Gotham - Recap: The Last Good Man In Gotham

For example, Oswald (Robin Lord Taylor) is not only back in Gotham from his Jim-imposed exile, he's actually moving up in the world. Barbara (Erin Richards) and Jim (Ben McKenzie) have already reached the breaking point in their relationship. And Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) is already putting her plan to bring down Falcone into action. Things are moving impossibly fast, and it can be a bit overwhelming. Yet that's also what's exciting about Gotham, and about episodes like "Arkham". There's already a sense of momentum here, of a larger arc being built. And unlike the cluttered "Selina Kyle" two weeks ago, the story being built here -- detailing the war between the Maroni and Falcone crime families -- is one that connects all of the disparate characters on the show, so that this feels like an ensemble piece. There are no extraneous plot threads here, and it makes the episode all the stronger. Granted, it could end up being revealed that everything set up in "Selina Kyle" is a part of the same larger arc the show appears to be telling with "Arkham", which is that everything from the Wayne Murders to the reopening of Arkham is centered on this internecine crime war. But "Selina Kyle" felt disjointed in a way "Arkham" never did. This simply was a more focused hour of television, and it made for a more engaging hour, to boot.

Credit: FOX

What worked so well about "Arkham" was the relative simplicity of its story: an assassin named Richard Gladwell (Hakeem Kae-Kazim) is going around killing city councilmen, and these murders coincide with a critical vote concerning the reopening of Arkham Asylum, which resides in one of the most impoverished districts in Gotham. It quickly becomes apparent that Gladwell has been hired by the crime families, ordered by Maroni to kill one target, and then ordered by Falcone to kill another target to cancel out the damage. In essence, it's vote manipulation, as the crime families are neutralizing city officials to prevent the Waynes' initial plan for the reopening of Arkham from going through. The Waynes had seen the refurbished, renovated Arkham as a potential beacon of hope for Gotham (since they're the Waynes and not only are they saints, but they seemingly view everything as a possible beacon of hope for Gotham).

Credit: FOX

However, the crime families are far more interested in repurposing the Arkham land to their own ends, whether it's building low-income housing projects, or creating a waste dump. Naturally, Bruce (David Mazouz) is devastated to learn that his parents' dying wish might not be fulfilled, but Jim vows that Gotham is still worth saving because, much like the Waynes, he must also serve as the show's continuous beacon of goodness. Not that I'm necessarily complaining, although I do wish we could get some sense of why Gotham is worth the trouble of saving, and why it isn't just a Sodom that should be wiped from the map, No Man's Land-style. Not that a city should necessarily have to earn its right to exist, but it would be great to get some idea of what it is about Gotham that prevents men like Jim and boys like Bruce from giving up on it, other than the fact that they're just good people who aren't fans of giving up. That said, it's an issue the show has a long time to work out, since it has bigger focuses at the moment, such as bringing down Gladwell.

Credit: FOX

After some investigating, Jim discovers that Gladwell is going after the Mayor (Richard Kind), resulting in a tense showdown where Jim and Harvey (Donal Logue) shoot the killer dead. Yet Gladwell's death solves nothing. First, they don't get any evidence that might be usable to indict Maroni or Falcone. And second, on a more practical level, the show has dispensed with a potentially awesome villain far too soon, in my opinion. Gladwell was a very menacing presence on the screen, owing to Hakeem Kae-Kazim's subtly imposing physicality, as well as his icy, stoic demeanor. When Gladwell took out his pipe, which has a retractable blade for murdering dudes in the face, you know it's about to go down. Gladwell is a relentless threat, which is actually what gets him killed, since he refuses to stand down even though Jim and Harvey have guns trained on him. In short, Gladwell is the most formidable villain of the series so far, and I was sad to see him go so soon. He could have made a menacing free agent, roaming the wilds of Gotham, and dropping in at a moment's notice to wreak havoc, all because one crime boss or other decided they needed a guy to take someone out. That said, I can kind of understand why they didn't keep him, since I'm not sure there would have been much room in the plot for him right now anyway. This is a busy show with busy stories, so that even when a storyline is resolved, it's a resolution that is far from offering closure.

For example, although Gladwell is defeated, the Waynes' Arkham plan is perverted by the Mayor, as the waste dump and housing projects are still being created. And Fish Mooney is still auditioning murderous singers as part of her undisclosed plan to bring down Falcone. Jim and Barbara are still probably/maybe/definitely breaking up after Jim refuses to answer Barbara's questions about Oswald, and Jim's overall irritation over her previous relationship with Montoya (Victoria Cartagena). And Oswald is still moving up in the crime world, having orchestrated a hit on Maroni's restaurant -- a fake robbery that results in the murder of the oafish restaurant manager, and a scenario that paints Oswald as a hero for salvaging a bag of Maroni's money. Maroni shows his appreciation by promoting Oswald to restaurant manager, yet the promotion isn't as significant as Oswald's wordless recognition that he's close to being in Maroni's inner circle.

Credit: Jessica Miglio/FOX

Where Oswald starts the episode (with Jim threatening to put a bullet in his head for real this time for daring to return to Gotham after he explicitly told Oswald not to) is vastly different from where he ends it (suddenly becoming a restaurant manager and potential Maroni confidante). Oswald's ascension is the most interesting aspect of the series at this point, and it's nestled deep within the trenches of what is becoming this show's nucleus, the crime war between the Maronis and the Falcones. Robin Lord Taylor is doing excellent work depicting Oswald's transformation, and it's a characterization that fits this half-pulp/half-camp world Gotham inhabits. Luckily, the episode around him was uniformly strong, giving us the best hour since the pilot episode. If the show can maintain this level of focus, we should be in for a great season ahead. And it'll be a longer one, since the show just received a full-season order. So it's definitely good news that the show appears to be gaining momentum on the narrative side of things as well, since it'd be kind of a slog to have to review 22 episodes of a show that isn't very good. But thankfully, right now, Gotham is good. And "Arkham" is testament to that.