sticks, which may not be a reliable way of crafting a successful origin story in the future. Maybe Bruno Heller and his team should take a leaf from Arrow‘s book and dedicate each season to one particular adversary, as the aforementioned series has previously done with John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn/The Dark Archer and Manu Bennett’s Slade Wilson/Deathstroke. This episode also had an obvious twist regarding Barbara and her ex lover but at least it will pave the way for a new relationship with Jim and the lovely Morena Baccarin next year.
Not really the lead up to the finale that audiences were expecting but hopefully that one will be a pleasant surprise…
[usr=3] Gotham airs on Channel 5 every Monday night at 9pm. Check out their official website here.
