Gotham 1.11 “Rogues’ Gallery”

I hate mid-season breaks. Just when you’re getting your money’s worth, and are feeling undoubtedly addicted to it, the series stops cold, leaving you lonely and desperate.

And also, I don’t like this winter hiatus because I feel it puts too much pressure on the episode that comes right after the break.

This was the case with Gotham. A series that had built its cast of characters in such a great, rich and creepy way that made the viewer love it, enjoy all the subplots and conflicts, while forgetting the fact that there was little “Batman origins” to be seen.

“Rogues’ Gallery” wasn’t all that it could be, taking into account the ingredients that it had — Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) exiled to working his beat now between the Arkham Asylum corridors, conducting an investigation to uncover the mysterious character who is experimenting on Arkham’s inmates — lobotomizing them in the bowels of the Asylum with varying results — while Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) and new rival Saviano (John Enos III) wage a power struggle with Butch (Drew Powell) in the middle…

However, while not being the hit that it could have, the episode managed to entertain on many levels, as we’ve gotten fond of poor Jim and his struggles with the craziness that Gotham has to offer, which in Arkham reaches new heights.

We are presented with a newly created Asylum, overcrowded and short staffed, where Jim Gordon is the only law; and the only one with the training to at least try to contain “the mentally ill.”

It is only when Detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) is called to Arkham by his former partner, to help with a murder investigation that should have already been a GCPD investigation, when both Jim and the viewer realize that these two characters work best when they’re together. The episode got much stronger with the presence of Bullock, and with his now unconditional support to Jim’s cause.

The other big thread of the episode — and maybe the most interesting one, because of the power of the characters involved and how they helped advance the overall Mob war scenario — was the one involving Fish Mooney and her power struggles on her way to the top of Gotham’s food chain.

The game of suspicions and loyalties was pretty well-played here, and for me it is with these scenes that Gotham proves that it is a serious TV show, aiming for something bigger, something much more than a mere superhero’s origin tale.

The good thing about this episode was that it showcased some characters who recently had been benched, like Butch – whose performance and drama was some of his best as of yet – or Fish Mooney, who was a bit less grandiose and therefore more real, and more fitting into the mobster kingpin role she is trying to inhabit. The not-so-usual players performing well is definitely a big win for the show.

Like it was when Sal Maroni (David Zayas) came back! Pissed off at the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) for overstepping his boundaries, getting him out of that very particular cell smack dab in the GCPD station, and reminding Cobblepot that he is the “monkey” and Maroni the “zookeeper.” As I said, some scenes reminded me why Gotham is a well-developed show, with a myriad of characters, each of them with their own motivations and agendas.

Also, we met some more characters from the comics, like evil mastermind Jack Gruber (Cristopher Heyerdahl), based on an 80’s Batman villain called the Electrocutioner, whose presence in the episode was very strong, and even though he only had a couple of scenes it seems he was the one running the show at Arkham, and, like any good DC character, already has his crazy axe-killing sidekick.

A stricter introduction from the comics was Dr. Leslie Thompkins (Morena Baccarin), another character rooting for Gordon. It remains to be seen if she will be an important piece of the puzzle or just a standalone appearance.

All in all, not a bad episode, but Gordon’s still in Arkham!

How he will get back to the streets is yet to be seen, but believe me, I’ll be watching from the first row.