Gotham - Recap: What'd You Expect? It's Gotham

And, really, that's a pretty big accomplishment considering just how much ground "Viper" had to cover. On the procedural side of things, a disgruntled biochemist named Stan Potolsky (Daniel London) releases a drug called "Viper" into the ranks of Gotham. This is criminal enough as it is, but things quickly escalate when it's discovered that the drug gives its users superhuman strength -- but only for a few hours, as it eats away the calcium in their bones, causing them to suffocate and die once their bones crumble. As far as Cases of the Week go, it's a fairly interesting one, as this show continues to allow its procedural arcs to tell the campier stories, while letting its serialized arcs adopt a more serious tone. For example, we don't really get the Viper arc crossing over into the business with Maroni (David Zayas) in any meaningful way, because the tone is so wildly different between those two separate plots. It's something the show is still struggling to work out, since Gotham is often a study in clashing tones, whether it's the jokey, adversarial relationship between Jim (Ben McKenzie) and Harvey (Donal Logue), the hammy, over-the-top plot by Fish (Jada Pinkett Smith) to overthrow Falcone by dressing Liza up to look like his mother, or Oswald (Robin Lord Taylor) once again allowing his ambitions to nearly get him killed. There's a lot going on, and the tone varies, which can be jarring. But, at the very least, the show still manages to be entertaining despite these tonal shifts. That's why I enjoyed "Viper" as much as I did.

Credit: FOX

That said, the episode is far from ideal: I'm having a bit of a hard time getting invested in Fish's plot to overthrow Falcone (John Doman), although I admit that part of this might just be my lack of understanding over her process. I suppose it's not that surprising to learn that Falcone has mommy issues, considering Maroni also values his mother (or, at least, that's what he told Oswald a few weeks back, IIRC). A love for one's mother just seems like a trait the show is writing into the DNA of its crime bosses, and it's a characterization that doesn't necessarily feel all that strange in itself. Although it does get a bit creepy with its Oedipal implications, as Fish essentially teaches Liza (Mackenzie Leigh) how to play the part of Falcone's mother, right down to musical taste, fashion, and motherly demeanor. She describes Liza as her "secret weapon," and Liza closes the episode by "bumping into" Falcone, setting into motion whatever plan Fish has concocted to help Russian crime boss Nikolai (Jeremy Davidson) supplant Falcone. It's all more interesting in theory than it is in execution, and I felt the same way with the storyline centering on Bruce (David Mazouz), who spent the episode looking into possible corruption within Wayne Enterprises. I like the notion of Bruce getting a head start on his attempts to fight injustice, but I'm not sure how much the show can really do with a storyline like this since he's too young to run the company himself, and any attempts he'd make to get the board to reconsider its leadership would get him politely escorted out of the boardroom, regardless of his last name, because he's a freaking kid.

Credit: FOX

Or would he?

His investigation does get one of the women running the company to clear out a warehouse run by WellZyn, the subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises that is indirectly responsible for the manufacture of Viper, a substance derived from Venom, a compound intended to create enhanced super soldiers (but which will only succeeded in creating Bane). When Jim discovers that WellZyn cleared out the warehouse before he could get to it, he regretfully tells Harvey there's nothing here, to which Harvey responds, "What'd you expect? It's Gotham." It's an indictment not only of the city of Gotham, but in Jim's seemingly tireless faith in the city. Harvey finds it foolish that Jim doesn't just see the job as a job, that he has to be committed to actually cleaning up a city that can't be cleaned. It's a powerful sentiment that is pretty much the episode in microcosm, as everyone seems to want to change things that seemingly can't be changed: Potolsky wanted to change WellZyn with his research, but was ousted from his position, culminating in the disgruntled crime spree that ends in his fitting death-by-Viper-fueled-suicide; Oswald wanted to rise in the ranks of the Maroni family, and he sort of does, but only after Jim corroborates his story about having worked for Fish Mooney; Fish wants to overthrow Falcone, but her plan is apparently dependent on the acting talents of a newly guileless girl; Jim wants to root out the criminal element in Gotham, but allowing Oswald to live has left him beholden to that criminal element, since news of Oswald's survival could result in his death. Only Bruce seems to have a real chance at succeeding in his goals, since he now has leads on the internal corruption plaguing Wayne Enterprises. But it's going to be hard for Bruce to actually affect change without bulletproof evidence.

Credit: FOX

Everyone in Gotham seems to be at war with forces they can't surmount, as victory remains easier imagined than realized. Yet, that very conflict is one of the things that keeps Gotham interesting, even in its silliest moments. "Viper" isn't a perfect episode, but it's an indication, at least to me, that the show is on the right track, as it is beginning to weave all of its disparate storylines together into something that might eventually be called a cohesive whole. And once we get to that point, the show has the potential to finally become the engrossing crime drama so many wanted it to be.