Gotham Season One: Penguin's Umbrella

The episode begins with Fish finding out that Cobblepot is still alive and ordering her men to get Gordon, meanwhile at GCPD Gordon is punched by Bullock for letting Cobblepot live and refuses to help him against Falcone. He then goes to his apartment and knocks out two of Fish's men who held Barbara hostage and then makes sure she got on the next bus out of Gotham. Fish then expresses her displeasure at Falcone for Cobblepot still being alive and Gordon's betrayal but Falcone says he will let Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan) handle Gordon. Zsasz later arrives at the GCPD with two hitwomen and the other cops abandon Gordon, a shootout follows; Gordon is injured but is rescued by Montoya and Crispus however Zsasz then kills another cop and marks the kill on his body.

"Time for my debut"

While Gordon gets treated for his wounds at a university Fish visits Maroni to convince him to hand Cobblepot over but is unsuccessful. In retaliation one of Fish's men block one of Maroni's shipments however Cobblepot says he knows how to hit back at Falcone, Gordon later visits Bruce to say sorry that he could die before finding his parent's murderer. Cobblepot later leads Maroni's men on a raid at one of Falcone's places (also killing one of Fish's allies) and then kills one of Maroni's men who never liked him much. Falcone and Maroni then meet and agree to stop the fighting and Falcone even allows Maroni to keep Cobblepot, Gordon is then preparing to arrest the Mayor and Falcone and Bullock even arrives to help.

Honestly why does Fish have to be there

Gordon and Bullock apprehend the Mayor and then goes to Falcone's manor to arrest him however Falcone reveals that Zsasz has kidnapped Barbara. Bullock thinks he is lying but it turns out to be true but then, surprising everyone, Falcone allows the three of them to live believing Gordon will one day realize that he is right. The next day Cobblepot meets with Falcone who says everything has went as planned. In a Flashback it is revealed that on the day Cobblepot was to be shot by Gordon, he and Falcone made a plan for him to be a spy in Maroni's family after Cobblepot revealed Fish is making moves against him.

"It would be cool if I had a gun in this umbrella"

Finally we have Cobblepot's master plan revealed, I just knew it was something more than siding with Maroni, and that he is working with Falcone all along. It was all really clever and shows just how smart Cobblepot is with people; how he knew Gordon would most likely let him live, the best ways to earn Maroni's trust and bribing Maroni's men to kill to one who hated him. I guess everyone saying that Falcone is getting weak has just been proven wrong since the reason he always acts so calm is because of his plan with Cobblepot. I hope that since Falcone is actually aware that Fish is plotting against him all along that he and Cobblepot will take her out soon. Speaking of Fish she was alright that past few episodes but this one really just made me hate her again. I don't know why she thinks she should be the next Don because in my opinion she just acts like a damn child with her outbursts and she isn't as smart as she thinks either when showing how eager she was to get Cobblepot. Plus her stupid voice and expressions are back during the part when she threatened Cobblepot; I really hope that they kill her off soon and that Cobblepot beats the hell out of her or stabs her a lot.

"If we are going to die I'm getting laid first"

However the best part of the episode was the arrival of Victor Zsasz and the shootout that followed. Zsasz's introduction was by far the strongest out of all the comic characters and I am really liking the casting as well. Anthony Carrigan nailed the creepiness of Zsasz and he really, really looks like a younger version of him and I am glad they kept his habit of tallying his kills on his body. The shootout between him and Gordon was awesome too because it was so intense and he had Gordon on the ropes. I definitely want to see more of Zsasz in the series and his two hitwomen sidekicks as well, those two where a pretty cool addition.

Wow, there was a time Zsasz only killed twenty - eight people?

Other quick mentions is that I am glad Montoya and Crispus have sided with Gordon and if they keep this up they could become alright characters. I also liked Gordon's determination in this to seek justice even though the odds are against him and the cops abandoned him (kind of shows how cowardly the police are in Gotham) and I'm glad that Bullock joined him; like I said I am sure that Gordon has grown on him. Barbara is getting to become a good character now because even though she was used against Gordon by Falcone I will say it was brave of her to try and pled with him however I just hope they just stay away now from the Barbara/Montoya because that was just stupid. The moments when Falcone said he had Barbara was done well because I honestly thought he was bluffing until he showed her. Despite kidnapping Barbara I keep hoping that Gordon will soon see that Falcone is the lesser evil in Gotham because unlike Fish and Maroni he honestly seems to care more for peace, order and business.

Yeah the Penguin rules these streets!

Last thing to mention is that something that annoyed me (besides Fish) is that there is going to be no big mob war anytime soon. There was quite the build up to it for ages now but Falcone and Maroni seemed to have made peace and Gordon has now backed off. Gordon obviously isn't going to stop but I don't think he is going to try anything like this drastic for a while and Falcone isn't going to go to war when he has a mole with Maroni.

Overall this was a great episode and a real standout with the great arrival of another comic villain and that Cobblepot and Falcone seem to be playing everyone.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Reveal of Cobblepot and Falcone working together
                   Victor Zsasz
                   Some great shootouts

Let - Downs: Fish
                      Seems to be no gang war now after so much build up

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/   

Gotham Season One: Viper

The episode begins with Bruce creating his own investigation board which includes information on the crime families and Arkham, he also wants to speak to the board members of Wayne Enterprises. Meanwhile a man with a messed up ear gives a vial of green liquid to a guitar player who inhales it which turns his skin pale and his veins green. The guitar player than causes havoc at a store where he drinks lots of milk and uses superhuman strength to break a baseball bat and carry a ATM machine on his back, Gordon and Bullock are on the case. Falcone then calls a meeting of his street bosses, which includes Fish, and even though most want to retaliate against Maroni, Falcone says its not the time. Gordon and Bullock find the location of the guitar player but he dies when he tries to lift the ATM machine and it crushes him. Later the man with the messed up ear is giving out more Viper.

Now that had to hurt!

Alfred tells Bruce he is invited to a charity event and Bruce accepts because he might be able to question board members there. At GCPD numerous Gotham citizens are being brought in under the affects of Viper and dying as well. Nygma has analysed a sample and says that Viper gives the user superhuman strength but feeds off the user's calcium (hence the addiction to replenish with milk and cheese) and eventually their bones break down and they die. Gordon and Bullock question a member of the medical company WellZyn (an offshoot of Wayne Enterprises) because they have the best equipment to make Viper and they learn of a former employee named Stan Potolski who could be behind it. Later Gordon is later brought before Don Maroni to save Cobblepot's life because he told him he used to work for Fish.

"I'm sure there is a riddle for this"

Gordon and Bullock question an old professor of Stan who says Stan helped created Viper for WellZyn but had a breakdown when realizing they wanted to use it for warfare (and have even created Viper's successor Venom). He says that Stan will contaminate the WellZyn/Wayne charity event before injecting himself with Viper but his killed by Gordon and Bullock. They race to the event and manage to stop Stan who commits suicide off the roof after breathing in Viper but not before telling Gordon to check a certain warehouse, he goes to it but finds all the evidence gone. The episode ends with Alfred finally helping Bruce with his investigation, Cobblepot back in Maroni's good graces by helping rob Falcone and Falcone himself meeting Liza in a park.

At least make some tea Alfred, you both got a lot to read

Gotham has taken it's first step to being not that grounded after all with the use of the drug Viper, like with Arrow I didn't want this series to be too realistic and this is a good start. I did really like the Viper drug because it was a really cool effect when the victim's face goes all pale and their bones crack and fail. However I kind of felt that it was wasted because we barely got to see any action from it; Gordon and Bullock just witnessed the guitar player being crushed and I expected Stan to act like some boss but he just jumped off a roof. I know there are limits to how Gordon and Bullock can approach the villains because they are not vigilantes but that doesn't mean we can't see them put up a fight. Also I am glad they mentioned Viper's successor Venom because it is possible we could see Bane in the future or Venom - enhanced soldiers.

Maybe they should but a restaurant like Maroni? It would be a better place to meet 

Another part of the episode I liked was how Bruce got a lot more involved this time and actually stepped out of Wayne manor. The way he made that investigation board and then questioned one of his own employees was really cool. I want to see more of Bruce and Alfred like this; taking a more active role in the story instead of waiting for Gordon to come to them. Speaking of Gordon I did like the scene in the restaurant when he is talking to Maroni on behalf of Cobblepot, you really got the sense that a wrong word would have got them both killed. I also wonder why Cobblepot told Maroni who he really is but like I mentioned in my last review I'm sure he has a big master plan.

"The one time I leave the gas masks at home"

Other things worth mentioning is that I found it funny how Nygma was more fascinated with the effects of Viper and not seeming to care that much about people dying. Reminds me of the Riddler from comics and Arkham games where he only thinks of others as a means for his riddles. I didn't care much for Stan because he was even less developed than Gladwell I think and since it was more about Viper in the end I didn't care much for the guy who was giving it out. We also see that Wayne Enterprises might be as corrupt as the rest of Gotham and I want to see how Bruce tackles this problem and finally it seems that Fish has put her plan in to action at the end, lets she if Liza succeeds.

"Like how I treat my guests?"

Overall this was a good episode but we barely got to see the superhuman part of Viper and even thought they exist in separate universes it kind of felt they where copying Arrow's Mirakuru.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Bruce having a better role in this episode
                   The effect of Viper was really cool
                              
Let - Downs: Viper felt wasted
                       Didn't care at all about the villain

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/