Gotham - Selina Kyle, The Balloonman and Arkham

Stalking Batman since the age of 11.

'Selina Kyle'
Episode 2 of Gotham fleshes out the character currently going by the nickname 'Kat', who was much seen in the pilot episode but didn't have much to do. Selina is caught up in a child-snatching plot disguised as part of the Mayor's rehousing scheme for homeless children. Displaying the instincts and alertness which will serve her in later life, Kyle tries to barter information on the Wayne murder to Gordon in exchange for escape from a spell in juvie.

In addition to providing Selina with more screen time (Camren Bicondova plays just the right blend of sass and vulnerability for the character not to be completely hateful,) the episode develops some running themes (see below) and gives a nod to the Dollmaker, a particularly creepy DC villain who recently picked up some new recognition by appearing in Season 2 of Arrow. The fact that he never shows his face in this episode suggests that the Dollmaker may be putting in a personal appearance later on and part of me wonders if they've kept him hidden on the off-chance that they decide to try and merge worlds with Arrow and The Flash.

'Selina Kyle' is a solid follow up to the pilot, and the villains - a pair of super-neat, faux-nice kidnappers in social worker disguise - are creepy as anything.

'The Balloonman'
Episode 3 is mostly filler, IMO. A vigilante is assassinating the corrupt of Gotham by attaching them to weather balloons. The actual vigilante is a bit silly, but the episode is interesting for tackling the arrival of the first 'character' vigilante to Gotham City (and not having it be Batman). The episode also follows up on 'Selina Kyle' as she gives Gordon in quick succession her information and the slip.

'Arkham'
Episode 4 goes to another touchstone, and one that has been name dropped a few times already: Arkham Asylum. In this context, the Arkham City district of Gotham (essentially what Batman Begins called the Narrows) and its associated Asylum are up for redevelopment into low-cost housing and a state of the art mental health institute as art of the 'Wayne Plan', but a rival plan to turn the area into a toxic waste dump is at the heart of the growing tension between the Falcone and Maroni mob families and an assassin is apparently targeting councillors to force the vote, but which way and on whose orders is not clear.

This episode is a solid arc entry, developing the ongoing story. Although Gordon remains the lead, the episode belongs to Hakeem Kae-Kazim as gentleman assassin Gladwell, and to Robin Lord Taylor's Oswald Cobblepot, whose B-plot threatens to take over this episode as never before.

Ongoing Themes

Man about town.

Cobblepot - The absolute breakout star of Gotham is Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot, the future Penguin. His backstory is dramatically rewritten, and Gotham's Cobblepot is the son of immigrant Edna Kapelput, a servile and insinuating man whose precise manners are calculated to cover his native accent while allowing him to manipulate those who are blinded by their power over him. Soft-spoken and fastidious, there is a rage at his core and he is shown to be quite capable of impressive and elaborate acts of deception and brutal murder without flinching. He is at the heart of events in Gotham, manipulating Gordon to strike back at the mobsters who cast him out to die and working to bring about the devastating mob war that he predicts will strike soon.

Gordon and Barbara - In opposition to the Cobblepot story, the courtship of Jim Gordon and Barbara, and the interference in same of Barbara's ex Renee Montoya is deeply boring. She pretty much gave him his papers at the end of 'Arkham', and I couldn't care less except that it would be a shame if there were never an Oracle.

The Coming Storm - The mob war which Cobblepot is working to exacerbate is also driven by the rival Dons Falcone and Maroni, and by Falcone's treacherous lieutenant Fish Mooney. This is a plot that is most interesting when Cobblepot is involved, as an awful lot of the rest of it is Mooney scheming audibly while auditioning acts for her club or arranging catfights between singers to choose a new 'weapon'. The latter was a particularly gratuitous scene, pitching a prissy chanteuse against a scrappy amateur and providing not one scrap of a twist or dramatic punch.

Bruce - The future Batman is a constant presence, with Gordon in and out of Wayne Manor for various reasons and Kyle apparently stalking him already. His scenes are so far mostly of interest for Alfred (played by Sean Pertwee) and I would like to see a lot more interplay between Alfred and Gordon and their cynic and idealist perspectives.