The development of Arkham takes center stage as it slowly becomes a character in the series.

What They Say:
Arkham – Politicians on both sides of the Arkham district issue are in danger as the vote approaches; Gordon gets a visit from an old friend.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As Gotham moves along, it’s finding its feet a little bit better but still not quite hitting some of the marks when it comes to the main detective/police storyline of the episode. With it being billed as a bit of a procedural in and of itself, just set in Gotham, that’s been a surprising weak point when it should have been one of the strongest considering the people involved. That said, I’m still enjoying the show a good bit since it’s showing off some interesting angles as the origin stories unfold. Cobblepot of course manages to be the most interesting as he’s now inserting himself into the Gotham crime life in a way that he couldn’t before, edging out the beginnings of his own little empire.

Cobblepot is also making sure that he’s making the right impact on other people, such as when he gets all cleaned up in a really great way and visits Gordon at his home, calling himself Peter Humboldt, an old friend of Gordon’s. With him playing with Gordon in a way here, it’s amusing with the way he tries to be suave at first but ends up getting the tables turned on him when Gordon gets him outside. Where things take a really neat turn though is that Cobblepot offers himself up to Gordon for saving his life by being someone on the inside that can give him the goods that will help him. He completely understands the corrupted world that Gotham is and what Gordon is like in the midst of it and because he saved him before, he wants to pay him back in his own way with a kind of twisted honor.

What Cobblepot reveals is that a good chunk of what’s going on with the movers and shakers of Gotham these days involves the Arkham district and what it represents. The politics of Arkham certainly is something of interest of course and we see how one councilmen is shaken down at the start here in a really brutal way that feels like it’s a step up in the kind of violence that the show has dealt in so far. The deaths end up putting Gordon and Bullock on the case, which gives us a little more of a view of how politics works in Gotham. We also get more of a taste of Bullock’s style where he continues to just accuse anyone and everyone, claiming to have evidence or witnesses to coerce a confession so they can be done and over with the case quickly and easily. But with Gordon being who he is, it doesn’t exactly work that way for Bullock, which frustrates the partnership to be sure.

What we get with the big picture here though is a look at what the mayor wants to do with the Arkham district, amusingly called Arkham City, in that it’s the last of the undeveloped areas to work with, one that the Waynes had an interest in trying to bring it up and raise all boats for the people there. That gives Gordon an angle to work with when it comes to Bruce and Alfred since there’s information he can get there, which fills in some of the details about the different plans that exist to try and really make money and win influence in the redevelopment of the place. The asylum does get its time here in dialogue, with what they want to make it and some words from the past as Bruce reads some material on what his mother wanted to do to try and build a place there that could help people. It’s some nice touches to try and provide more of an early connection to the location for Bruce and give it far more meaning.

Interestingly, it’s near the halfway mark of the episode that Gordon and Bullock get the clues they need to figure out who may be behind the killings with a bit of an independent hitman past to him. That ends up leading them right to the killer, Gladwell, who manages to elude them for the moment to keep the chase on. Again, it’s an interesting way to approach the procedural part of things, giving us a little time inside Gotham Penitentiary and seeing the kinds of info that can be gleaned there, and the forward approach that Gordon uses in dealing with people they want to question. It also runs nicely along with the subplot of seeing Bruce exposed to more of what his parents were involved in and trying to find his own connection and answer in things, which in turn will lead him towards the humanitarian side that we know plays big with this side of who he is. Seeing the way that both Bruce and Gordon really are after the same thing, and these early connections between the two, it makes it clearer why there is such a trust that exists from future-Batman towards Gordon to do the right thing in this corrupt city.

Amid all of this, we also get a look at the brewing gang war that’s going on with the Arkham vote as a part of it. With Gladwell’s work causing plenty of friction between the sides and an actual hit going on at one of Maroni’s restaurants, things are getting tenser on the streets. Mooney plays into it as well as she fills Bullock on a few minor points about it in regards to why Falcone is going as far as he is. But we also see how Cobblepot is taking advantage of things as he manages to pull a sweet move when the restaurant is hit that ends up getting him quite the promotion when things settle out. Cobblepot continues to do some interesting things over the course of the episode to cement his position and gain in influence in the Maroni family. He has his own plans to be sure and while they’re moving quickly here, there’s a lot of potential with it.

Similar to previous weeks, the actual main conclusion to dealing with the killer is something that feels like it comes to resolution quicker than it should within the episode. It does give us the minor action component, and some fun time with the mayor, and we see Gordon and Bullock working together in a rather decent way that frustrates both of them in a way. The storyline itself works well enough, and it’s the motivation that gets the storyline moving, but it still feels very secondary overall when it should be the primary storyline. What the episode does focus on that it does well are the character relationship pieces that come into play with the Bullock and Gordon one being the best. But it’s also seducing me well with the Cobblepot one with Gordon. I’m less enthused with the Barbara and Jim storyline though since she’s making fairly unreasonable demands on his work that will always naturally involve some form of secrets. And we get more time with with Fish Mooney that delights as she chews the scenery well.

In Summary:
Gotham continues to expand things well where with what’s going on as we delve into the politics of the city and some minor exploration of Arkham City and the asylum itself. With a contract killer working the rounds with councilmen, it sets up a decent story to work with, but one that feels like it’s not including enough of what it should when you have them being killed like they are. What I’m really enjoying chewing on with the show is the whole mob angle since that has some really fun stuff to work with as it’s how Gotham ends up eating itself, especially post-Wayne. That’s got a lot going on here as we see the way they push and pull and how Cobblepot is manipulating things and as we get the beginning of what Arkham will represent when it comes to the asylum.

Grade: B+