Cobblepot takes a huge risk, while a killer new drug hits Gotham.

“WHAT’S ALTRUISM?”

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

Oh Oswald, what an incredibly silly mistake that could have been! Young Mr. Cobblepot has been pretty smooth up until now, but telling Maroni his true identity nearly put an end to his scheming once and for all. You have to applaud his ambition though, and his “go big or go home” attitude definitely paid off in the end for him.

Gotham’s dark side continues to hold my attention significantly more than other aspects of the show, and in that regard it was a standout week for Maroni. David Zayas brings a great energy to the role, as he can appear peaceful and merry while all the time commanding your attention. I loved his scenes with Cobblepot and Gordon this week, with him now essentially owning Gordon due to his knowledge of Cobblepot’s fake death. Mooney, Maroni, and Falcone are all interesting characters in their own right, and the interplay between them and their factions is really fun to watch. I’ve been banging the Cobblepot drum each week so far, but it’s time to give the rest of them their due.

I’m not really sure how any of this is going to play out either. Cobblepot will eventually rise to power of course, but it’s worth speculating over who will fall so he can ascend. With Falcone and Maroni focusing on each other, Mooney seems to have the element of surprise, but I have a feeling she may eventually be the one who meets her maker. The plan she instigated last week became a lot more interesting, with her “pupil” now crossing paths with Falcone. This immediately made it stand out a lot more to me, especially getting to see Falcone act like an entirely different person. It’s an incredibly cold plan from Mooney, but I’m relishing seeing how it proceeds.

I felt this was also the strongest “case of the week” that we’ve had so far. The drug we were introduced to here, Viper, was a pretty cool precursor to Bane’s favorite drug, Venom. While Gordon and Bullock’s investigation wasn’t incredibly interesting, seeing them get their asses kicked by an old man was delightful. The hint at an overall conspiracy involving Wayne Enterprises is also a welcome twist. The Wayne’s murder looked like the work of one of the warring crime bosses, but even the slight inkling that it could be connected to Wayne Enterprises seems like a far more interesting route to take. It could help open up a whole new part of the world for us to see, while also bringing the drama a little closer to Bruce.

I had always wondered how they would keep Bruce and Alfred relevant on the show, and having Gordon investigate Wayne Enterprises might be one way to do it. Bruce seems to be a little too far along with his detective skills at the moment, but it was good to see him actually having a proper place in this week’s episode that didn’t feel forced. His relationship with Alfred is also growing and they’ve struck up quite a good rapport already. By the end of the episode, Alfred was properly assisting Bruce, so we’ll hopefully get to see more of that in the next few weeks.

There was no sign of Barbara this week, although we did get a brief mention of her. I’m perfectly OK with not getting any follow-up to her and Jim’s big relationship moment from last week. There’s a big enough cast here, so it’s good to give people a breather every once and a while. Selina Kyle made a brief appearance which served almost no purpose, and Edward Nygma (The Riddler) continues to have a scene or two each week. At least we did get a good creepy vibe from him as he marvelled in the chaos caused by the Viper users in the police station. I’ve complained about the amount of Batman references shoe-horned in on the show so far, but considering that Nygma is an established character on the show now, I want to find out a bit more about him sooner rather than later.

THE BREAKDOWN

I rather enjoyed this week’s episode of Gotham. The show is still far from perfect but it’s a fun ride. Gordon and Bullock are good together, but they’re being a bit overshadowed by the ongoing power struggle between Gotham’s less desirable residents. The introduction of the drugs Viper and Venom was a cool way to expand the world of the show, as was the introduction of a potential Wayne Enterprises conspiracy. There are a lot of rough edges to the show, but “Viper” suggested that things might be coming together a little better, and hopefully this can be a stepping stone towards consistently better quality.

Which one of the three warring crime bosses will get taken out first? Let us know who you think it’ll be in the comments below.

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