Gotham 1.05 “Viper”

Ever had the feeling that a quieter episode contains more meat than the more action-packed ones?

That rule doesn’t always apply, but this time it did, as Gotham reaches its fifth episode, leaving an overall very satisfying taste in your mouth.

And this happens because of many reasons:

Because Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) is officially The Penguin, and that big step comes with proving himself – and where his loyalties lie – to his mobster boss, Sal Maroni (David Zayas). Penguin comes clean about his past as employee of Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), and how all of Gotham’s criminal underground and the GCPD believe him dead at the hands of Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), which makes him an invaluable target for Maroni to use.

Because Sal Maroni is one hell of a character, amazingly coming to life thanks to an increasingly superb Zayas, who has a pretty damned good vibe with Taylor. Both actors complement each other’s performances perfectly, leaving room for many great scenes, and one can only hope that these two will deliver more greatness in upcoming episodes.

Because I’ve grown fond of this version of Jim Gordon, and much like with the focus on the bad guys, I am loving the grey areas he’s being forced to move in, all to preserve Barbara’s life and to make it as a cop in Gotham, the crookedest and dirtiest city on TV.

Because Gotham introduces the Batman mythos in a way that doesn’t feel forced at all, with two levels on which the series can be enjoyed (whether you know your basic Batman or you don’t), if the viewer doesn’t get every reference because he or she is not a fan of the comics, there’s room for mystery, crime, crazy bad guys, and lots of mobsters.

This time we met Viper, a drug that gives its users a huge strength boost, craziness, and an insane need for good old milk! However, the effect of the drug wears off and eventually, every bone in the consumer’s body cracks and breaks – boy, did that feel disgusting!

Does any of this sound familiar? Yes, it should, as it is a clear nod to Bane, one of Batman’s enemies, who using a similar drug becomes a mix between a WWE fighter and… a wild animal, maybe? I don’t know if we’ll get Bane eventually, or a drug-enhanced Joker, but these are all good indications that the show is in the right path.

Do you need more reasons to watch Gotham? Here you go, friendly reader.

The show is about early origins of Batman, and this means working with a little Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz). It seemed on the first two episodes that Bruce wasn’t going to be a prominent figure at all, but somehow that was misleading, as with every passing episode Bruce Wayne’s detective instincts not only serve as the thread that runs through every subplot while the boy investigates into his parent’s killing; but the child is becoming someone capable of going to Wayne Enterprises for answers, feeling that there is a lot that’s rotten inside the company his father built. And his instincts prove right, as we learn that one of Wayne subsidiaries was trying to create Weapons of Mass Destruction, based on the “venom” virus, an evolution of the Viper drug.

Wait, wait… so you’re telling me that no one can be trusted in Gotham? That even Wayne Enterprises is corrupt?

It looks that way, and opening that door, if the card is well played, could bring with it a nice drama, while also providing the show with one of the twists it really needed.

Much like in real life, nothing is what it seems in Gotham, a city where a Penguin aims to be a king, a child and his butler are the key to helping what good is left in the city — namely Jim Gordon — solve a riddle that gets bigger and bigger with each week.