Gotham - Recap: Kitty Litter

Basically, the episode tries to do everything at once, and accomplishes nothing, in the grand scheme of things. Over the course of the hour, we get a case in which Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Bullock (Donal Logue) investigate a child trafficking ring perpetrated by a pair of crooks named Patti and Doug, both of whom work for a mysterious, overseas kingpin named The Dollmaker. Of course, Gordon and Bullock only catch the case because the child abductions involved the murder of a former war veteran-turned-street bum. But they land the case all the same, and it takes up the majority of the hour, pushing the tale of the titular Selina Kyle (Carmen Bicondova) to the side. Selina, who goes by the nickname "Cat" (because the Batman references on this show need to bludgeon you with their obviousness), witnessed the murder in question and nearly had her friend Mackey (Kyle Massey) abducted too. Yet she never feels the need to offer up her eye witness account to law enforcement until she suddenly finds herself rounded up in a city-wide initiative to send the homeless street kids to a juvenile detention facility upstate. It's part of the issue I have with her character: Nevermind the show's apparent desire to have Selina witness each "crime of the week" so far, in addition to going out of its way to not have her actually speak for wide swathes of the episode, even when it would have made sense for her to do so (hey, maybe warn your fellow street kids that they're about to get stabbed in the neck with a pen by creepy criminals who are very slowly advancing on them!). Rather, it's the way she's written that really bugs me.

Credit: FOX

After being rounded up with the other kids for transport to juvie, she pleads with the prison attendant to contact Jim Gordon, giving the lady a bunch of lip in the process. The woman refuses and Selina is ferried away on a bus with the other kids, left to whatever fate awaits her. As it turns out, the bus driver and warden attending the bus are Patti and Doug, and we learn that the kids are all being re-abducted, because Gotham PD is outrageously awful at their jobs. But here's the kicker: ;ater, in the warehouse, Selina escapes and runs into Jim, who's tracked down Patti and Doug. Selina obviously knows who he is from having witnessed him at various crime scenes -- at the very least, she knows him well enough to ask for him by name. Yet, after demanding to speak with him earlier, suddenly Selina decides to get lippy with Gordon too. When he asks what her name is, she basically tells him it's none of his business. Then, after she's taken in by law enforcement again, she's right back to demanding to see Jim Gordon. HE WAS RIGHT THERE BEFORE! I feel like they found Carmen Bicondova, thought, "Wow, what an exotic-looking little girl. She's perfect. Hell, she's a dead-ringer for Michelle Pfeiffer's version of the same character! We won't need her to speak or have any of her actions make sense at all. I mean, just look at how naturally mysterious she looks!" I loved the pilot, and thought it was the most promising network pilot this season. But I can't even make sense of how much I disliked this episode, and its initiative to rivet-gun Batman mythology into every nook and cranny with almost no subtlety whatsoever. "My name is 'Cat'." REALLY, Gotham?

Credit: FOX

This is without even getting into how overstuffed with plot the episode becomes: Oswald (Robin Lord Taylor) is trying to make his way back to Gotham, murdering a college-aged dude who pick him up on the side of the road, and taking his buddy hostage for ransom. Meanwhile, Carmine Falcone (John Doman) pays a visit to Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) to threaten her for her rumored plans to take over. They continue to mention the existence of a gang war with the Maroni crime family, but the script continues to keep things vague, which is to the show's detriment. During all of this, MCU cops Montoya (Victoria Cartagena) and Allen (Andrew Stewart-Jones) investigate Oswald's disappearance by visiting his creepy mother, who's one part Miss Havisham and one part Helena Bonham-Carter in a Tim Burton movie. We also have Gordon visiting with Bruce (David Mazouz) at the request of Alfred (Sean Pertwee), who fears for the boy's safety.

Credit: Jessica Miglio/FOX

Apparently, the boy has taken to cutting and burning himself as a "test", and it's rightfully scaring the hell out of Alfred, who turns to the only person Bruce respects. Naturally, while Gordon attempts to talk some sense into Bruce, it's difficult without the help of a professional. However, Alfred won't allow Bruce to see a psychiatrist, since Thomas Wayne left instructions on raising Bruce that indicate the boy is to be allowed to find his own way. And "finding his own way" translates to Bruce assuming that money can fix the problems of Gotham's homeless, bedraggled youth. Seeing Bruce's development has the potential to be interesting, but not if it comes as a result of an overstuffed episode. I could say the same for Selina's development, as Bicondova obviously has talent. But the show doesn't allow enough time for any of these storylines to breathe, especially since Bicondova appears in the beginning and then vanishes for half the episode -- in an episode that's named for her character! Really, the only meaningful thing she does is reveal to Gordon that she saw who really murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne. It's a hook for next week, but I don't know that the show is going to handle its screentime assignments any better than it did this week.

Credit: FOX

The bright spots this week, however, were the performances. Jada Pinkett Smith continues to work wonders on the show, savoring every single line of dialogue and delivering it with the gusto of an over-the-top supervillain. Meanwhile, Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue have developed terrific chemistry as partners, with their back-and-forth bickering coming across as a natural extension of their relationship. And Robin Lord Taylor is wonderfully creepy and tortured as the future Penguin, embodying the visceral, unflinching grimness a Batman story should have, more often than not. It's the acting that keeps this episode's head above water, as showrunner Bruno Heller's script is just a mess. Here's hoping we can get back on track next week, because the premiere showed way too much promise to simply be squandered.