Gotham found asylum this week in the unlikeliest of places. Arkham once again fell in with a weekly villain–a hitman named Gladwell–but for hum-drum mob dealings gone wrong, things begin to get right in the darkest ways. Gimmicky, violent, and full of intrigue to spare, Gotham’s measured stride to war on the streets finally draws first blood in flavorful fashion.
The show’s actual police procedural drama’s are already falling into the mundane, often coming down to Gordon saving the day on some cheap visual clue all of a sudden on cue (a.k.a shiny shoes or truck logos). Gordon and Bullock’s banter still remains solid and–at least this week–Bullock and Captain Essen actually wanted to solve the case. Gordon didn’t have much in the way of ideological obstacles as a consequence, but it’s always at his best when he just gets down to business.
In the parlors of Gotham’s underworld, Fish Mooney’s in search of a (bodacious) weapon, and held her own version of “tryouts” this week in “Arkham.” Plus, given how vague Fish was with the actual job description (“Are you willing to do whatever it takes to have it all?”), you wouldn’t buy two pale emo crooners killing each other for a gig, but it was all too appropriate for them to simply bash one another in the face. Two fine ladies garbed in red and black: Have we found a future Harley Quinn?
The rest of Gotham’s regulars, however, namely Cobblepot, lent Arkham an invaluable dose of eccentricity as always. We got a surprising whiff of Fish Mooney’s ruthlessness, one that’s finally coming in use as our gang war finally heats up and there’s fresh blood to be drawn. Between whispering in her “Seduce me” voice and forcing her girls to fight to the death, Mooney’s getting hot and bothered on the sidelines in some fantastically vicious ways. Cobblepot’s schemes are becoming more apparent too, paying and butchering his way through boss Sal Maroni’s graces while stealing behind his back. Together with an unsuspecting alliance with Gordon, Cobblepot makes a wonderfully creepy gangland snitch in the show’s most promising dynamic, coupled with the two’s funny first meeting since their farewell at the pier.
Maybe the simplest joy “Arkham” had going for it was Arkham itself. Drinking in the future of Batman’s rogues gallery is just too much and a nod of the hat has to go to the perfect metal gateway emblazoned with the foreboding Arkham name. Making the asylum the centerpiece of the show and the turf war born from Thomas and Martha Wayne’s murder was only a smarter way to use it for the series, let alone a great excuse to bring in Cory Michael Smith’s Nigma for only a minute. We always need more Nigma.
Meanwhile, Gordon and Bruce’s strange friendship bond/partnership thing needs a a lot of work. It’s hard to justify why Gordon drives down to Wayne Manor for little more than telling the kid that everything’s going to be okay, Gotham’s worth saving, there’s a light in the darkness, and so on. It’s oddly Alfred that keeps himself rather distant from a real relationship as the boy’s own guardian, and it’s his feelings that remain the hardest nut worth cracking.
On the other side of Gordon’s life, we finally got to see Barbara outside of the romantic apartment and down in the precinct, where she’s all but shut out by Gordon thanks to his secrets, despite sharing her own *ahem* “romantic past.” It’s hard not to conjure up premonitions of Smallville’s similar melodrama and Gotham’s seems to be no less convincing. How hard is it to sum it up to your wife that the guy at your door’s just a police informant and you get sh** done?
It’s just a shame we were never given anything about our hitman this week, “Gladwell,” whose career’s undoubtedly assassinating Gotham’s dumbest victims. The idea that Falcone and Maroni wouldn’t somehow know (or care) that they were paying the same guy to take shots at the other is just plain ludicrous when you get down to it. How long is it until they figure out they need to kill the other boss when you’re already shooting up restaurants in broad daylight anyway? At least you can respect making something of a guy with just a sharp telescope-thing as an assassin. For once, Arkham may have also been just as nice being free of the show’s clumsy foreshadowing. Staying in the moment lends a certain focus to the city’s more pressing mob matters, though it was interesting to find out that before there was a “Clown Prince of Crime” there was a “Clown Prince of…Parking Lot…Muggers.” Ouch. Not so subtle.
A far cry from silly balloon men in pig masks, Arkham finally geared towards the heart of what this series is laboriously trying to accomplish. Instead, Arkham finally aimed exactly at what our big villains are fighting over was an inspired way to translate core comic lore onscreen. While Mooney and Cobblepot continue to delight, there’s an uncomfortable feeling that it’s the freaks beneath the surface that are taking over the show’s real interest. Cop dramas can only hope to replace the insanity that Arkham’s gates could unleash.
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Gotham airs every Monday night at 8/7 central only on FOX. Catch all the latest episode reviews right here at BagoGames.
Gotham: Arkham
Pros
- Penguin Continues to Intrigue
- More Comic Lore Explored
- Mooney and the Mob Got in on the Action
Cons
- Another Undeveloped Weekly Villain
- Gordon Family Drama Not Working
- How are Bruce and Gordon pals?
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