Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 “Selina Kyle” - Recap & Review


Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue as Detective James Gordon and Harvey Bullock with Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney in Fox Gotham TV Show Episode 2 Selina Kyle

Patti (Lili Taylor) and Doug (Frank Whaley) are two henchmen of Dollmaker. They approach homeless children, claiming to be members of the Homeless Outreach Program.

After entreating the children with treats, the thugs inject some medicine that makes them unconscious. 

Selina Kyle (Cat to her friends) witnesses one such kidnapping incident. The shrewd Selina does not fall prey and flees.

Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot The Penquin returns to Gotham in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) hitchhikes his way back to Gotham city. As readers might remember, he was supposed to be executed by Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Jim of course let him go, after warning him never to come back.

The guys who give Oswald his free ride are not so lucky. Oswald kills one of them and kidnaps the other for ransom.

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Jim and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) are working on the case of the missing street children. They zero in on one Morry Quillan (Wayne Duvall) based on the substance used by the kidnappers to inject the street children.

Patti and Doug are already in Morry's office, when Jim and Harvey arrive to question him. A shootout ensues and the two kidnappers make their escape. The detectives arrest Morry.

Morry provides the tip that he remembers a depiction of fork on the van used by the kidnappers.

Richard Kind as Mayor Aubrey James with Zabryna Guevara as Captain Sarah Essen and Detectives Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock in Fox Gotham

Meanwhile, Mayor Aubrey James (Richard Kind) announces a program that will take all the homeless children off the street and send them to an institution.

Selina finds herself being forcefully packed into a bus that purports to serve the official machinery. Selina is horrified to find Patti to be in charge of the situation.

Patti intends to ship all the children to foreign shores. Jim correctly figures out the name of the company using the trident symbol (mistakenly thought to be a fork by Morry) as Trident International Shipping”.

Guest star Frank Whaley as child kidnapper Doug is caught by Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

He arrives just in time to save Selina just as Patti is about to shoot her. Harvey arrests Doug.

Selina tells Jim that she might have information about the man who murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne.

At the request of Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), Jim visits Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) at the Wayne Manor. Bruce has been testing himself by doing things like burning his hand deliberately.

On learning about the developments about the rescued homeless children, Bruce offers to donate clothes for them.
 
Jada Pinkett Smith as gang boss Fish Mooney in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

Another subplot involved Don Carmine Falcone (John Doman) checking up with Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) about her intentions to replace him as the head of Gotham underworld. Don informs her that he got this information from Oswald. Mooney reassures the Don about her loyalty and seemingly convinces him.

Privately, she regrets the fact that she did not punish Oswald more for his treachery.

For an episode titled Selina Kyle”, we did not get to see much of the lass destined to be Catwoman. We don't know any more about Selina than what we did from the pilot episode.

Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle the future Catwoman in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

We already know that she is a spunky kid with lot of street smarts to boot. This episode did not forward her character development or delved deeply into her background to justify the decision to name it after her.

On the acting front, Robin Lord Taylor continues to the best of the bunch. The reason is simple: he offers a healthy dose of humor in his performance. This factor combined with the villainy of Oswald Cobblepot naturally makes him the standout performer.

Jada Pinkett Smith continues to chew the scenery as gang boss Fish Mooney.

Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth with Ben McKenzie as Detective James Gordon in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

As I mentioned in the review of the pilot episode, Ben McKenzie could inject some humor into his performance. Granted that his character is a straight shooter and an idealist and is very frustrated with the prevalent corruption. Still his character could use some levity.

Same goes for Sean Pertwee - he also leans towards the all-serious school of acting as Alfred Pennyworth.

Casting such talented actors as Lili Taylor and Frank Whaley in what amount to one-off roles clearly shows the dedication of the show makers to deliver a product of the highest possible quality. Hats off to them.

Lili Taylor is a blast as Patti. She mixes black humor effectively and gives one of the best guest appearances in a long time.  

Recommended watch for fans of the Dark Knight/DC Comics.

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Image Sources: Warner Bros. Television, Fox Network

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4 comments:

  1. This hasn't arrived in the UK yet (later this month, apparently). Looks like a gloomy version of Smallville! Worth watching?

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    1. It is worth a watch if you are into Batman/DC Comics. Acting is decent and production values are good.

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  2. Personally, I enjoyed Carol Kane's slightly bonkers Mrs. Kappelpoot and wish she could be in more episodes. She strikes me as having a bit of a Miss Havisham quality as Oswald's mother, and how she thinks a woman has led her little boy astray is delightful and creepy. I can only hope she turns out to be just as nutty as her precious child.

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    1. I am liking Robin's Oswald very much. It would be interesting if Carol turns in an equally charismatic performance as his mother, as the season progresses.

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