Gotham (Fox)

[Slash Man]

Last episode provided a tough act to follow, so I wasn't surprised that this one didn't quite reach that level. Frankly, the pieces just didn't come together like they did last episode, and the different narratives felt disconnected.

The Bullock and Gordon story was the quality we've come to expect; we had a good mystery and great action scenes. We also explored the rest of Gordon's coworkers as well. This part was great.

But now the exploration of Barbara was pretty bad. She just doesn't do much, and is only seen in the apartment. Despite gaining an understanding for Jim's work, she then creates more needless drama by the end.

Bruce and Alfred's story is... interesting. Bruce goes back to school, and apparently there's a group of kids who tend to pick on kids whose parents died. I know bullying is real, but for the kid's first day back? That's pretty damn harsh. I can't decide if the resolution to this was terrible advice, or absolutely awesome - meet him in person, and beat the snot out of him (egged on by Alfred). Dang.

Meanwhile, Catwoman and Nygma still feel forced, and their purpose hasn't been fully realized.

[BatmAngelus]

Agreed about Barbara. They really have no clue what to do with her than just have her be the damsel in distress trope or the "cop's wife who's frustrated that he doesn't come home" trope.

Think it's interesting that we had Sionis and Tommy Elliot in the same episode. The kid seemed to be more like Roman Sionis to me than Tommy Elliot simply because Bruce and Tommy were childhood best friends in the comics whereas Bruce and Roman were a little less friendly. Might've been too coincidental for Roman to be Bruce's bully while (presumably) his dad is the villain of the episode, though.

[Slash Man]

Tommy Elliot wasn't too overt about being a future super villain, just a regular bully. Though I guess in this case, it helps to establish something earlier.

After the revealing of Sionis' mask, I'm pretty sure that he was meant to be Black Mask. Though who knows with these name changes (i.e. Ivy Pepper). I read critics actually complained about his mask and sword collection. I thought that was cool, he was the closest we got to a fully-formed super villain yet, and they went for some authenticity appearance-wise. I liked that he was so upfront about his violent nature when talking to Gordon. You get the feeling that he was one of those people who was hiding in plain sight because they were too big to be taken down by the police; for once, I thought they could've extended this a few episodes.

[Grissom]

I'm glad we finally got to see Black Mask in a live action incarnation. It appears though that he'll be going to prison and maybe come out just in time for Batman, as he begins his war on crime.

Great episode, Gotham has got to be one of the best shows this fall and along with The Flash and Arrow, DC is gaining some serious ground on the tv market.

[Slash Man]

Maybe his prison sentence will lead to his company's financial ruin and the Wayne Industries buyout. Or maybe he has enough money to the point where he'll never see the inside of a jail cell. Either way, I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of him.

[Slash Man]

This episode was very much so a step in the right direction. At the sacrifice of some action, we get a plot that finally seems wholly connected. I like how the Bruce and Selina scenes remind us that Bruce is still a kid after all. I'm really looking forward to the finale after this.

[Grissom]

With Episode "Lovecraft", I'm glad we finally get to see Bruce learning his way and confronting danger. The dynamic between him and Selina was very good and I'm beginning to see tremendous potential with Alfred. Great job and looking forward to the other episodes in this season.

Harvey Dent's character is a bit of a problem for me, the acting seems a bit forced and the split personality scenes int he previous episode was unfortunately sort of comical. It should be developed more though, so we'll see.

[BatmAngelus]

MINOR SPOILERS:
The latest episode description says that we'll be seeing some familiar Year One characters with Dash Mihok as Detective Flass and Peter Scolari as Commissioner Loeb.

Mihok's a good choice for Flass. Not familiar with Scolari, but it looks like they're going away from the comic book aesthetic again since the actor looks thinner than the comic book version.

[Slash Man]

Ugh, Jim just can't catch a break with Barbara. While this episode provided another great mystery story, the romance portions just move way too fast.

[BatmAngelus]

Seriously. The Barbara storyline is probably the show's weakest point. I laughed out loud in the scene where Ivy picked up the phone.