Gotham kicked off the second half of its first season this week. If you’ve been keeping up with Dark Knight News, you’ve seen that the show has gone from decent to really good. I personally don’t believe there has been a bad show per se, but plenty that they could have made a lot better. By creating a show set in the world of perhaps the most popular superhero right now, you have high expectations to meet. I don’t think the show has, but it hasn’t really disappointed me either. So how did “Rogues Gallery” start off the second half?
Meh.
The episode contains a mix off storylines, perhaps too many. We go from Gordon’s shift at Arkham, to Selina saving Ivy, to Penguin’s trouble, to Barbara’s drama and Mooney’s man Butch working his way up the ladder. That’s a lot for one episode, which also introduces Leslie Thompkins.
As usual, I’ll start by saying I didn’t think it was a bad episode. I thought there was some good stuff here (Gordon, Bullock, Arkham, Penguin). I really enjoyed how Gordon dove right in to Arkham and we got to see some of the inside of the popular madhouse. Bullock, as always, really pulled his weight in a minor role, as did Penguin… who learned himself a tough lesson. And I’m glad to see Butch got more screen time.
What bothered me was that these plot lines were shortened so that we could fit in Barbara (why?) and the Selina/Ivy mess (why?). I didn’t understand why these two minor stories needed to be included this week, when they could have added Nygma, Bruce or Alfred instead. Those three own the camera when they’re on, whereas the others are some of the series’ low points.
Overall, the show is back and pushed along the story…albeit slowly…but has yet to keep me from watching. I just still think Gotham has a ways to go if it wants to be that show it first set out to be.
Rating: 7/10
