Gordon attempts to bring in Jonathan Crane to prove that the GCPD is still powerful; Selina and Tabitha must consider risks that come with joining Barbara in the weapon business.

Gotham generally is on the right track but it seems much like the first, the second episode throws in just enough to cause the episode the trip over itself.

When the series focuses on the police, corruption, and Penguin, it shines. You can see this to some extent towards the end when Penguin recruits the police directly, though I still am scratching my head as to where the Feds are during all of this? The series as a whole has been solid when it keeps things somewhat grounded. In this case, with it more mob focuses, that’s entertaining and I want to see more of it. Even Gordon’s focus on bringing in Crane is decent enough and uses the character well and delivers a take on the character that feels like a mix of different versions we’ve seen.

The other part of the episode is Tabitha and Selina possibly making a deal with Barbara and Ivy’s thrown in there too. This too works well as the internal politics and dynamics are interesting. It plays nicely into Penguin’s new rules for the city as well. Again, sticking with this would be solid.

Again, where things go wrong are Bruce Wayne and his transition to Batman. Not only does Alfred need to come save him but Lucius Fox steps in with new equipment for Bruce and the series doesn’t even attempt to make it all interesting. Instead, lines about rock climbing feel like they’ve been taken directly from Batman Begins, a rather silly thing that reminded me of the far superior movie.

 

 

Much like the previous season, this one feels like it’ll have a lot of ups and downs. If it focuses on just the police it’s entertaining and a show I want to watch. Wen it focuses on Bruce, something just doesn’t click. The writers feel like they’re committing to the later, so we’ll need to suck it up and deal with it, hopefully it’s to a minimum.

Overall Rating: 6.75