Gotham Season 1 Episode 3 "The Balloonman" - Recap and Review

A vigilante is killing off rich and powerful wrongdoers, whom the law refuses to touch. He is nicknamed “The Balloonman” because of his modus operandi of killing: the victim is tied to a Weather balloon and is lifted off. When the person inevitably drops back to Earth, he/she is killed.

The first victim is a businessman, Arnold Danzer (Clark Middleton) who has conned many people through a Ponzi scheme. Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) is reluctant to take up the case, since he perceives that the victim deserved what he got. Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), as can be expected, wants to solve the case and capture the killer.

As was seen in the last episode, gang boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), was warned by mafia kingpin Don Carmine Falcone (John Doman) by having her boy toy, Lazlo (Michelangelo Milano) beaten up. Fish can't wait to take her revenge on the aging don.

Major Crime Unit detectives Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena) and Crispus Allen (Andrew Stewart-Jones) question Mooney about her involvement in the killing of Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor). Seizing this opportunity, she indirectly points the finger at Falcone.

In the meantime, the Ballonman has acquired his second victim, a corrupt Police Lieutenant Bill Cranston (James Colby). The public support for the vigilante killer swells. Jim and Harvey come under pressure from Captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara) to catch the serial killer, before he strikes again.

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As a result of their investigation, Jim and Harvey zero in on one Carl Smikers (Jonesy), who has stolen some balloons from his ex- employer. Carl reveals that he sold four of them to an unknown buyer.

Following his return to Gotham, Oswald is desperate for cash and applies for a job in a restaurant. He is turned down. Always cunning and resourceful, Oswald kills a worker and takes his position.

The Balloonman's next victim is Cardinal Quinn. The body of the second victim, Cranston crashes back to Earth on top of an elderly woman. Jim deduces the identity of the killer.

Lazlo is losing his confidence and this causes Fish to order his execution. She also asks her henchman to ensure that  Falcone's sweetheart Natalia meets with an accident. To ensure that she does not come under suspicion, she casually asks the Don about Natalia and he casts his suspicion on rival gangster Maroni (David Zayas) as the person responsible.

I liked this episode better than the second episode “Selina Kyle”. The acting shows a significant improvement. There is far more humor and levity.

I especially liked Jada Pinkett Smith's Fish Mooney. Her taunting of Renee Montoya was amusing and hilarious. Robin Lord Taylor is good as always, but this episode belonged to Jada.

While the bad guys continue to steal the show, the good guys also are coming into their own. This is specifically true of Sean Pertwee and David Mazouz as Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne respectively. After being all serious for the past couple of episodes, the actors finally lighten up as Bruce practices his stick fighting skills with Alfred at the Wayne Manor.

The episode showcased the positive effect Jim's idealistic attitude can have on even a cynical person like Harvey Bullock. Initially he refuses to show any sympathy for the Balloonman's victims or Mario Pepper. When Jim and Harvey go to arrest the Balloonman, Davis Lamond (Dan Bakkedahl), Davis holds Harvey at gunpoint. Harvey overpowers him and Davis inadvertently gets tied to a Weather balloon.

Harvey refuses to save Davis. But Jim risks his own life and holds on to Davis in a desperate attempt to save his life. This forces Harvey to shoot down the balloon and save the lives of his partner and the criminal.

The Balloonman also has a significant effect on the young and impressionable Bruce Wayne. David takes to vigilantism as a result of his frustration with what he perceives as widespread corruption and apathy on the part of the concerned authorities to set things right in Gotham.

We can see the youngster taking notes as he observes the vigilante's story in the press. Bruce is also working on clues to solve the murder of his parents.

The show also indicates a physical intimacy in the past between Jim's fiancee, Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) and Renee Montoya. Renee is still convinced of Jim's wrongful involvement in the murder of Oswald Cobblepot. She warns Barbara about Jim.

Whatever doubts, Barbara might have harbored are put to rest when Oswald himself appears before her as he pays a visit to Jim in the closing scene.

The show is improving with each episode and I hope that this trend will continue.

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

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.

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.

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”.

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.
 

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.

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.

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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Gotham Season 1 Episode 1 Pilot - Recap and Review

The episode starts with a young Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova), pick pocketing couple of Gotham citizens. One of her victims gives chase. Selina makes her escape and soon becomes a witness to the mugging of a family.

The family in question are the Waynes after an evening at the movies. Thomas (Grayson McCouch) and Martha Wayne (Brette Taylor) are murdered, leaving behind a heartbroken Bruce (David Mazouz).

Detectives James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) form a team at the Gotham Police Department. Both are the polar opposites of each other.

James is a rookie, idealistic and enthusiastic. James is engaged to the beautiful Barbara Kean (Erin Richards). 

Harvey is a world weary cynic and is termed “lackadaisical” by his partner. He seems to have been intimate with the local gang boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith).

They are assigned to the Wayne homicide. Arriving at the scene, Jim comforts a grieving Bruce and promises to catch his parents' killer. Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee) arrives and takes Bruce home.

Harvey wants to wash his hands off the case, due to the high profile of the victims involved. Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena) and Crispus Allen (Andrew Stewart) are also a couple of detectives from another detective unit and are itching to take over the case.

Working on a tip from Fish Mooney, Harvey and Jim track down a suspect, Mario Pepper (Daniel Stewart Sherman). Mario tries to flee and is shot dead by Harvey, as he is about to kill Jim.

Mooney's right hand man, Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor)  is ambitious. He pays a visit to Renee and Crispus and informs them that Mario was made a scapegoat by Mooney and the mob kingpin, Carmine Falcone (John Doman).

Renee informs Barbara about this and conveys her suspicion that her fiancee was a willing part of this conspiracy. An enraged Jim accosts Mooney and is overpowered by her henchmen. Harvey tries to rescue Jim and instead becomes a hostage himself.

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Just as they are about to be killed, big boss Falcone intervenes and saves their lives. Falcone and Jim's father, once the district attorney of Gotham, were friends and this is the motivation behind Falcone's rescue.

Mooney realizes that Oswald is the police informant and gives him a good beating. Oswald is set to be executed by Jim as a test of the latter's loyalty to the existing power hierarchy in the city. 

 The conscientious Jim pretends to do away with Oswald and warns him to never set foot in Gotham again. Oswald swims to safety and immediately starts his life of crime across the shore.

Jim also visits Bruce at the Wayne Manor and informs him about the truth about Mario Pepper. He promises to keep looking for the real killer.

The pilot episode started off slow, but picked up steam at around the midpoint. I was skeptical about the show and thought it to be just a cash grab attempt.

The episode turned out to be better than expected. The show has scripted as a city crime drama. As an analogy, it has more in common with The Dark Knight, than with Batman Begins or The Dark Knight Rises.

The acting is solid, if not exceptional. Jada Pinkett Smith and Robin Lord Taylor make the best impression. Jada in particular is excellent as the ruthless gangster. She exudes beauty and brutality effortlessly. She is effective in the scene with Robin's Oswald, when she assaults him as a punishment for his disloyalty.

Robin is also good as Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. The Penquin, as he is called by others (much to his distaste). His beating at the hands of Mooney leaves him with a badly injured leg and is a nice nod to the supervillain he will eventually become. 

Speaking of supervillain, there are a bunch of them in this show. In addition to the aforemtioned Selina Kyle, we also have Edward Nygma a.k.a The Riddler (played by Cory Michael Smith) and a very young Ivy Pepper a.k.a Poison Ivy (played by Clare Foley). These two are nothing more than cameos and I am sure we will seeing more of them in the upcoming seasons. Right now, the spotlight is on Oswald Cobblepot/The Penquin and Selina Kyle.

Selina seems to be the audience surrogate as far as Bruce's personal journey is considered. Just as she was a silent witness to the murder of his parents, she spies on their funeral ceremony and is seen outside the Wayne Manor in the closing scene. It appears that Selina is stalking Bruce with some definite goal(s) in mind.

Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue are adequate as James Gordon and Harvey Bullock respectively. Both are one note performances as the idealistic and the veteran cops. The actors could use some humor. In fact, the show itself will do better with more levity.

David Mazouz and Sean Pertwee as Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth do not get much screentime in the pilot episode. It does look like Sean's version of Alfred is a bitter old man. We will get to know more of Alfred's backstory in the upcoming episodes.

On the plus side, the show did not waste time in getting to the meat. In fact, the Wayne murders happened at the third minute after the episode began. Here's hoping that show maintains the same tempo in terms of screenplay and does not follow in the foot steps of the FX Vampire Horror show “The Strain”.

A good start and hopefully the show will get better as the season progresses.

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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